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Biomedical subjects

M Zaouali

Publications and source records attributed to M Zaouali.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

IGFBP-3, a sensitive marker of physical training and overtraining.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the response of the somatotrope axis (insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3)) to intense exercise in relation to tiredness. METHODS: The study involved 11 rugby players who completed a questionnaire intended to evaluate fitness or, conversely, overtraining and who agreed to plasma samples being taken before and after an international rugby match. RESULTS: The main finding of our study is that we observed strong negative correlations between IGF-1 (r = 0.652) and IGFBP-3 (r = 0.824) levels and the overtraining state estimated using the French Society of Sport Medicine questionnaire. In particular, there was a fall (of up to 25%) in IGFBP-3 levels after the match in the more fatigued subjects compared to an increase (of up to 40%) in fit subjects. CONCLUSIONS: A fall in IGFBP-3 in response to an intense bout of exercise may represent an index of tiredness in highly trained sportsmen, as indicated by the scores obtained from the overtraining questionnaire.

Adult↗

[Craniopharyngioma of the adults. Three cases].

Craniopharyngioma, an intra- and suprasellar tumor generally observed in pediatric patients, can also occur in adults. We report three cases of histologically confirmed craniopharyngioma in three men aged 34 to 53 Years. Clinical manifestations were headache with visual and gonadic disorders associating impotence, infertiligy, and gynecomastia. Computed tomographic and magnetic resonance imaging revealed an intra- and suprasellar tumor with solid, hydric, and calcified components. Third ventricle compression was observed in two patients. Hormone test revealed gonadotrope insufficiency in two patients, associated with hyperprolactinemia in one of them, and pituitary insufficiency in the third patient. None of the patients had diabetes insipidus. The frontopterional approach was used for surgery. One patient died and the two others experienced persistent visual impairment with worsening pituitary insufficiency. Our observations suggest that these craniopharyngiomas were probably clinically latent congienital forms since endocrine features were lacking during childhood. Early diagnosis is required to achieve good outcome.

Adult↗

Biomechanical study of screws in the lateral masses: variables affecting pull-out resistance.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the design of the screw, the depth of insertion, the vertebral level, and the quality of the host bone on the pull-out resistance of screws used in the lateral masses. The study included twelve fresh cervical spines from human cadavera. Radiographs were made of each specimen to ensure the absence of defects, and then the cancellous-bone density of the vertebral bodies was measured at each level with quantitative computed tomography scanning. Six commercially available screws of various diameters and thread configurations (2.7, 3.2, 3.5, and 4.5-millimeter cortical-bone screws; a 3.5-millimeter cancellous-bone screw; and a 3.5-millimeter self-tapping screw) that are currently used for fixation of the cervical lateral masses were tested for axial load to failure. A twelve-by-twelve Latin square design was used to randomize the screws with regard to level (second through seventh cervical vertebrae), side (right and left), and depth of insertion (unicortical or bicortical purchase). Each screw was then subjected to uniaxial load to failure. The data were analyzed to determine if the diameter of the screw, the thread configuration, the number of cortices engaged, the cervical level, or the bone density was associated with the load to failure. Three major subgroups (greatest, intermediate, and lowest pull-out resistance) were identified. The subgroup with the greatest pull-out resistance included only screws with bicortical purchase; the 3.2, 3.5, and 4.5-millimeter cortical-bone screws and the 3.5-millimeter cancellous-bone screw were in this subgroup. Regardless of the thread configuration, no screw with unicortical purchase was in the group with the greatest pull-out resistance. Two of the three values in the subgroup with the lowest pull-out resistance were for the 3.5-millimeter self-tapping screw (with unicortical or bicortical purchase). The cancellous-bone density of the vertebral body was not associated with pull-out resistance and it did not vary significantly according to the cervical level, with the numbers available. However, the pull-out resistance of the screws varied significantly (p = 0.004) by level: it was the greatest at the fourth cervical level, decreasing cephalad and caudad to that level.

Biomechanical Phenomena↗

[Reoperations on heart valve prostheses. Apropos of 58 cases].

In the period from 1968 to November 1980, 1 023 patients underwent surgery for single or multiple valve replacement. Fifty three patients (6,6% of the follow-up population) had to be reoperated, including 5 patients who had to be reoperated twice, giving a total of 58 reoperations. The average interval before reoperation was 30 months. The incidence was similar in monovalvular (7,5 p. 100 mitral valves, 5 p. 100 aortic valves) and polyvalvular (7 p. 100) cases. On the other hand, the incidence of reoperation of tricuspid prostheses (17 p. 100) was significantly superior to that of mitral valve (5,3 p. 100) or aortic valve (3,8 p. 100) prostheses. In 91 p. 100 of cases, the indication for reoperation was prosthetic valve dysfunction related to endocarditis in over a third of cases (21). In 32 cases, reoperation was required in the absence of any infectious process: 13 spontaneous perivalvular leaks, 10 thromboses, and 9 stenosing prostheses. There were no reoperations for wear of the prosthetic material. Only 9 p. 100 of patients were reoperated for uncorrected valvular disease. The prognosis of these reoperations was poor; hospital mortality being 42,5 p. 100. This high mortality rate is explained by the frequency of reoperation for infective endocarditis (36 p. 100) in our series, the mortality of which was 73,6 p. 100 and even higher when reoperation was an emergency for infectious or hemodynamic reasons. There was also a high mortality rate with reoperation for thrombosis (30 p. 100) because of the severe myocardial dysfunction in thrombosis of tricuspid prostheses and the emergency situation associated with mitral prosthetic valve thrombosis. Excluding these two complications, the average mortality was 21 p. 100. Although the surgical indications are relatively easy for thrombosis, perivalvular leak and stenosing prostheses, they are particularly difficult in infectious endocarditis especially with regards to the timing of reoperation. We believe that, ideally, reoperation should be delayed as long as possible to allow the antibiotic therapy the maximum time to take effect. Surgery can then be performed after controlling the infection and before the installation of severe hemodynamic distress.

Adolescent↗