PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M Anwar

Publications and source records attributed to M Anwar.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

A case for comprehensive antenatal screening for blood group antibodies.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the frequency of various blood group antibodies responsible for haemolytic disease of the new born (HDN). DESIGN: A prospective study of all neonates and still born foetuses suspected to have haemolytic disease of the new born and their mothers. SUBJECTS: Neonates suspected to have HDN as per study criteria along with their mothers and mothers of still born foetuses with hydrops foetalis. METHODS: Pertinent serological tests, serum bilirubin estimation, haemoglobin estimation and reticulocyte count on neonate's blood samples and demonstration/titration of blood group specific antibodies in maternal blood samples. RESULTS: Six cases of HDN due to blood group antibodies were detected so far. Four were due to anti-D and all were of mild severity as per study criteria. Two cases were of severe haemolytic disease (hydrops foetalis). Both were due to anti Kell. Both women had history of previous blood transfusion and abortions. CONCLUSION: Comprehensive antibody screening should be performed during antenatal period in women who have received blood transfusion and/or have history of un-explained abortions.

Blood Group Incompatibility↗

Early development and location of embryos in the reproductive tract of Nili Ravi buffalo (Bubalus bubalis): a retrospective analysis.

One year data on embryo recovery were analyzed to study the development and descent of preimplantation embryos in Nili Ravi water buffalo. Forty-five superovulatory attempts were performed on 23 buffalo. A total of 45 embryos were recovered either nonsurgically or after slaughtering the animals at various time intervals (85 to 176 h) post estrus. Embryos were located in the oviducts at 85 h after estrus. At 108 h post estrus, most of them (78%) were recovered from the uteri. The embryos had 8 to 16 cells at 85 h post estrus, grew to morulae at 108 h and to compact morulae at 125 h post estrus. Early blastocysts were observed at 141 h post estrus. Blastocysts were predominant (69%) at 156 to 176 h after estrus; no hatched blastocysts were recovered during this time interval. Based on our findings, embryo recovery at around 150 h post estrus (i.e., Day 6 of the cycle) is recommended for compact morulae or blastocysts in the water buffalo.

Animals↗

Four-year clinical evaluation of quinacrine pellets for non-surgical female sterilization.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy, safety and acceptability of two monthly transcervical applications of quinacrine 252 mg and ibuprofen 55.5 mg as pellets for non-surgical female sterilization. From August 1992 through October 1996, a prospective clinical study was conducted on 200 normal women seeking surgical sterilization voluntarily in the Family Planning Clinic of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Regency Hospital, Wonosobo, Central Java, Indonesia. Quinacrine 252 mg and ibuprofen 55.5 mg were inserted transcervically, as pellets, using a Copper T IUD insertor in the proliferative phase of two consecutive menstrual cycles. The women were followed up 6, 12, 24 and 48 months after insertion. There were no major complications during the insertion procedures, and side-effects which occurred during the use of the methods were transient. Cumulative life-table continuation rate per 100 women at four years was 0.91+/-0.02 (SE). The pregnancy failure rate was 0.04 or 4.3%. The results of this study indicate that intrauterine insertion of quinacrine pellets is a safe, acceptable and effective method of non-surgical female sterilization.

Administration, Intravaginal↗

Pulmonary vasodilation by ketamine is mediated in part by L-type calcium channels.

UNLABELLED: We studied the effects of ketamine in the isolated rat lung under conditions of increased pulmonary arterial pressure using the thromboxane A2 mimic, U46619, and in response to ventilatory hypoxia. Ketamine caused dose-dependent vasodilation, and possible mechanisms were evaluated using verapamil, meclofenamate, N(omega)-L-nitro-L-arginine benzyl ester (an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase), and U-38883A (an ATP-sensitive potassium channel antagonist) in the isolated blood-perfused rat lung. Under increased tone conditions, N(omega)-L-nitro-L-arginine benzyl ester, meclofenamate, and U-38883A had no significant effect in attenuating ketamine-induced vasodilator responses. In a final series of experiments, verapamil significantly attenuated ketamine-induced vasodilator responses. These data suggest that ketamine has significant vasodilator activity in the pulmonary vascular bed of the rat, which seems to be mediated by an L-type calcium channel-sensitive pathway. These responses are not mediated or modulated by the release of nitric oxide, the activation of K+ ATP channels, or the release of vasodilator cyclooxygenase products. IMPLICATIONS: In this study, we examined the mechanism of the vasodilator effects of ketamine in the blood-perfused rat lung. The results of the present study suggest that ketamine-induced vasodilator responses are mediated by an L-type calcium channel-sensitive pathway.

3-Pyridinecarboxylic acid, 1,4-dihydro-2,6-dimethy↗

Analysis of responses to angiotensin I (3-10) and Leu3 angiotensin (3-8) in the pulmonary vascular bed of the cat.

Pulmonary vascular responses to angiotensin (3-8) (Ang IV), leu3 angiotensin (3-8) (LeuAng IV), an Ang IV analog and angiotensin I (3-10) [Ang I (3-10)], the precursor for Ang IV, were investigated in the intact-chest cat under conditions of controlled blood flow. Intralobar injections of Ang IV, LeuAng IV, and Ang I (3-10) caused dosage-related increases in lobar arterial pressure. When responses were compared, Ang IV, LeuAng IV, and Ang I (3-10) were equipotent and were approximately 100- to 300-fold less potent than Ang II when dosages are expressed on a nanomolar basis. DuP 753, an angiotensin II type 1 (AT1 ) receptor antagonist, attenuated pulmonary vasoconstrictor responses to LeuAng IV, Ang IV, and its precursor, Ang I (3-10), but did not significantly change pressor responses to serotonin, norepinephrine, or U46619. PD 123319, an angiotensin II type 2 (AT2 ) receptor antagonist, and WSU 3033, a putative angiotensin II type 4 (AT4 ) receptor antagonist, did not significantly change pressor responses to LeuAng IV, Ang IV, and its precursor, Ang I (3-10). Captopril, an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, decreased pulmonary vasoconstrictor responses to Ang I (3-10) but did not significantly change responses to serotonin, norepinephrine, U46619, LeuAng IV, or Ang IV. These data show that LeuAng IV, Ang IV, and its precursor, Ang I (3-10), increase pulmonary vascular resistance by activating AT1 receptors, and that Ang I (3-10) is rapidly and efficiently converted by an ACE-dependent pathway into an active peptide. The present data suggest that Ang IV and LeuAng IV increase pulmonary vascular resistance by activating AT1 receptors and that activation of AT2 or AT4 are not involved in mediating or modulating responses to these peptides. These data provide support for the hypothesis that Ang I (3-10) is converted into an active peptide by ACE at or near the site of action within the pulmonary vascular bed.

Angiotensin I↗

Nociceptin Has Vasodilator Activity in the Pulmonary Vascular Bed of the Rat.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have shown that the newly discovered endogenous opioid-like peptide, nociceptin, has vasodilator activity in the peripheral vascular bed. However, little if anything is known about the effects of the peptide in the pulmonary vascular bed. Therefore, responses to nociceptin in the pulmonary vascular bed were investigated and compared with responses in the hindlimb and systemic vascular beds of the rat. METHODS AND RESULTS: Responses to nociceptin were investigated in the pulmonary and hindquarters vascular beds in the rat under constant flow conditions and were compared with decreases in systemic vascular resistance. Under conditions of constant flow, injections of nociceptin in doses of 3-30 nM induced dose-related decreases in pulmonary arterial perfusion pressure when baseline tone was increased to a high steady level with U46619. Pulmonary vasodilator responses to nociceptin were not modified by the opioid receptor antagonist naloxone, and the newly discovered ligand was 10-fold less potent than adrenomedullin in decreasing pulmonary vascular resistance when decreases in pulmonary hind quarters and systemic vascular resistances were compared, nociceptin was significantly more potent in decreasing hindquarters and systemic vascular resistance than in reducing pulmonary vascular resistance. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study indicate that nociceptin decreases pulmonary vascular resistance by a naloxone-insensitive mechanism, and that the peptide is less potent in decreasing pulmonary vascular resistance than in decreasing systemic vascular resistance in the rat.

Journal Article↗

The apgar score and its components in the preterm infant.

OBJECTIVE: The Apgar score is well-characterized in full-term infants but not in premature infants. The objective of this study was to assess the Apgar score in preterm infants with respect to the relationships between the 1- and 5-minute scores, the correlation of the Apgar score with pH and with other variables, and the relationship among the individual Apgar components. METHODOLOGY: We recorded Apgar scores at 1 and 5 minutes in a population-based cohort of preterm infants (n = 1105) with birth weight <2000 g, from three intensive care nurseries in central New Jersey. Linear correlation analysis was used to examine the relationship between 1- and 5-minute Apgar scores and between the individual components of the Apgar score. Multiple regression analysis was used to explore the relationship between various perinatal characteristics and the Apgar score, and between pH and Apgar score. Stepwise logistic regression analysis was used to assess the determinants of mortality. RESULTS: The 1-minute Apgar score median (25%, 75%) was 6(4,8) and correlated with the 5-minute score of 8(7,9) at r = .78. Slight but significant differences were seen between male (n = 557) and female (n = 508) infants in the 1-minute (6[4,8] and 7[4,8]) Apgar scores. One- and 5-minute scores of white infants (7[4,8] and 8[7,9]; n = 713) were significantly higher than those of black infants (5[3,7] and 8[6,9]; n = 280). Birth weight and gestational age were both linearly related to both Apgar scores. Low Apgar score (<3 at 1 minute and <6 at 5 minutes) was significantly associated with birth weight, gestational age and mode of delivery. Low arterial blood pH (<7.01) at birth was significantly related to low Apgar score. One hundred fifty-nine infants died; these infants were significantly smaller (983 +/- 382 vs 1462 +/- 369 g), less mature (27 vs 31 weeks), had lower arterial blood pH (7.20 +/- 0.18 vs 7.31 +/- 0.11), had lower 1- (3[2,6] vs 7[4,8]) and 5-minute Apgar scores (6[4,8] vs 8[7,9]), and a greater incidence of low Apgar score (32% vs 6%) than did survivors. CONCLUSIONS: Among the components of the Apgar score, respiratory effort, muscle tone, and reflex activity correlated well with one another; heart rate correlated less well; and color the least. Our data confirms the limited use of the Apgar score in preterm infants and demonstrates the different responses of the Apgar score's components.

Black or African American↗

Induction of c-fos gene expression by spinal cord transection in the rat.

Sympathetic nerve activity is maintained after high spinal injury through circuits that remain in question. We evaluated patterns of c-fos gene induction as a monitor of spinal neurons responding to high spinal cord transection in the rat. Rats were anesthetized with isofluorane. Lower cervical or upper thoracic spinal segments were exposed, immersed in warm mineral oil and transected. Spinal cords were exposed but not transected in anesthetized controls. After 2.5 h, spinalized and control rats were perfused for immunocytochemistry. Cervical and thoracolumbar spinal segments and dorsal root ganglia were sectioned coronally. Tissues were incubated in primary, polyclonal antisera raised in rabbit or sheep against a peptide sequence unique to the N-terminal domain of Fos, and processed immunocytochemically. Neurons were induced to express Fos-like immunoreactivity (FLI), bilaterally, in the spinal gray, but not in primary sensory ganglia. Spinal cord transection induced neurons to express FLI in thoracic laminae I, IIo (outer substantia gelatinosa), Vre (lateral reticulated division), VII (lamina intermedia) and X, and the intermediolateral cell column. Lamina VIII was also labeled in spinal-injured but not in control animals. Immunolabeled nuclei were prominent in lumbar segments and were concentrated in the medial third of laminae I and IIo, and in laminae VII and X. Few cells were labeled in upper cervical or sacral segments. FLI was sparse in the spinal gray of controls and expressed mainly within the dorsal root entry zone of upper thoracic segments. Patterns of c-fos gene expression were site-specific and correlated with laminae that respond predominantly to noxious stimulation and that contain sympathetic interneurons. Laminae that are responsive to non-noxious stimuli and activated by walking, IIi, nucleus proprius, medial V and layer VI were not induced to express FLI. We conclude that neurons in specific spinal laminae that process high threshold afferents and that harbor neurons with sympathetic nerve-related activity are activated selectively by spinal cord transections. We hypothesize that peripheral afferents processed by spinal-sympathetic circuit neurons may regulate sympathetic discharge in the absence of supraspinal drive.

Animals↗

The pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus issues collaterals to the fastigial nucleus and rostral ventrolateral reticular nucleus in the rat.

The pedunculopontine-laterodorsal tegmental nuclear complex was identified as a major source of brainstem afferents terminating in the fastigial cerebellar nucleus and/or ventrolateral reticular nucleus (n.Rvl). Collaterals from the pedunculopontine nucleus (Ch5 area) to rostral [vasopressor] regions of the fastigial nucleus and ventral reticular formation were revealed with a combined retrograde tracing technique. The data implicate acetylcholine as a transmitter and raise the hypothesis that the identified afferents may contribute to the autonomic and behavioral responses to midline cerebellar stimulation.

Afferent Pathways↗

Induction of c-fos gene expression by spinal cord transection in Sus scrofa.

Functional responses of primary sensory afferents and spinal cord were monitored in swine subjected to a high cervical (C1) spinal transection. Two and a half hours after transection, dorsal root ganglia and cervical and thoracolumbar spinal segments were processed immunocytochemically for the c-fos gene product, Fos and related antigens. In spinal-transected animals, Fos-like immunoreactivity (FLI) was induced in spinal laminae I, V, VII and X and the intermediolateral cell column but not in sensory ganglia as compared to controls: spinal-intact age-matched littermates. Spinal laminae expressing FLI harbor sympathetic and somatic interneurons and may aid in maintaining sympathetic outflow.

Animals↗

Lens capsule inclusion in trabeculectomy with cataract extraction.

PURPOSE: To deliberately include a flap of anterior lens capsule in the trabeculectomy site to determine whether it aids filtration in a glaucoma bleb. SETTING: El-Maghraby Eye Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. METHODS: The study comprised 23 consecutive patients (25 eyes) with dense cataract and uncontrolled glaucoma despite maximum medical therapy. Combined trabeculectomy, planned extracapsular cataract extraction, posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation, and inclusion of the anterior lens capsule under the trabeculectomy scleral flap were performed. Follow-up ranged from 6 to 72 months. RESULTS: All eyes had improved visual acuity mainly because of cataract removal. Best spectacle-corrected visual acuity in 20 eyes ranged from 20/40 to 20/20. A diffuse filtration bleb was achieved in most cases. Postoperative intraocular pressure (IOP) was 20 mm Hg or less in 80% of eyes. Five eyes required additional topical timolol therapy. None required additional carbonic anhydrase inhibitor therapy. CONCLUSION: The combined procedure appeared to be a sound method of providing visual rehabilitation and adequate IOP control. The use of the capsular wick seemed to help maintain glaucoma filtration.

Aged↗

Prolonged rupture of membranes in the term newborn.

Of 8791 consecutive newborns, we studied 205 (2.3%) women with a history of prolonged rupture of membranes (PROM) greater than 24 hr to assess the incidence of infection, to identify the rate of clinical symptoms, and to examine the use of the white blood count (WBC) and neutrophil values as screening tools to predict infection. Blood culture and complete blood counts (CBC) were obtained in 175 (85%). Fifteen (8.2%) had positive blood cultures including group B streptococcus, streptococcus viridans, streptococcus pneumoniae, staphlococcus epidermidis, and staphlococcus aureus. In the remaining 8586 infants born to mothers without PROM, 10 had positive blood cultures for an incidence of 0.1%. In the PROM group, the six who manifested clinical symptoms had abnormal CBCs; abnormal white blood count (2), abnormal neutrophil count (5), high band/metatamyelocyte count (4), and increased immature to total neutrophil ratio (4). Of the nine asymptomatic infants, seven (78%) had abnormal CBCs, five (56%) with a high WBC, five (56%) had a high neutrophil count, two (22%) had a high band/metatamyelocyte count, and one a high immature to total neutrophil ratio. CBC values were obtained from infants with PROM and negative blood cultures. Five of these 15 controls had an abnormal CBC. In the term newborn, PROM is associated with significantly increased incidence of positive blood cultures. The sensitivity of the CBC was 86% and specificity 66%. In view of this data a conservative clinical approach utilizing blood cultures and CBC evaluations in the management of PROM is warranted.

Bacteremia↗

Effects of hyperosmolar mannitol on regional oxygen supply and consumption in the newborn pig.

Previous work indicated that opening the blood-brain barrier with hyperosmotic mannitol decreased local venous O2 saturation and increased cerebral O2 consumption. This study was performed to assess the vascular effect of hypertonic mannitol on oxygen supply/consumption balance in the newborn pig and to determine the role of nitric oxide in mediating the effects of mannitol. Animals were anesthetized with alpha-chloralose and mechanically ventilated to maintain their blood gases within normal range. Retrograde catheterization of the right carotid artery was performed to inject 12 ml to 25% mannitol over a 30 sec interval. In one group of animals (n = 5), the blood-brain barrier transfer coefficient (Ki) to 14C-alpha aminoisobutyric acid or 14C-urea (n = 4) was measured 12 min after mannitol. In another group of animals (n = 9), regional cerebral blood flow and small vein O2 saturation was measured using 14C-iodoantripyrine and microspectrophotometry. Similar measurements were made in other groups of animals (n = 9) after pretreatment with 10 mg kg-1 i.v. of N-omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), 20 min before mannitol injection. The mannitol injection did not increase Ki or local cerebral O2 consumption. It resulted in a decreased small vein O2 saturation in the ipsilateral cortex (46 +/- 3%) in comparison to the contralateral cortex (55 +/- 2%). The O2 supply/consumption ratio decreased in the ipsilateral cortex in the mannitol injected animals (2.14 +/- 0.23) in comparison to the contralateral cortex (2.76 +/- 0.28). Pretreatment with L-NAME abolished this effect of mannitol (small vein O2 saturation 59 +/- 2% in ipsilateral cortex and 58 +/- 2% in the contralateral cortex; O2 supply/consumption 2.68 +/- 0.17 in the ipsilateral cortex and 2.65 +/- 0.16 in the contralateral cortex). We conclude that hypertonic mannitol adversely affects O2 supply/consumption balance, without increasing blood-brain barrier transport, and this effect is blocked by L-NAME, a nitric oxide synthase antagonist.

Aminoisobutyric Acids↗

Management of acute respiratory infections by mothers in the community.

Home treatments are important in the management of acute respiratory infection (ARI). In order to examine how urban mothers in Lahore, managed ARI, a study was carried out within 1-km radius of a teaching hospital. A total of 50 mothers who had at least one child aged 2 months-5 years with an ARI from each of three settings-a lower class locality, a middle class locality and the outpatient department of the hospital were interviewed during the winters of 1992-93. A substantial proportion of mothers, particularly those from the lower class locality (44%), did not use home treatment for acute respiratory infection. The majority of mothers indicated that they would not use home treatment if their child had an ARI in the future. The importance of home treatment has to be introduced into the community probably by programmes conducted by health professionals.

Acute Disease↗

Bone marrow involvement in Hodgkin's disease: the significance of non-infiltrative changes.

We have tried to elucidate the significance of so called non-infiltrative changes in order to find their place in the staging procedure particularly in countries where facilities for elaborate clinical staging are not available. Seventy nine out of 88 patients were classified into 3 groups depending upon the histological findings in their bone marrow trephine biopsies. Bone marrow in Group-I (n = 20) patients was essentially normal. The established criteria of bone marrow involvement were fulfilled in Group III patients (n = 25); while bone marrow in Group-II patients (n = 34) showed non-infiltrative changes. The clinical presentation, peripheral blood parameters and LDH levels of the 3 groups of patients were compared. There was progressive anaemia, neutrophilic leucocytosis and increase in ESR from Group I to III. The change was statistically significant when Group I was compared with Group II or Group III but non-significant when Group II was compared with Group III. It is, therefore, postulated that both Groups II and III reflect the bone marrow involvement although the changes observed in Group II do not satisfy the previously established criteria for this purpose.

Adolescent↗

Vestibular afferents to the dorsal vagal complex: substrate for vestibular-autonomic interactions in the rat.

Vestibular afferents to the nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) were identified for the first time in the male Sprague-Dawley rat. Cells of vestibular origin were labeled by deposits of cholera toxin B (CT-B) centered on the general viscerosensory division of NTS and dorsal motor nucleus (DMX). Vestibular-visceral afferents derive from neurons concentrated at caudal levels of medial and inferior vestibular nuclei as observed in other species. Vestibular afferent processes were labeled in the NTS and DMX by anterograde transport of the tracer, biotinylated dextran-amine from injection deposits confined to the inferior and/or medial vestibular nuclei. Vestibular axons terminate in the NTS, predominantly at intermediate levels of the dorsal vagal complex. Projections overlapped sites in NTS that receive terminal input from first-order alimentary and cardiorespiratory afferents. The somato-visceral reflex circuit corroborates recent evidence in the rat of increases in functional activity in the vestibular nuclear complex and NTS in response to changes in gravito-inertial force [Kaufman, G.D., Anderson, J.H. and Beitz, A.J., J. Neurosci., 12 (1992) 4489-4500]. Vestibular input to the NTS and DMX may assist in compensating for the effects imposed by movements and gravity on breathing, alimentary reflex function and the systemic circulation.

Afferent Pathways↗

Hypotension-induced expression of the c-fos gene in the medulla oblongata of piglets.

Neural networks that mediate the reflex response to baroreceptor withdrawal were explored in Sus scrofa. Induction of c-fos was used as a monitor of synaptic activity in response to hypotension sustained by systemic administration of a peripheral vasodilator, sodium nitroprusside. Patterns of c-fos gene expression were compared between Saffan-anesthetized experimental animals and age-matched normotensive controls administered vehicle. Effects of other variables were controlled including 1 h preoperative accommodation to the novel environment, anesthesia, blood gases and pH. Identical post-stimulus survival periods were allowed for accumulation of transcript. The c-fos protein, Fos, was identified immunocytochemically with two rabbit antisera raised against amino acids 1-131 of Fos or residues 4-17 of synthetic human transcript. Fos was identified in catecholaminergic neurons labeled with an antiserum to tyrosine hydroxylase (TH). Fos was induced in the nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) of hypotensive piglets. Neurons encoding Fos matched projection patterns of first order visceral afferents. Induction was prominent in the dorsolateral nucleus coinciding with the baroreceptor field. Indices of increased neuronal activity were evident in other baroreceptor terminal sites, e.g., medial subnucleus, the medial commissural field, the intermediate subnucleus and a ventral A2 noradrenergic area. In reticular formation c-fos protein was induced in circumscribed columns in the lateral tegmental field (LTF) extending from facial nucleus to calamus scriptorius. Catecholaminergic (TH-positive) neurons expressed Fos in the porcine C1 and A1 areas of ventrolateral medulla. Fos was also induced in a dorsal intermediate reticular zone of LTF. Minor or inconsistent differences between experimental and control were observed in nucleus raphe pallidus, rostral paramedian reticular formation, upper thoracic intermediolateral cell column, and stellate ganglia. In conclusion, baroreceptor withdrawal in young animals induced patterns of neuronal response along established cardiovascular reflex pathways.

Animals↗