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Biomedical subjects

M D Navarro

Publications and source records attributed to M D Navarro.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

The n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid levels in rat tissue lipids increase in response to dietary olive oil relative to sunflower oil.

In the present study, changes in phospholipid compositions of liver microsomes, erythrocyte membranes, platelets, aorta, cardiac muscle and brain of rats fed olive oil were compared with those of rats fed sunflower oil. Four groups of rats starting at weaning were fed for four weeks a basal diet containing 5 or 25% olive oil or sunflower oil. We found that oleic acid was higher and linoleic acid was lower in membrane phospholipids of olive oil fed rats compared to sunflower oil fed rats. Polyunsaturated fatty acids of the n-3 series were markedly elevated in all tissues of rats on the olive oil diets relative to those on the sunflower oil diets. The results are consistent with a lower linoleic/linolenic acid ratio induced by the olive oil diets, suggesting a positive correlation between olive oil ingestion and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid levels in cell and tissue lipids. The study suggests that an adequate intake of olive oil may enhance the conversion of n-3 fatty acids.

Animals

[An adenocarcinoid tumor of the vermiform appendix].

Goblet cell carcinoids of the vermiform appendix are uncommon. A comprehensive review of the literature revealed about 100 reported cases. Clinical presentation included: asymptomatic patients, acute appendicitis, and/or chronic intermittent lower abdominal pain with or without a palpable mass. We report the case of a 57 year-old woman with lower abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. Normal blood tests. X-ray of the abdomen showed dilated small bowel loops with fluid levels. Initially, conservative treatment was started. After three days with no clinical improvement, the patient was operated on. An appendicocecal inflammation was found and a terminal ileum plus cecal resection with an end-to-side anastomosis was performed. The pathological diagnosis was goblet cell carcinoid. The patient shows no evidence of recurrence after 1 year follow-up.

Appendiceal Neoplasms

Effect of dietary olive and sunflower oils on the lipid composition of the aorta and platelets and on blood eicosanoids in rats.

The effects on aortic and platelet fatty acid compositions and on blood levels of prostacyclin and thromboxane A2 of low- and high-fat diets containing olive oil or sunflower oil were studied. For 4 weeks, four groups of weanling rats were fed a basal diet containing 5% or 25% olive oil or sunflower oil. Rats fed olive oil diets showed higher levels of 18:1(n-9) and polyunsaturated fatty acids of the n-3 series and lower percentages of 18:0 and 18:2(n-6) in aortic and platelet phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine than those fed the sunflower oil diets. Arachidonic acid increased in platelet phosphatidylethanolamine and aortic phosphatidylcholine of rats fed the diet containing 5% sunflower oil compared with those fed 5% olive oil. Plasma 6-ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha increased in both groups of animals fed olive oil while these rats also showed the lowest levels of serum thromboxane B2 and plasma cholesterol. Olive oil feeding leads to changes in lipid metabolism of the vascular compartment that could be favorable in the prevention of thrombosis and atherosclerosis.

Animals

[Serum and immunological markers of progression to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in hemophiliacs].

In a cohort of 30 randomly selected hemophiliacs who were prospectively controlled for four years the predictive value of AIDS development was evaluated for serum markers of HIV infection and for lymphocytic subpopulations in peripheral blood. The patients were evaluated with a mean of 15.79 +/- 5.74 months, and overall antibodies, specific antibodies (anti-ENV and anti-p24), HIV antigen (Ag HIV) and lymphocyte subpopulations were determined. 50% of the hemophiliacs with positive serum Ag HIV (2/4) developed AIDS during the study, whereas this progression was not recorded in any anti-HIV positive, nonantigenic patient. The presence of Ag-HIV was detected at least two years before the diagnosis in these patients, and it was associated with the absence of anti-p24 in one or more determinations. The immune regulation parameters were not significantly different, at the beginning of the study, in the hemophiliacs who developed AIDS and in those who did not. However, the progression to AIDS was associated with a significantly smaller T4/T8 ratio at least one year before the diagnosis. Our results show that the development of AIDS in hemophiliacs is associated both with the presence of Ag-HIV in the serum and a reduction in the T4/T8 ratio, although the detection of the former appears to be earlier than that of the latter in this risk group.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome