Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to M Popa.
An 8-month-old boy having multiple congenital anomalies (MCA) and mental retardation (MR) as part of the Costello syndrome is described. This observation emphasizes once more the severe and early-onset postnatal growth failure as the first, major clinical sign of this MCA/MR syndrome.
We compared early versus late re-feeding in the management of acute diarrhoea in the first year of life. In the study group (73 groups) breast feeding was resumed or early re-feeding was performed in non-breast-fed infants, so that the feeding regimen used prior to the onset of the disease was reached within 2-3 days. In the control group (49 patients) late re-feeding was performed so that the infants returned to their original feeding pattern after 4-6 days. there were no significant differences between the two groups in the number of stools and stool output per day, or in the duration of the disease. No weight gain or loss during the diet was noted more frequently in the late re-feeding group (67.2% versus 2.3.4%). This study confirms the favourable effect on body weight of early re-feeding in the management of acute diarrhoea.
Since arginine vasotocin (AVT) effects are mediated by serotonin, which was involved in the production of eating disorders, disorders which show many common mechanisms with the depressive disorders, and since AVT was used as treatment of depressive disorders, we investigated the AVT effects in a double-blind study with patients with eating disorders. We compared AVT effects on 15 patients with eating disorders to 18 patients with eating disorders which received tricyclic antidepressants or cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy. The severity of depression was assessed by means of the Hamilton Depression Scale and of Beck's Depression Inventory, before and after three months therapy. Data showed a significant improvement of depressive symptomatology after AVT treatment. Comparison of AVT effects on depression of eating disorders subgroups versus tricyclic antidepressant or psychotherapy treatment are discussed.
We present an unusual type of skeletal dysplasia in a 6 1/2 year-old female child with Down syndrome due to classical 21 trisomy. Differential diagnosis with the pseudoachrondroplastic forms of spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia shows that the epiphyseal changes in the present patient are unique and do not allow to classify the skeletal changes of the present patient in this group of disorders.
The paper studies the coupling reaction by covalent bonding of acetylamino-2-sulfamoyl-1,3,4-thiodiazole (AcAA) on the poly(acrylic acid-costyrene) copolymer (PAcA-S) in homogeneous system, in the presence of dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC) as activator. The influence of some factors on coupling efficiency (the drug/support ratio, time, volume of solvent), as well as the mathematical model correlating the amount of coupled drug with these parameters is established. Maximum amounts of drug (28%) are chemically bound when employing maximum values of the parameters mentioned (i.e., AcAA/PAcA-S ratio = 2 mole/mole; time = 50 h; THF volume = 60 ml). Physicochemical and spectral analyses evidence the existence of some chemical bonds of the -CO-NH-SO2-type between the macromolecular support and the drug. In vivo tests have demonstrated the gradual hydrolysis of the chemical bonds as well as the release of the drug, due to the diuretic effect produced.
Modified neomycin prepared by the ionic coupling on xanthan with an activity of 380 UI/mg was characterized in regard to its in vitro and in vivo release rate and therapeutic action with artificial tear eluent. The dynamic system in vitro release showed that after 4 h, there appears a "zero-order" kinetic. Ophthalmic inserts were prepared from modified neomycin and they are used in treating bacterial conjunctivitis. Sterilization of the conjunctival sac is obtained 12 h after insert administration.
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Epidemiologic studies on school-children aged 6-16 years along 1978-1980 and in 1986, according to the WHO classification revealed the persistence of endemic goiter even in high incidence in some areas. Following UNICEF WHO recommendations, a new epidemiologic study was initiated in 30 counties for assessing urinary iodine through the spot urine sample method, which has widely been accepted as a satisfactory index of iodine intake. The urine samples were collected from lots of 100-200 children aged 6-16 years within each district. The results showed low iodine values, i.e., 2.4-5.5 micrograms/dl urine in 12 areas and 6-12.1 microgram/dl urine in the rest of the country. Comparison of the data on goiter endemic and iodine values in various counties shows lack of correlation in some areas. This prompted an extension of the study of urinary iodine over to larger groups of children in some counties.
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In mentally retarded (MR) prepubertal children, investigated both before and after six months of treatment, synthetic arginine vasotocin (AVT) (10(-6) mg/day/0.1 ml, intranasally), but not oxytocin or saline alone, significantly increased the intelligence quotient (IQ) and improved the attention parameters without affecting the short-term memory. Taking into account both the psychometric results and the clinical observations, the effects of AVT could be mainly explained by assuming the improvement of attention. Since there was a significant inverse correlation between the pretreatment levels of the IQ and attention scores and their increase after AVT, and since the AVT effects tend to be more intense in autistic children, we hypothesize that the more affected the attention mechanisms, the more they are sensitive to AVT. The present results are tentatively explained by the paradoxical sleep-enhancing properties of AVT, mechanisms by which AVT could improve the brain plasticity in MR subjects and by this, the attention performance.
The kinetics of delayed release neomycin-xanthan complex, and its antimicrobial activity, were studied. Delayed release neomycin (53.13% free neomycin) had zero-order release kinetics, when artificial tear solution was used as eluent. Microbiological tests revealed an activity of 380 units/mg, 10% higher than neomycin in its free form.
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The pineal nonapeptide hormone arginine vasotocin (AVT) (100 ng/kg) administered intra-nasally (IN) to healthy prepubertal boys, dramatically increased the amount of REM sleep, decreased REM sleep latency, and induced REM periods at sleep onset. Neither arginine vasopressin (AVP) nor oxytocin administered IN at the dose of 100 ng/kg was able to reproduce the effects of AVT, demonstrating its high specificity. Methergoline, a selective central 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) receptor blocker, administered IN at the dose of 100 ng/kg, completely prevented AVT induction of REM sleep. Fluoxetine, a specific 5-HT uptake inhibitor, administered IN at the dose of 25 microgram/kg, 10 min after AVT, greatly potentiated the effects of AVT in inducing REM periods at sleep onset and in increasing the amount of REM sleep and the percentage of dream reports. It is suggested that AVT induces REM sleep in prepubertal boys by interfering with 5-HT neurotransmission and that the high sensitivity of prepubertal boys to AVT reflects an immaturity of REM triggering centers.
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Intravenous glycine injection (250 mg/kg of body weight) resulted in growth hormone release in normal children but not in those with growth hormone deficiency diagnosed by insulin-induced hypoglycaemia. In the latter significantly higher peak concentrations of serum alpha-amino nitrogen were also found. False negative responses to glycine (no GH release) were observed in two patients of short stature but normal pituitary function. In them the peak levels of serum alpha-amino nitrogen were lower than in those with hypopituitarism. We propose the clinical use of glycine as an inexpensive and innocuous procedure for the detection of GH deficiency in children. A post-glycine GH peak greater than 10-0 mu/l seems to be a good index of an intact GH reserve.
A solution of 10% glycine (250 mg/kg of body weight) was injected in within 5-10 minutes in 22 healthy, sexually immature children who were previously tested for insulin-induced hypoglycemia. Blood specimens were collected before, 10, 30, 60 and 120 minutes after injection for glucose, HGH and total alpha-amino nitrogen determination. The mean peak post-glycine level of serum HGH was 11.47 +/- 1.558 ng/ml (+/- SEM) and did not differ significantly from the corresponding post-insulin mean value (15.63 +/- 0.247 ng/ml). The highest post-stimulatory mean value (8.88 +/- 1.694 ng/ml) was observed 30 minutes after the end of the injection of glycine. Glycine is a reliable GH stimulating agent, which may be tentatively used for detection of hyposomatotropism in children.