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Biomedical subjects

M L Rodríguez

Publications and source records attributed to M L Rodríguez.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

[Evaluation of the cervical factor in ovulation induction].

Post coital sperm penetration tests performed in 66 women under study for infertility, the purpose was to evaluate the ovulation induction effect over mucus quality and over sperm penetration. They were divided in three groups: 1) 28 women with evidence of spontaneous ovulation (control group), 2) 26 patients in which ovulation was induced with comiphene citrate and 3) 12 patients in which ovulation was induced with menotropins. The results showed that CC had an adverse effect over cervical mucus (p < 0.001), while in patients treated with menotropins the cervical mucus quality was not modified. Sperm penetration in patients under CC had a tendency to lower values than those in women of the control group, but these were statistically lower than those in patients under menotropins (p < 0.05). These results show the adverse effect of CC and the benefit of menotropins over cervical mucus and sperm penetration.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

A specifically apical sub-membrane intermediate filament cytoskeleton in non-brush-border epithelial cells.

Although many pieces of evidence support the notion of a role for the cytoskeleton in epithelial polarization, no cytoskeletal component has been found to be specifically apical, except for some actin-binding proteins. Here we report the apical distribution of a 53 kDa cytokeratin. Furthermore, this cytokeratin co-purified with biotinylated apical plasma membrane proteins in high density complexes. Differential biotinylation of the basolateral domain showed that the 53 kDa protein is mainly attached to the apical membrane, although a companion 58 kDa protein attaches to both apical and basolateral membrane proteins. Immunoprecipitation experiments indicated that a number of apical components are directly or indirectly linked to the 53 kDa protein. These results indicate the existence of a terminal web-like structure in non-brush-border cells, which attaches to the apical domain and may play a role in apical polarization, especially during the acquisition of polarity from non-polarized cellular stages.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

[The physician-patient relation through a Balint group].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate by means of a contents analysis a Balint Group (BG) after 7 years in operation, to find which type of patients are most disturbing for the General Practitioner and to analyse the sort of feelings they provoke. DESIGN: A retrospective descriptive study which uses qualitative analysis methodology. SETTING: The BG under analysis was created in the heart of the Catalan Society of Family and Community Medicine in 1984. PATIENTS: 21 sessions were analysed, covering 18 patients. INTERVENTIONS: The variables studied were: the motives for presentation, the sort of patient presenting and the doctor's feeling towards them. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Two types of patients stood out: those with somatization disorders and those with a very poor prognosis. The first (12 out of 18) unsettled the professional and caused him/her to lose grip on his/her role. The GP often trivialised their requests or thought they were pretending. Those sessions analysed where patients had a poor prognosis made clear the high degree of empathy shown by the doctor. Questions were raised as to how to tackle the illness both with the patient and his/her family. Feelings of distress, fear, anguish-exhaustion-impotence and rejection-aggression of the doctor towards particular patients were analysed. CONCLUSIONS: The questioning of the doctor's social role or professional identity by particular patients makes it difficult for him/her to maintain a long-term therapeutic relationship with them. The BG was useful for the participants, because of the group dynamic and also because they found out the possibilities and limitations of their treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

[Heart and exercise].

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Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1992

Attachment of Madin-Darby canine kidney cells to extracellular matrix: role of a laminin binding protein related to the 37/67 kDa laminin receptor in the development of plasma membrane polarization.

Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells have been extensively used as a model for the study of epithelial polarization. The contacts between the cell and extra-cellular matrix (ECM) provide a signal for the polarization of apical membrane markers. In order to study the molecular basis of these contacts, MDCK cells extracts in Triton X-100 were affinity-purified on laminin, yielding polypeptides of 100-110 and 36 kDa, but only the second one could be enzymatically iodinated from the cell surface. This protein was also recognized by an antibody against the 37/67-kDa laminin/elastin family of proteins. Different polypeptides were purified by the same method on type I collagen. An antibody developed against the polypeptides purified on laminin recognized also a 67-kDa protein, blocked 125I-laminin binding to a population of high affinity (1.5 nM KD) binding sites and caused a significant decrease in cell attachment and spreading to laminin or endogenous ECM. This antibody did not interfere with MDCK cell attachment to fibronectin or collagen matrices, but still impaired cell spreading. An apical MDCK plasma membrane protein (184 kDa), fully polarized in untreated cells, was partially mispolarized after treatment with anti-36 kDa antibody. These results are consistent with a model of various ECM receptors operating together in these cells, and show an important role of a non-integrin 36-kDa laminin binding protein related to the 67-kDa laminin receptor family in cell attachment, spreading and polarization.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1990

Changes in growth hormone secretion in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Secretion of the growth hormone (GH) in spontaneously hypertensive (SH) male rats has been determined and compared with that of normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) controls. In a first set of experiments, plasma GH concentration and pituitary GH content were measured in SH rats 30, 60 and 90 days old. 30-day rats showed reduced GH plasma and pituitary levels, whereas in 60- and 90-day-old rat no differences in GH plasma concentration and increased GH pituitary content were observed. In a second set of experiments, 90-day-old SH male rats anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital and intravenously injected with growth hormone-releasing factor (GRF) showed an amplitude and duration of response to injected hormone higher than WKY controls. In a third set of experiments, hemipituitaries of 90-day-old SH males were incubated for 2 h in Krebs-Ringer-bicarbonate either in the presence or in the absence of GRF. In the absence of GRF stimulation, the in vitro release of GH was higher than in WKY controls, whereas in the presence of GRF the sensitivity and the maximum response to GRF was reduced in comparison with normotensive male rats. These results indicate that SH rats have decreased pituitary content and plasma GH concentration before puberty. Besides, they showed increased pituitary GH content in adulthood and opposite changes in the in vivo and in vitro response to GRF.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Effects of intrauterine exposure to parathion on the activity of renal ATPases in offspring.

The effects of ethyl parathion on the activities of various renal enzymes were studied in the offspring from dams treated with this insecticide during pregnancy. The enzymes tested were the (Na+-K+)- and the Mg2+-dependent ATPases, the glutathione S-transferases and carboxylesterases. The postnatal effects of parathion on kidney ATPases from undernourished rats were also assessed. The organophosphate was administered per os to pregnant rats at a dose of 1 mg kg-1 body weight per day throughout gestation, and suspended after delivery. The offspring were divided in groups of normally-fed and undernourished rats. In the undernourished group, food restriction produced a decrease of 43% in body weight as compared to the normally-fed group. Offspring were sacrificed 6 weeks after birth and the enzymatic activities were determined in kidney homogenates. We found a decrease in the enzymatic activity of total ATPases, at the expense of the Mg2+-dependent ATPase. However, the activities of the (Na+-K+)-dependent ATPase, the glutathione S-transferases and the carboxylesterases did not show significant changes. On the other hand, undernutrition did not potentiate the effects of parathion on the ATPases. Thus, this organophosphate administered during pregnancy produced a selective inhibition on the renal Mg2+-dependent ATPase from offspring, which was not potentiated by our undernutritional model.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Liver and muscle proteolytic activity in field bean (Vicia faba L.) fed birds. Effect of vitamin E.

Liver and muscle proteolytic activities (cathepsin A and D) were measured in growing male chickens fed ad libitum over periods of 30 and 60 days on 20% protein diets containing either heated soybean (HSB, control) or raw field bean (RFB, Vicia faba L.) as the main sources of protein. Vitamin E (250 mg/100 g diet) was added or not to the RFB diet. It has been found that in comparison to control HSB-fed animals, RFB-fed birds showed a significant reduction in the rate of growth, together with a significant increase in the activities of both cathepsins A and D in liver and muscle. The addition of vitamin E to the RFB diet had no significant effect on either weight gain or liver and muscle proteolytic activities. The possible nature of these effects is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Liver proteolytic activity in growing male chickens fed a raw field bean (Vicia faba L.) diet.

As compared to well-nourished chickens, a significant reduction (p less than 0.05) in the rate of growth, along with a significant increase (p less than 0.05) in liver activities of both cathepsin A and D has been found in growing male chickens fed ad libitum over a period of 60 days on a diet containing raw field bean (Vicia faba L.) as the main source of protein. Moreover, addition of methionine (250 mg/100 g diet) to the legume diet had no significant effect in restoring either rate of growth or liver proteolytic activity. The possible nature of these findings are briefly discussed.

Animal Feed↗