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Biomedical subjects

L M Bambara

Publications and source records attributed to L M Bambara.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

[Myasthenia gravis, palindromic rheumatism and systemic lupus erythematosus. A clinical case report].

We describe a case of a 59-year-old white woman, that first developed a myasthenia gravis picture, then palindromic rheumatism and, in the end, systemic lupus erythematosus. We have searched in the literature the common features and the differences between myasthenia gravis and systemic lupus erythematosus. In this report we emphasize the possible connection between palindromic rheumatism and autoimmune diseases.

Autoimmune Diseases↗
PubMed1992

[Jaccoud's postrheumatic arthritis. A clinical case report].

The authors describe a case of Jaccoud's arthropathy, a very rare disease of unknown pathogenesis, that can develop in patients after repeated attacks of rheumatic fever. Clinical pictures with analogous features can be found associated with many other pathological processes, such as connective tissue diseases or cancers. The case presented here is interesting for the diagnostic and therapeutic mistakes made, probably because it is an illness very little known and with ambiguous clinical features.

Arthritis, Reactive↗
PubMed1991

Double-blind cross-over trial of oral sodium cromoglycate in patients with irritable bowel syndrome due to food intolerance.

Twenty patients with irritable bowel syndrome due to food intolerance were randomized to either oral sodium cromoglycate or placebo in a double-blind cross-over trial. The study consisted of treatment with either sodium cromoglycate or placebo for 8 weeks, followed by the cross-over treatment for 8 further weeks. Patients were allowed to eat the offending foods during the study. Eighteen patients completed the study. Analysis of patients' diary card scores showed a statistically significant difference in favour of sodium cromoglycate. There was a long carry-over effect in the active-placebo order group. Therefore oral sodium cromoglycate seems to be a useful treatment in patients with irritable bowel syndrome and proven food intolerance.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1990

[Eczema and food allergy in the adult].

We have evaluated the relationship between eczema and food by using elimination diet and subsequently open and double blind challenge test in 15 patients. The clinical manifestations of 14 subjects were improved by elimination diet. Challenge test was positive in 10 patients. Nuts, tomatoes, milk, eggs and cereals were most frequently involved. Six patients suffered from food allergy (F.A.), 4 patients from food intolerance (F.I.) and 4 patients from suspected F.I. With the use of dietary elimination procedure the symptoms completely disappeared. The results obtained for the treatment of eczema with this procedure may be very encouraging.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

An experimental analysis of milieu language intervention: teaching the action-object form.

The syntactic and pragmatic effects of a milieu language teaching intervention implemented to teach the action-object form were investigated. Subjects were 3 young children with borderline to moderate levels of mental retardation, all in the early stages of productive language development. After a prolonged baseline period, each subject received three to four training sessions per week in a small group interactive play situation. Experimental control was demonstrated by a multiple baseline design across subjects. Generalization was measured along a variety of dimensions. Results indicated that subjects learned to generatively produce action-object combinations. These combinations were used in nonobligatory conversational situations as requests for objects/actions and as declaratives. Subjects also began to respond correctly to probe questions. The results support the conclusion that milieu training procedures can be used to enhance the acquisition and generative use of basic syntactic-semantic forms. The results also suggest that systemic adult commenting, child conversational "scaffolding," and spontaneous imitation may play significant roles for some children in the acquisition and generalization of language taught via a milieu approach.

Child↗
PubMed1989

Controlled comparison of ketanserin and nifedipine in Raynaud's phenomenon.

Twenty-eight patients suffering from either primary or secondary Raynaud's phenomenon were treated with nifedipine and ketanserin. Each patient was treated with one of the two drugs administered after an adequate washout period. Furthermore each patient was submitted before and after treatment with each drug to computerized digital thermometry to evaluate the therapeutic response. The data obtained during the intake of the two drugs at zero, five, and twenty-three minutes were compared with thermometry-relevant baseline data at the same periods. Ketanserin proved to be useful in the treatment of Raynaud's phenomenon and statistically significantly superior (alpha less than 0.05) with respect to nifedipine in the thermometric controls and also in the subjective evaluation of the patients (p less than 0.02). In this study nifedipine did not show particular efficacy. Furthermore only 2 patients had to discontinue treatment with ketanserin, whereas 8 had to discontinue treatment with nifedipine (p less than 0.001).

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Use of computerized digital thermometry for diagnosis of Raynaud's phenomenon.

The authors have used computerized digital thermometry for the instrumental diagnosis of Raynaud's phenomenon; such a technique enables them to evaluate the temperature of the ten fingers of the hands separately in baseline conditions, during and after the "cold test." In baseline conditions the mean digital skin temperature was 31.2 degrees C (SD 1.67) in control subjects and 26.8 degrees C (SD 2.84) in patients suffering from Raynaud's phenomenon (p less than 0.001). During the cold test the mean skin temperature decreased to 12.7 degrees C (SD 1.94) in control subjects and to 13.0 degrees C (SD 1.67) in patients (p = n.s.). The mean final skin temperature, at the end of the recovery period after the cold test, was 31.1 degrees C (SD 1.76) in controls and 21.9 degrees C (SD 2.78) in patients (p less than 0.001). The sensitivity of the computerized digital thermometry was high (63.6% and 92.7% for basal and final temperature, respectively), while the specificity was 100% for both values. In conclusion, computerized digital thermometry is a useful technique for the diagnosing and quantifying the extent of Raynaud's phenomenon.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

[Zinc sulfate in the treatment of psoriatic arthritis].

We evaluated oral zinc sulphate as a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) in psoriatic arthritis in a preliminary open uncontrolled trial. Twenty patients with psoriatic arthritis were given oral zinc sulphate three times a day at total dose of 600 mg/die, i.e. 120 mg/die of elemental zinc, for 6 months. The 18 patients who completed the trial showed a significant decrease in the number of swollen (p less than 0.01) and tender (p less than 0.05) joints, Ritchie articular index (p less than 0.01), need for nosteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (p less than 0.001), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (p less than 0.01), and plasma copper level (p less than 0.001). We suggest that zinc sulphate may be an effective and well-tolerated DMARD in psoriatic arthritis. To more strictly verify these preliminary data, a double-blind placebo controlled study is in progress.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Increased serum levels of soluble interleukin-2 receptor in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis.

In this study we investigated the serum levels of a released soluble form of the interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) in 42 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and in 12 cases of systemic lupus erythematosus. Data were evaluated in relationship to the clinical phase and compared with those observed in normal controls (N = 56) and in osteoarthritis (N = 7). Increased levels were observed in both rheumatoid arthritis (mean +/- SE, 604 +/- 49 U/ml) and systemic lupus erythematosus (1438 +/- 481 U/ml). These values were significantly higher than in control (256 +/- 15 U/ml; P less than 0.001) and in osteoarthritis (298 +/- 33 U/ml; P less than 0.001) groups. In addition, the highest values were associated with the active phases of both rheumatoid arthritis (active vs inactive, 771 +/- 78 vs 451 +/- 39 U/ml; P less than 0.001) and systemic lupus erythematosus (active vs inactive, 2108 +/- 489 vs 499 +/- 75 U/ml; P less than 0.001). Our findings suggest that the detection of sIL-2R in rheumatoid arthritis and in systemic lupus erythematosus may represent a good marker of disease activity, which indirectly indicates the ongoing activation and/or proliferation of immunoreactive cells which are involved in the pathogenetic events of these autoimmune conditions.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1987

Effect of ranitidine on the absorption of aspirin.

Six healthy male volunteers received 1 week's pretreatment with ranitidine, 150 mg twice daily, and placebo in a double-blind cross-over trial. On the 8th day, each volunteer received 1 g of aspirin in order to study the pharmacokinetics of this nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug. The results of this study suggest that ranitidine does not induce clinically significant alterations to the kinetics of a single dose of aspirin in healthy males.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Serum folate binding capacity in leukemias, liver diseases and pregnancy.

Total and unsaturated folate binding capacity (TFBC, UFBC) have been measured in sera of selective groups of patients to study the role of cell turnover, cell necrosis and the effect of pregnancy in determining their concentrations in blood. The mean value of TFBC in 35 normal sera was 151 +/- (SD) 53 pg/ml with a saturation of 88%. The TFBC was raised in chronic granulocytic leukemia (CGL), in acute hepatitis, in cirrhosis, and in pregnancy (third trimester). The normal mean value of TFBC was found in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and inthe first trimester of pregnancy. The mean UFBC in the normal sera was 19 +/- 18 pg/ml. In all the pathological conditions studied the mean UFBC was significantly greater than normal and it was particularly high in CGL (85 +/- 78 pg/ml).

Female↗