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Biomedical subjects

M E Heller

Publications and source records attributed to M E Heller.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Postpartum maternal blood helper T (CD3+CD4+) and cytotoxic T (CD3+CD8+) cells: correlations with iron status, parity, supplement use, and lactation status.

Iron deficiency reduces T cell counts; however, iron sufficiency is difficult to maintain during pregnancy and to reestablish in the early postpartum period. This cross-sectional study examined relations among postpartum maternal iron status, parity, lactation, supplement use, and maternal blood T cell populations. Sixty lactating and 41 nonlactating postpartum (NLPP) women at 1-2 wk and 1, 2, 4, or 8 mo postpartum and 13 nulliparous women were studied. Among multiparous women, multiple linear regression showed that relative percentages and absolute numbers of CD3+CD8+ cells were correlated positively with maternal serum transferrin saturation. In a separate multiple linear regression model, multiparous NLPP women who did not use multivitamin and mineral supplements had lower CD3+CD4+ cell percentages in the first month postpartum than did nulliparous control women. Lactating women who used supplements, however, had reduced CD3+CD4+ percentages 4-8 mo postpartum compared with control women. CD3+CD4+ percentages did not differ among control women, NLPP women who used supplements, or lactating women who did not use them. These results suggest that nutritional factors such as maternal iron status and use of dietary supplements play a role in a mother's postpartum immune status.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Relationship between serum prolactin, lactation and changes in maternal blood B-cell (CD19+) percents during the first 8 months post-partum.

Lactation is an immunologically unique state when immune factors are produced by the mother for the protection of the infant rather than the mother. While several studies have focused on the immunological composition of human milk, much less information is available on maternal immune status during lactation. Sixty-four lactating and 43 bottle-feeding women at 1-2 weeks, 1, 2, 4 or 8 months post-partum were studied in a cross-sectional design, with 14 nulliparous women as controls. Flow cytometry analysis of peripheral blood lymphocytes showed dynamic, post-partum changes in the B-cell subpopulation. Among lactating women, the relative percents of CD19+ B-cells were significantly lower (P < 0.05) than control levels at 1-2 weeks and 1 month post-partum, but showed a significant, polynomial-linear rise (P < 0.05) over time, reaching control values by 2-4 months post-partum. Bottle-feeding women had an earlier rise in the percentage of CD19+ cells, with relative percents always significantly higher than their lactating counterparts. The differing patterns may be due to changes in serum prolactin concentrations because, among the post-partum women, relative percents of CD19+ cells were negatively correlated with baseline serum prolactin concentrations. These results have implications for maternal immunization programs designed to enhance maternal and/or infant well-being as well as other maternal health effects related to breastfeeding.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Premature menarche without other evidence of precocious puberty.

We describe 4 young girls with recurrent vaginal bleeding in the absence of other signs of precocious sexual development. Investigation showed low oestrogen levels in 2 of them, and basal gonadotrophins were in the upper part of the prepubertal range. We believe that the isolated early menstruation in these patients was possibly related to increased sensitivity of the endometrium to oestrogens.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1978

Vaginal bleeding in childhood: a review of 51 patients.

A search of the medical records at the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street and Chelsea Hospital for Women, London, revealed 51 cases of vaginal bleeding in children under the age of 10 occurring in the years 1962 through 1977. The bleeding was caused by some form of precocious puberty in 37 patients (73 per cent). Eight of these patients had cyclical vaginal bleeding in the absence of secondary sexual development or advanced bone age. Fourteen patients (27 per cent) bled because of a local lesion and six of these had a malignant neoplasm of the genital tract.

Brain Diseases↗
PubMed1972

Production by Aeromonas of common enterobacterial antigen and its possible taxonomic significance.

In a study of production of the common enterobacterial antigen (CA) by members of the Aeromonas group, ten strains of A. shigelloides, nine strains of A. hydrophila, and nine strains of A. salmonicida were used. Passive hemagglutination and hemolysis tests as well as the hemagglutination-inhibition procedure revealed that all strains of A. shigelloides, in contrast to the strains of the other two species, produce this antigenic determinant. The antigen of A. shigelloides was demonstrated even when the supernatant fluids of agar-grown cultures were used in a dilution of 1:1,000, whereas 10-times concentrated supernatant fluids obtained from the other two species were negative. Supernatant liquids of cultures of A. shigelloides failed to induce a significant CA immune response in rabbits; nonetheless, the animals were primed immunologically and responded with prompt production of CA antibodies in significant titers to a booster injection of a subeffective dose of CA obtained from Salmonella typhimurium. Strains of A. hydrophila and A. salmonicida neither induced CA antibody formation nor primed the animals. It is concluded that of the three species of the Aeromonas group only A. shigelloides, which may produce O antigen cross-reacting with Shigella sonnei and which has been isolated from patients with dysentery or gastroenteritis, produces CA. Production of this antigen, therefore, may help to characterize microorganisms belonging or related to the family Enterobacteriaceae.

Aeromonas↗