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Biomedical subjects

M Westrup

Publications and source records attributed to M Westrup.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Predictive value of bone marrow cultures in 48 patients with acute myeloblastic leukaemia or myelodysplasia both secondary to treatment of other malignant diseases.

The growth pattern of bone marrow cells in agar cultures was studied in 48 patients with acute myeloblastic leukaemia or myelodysplasia, secondary to cytoreductive treatment, and compared to other laboratory findings. At diagnosis the status of the patients was: acute myeloblastic leukaemia (AML) in 9, acute myeloproliferative syndrome (AMS) in 13 and preleukaemic syndrome (PL) in 26 patients. 20 of the 39 patients with AMS and PL developed acute leukaemia, 15 of them within 1 year. 15 died of complications to cytopenia and only 4 are still alive and without leukaemia, observed from 8 to 55 months. Progression to AML was predicted from the agar cultures by increased cluster growth. Among 18 patients with increased cluster growth at diagnosis 14 subsequently developed AML. Among 21 patients with normal or decreased cluster growth at diagnosis 6 patients developed AML, but after conversion of the growth pattern to increased cluster growth. In 2 patients the increased cluster growth disappeared spontaneously and the patients are long-term leukaemia-free survivors. Colony growth pattern, conversely, was not related to leukaemic progression. Only 1 patient had normal growth pattern at diagnosis with respect to both clusters and colonies. Survival was short, with a median of about 7 months, unrelated to growth pattern and leukaemic progression.

Adult↗

Red cell sodium and potassium contents in liver cirrhosis.

Red cell sodium and potassium contents were investigated in 57 patients with histologically proven liver cirrhosis and were compared with 13 controls without clinical evidence of liver disease. Patients with normal serum electrolytes (and without digoxin treatment) had normal red cell sodium content indicating no influence of the cirrhosis per se on the sodium-potassium pump or membrane permeability for sodium. Red cell potassium content was elevated, possibly as a consequence of subclinical hemolysis and a relatively young cell population. Hypokalemia was correlated to increased red cell sodium. Hyponatremia was correlated to low red cell sodium indicating reduced influx due to a decreased concentration gradient. According to the concept of the "sick cell syndrome," membrane failure and cellular gain of sodium and loss of potassium can lead to hyponatremia. Our findings of normal or low red cell sodium contents provide evidence against this mechanism as explanation for the often sever hyponatremia in terminal liver failure. The abnormalities found in the red cells could be attributed to secondary complications to the cirrhosis.

Acid-Base Equilibrium↗

Increased transcapillary escape rate of albumin and IgG in essential hypertension.

Transcapillary escape rates of albumin and IgG (fractions of intravascular mass of albumin and IgG that pass to the extravascular space per unit time) were determined simultaneously from the initial disappearance of intravenously injected 131I human albumin and 125I human IgG in seven untreated subjects suffering from essential hypertension. The average mean arterial blood pressure of these subjects 193/119 mmHg; four subjects had grade I-III funduscopic changes. Transcapillary escape rates of albumin (TERalb) and IgG (TERIgG) were found significantly increased in the hypertensive subjects, average 7.8 +/- 0.9 (SD) and 4.7 +/- 1.0 (SD) %/h, respectively, compared with normal values of mean 5.2 +/- 1.0 (SD) and 3.0 +/- 0.7 (SD) %/h, respectively (P less than 0.01). There was a statistically significant positive correlation between the mean arterial blood pressure and TER of albumin and of IgG (P less than 0.001). The TERIgG/TERalb ratio was about the same in the hypertensives and the normals. Confirming a previous observation, we found an increase in the daily urinary albumin excretion rate from a normal average of 9.1 (range, 2.4-20.4)mg/24 h to 96 (range, 5.6-565) mg/24 h, P less than 0.05. The present findings can best be explained by increased filtration through normal pores between the endothelial cells in the microvasculature, due to the high arterial blood pressure.

Adult↗