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Biomedical subjects

M Modan

Publications and source records attributed to M Modan.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

Long-lasting cerebral functional changes following moderate dose x-radiation treatment to the scalp in childhood: an electroencephalographic power spectral study.

EEG tracings were compared in 44 young adults who received scalp x-radiation treatment for tinea capitis during childhood and 59 non-irradiated control subjects. The irradiated subjects were exposed, over 20 years previously, to a mean dose of 130 rads to the brain. Visual analysis of the EEG revealed an insignificant excess of abnormalities among the irradiated subjects compared to the controls. Power spectral density function analysis showed increased power values among the irradiated subjects, particularly in the beta wave frequencies. This finding provides further evidence for suspecting that x-irradiation during brain maturation may cause long-lasting damage to the brain tissue.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Intracranial neoplasms in children: the effect of computed tomography on age distribution.

In a review of all children with brain neoplasms evaluated at a large pediatric center during a three-year period following the introduction of computed tomography (CT), a change was observed in the age distribution at the time of clinical presentation as compared with a previous series evaluated prior to the introduction of CT. In children under six years of age, there was a highly significant trend for earlier diagnosis; within this age group, relatively more children were diagnosed in the first two years of life. Between six and twelve years of age, there was no change in frequency of brain tumor diagnosis between the two series. Above age twelve, there was again noted a highly significant increase in detection of brain tumors in the more recent series. These differences between the two series may be attributed, at least in part, to earlier referral and diagnosis since the advent of CT, although other factors cannot be excluded as possible causes of the differences.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Reduction of mortality in general medical in-patients by low-dose heparin prophylaxis.

The effect of prophylactic low-dose heparin on mortality was tested in 1358 consecutive patients admitted to the medical wards of an acute care hospital. Eligibility for treatment or exclusion was ascertained on admission by predefined contraindications. Eligible patients with even-number hospital records were assigned to treatment (5000 U twice daily), those with odd-number records served as controls. Because determination of eligibility was open to bias, evaluation of treatment was based on comparison of the total even-number group (669 patients, of which 411 were treated with heparin), and the total odd-number group (689 patients, none treated with heparin). Mortality was significantly lower in the even-number group-7.8% (52 of 669 patients) versus 10.9% (75 of 689 patients) in the odd-number group; the difference increased consistently with length of hospitalization (p = 0.025). The estimated reduction in mortality attributable to heparin was 31.1%. We believe that low-dose heparin prophylaxis is appropriate in all immobilized medical patients who are not at risk of bleeding.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Pretreatment prognostic factors and hospitalization periods in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Pretreatment prognostic factors and hospitalization periods were analyzed in 57 consecutive children who had acute lymphoblastic leukemia diagnosed between 1967 and 1977, and who were followed up for at least two years. We investigated possible correlations between white blood cell (WBC) count, organomegaly and mediastinal enlargement at diagnosis, as well as age and sex, with the length of first remission and survival. Children presenting with a combination of all of the following four risk factors--WBC count greater than or equal to 50,000/mm3, enlarged mediastinum, spleen and liver greater than or equal to 3 cm below the costal margin--comprised a poor-prognosis group, in which boys predominated. Age in this small group of patients had no correlation with prognosis. On the other hand, no specific risk factor was predictive for survival in the 48 children who had less than four of the risk factors. In this better-prognosis group, children less than 2 yr and greater than 10 yr had a higher relapse rate than those of intermediate ages, and girls had a significantly better prognosis than boys. These results indicate that age and sex are intercorrelated with the above risk factors, so that analysis of the effect of a single risk factor or even a combination of two factors can be misleading. In the light of these findings, an interpretation of the discrepancies in the literature is suggested. Of interest, too, is the poor prognosis and the high frequency of T-cell leukemia among Arab children. Finally, we stress the importance of day-care facilities that enable shorter hospitalization periods and improve the quality of life.

Antibiotics, Antineoplastic↗
PubMed1982

The mechanism of benign hereditary neutropenia.

Benign familial (hereditary) leukopenia and neutropenia (BFLN) have been reported in some ethnic groups, including black Americans and Yemenite Jews. The bone-marrow response of 34 Yemenite Jews (with and without neutropenia) to an intravenous injection of 200 mg of hydrocortisone sodium succinate was studied and compared with the response of 18 healthy control subjects. The mean +/- SEM of the increments in polymorphonuclear cells (PMNs) following injection of hydrocortisone in Yemenite Jews (2,413 +/- 245/mm3 in neutropenic subjects and 2,187 +/- 343/mm3 in nonneutropenic subjects) were significantly lower than in the control subjects (4,431 +/- 467/mm3), without significant differences among the subgroups of the Yemenite Jews. The decreases in monocytes, lymphocytes, and eosinophils were similar in all groups. No correlation was found between baseline PMN levels and the increments following hydrocortisone administration. These results suggest a lowered bone-marrow response to hydrocortisone in subjects with BFLN, indicating some defect in PMNs release from the bone-marrow storage pool to the peripheral blood. It seems that this defect characterizes all members of the ethnic group, whether they have "overt" neutropenia or not.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Herpesvirus type 2 in adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix: a possible association.

Sera from 16 Jewish patients with histologically confirmed adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix (AUC) and 32 control subjects matched by age and ethnic origin were examined for herpesvirus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2) neutralizing antibodies. Titers were determined by means of the quantitative plaque reduction neutralization test on VERO cell monolayers, using HSV-1 strain VR3 and HSV-2 strain. Significantly increased levels of antibodies against both virus strains were found in the AUC patients as compared with the controls. The trends in the AUC series resembled those in a previous similar case-control study of squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix (SUC). Thus, the previously observed association between HSV-2 and SUC is true for AUC as well, despite differences in the clinical and epidemiologic characteristics of the two malignancies.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1981

Body weight reduction necessary to attain normotension in the overweight hypertensive patient.

All 212 patients with essential hypertension and an overweight of at least 10 per cent in excess of ideal body weight, referred to out clinic in the years 1975-1979, were included in this study. The patients were advised to take a balanced low-calorie (about 1080 kcal/day) diet containing 83 g carbohydrates, 41.5 g fat and 85 g proteins. They were advised to eat salt freely. There were 40 patients who had four clinic visits or less and 49 others who could not follow their diet. Therefore the compliance-failure rate was 89/212, ie 42 per cent. Decrease in body weight resulted in a significant decrease in blood pressure, despite free ingestion of salt and with 24-h urine sodium which was not different from that obtained before dietary therapy was started. Over two-thirds of the compliant patients will achieve normal blood pressure with a loss of only one-half of their weight excess, even if at this point they are still overweight. In the group receiving no diuretic or any other anti-hypertensive therapy, 82.6 percent reached normal systolic blood pressures and 78.3 per cent reached normal diastolic blood pressures, but only 31/38 reached a body weight within 10 per cent of ideal body weight. It is concluded that most of overweight hypertensive patients can attain a normal blood pressure by reducing body weight, long before achieving the ideal weight.

Blood Pressure↗
PubMed1981

Latent carcinoma of thyroid in Israel: a study of 260 autopsies.

Thyroid glands from 260 consecutive autopsies of patients over the age of 20 were examined. Seventeen (6.5%) latent carcinomas of the thyroid were found-11 papillary and 6 follicular. In 15 cases no metastases were found, but in two cases of latent papillary carcinoma diffuse metastases were present in the lungs at death. The frequency of carcinoma increased with age with a peak in the seventh decade. There was no female predominance. The tumors were more frequent in Jews born in Europe. The rates of adenoma, goiter and primary malignancies of other sites were increased in patients with latent thyroid carcinoma.

Adenoma↗
PubMed1981

Definition of the population at risk of bleeding due to factor XI deficiency in Ashkenazic Jews and the value of activated partial thromboplastin time in its detection.

The previously found high gene frequency of hereditary Factor XI deficiency among Ashkenazic Jews, and the risk of bleeding following trauma in this disorder, prompted us to define the population at risk of bleeding and to evaluate the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) as a screening test for its detection. The APTT values of 30 patients with severe Factor XI deficiency (0 to 0.14 unit/ml) overlapped only minimally with the APTT of 56 healthy subjects with Factor XI levels greater than 0.5 unit/ml. In contrast, APTT values of partially deficient patients (Factor XI: 0.15 to 0.49 unit/ml) overlapped substantially with the APTT values of the healthy subjects. However, when only subjects at risk of bleeding were considered (Factor XI less than 0.3 unit/ml), the overlap of APTT values was much smaller. The apparent frequency of this population at risk in the general Ashkenazic population was found to be 3.05%. If a cutoff point of an APTT value at the 80th percentile of the normal range is taken for detection of subjects belonging to this group, one will miss only 4.4% of these cases, with confidence limits of 0.1 to 21%.

Blood Coagulation Tests↗
PubMed1981

Prolonged opacification of the gallbladder after oral cholecystography: a reevaluation of its clinical significance.

The frequency of prolonged opacification of the gallbladder after oral cholecystography was determined in several conditions that are manifestly or reputedly associated with gallbladder dysfunction: in patients with gallstones, in cases of "biliary colic" with normal cholecystograms, in postvagotomy patients, and in diabetics. These groups were compared with asymptomatic controls and to patients with irritable bowel syndrome. A dietary fat intake of at least 50 g between the first and last films taken was ensured in all subjects. The effect of fat deprivation was separately studied in asymptomatic controls. Prolonged opacification was encountered in approximately two-thirds of patients with gallstones, in two-thirds of patients with "acalculous biliary colic," in two-thirds of healthy subjects deprived of fat, and in about one-third of postvagotomy patients and diabetics. It was not seen in a single patient with irritable bowel syndrome, and it was encountered in only 1 out of 17 controls whose diet included a fat supplement. These differences were highly significant (p less than 0.0001).

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Long-term cerebral effects of small doses of x-irradiation in childhood as manifested in adult visual evoked responses.

In Israel between the years 1949 and 1960, approximately 20,000 children ranging from 1 to 15 years of age were irradiated for eradication of tinea capitis. Radiation to the cerebral hemipheres ranged up to 140 rads. Of those treated, now adults, 44 subjects were elected by stratified sampling for recording and analysis of visual evoked responses (VERs). A control group of 57 subjects similar in age and ethnic origin was chosen. Two occipital leads, a right and a left, were recorded by the international 10-20 system. Fifty responses to diffuse white-flash stimulation were averaged in each case. The first 256 msec (data points) of each VER were reduced to 77 variables by repeated averaging over three adjacent data points; these variables were then analyzed by several statistical methods. The analyses detected significant differences between the VER averages in study subjects compared with controls. These differences may reflect delayed, probably permanent functional damage to the central nervous system caused by small doses of x-radiation (XR) to immature normal human brain. The left hemispheres appeared to be more involved, consistent with the fact that these children received, on the average, more XR to the left side of the brain, as shown in simulated phantom models. This disparity is reflected in a greater degree of difference between the left VERs of the irradiated versus control group. The major differences between the VERs occurred in the first part of the secondary response and suggest possible subcortical involvement. The results strengthen previous evidence of potential hazards of XR in children.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Prognosis in pre- and postmenopausal patients with endometrial adenocarcinoma.

The prognosis in 41 pre- and 143 postmenopausal patients with endometrial adenocarcimona during two time periods were compared. A significantly shorter interval from 1st symptom to diagnosis was found in postmenopausal patients. The percent of patients diagnosed in stage I did not differ significantly between the two groups, but there was a significant, although small, excess of postmenopausal patients diagnosed in stages III-IV. A significantly more favourable survival in premenopausal patients was found and the same trend was observed when the effect of age, stage at diagnosis and operability were taken into consideration. The possibility that this could be related to hormonal and immunological factors is raised. A significantly better survival of patients diagnosed during the second period was observed and is attributed to improved planning and methods of treatment.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1980

Prospective follow-up of patients with hydatidiform mole.

Of 74 Jewish patients with histologically confirmed hydatidiform mole (HM), 37 (50%) were referred to the hospital after the 15th week of pregnancy. In only 5.4% was HM the referral diagnosis. A correct diagnosis prior to uterine evacuation was made in only 29 (39.2%), and this was mainly when the uterus was normal or larger than expected for gestational age. The percentage with urinary human chorionic gonadotropin hemagglutination inhibition titers below 100,000 U/liter was significantly smaller in those with a smaller uterus as compared with those with a uterus of normal size or larger than expected. The incidence of persistent trophoblastic disease (PTD) following HM without the use of prophylactic chemotherapy was 12.2%. Patients with a large-for-date uterus had a greater potential for this outcome. All patients with PTD responded well to treatment, which consisted mainly of chemotherapy, and remained free of disease after therapy was completed.

Adolescent↗