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Biomedical subjects

M Abrams

Publications and source records attributed to M Abrams.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Epitopes and idiotypes in experimental autoimmune uveitis: a review.

Retinal S-antigen (SAg) and interphotoreceptor retinol-binding protein (IRBP) induced experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU) and experimental autoimmune pinealitis (EAP) are good models for studying the mechanisms involved in autoimmune diseases. Many immunogenetically active epitopes have been identified in these proteins but immunodominance of one or more epitopes in vivo, has not yet been established. In this paper we present and discuss some experiments that led to the discovery of a dominant "tolerogenic" epitope in SAg. We also demonstrate the presence of cross reactive epitopes in the two potent retinal antigens, SAg and IRBP and finally introduce early data on a unique anti S2.4.c5 idiotypic (Id) monoclonal antibody (MAb) which appears to be a site non associated antibody that binds not only to s2.4.c5 but also to SAg.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Induction of experimental autoimmune uveitis by the retinal photoreceptor cell protein, phosducin.

Experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU) and experimental autoimmune pinealitis (EAP) are CD4+ T cell mediated inflammatory diseases of the retina and uveal tract of the eye and the pineal gland respectively. They can be induced in experimental animals by immunization with several well characterized retinal autoantigens. We induced a mild to moderate EAU and EAP in Lewis rats by immunization with phosducin, a 33K retinal phosphoprotein which is involved in the phototransduction of vision. In contrast to the severe EAU induced by other retinal antigens like S-antigen (SAg) or interstitial retinoid binding protein (IRBP), the clinical disease was late in onset, low grade in severity and predominantly affected the posterior segment of the eye. Our study demonstrates that another photoreceptor cell protein, phosducin, is capable of eliciting EAU and EAP.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Psychiatric disability in female carriers of the fragile X chromosome.

Fragile X syndrome, an X-linked genetic condition, is an important genetic cause of mental retardation in males. In addition to mental retardation, hemizygous males with fragile X syndrome appear to have a greater likelihood of displaying behaviors classified under the diagnostic category of pervasive developmental disorder than would be expected on the basis of mental retardation alone. Although the majority of female heterozygotes with the fragile X genetic defect are of normal intelligence, our clinical work with this population and a recent case report have suggested that females with fragile X syndrome have an increased rate of schizophrenia spectrum and affective disorders. In this study, the relationship of the fragile X genetic defect to psychopathology in female heterozygotes is investigated by psychiatric evaluation of 35 obligate female carriers of the fragile X chromosome and a comparison group of 24 fragile X-negative controls. Female fragile X carriers were found to have a greater frequency of psychopathology associated with schizophrenia spectrum diagnoses, particularly schizotypal features. A weaker association between the fragile X genetic defect and chronic affective disorders was detected. The specificity of the neuropsychiatric phenotype occurring in particular genetic conditions such as the fragile X syndrome adds a potentially valuable tool to the study of psychopathology in the general population.

Child Development Disorders, Pervasive↗
PubMed1988

Implicit learning: robustness in the face of psychiatric disorders.

The performance of a group of psychiatric inpatients on two different cognitive tasks was compared with that of a control group of college undergraduates. The task in the first experiment was implicit learning of a complex, synthetic grammar; the task in the second experiment was explicit learning of relatively simple letter-to-number matching rules. In the first experiment, differences between the normals and the psychiatrically impaired were found on the preliminary memorization task but not on the implicit grammar learning task; in the second experiment, differences were observed on all phases of the experiment, with the inpatients performing no better than chance. These findings provide support for the hypothesis that, under appropriate conditions, individuals suffering from serious disorders may show no deficits when working with complex and abstract stimulus domains while showing serious performance problems when working with relatively simple, concrete stimuli. The key factor is that the former were presented as tasks that tap nonreflective, implicit processes, whereas the latter were put forward as ones that recruit conscious, explicit processes.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Rats show only a weak preference for the artificial sweetener aspartame.

The preference of adult female rats for aspartame (L-asparty L-phenylalamine methyl ester) was measured using 24 hr/day and 30 min/day two bottle preference tests. At aspartame concentrations that humans find sweet (0.0125% to 0.05%) the rats failed to prefer aspartame to water. At higher concentrations (0.1% to 1.0%) half (n = 11) of the rats tested displayed mild (64%) to moderate (83%) aspartame preferences. The other half of the rats were indifferent or avoided the aspartame. Even at the most preferred concentration (1.0%) the rats' aspartame preference was much less than their preference for saccharin or sucrose, and they showed little increase in total fluid intake when given the aspartame solution. The results indicate that aspartame is not very palatable to rats, and suggest that it has little or no sweet, i.e., sucrose-like, taste to rats as it does to humans.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Birth control use by teenagers. One and two years postabortion.

A prospective study was undertaken of the contraceptive behavior of adolescent women following a first-trimester abortion. Each women had an individual counseling session, including birth-control counseling. Effective birth control was used by 77% of the 182 respondents one year postabortion. Two years after abortion, 79% of those who remained in the study group continued to use reliable birth control methods. The repeat abortion rate for all respondents was 7% in the first year and 11% in the second year. These results suggest that teenagers who obtain abortions do not rely on the procedure as a method of contraception. Instead, they are more likely to be using reliable methods of birth control postabortion than they were before the unplanned pregnancy.

Abortion, Induced↗
PubMed1979

Cholelithiasis in children with sickle cell disease.

A group of 47 children with homozygous sickle cell disease ranging in age from 2 to 18 years was studied for the prevalence of gallstones. All of these patients had oral cholecystogram and cholecystosonogram. Eight of the 47 patients (17%) had gallstones both on oral cholecystography and on cholecystosonography. These eight patients had a history of recurrent abdominal pain usually localized to the right upper quadrant. All were admitted on several occasions for sickle cell abdominal crises and four of these were admitted for acute hepatic crisis. These patients have undergone elective cholecystectomy and gallstones were found in every patient. The patients have been followed up from seven to 17 months after cholecystectomy and none have had abdominal symptoms or required hospitalization for abdominal crises.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Post-abortion attitudes and patterns of birth control.

Among 63 women questioned one year after a first trimester abortion at an outpatient clinic, over 75 percent had mature, well-considered reasons for having chosen abortion and felt secure in their decision. Their feelings and attitudes toward themselves and abortion were strongly positive, with a few expressions of unresolved guilt, regret, or depression. They had become more responsible about contraceptive use, more interested in planning future pregnancies, and had experienced little change in sexual habits. Although only 21 percent (13 women) had employed contraception when they became pregnant, 76 percent (48 women) were using effective methods of birth control one year after abortion. Furthermore, over one third felt they were better able to deal with problems and had learned more about their coping capacity as a result of the crisis.

Abortion, Legal↗
PubMed1978

Menstrual dysfunction of patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis.

This study group consisted of 10 female patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis. The duration of their illness was from 10 months to 8 years. Nine of the 10 had been undergoing hemodialysis for more than 1 year. Their menstrual patterns have been investigated, specifically with regard to menstrual history, gonadotropin and progesterone levels, and basal body temperature. Nine of the 10 patients had had regular menses prior to their renal illnesses. All patients became amenorrheic during and after hemodialysis with the exception of one patient who became hypermenorrheic. The gonadotropin levels were as follows: the luteinizing hormones were high-normal and the follicle stimulating hormones were low, almost to a hypogonadotropic range; progesterone level coupled with the basal body temperature showed no evidence of ovulatory cycles, except in one case.

Adult↗