PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M Landau

Publications and source records attributed to M Landau.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Ocular manifestations in patients with HTLV-I associated infection--a clinical study of 93 cases.

The purpose of this study was to confirm that ophthalmological features seen in patients in Martinique, French West Indies, could be linked to infection by HTLV-I. The authors studied 93 HTLV-I infected patients divided into 70 patients with HTLV-I associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) and 23 asymptomatic HTLV-I carriers. They did a complete ophthalmological examination with an assessment of lacrymal secretion by means of three tests: Shirmer 1, break-up time and rose Bengal. Some patients had a biopsy of secondary salivary glands. When possible, detection of HTLV-I antibodies was carried out in the aqueous humor. In 45 of the 93 patients (48.4%) the presence of dry keratoconjunctivitis was recorded. In 22 of these 45 cases, a biopsy of the secondary salivary glands showed the presence of lymphoplasmocytoid infiltrations comparable to the glandular changes that occur with Gougerot-Sjögren syndrome. Among the 93 patients, 15 cases of uveitis were noted (16.1%) with 13 cases of anterior uveitis and 11 cases of vitritis. The inflammation was bilateral in 9 cases (9/15 = 60%). Two cases of cotton wool spots, 3 cases of abnormalities in the distribution of the retinal pigment and 7 cases of corneal lesions were also noted. Higher levels of anti-HTLV-I antibodies were detected in the aqueous humor of 3 patients with uveitis. The coexistence of dry eye (keratoconjunctivitis), uveitis and retinal microangiopathy in patients who are suffering from HAM/TSP could suggest the involvement of an autoimmune or immunological mechanism in the physiopathology of the illness.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

[Sjögren's syndrome and HTLV-I myelopathy].

The objective of this study is to describe the clinical and immunological aspects observed in patients with both "tropical spastic paraparesis/HTLV-I associated myelopathy" (TSP/HAM) and ocular dryness. In 10 such patients clinical and biological examinations completed with a biopsy of secondary salivary glands were performed to assess the etiology of the ocular dryness. According to the Chisholm's scale, 70% of the patients had a biopsy grade 3 or grade 4. Polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia was found in 90% of patients and lymphocytic alveolitis in 80%. Three patients had past medical history of chronic uveltis. All the findings were compatible with Sjögren's syndrome, however no characteristic immunological disorders were found. Antinuclear antibodies and rheumatoid factor proved negative in all cases.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Identical HLA class II alleles predispose to drug-triggered and idiopathic pemphigus vulgaris.

In pemphigus vulgaris, a dermatological autoimmune disease, specific human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II alleles, DR4 (DRB1*0402) and DRw14 (DRB1*1401, in linkage disequilibrium with DQB1*0503), are thought to be susceptibility genes involved in the onset of the disease. We studied the HLA class II alleles (DQA1, DQB1, DRB1 and DPB1) of 6 patients with pemphigus, in whom the disease was "triggered" by drugs containing sulphydryl or another sulphur-containing group. All patients carried the DRB1*0402 susceptibility allele, and one patient also carried the second susceptibility allele, namely DQB1*0503 (in linkage with DRB1*1401). Bacterial, viral or environmental agents are suspected to trigger the onset of autoimmune diseases. Our study demonstrated the presence in patients with drug-triggered pemphigus vulgaris of the same HLA alleles thought to predispose to idiopathic pemphigus vulgaris. This finding strengthens the notion that these HLA alleles may be true disease susceptibility genes.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Psoriasiform eruption induced by anticonvulsants.

We present findings from three patients who experienced a psoriasiform eruption apparently due to the antiepileptic agents sodium valproate and carbamazepine. The causal relationship between the drug and the eruption has been based mainly on circumstantial evidence and is further strengthened by the positive result of one or two in vitro tests: the macrophage migration inhibition (MIF) test and the indirect rat mast cell degranulation (MCD) test. Sodium valproate and carbamazepine, antiepileptic drugs that are associated with a relatively low rate of adverse cutaneous reactions, should be added to the growing list of drugs that produce psoriasiform eruptions. A drug-induced psoriasiform eruption due to these drugs seems to be more common than previously reported. Physicians should be aware of this type of reaction. Early detection of these cases has practical importance since the identification and elimination of the causative drug is essential for therapy success.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Time dependency of the antihypertensive efficacy of the new renin inhibitor Ro 42-5892.

The objective of this study was to assess the antihypertensive efficacy of the new renin inhibitor Ro 42-5892 in patients with essential hypertension treated with 100 mg once daily orally. This was a double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group trial. After three weeks of wash-out and one week of single-blind placebo run-in periods, 25 patients with mild to moderate essential hypertension (sitting DBP between 95 and 114 mmHg) were randomised to receive either placebo (n = 12) or 100 mg of Ro 42-5892 (n = 13) once daily for eight days. On the eighth day, four hours after the oral administration, patients were randomised to receive intravenously either placebo or 10 mg of Ro 42-5892. BP and heart rate were measured repeatedly (hourly for eight hours and at the 24th hour post-dose) on the first and last days of active treatment. Compared with the placebo group, a slight decrease in sitting DBP was observed after the first dose in the Ro 42-5892 group. The decrease in sitting DBP reached significant levels only at six to eight hours post-dosing. In contrast, on the last day of active treatment, a larger, faster and longer decrease in sitting DBP was observed in the Ro 42-5892 group. Thus, the peak effect (-8.9 +/- 1.9 vs. -2.9 +/- 1.3 mmHg, P < 0.01) was reached 1.5 hours post-dosing and the trough effect (24 hours post-dosing) was slightly but significantly lower when compared with the placebo group (-3.0 +/- 1.0 vs -0.3 +/- 0.8 mmHg, P < 0.05, respectively).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1993

Rejection of a gelatin-impregnated Dacron graft.

Sealing of the synthetic vascular graft is important to solve problems of leakage. The use of a new vascular graft--Dacron impregnated by gelatin--is described. After operation the patient developed a febrile reaction, and in spite of a thorough investigation no septic foci could be identified. It is believed that the fever was immunological in origin.

Aged↗
PubMed1993

Transfer of bacteria associated with cryotherapy.

The aim of this study was to determine whether living bacteria can be transmitted by cryosurgery with carbon dioxide. Cultures were taken from the outer layer of the ice before starting treatment, and again at the end of the working day during ten consecutive working days. Each of ten dry ice blocks was sterile prior to use. Staphylococcus epidermidis was isolated from six of the latter following use. This finding indicates that the dry ice was contaminated during the procedure and that bacteria were transmitted from the patient's skin to the dry ice and to culture media. The medical implications of this finding require serious consideration regarding the risk of infection to both patient and clinical personnel from this procedure.

Cryosurgery↗
PubMed1992

Characterization of a G-protein from the mandibular organ of the lobster Homarus americanus (Nephropidae, Decapoda).

1. GTP-binding activity was found in both calf brain and male lobster mandibular organ (MO). There was approximately two to three times as much binding in the calf brain. 2. The GTP-binding activity could be extracted from the calf brain with sodium cholate, but not from the MOs. 3. Using ADP-ribosylation catalyzed by pertussis toxin, GTP-binding was shown to be the result of the presence of G-protein. In the lobster MO the G-protein alpha subunit has a molecular weight of about 42 kDa and may be of the Go or Gi varieties.

Adenosine Diphosphate Ribose↗
PubMed1992

Systemic ketoconazole treatment for Fusarium leg ulcers.

Fusarium oxysporum was isolated from a large foot ulcer in an otherwise healthy 69-year-old man. Although tissue invasion could not be proven histologically, systemic antifungal treatment was administered with satisfactory response. Fusarium species are common soil-inhabiting organisms and plant pathogens. In humans, Fusarium is considered an opportunistic agent in skin ulcers, interdigital spaces, and burned skin, but can also cause mycotic keratitis, onychomycosis, and rarely deep-seated or disseminated infections, especially in an immunocompromised host. The distinction between skin infection and saprophytic growth, as well as optimal treatment regimens for the two types of infection, have not been clearly defined. We describe a case of leg ulcers caused by Fusarium oxysporum in a 69-year-old man treated successfully with oral ketoconazole. "Silent" immunologic disturbances were found in this apparently healthy patient. The case illustrates a relatively benign infection caused by Fusarium that responded to systemic antifungal drug treatment.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Squamous cell carcinoma--70 years after irradiation.

The rare event of invasive squamous cell carcinoma 70 years after irradiation to the scalp for tinea capitis, occurred in a 75-year-old Caucasian male. The clinical, histological, roentgenologic and magnetic resonance imaging picture are described, and the literature is reviewed.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Systemic amyloidosis secondary to chronic leg ulcers.

Chronic leg ulcers due to any cause are almost invariably associated with an inflammatory process. As with any long-standing inflammation, leg ulcers may be complicated by systemic amyloidosis, which occurs in rheumatoid arthritis, cystic fibrosis, tuberculosis, and other disorders. There are, however, very few reports on the association between these two conditions. We report a patient with severe leg ulcers of twenty years' duration in whom reactive systemic amyloidosis presented as a nephrotic syndrome.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Ischemic venous thrombosis.

Eight patients were treated for ischemic venous thrombosis of the extremities. The patients were evaluated retrospectively concerning their history, clinical signs and symptoms, management and follow-up. Neoplastic disease and immobility were the major etiological factors. Once diagnosed, an urgent combined medical and surgical approach proved to be successful in all patients as far as restoration of blood flow to the limb was concerned.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Determination of plasma free fatty acids, free cholesterol, cholesteryl esters, and triacylglycerols directly from total lipid extract by capillary gas chromatography.

An accurate capillary gas chromatographic method using different internal standards for determining free fatty acids, cholesterol, cholesteryl esters, and triacylglycerols in plasma and other biological sources is described. It is designed to give information about species composition and, consequently, more detailed information about changes in lipid metabolism of patients suffering from metabolic disorders. After plasma extraction the lipids, except phospholipids, are directly examined without any further derivatization. For free fatty acid determination the programmed temperature vaporizer (PTV) injector was heated from 40 degrees C (sample introduction) to 190 degrees C. In a second gas chromatographic run the PTV-injector system was heated from 60 degrees C (sample introduction) to 400 degrees C, enabling the determination of free cholesterol, cholesteryl esters, and triacylglycerol species, differing in the number of carbon atoms. Evaluation of the values obtained resulted in coefficients of variation (%) of 1.0-2.8, 2.0, 1.29-2.24, and 2.8, for free fatty acid standards, plasma free fatty acids, cholesterol and cholesteryl ester standards, and plasma total cholesterol, respectively. Free fatty acids, cholesterol, and cholesteryl esters were not influenced by storage of plasma at -24 degrees C up to 4 days prior to extraction. The results of the gas chromatographic method and the enzymatic methods correlated well. Determination by gas chromatography yielded higher total cholesterol and lower triacylglycerol values than those values obtained by enzymatic methods.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Bistabilities and annihilation phenomena in electrophysiological cardiac models.

We have investigated the oscillatory behavior of cardiac cellular elements simulated by two electrophysiological models: the van Capelle and Durrer (VCD) model and the sinoatrial node cell model of Yanagihara, Noma, and Irisawa (YNI). The VCD model behavior was examined systematically by using continuation-bifurcation analysis. Bifurcation diagrams were constructed as a function of Qit1, an intrinsic parameter of the model, which sets both maximum diastolic potential and depolarization threshold of the cell. The existence of stable high amplitude oscillations was evidenced between two Hopf bifurcation points (HB). Near each HB, a zone of bistability was detected. Close to the HB that corresponded to high values of Qit1, a high amplitude periodic stable state coexisted with a stable steady state. Close to the other HB, in a narrow range of lower Qit1 values, a relatively high amplitude periodic stable state coexisted with a low amplitude periodic stable state. There was no stable steady state in the latter bistability zone. Through the use of phase-plane representations and the determination of separatrices between the different attractor basins, we could deduce the conditions of timing, polarity, and strength needed for a pulse perturbation to send the system from one state to another and vice versa. The YNI model was analyzed by numerical simulation, and the oscillatory behavior of the sinoatrial node cell was explored while applying a depolarizing bias current of various strengths. Results were similar to those obtained from the VCD model in that there were two bistability regions for two different ranges of applied bias current. Depending on current intensity, annihilation of pacemaker activity could be achieved in both zones. However, the coexistence of two oscillatory stable states was never observed in the YNI model. From the behavioral similarities of these different models, we can conclude that bistabilities and annihilation phenomena can be found in transitional zones between quiescence and rhythmic activity.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Primary fibromyalgia syndrome--a variant of depressive disorder?

Primary fibromyalgia syndrome (PFS) is a form of connective tissue rheumatism, characterized by diffuse chronic pain in periarticular tissue, for which no organic cause can be identified. The present study examined the personal and family history, clinical and psychodynamic features of 40 PFS patients, and compared them to a matched control group of patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. Depression, either in the past or at present, was seen significantly more often among PFS patients that among controls. Dependence and passivity, idealization of family relationships, obsessive-compulsive personality, maladaptive response to loss, and prepain ergomania were the psychodynamic features characteristic of PFS patients. It is suggested that PFS is a well-defined disorder, in which specific premorbid, familial, and psychodynamic characteristics result in a depressive disorder which takes the form of a physical symptom: pain.

Adult↗