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Biomedical subjects

M Taboada

Publications and source records attributed to M Taboada.

18 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

Effect of apoE genotype on the hypolipidaemic response to pravastatin in an outpatient setting.

BACKGROUND: Considerable variability exists in the plasma lipid and lipoprotein response to statin treatment due, in part, to genetic factors. The gene for apolipoprotein E (ApoE) is polymorphic and the different genotypes modulate baseline lipid levels. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of the apoE genotype on the lipoprotein response to pravastatin treatment in an outpatient population followed-up in several different clinics across Spain. Subjects and methods. Subjects (n=401; 56% female; mean age 57 years), who were hypercholesterolaemic despite a diet poor in saturated fat and cholesterol, were treated according to NCEP-ATP II guidelines. Plasma lipids and lipoproteins were measured centrally before and after 16 weeks of treatment with 20 mg day-1 of pravastatin. RESULTS: ApoE genotype distributions were 3.2% with varepsilon2/3, 73.1% with varepsilon3/3 and 22.4% with varepsilon3/4 or varepsilon4/4. ApoE genotype did not have any effect on baseline lipid levels except on triglycerides such that the carriers of the varepsilon2 allele had concentrations significantly greater than those subjects with varepsilon3/3 genotype and carriers of the varepsilon4 allele after adjustment for age, gender and body mass index (BMI) (P < 0.001). Once adjusted for age, gender, BMI and baseline lipid levels, the apoE polymorphism did not significantly influence the plasma lipid and lipoprotein response to pravastatin. CONCLUSION: ApoE genotype appears not to influence the hypolipidaemic effect of pravastatin in patients monitored in a general outpatient setting.

Ambulatory Care↗
PubMed2001

[Apolipoprotein E polymorphism and coronary disease].

BACKGROUND: Apolipoprotein E (Apo E) plays an important role in atherogenesis. Apo E is polymorphic with three codominant alleles: *2, *3 and *4. Inthis study we evaluated the association between *4 allele and coronary heart disease in hypercholesterolemic subjects from Spain. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: We selected 389 subjects (56% women, mean age 57 years) with hypercholesterolemia who had been on a 6-weeks low fat, low cholesterol diet. Measurement of lipid and lipoprotein concentrations and determination of apoE genotype were carried out in a centralized laboratory. RESULTS: ApoE distribution was as follows: *2/*33%, *3/*3 75%, *3/*4 20%, *4/*4 1% and *2/*41%. Subjects were grouped into *4 (n = 83) or no *4 (n = 303) according to the presence or absence of the *4 allele. Three *2/*4 cases were excluded. Prevalence of coronary artery disease was 15.7% in *4 and 6.9% in no *4 (OR 2.49, 95% CI 1.19-5.22). The relationship persisted significant after correction for age, sex, cardiovascular risk factors and serum concentrations of total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides by multiple logistic regression analysis (OR2.56, 95% CI 1.03-6.39).Conclusión:In Spain, *4 carriers have a higher prevalence of coronary artery disease than no analysis *4 carriers.

Apolipoproteins E↗
PubMed2001

[Epidural lumbar hematoma, epidural anesthesia and low-molecular-weight heparins].

Epidural hematoma is an uncommon but serious complication of epidural anaesthesia. The use of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) as thromboprophylaxis has increased the occurrence of this pathology. We report the case of a 81-year-old man who underwent an arthroscopy of the knee, with epidural anaesthesia and administration of LMWH. The patient suffered an important pain due to a lumbar epidural haematoma which was diagnosed by magnetic resonance, after withdrawal of the epidural catheter. He improved after surgical evacuation, and no neurological deficit was present. We comment the association of LMWH, epidural anaesthesia and epidural haematoma.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

A problem-solving method for 'unprotocolised' therapy administration task in medicine.

This paper describes a problem-solving method for modelling the 'unprotocolised' treatment administration task in medicine. We argue that there are medical domains in which no well-established standard treatment protocols exist, and the physician has to decide on the therapy that is to be applied to each patient, in function of a set of therapeutic objectives to be fulfilled. For this reason, we propose the modelling of this type of task adapting the generic class of problem resolution methods for design task, labelled as Propose-Critique-Modify (PCM). In this paper, we are presenting a model of expertise which has been developed using the basic modelling components of the CommonKADS methodology.

Artificial Intelligence↗
PubMed1998

An X chromosome gene regulates hematopoietic stem cell kinetics.

Females are natural mosaics for X chromosome-linked genes. As X chromosome inactivation occurs randomly, the ratio of parental phenotypes among blood cells is approximately 1:1. Recently, however, ratios of greater than 3:1 have been observed in 38-56% of women over age 60. This could result from a depletion of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) with aging (and the maintenance of hematopoiesis by a few residual clones) or from myelodysplasia (the dominance of a neoplastic clone). Each possibility has major implications for chemotherapy and for transplantation in elderly patients. We report similar findings in longitudinal studies of female Safari cats and demonstrate that the excessive skewing that develops with aging results from a third mechanism that has no pathologic consequence, hemizygous selection. We show that there is a competitive advantage for all HSCs with a specific X chromosome phenotype and, thus, demonstrate that an X chromosome gene (or genes) regulates HSC replication, differentiation, and/or survival.

Aging↗
PubMed1993

Design and integration of a graphic interface for an expert system in oncology.

We describe a graphic user interface for an expert system in oncology. The main objectives of our work has been to facilitate the adaptation of the system to different clinical environments and potentiate the factors which more directly determine the acceptance of the system by its users. We present the design principles derived from the features of the clinical domain chosen and from the objectives of the system. These principles are reflected on the design of the screen and of the interaction and in the style of integration of the interface with the other components of the system. Underlying the application we describe is a graphic user interface management system which provides facilities for the fast prototyping and integration of interfaces. We describe here those features of this tool which make the practical application of the design principles we consider possible.

Clinical Protocols↗
PubMed1990

[Extracorporeal biliary lithotripsy: results in 60 cases of single calculus].

The outcome of 60 cases of single biliary stone with a maximum diameter of 25 mm was evaluated. The patients were symptomatic, with functioning gallbladder, and were selected from a group of 180 to evaluate the effects of electrohydraulically generated shockwaves on a priori ideal cases for this procedure. In seven patients fragmentation was not achieved, probably because of the pigmentary character of the stone, that was later verified at cholecystectomy. In 20 out of the 53 in whom fragmentation was satisfactory (38%), fragments were not observed after 24 hours. 32 patients (54%) had a stone-free gallbladder 3 months afterwards; at six months, the number had increased to 40 (66%). This rate becomes 77% if only the cases with fragmentation are considered. In 29% of patients episodes of colicky biliary pain developed as complication. No case of pancreatitis or stuck in gallstone were observed. We conclude that shock waves appear as an excellent therapeutic alternative in single gallstones up to 25 mm in size.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Semi-automated direct epifluorescent filter technique for total bacterial count in raw milk.

The Direct Epifluorescent Filter Technique (DEFT) and the reference method of counting total bacterial colonies on Petri dishes were compared. IDF Standards 128 (1985) and 161A (1995) were applied. A total of 496 samples of milk were analyzed. Colony forming units per microL milk were transformed to decimal logarithmic units: log (cfu/microL). The repeatability standard deviation, Sr = 0.114, was typical for a routine microbiological method. To study the carryover at different levels of bacteria, 3 tests were performed on milk samples of approximately 100, 700, and >1000 cfu/microL. For the first 2 experiments, no carryover was detected; in the milk sample with >1000 cfu/microL, the carryover was <0.12%. When the DEFT counts were regressed versus the reference method, the values of the slope and intercept were 0.92 and 0.17, respectively; the correlation coefficient was r = 0.84; and the residual standard deviation was Syx = 0.287. The paired t-test showed that the reference method and DEFT do not give significantly different results (p = 0.05).

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Primary intestinal lymphangiectasia in children. Report of 3 cases].

It report three cases of Primary Intestinal Lymphangiectasia that presented the common symptoms of diarrhea, oedema and hipoalbuminaemia in which we could observed the clinics variations that can to present this entity. It demonstrated the importance of the intestinal biopsy to get a correct diagnosis just as the essencial of use of the medium chain triglycerides with the restriction of the common fast, to recuperate these patients.

Child↗