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Biomedical subjects

N Ayoub

Publications and source records attributed to N Ayoub.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

[Efficacy of botulinum toxin A for the treatment of detrusor hyperreflexia].

OBJECTIVE: To determinate the efficacy of botulinum toxin to treat refractory urinary incontinence due to bladder hyperreflexia. METHOD: The international medical literature was reviewed from the Medline and Pubmed database. DISCUSSION: The usual first line treatment of detrusor hyperreflexia is parasympathicolytic drugs and self cathterization. In case of lack of efficacy or severe side effects, a surgical procedure (enterocystoplasty) can be performed. 300 units of Botox injected into the detrusor permit a significant increase of bladder capacity and a significant decrease of maximal detrusor pressure for at last 6 months. But we did not find any double blind controlled studies in this indication and no fundamental studies focused on the mechanism of action of botulinum toxin on the bladder muscle. It is now impossible to conclude on the long term efficacy and toxicity. CONCLUSION: Botulinum toxin injected into the detrusor muscle seems to be an efficient treatment of bladder hyperreflexia for 6 months in patients resistant to parasympathicolytic drugs. Long term efficacy and mechanism of action is actually not known.

Autonomic Dysreflexia↗

["Post traumatic" leptospirosis complicated by acute respiratory insufficiency].

INTRODUCTION: Leptospirosis is a rare cause of alveolar haemorrhage. The diagnosis is often delayed particularly when the mode of infection is atypical. These serious complications require prompt antibiotic treatment. CASE REPORT: A 21-year-old man was involved in a road accident and found lying unconscious in a roadside ditch containing stagnant water. Ten days later he presented with bilateral interstitial pneumonia and rapidly increasing hypoxaemia associated with cholestasis and liver cell necrosis. Broncho-alveolar lavage revealed alveolar haemorrhage. There was satisfactory resolution following antibiotic therapy. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnosis of leptospirosis was considered initially despite negative serology (Martin and Petit) and confirmed by sero-conversion 20 days after the onset of symptoms.

Accidents, Traffic↗

[Erythromelanosis follicularis faciei and colli].

BACKGROUND: Erythromelanosis follicularis of the face and neck, originally described in Japan by Kitamura et al. in 1960, is characterized by a clinical set of three: well-demarcated erythema, hyperpigmentation and follicular papules. It affects the face and the neck generally on both sides. Since the original description, it has seldom been reported in the literature. CASE REPORTS: This paper reports two patients with unilateral presentation. DISCUSSION: Having discussed the various differential diagnoses all published cases were listed and analyzed. The prevalence of this disease appears higher than is shown by the limited number of cases reported in the literature. It deserves more recognition. Its nosologic and aetiologic frames still remain to be clarified.

Adult↗

[Hirsutism].

Hirsutism is a common medical condition that can lead to major psychological and social distress. Patient's complaint is usually cosmetic in nature, but hirsutism can sometimes signal a serious underlying disorder. Detailed medical history and physical examination help identify patients in whom extensive work-up is warranted. Therapy that is directed at suppressing androgen secretion, inhibiting the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, or blocking the effects of androgens on their receptors, can be rewarding both for the treating physician and the patient. This article reviews the different agents used against hirsutism and addresses the evolution of their indications based on published clinical studies.

Androgen Antagonists↗

Short stature, abnormal face, joint laxity, dislocation, hernias, delayed bone age, and severe psychomotor retardation in two brothers: previously undescribed MCA/MR syndrome.

We describe two brothers with severe psychomotor retardation, short stature, microbrachycephaly, flat occiput, ptosis, low set and prominent ears, "beaked" nose, joint hyperlaxity and dislocation, hernias, delayed bone age, and abnormalities on skin biopsy. Their parents are first cousins. To the best of our knowledge, this syndrome has not been reported before.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

A fission yeast repression element cooperates with centromere-like sequences and defines a mat silent domain boundary.

REII is a Schizosaccharomyces pombe repression element located at the centromere-proximal end of the mat silent domain. Here we show that inversion of REII enhances silencing on its centromere-proximal side while suppressing silencing on its centromere-distal side. Transplacement of REII to a position 2.5 kb from its native locus extends the region of stringent repression to the new REII site. These results suggest that REII defines a mat silent domain boundary by acting preferentially toward its centromere-distal side. To investigate cooperation between REII and a K-region sequence that shares homology with the centromeric dg dh repeats (cen2 homology), we targeted combinations of these elements to an ectopic site and monitored expression of an adjacent reporter gene. Centromeric dh-like sequences conferred low-level silencing on the adjacent reporter gene, and REII, which did not display silencing activity on its own, enhanced cen2 homology-mediated silencing. Cooperation was also apparent at the mat locus, where deletion of REII impaired repression stability. We propose that REII and the cen2 homology play different yet complementary roles in silencing establishment and inheritance at the mat locus.

Centromere↗

X inactivation-specific transcript expression in mouse oocytes and zygotes.

Expression of the X inactivation-specific transcript (XIST:) gene has previously been shown by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to be present at the 4-cell stage of female mouse embryos. This early expression, which is followed by X inactivation in the extra-embryonic tissues, is maternally imprinted. By the blastocyst stage, as the embryonic lineages begin to form, the imprint is lost and expression becomes random. By applying in-situ RT-PCR, we showed that XIST: is expressed even earlier in development, in unfertilized mouse oocytes as well as in pronuclei stage zygotes. Our data demonstrate XIST: expression in oocytes and suggest that XIST: transcripts may occur in both XX and XY zygotes. A difference in the pattern of expression (rod-like or rounded punctate signal) is found among pronuclear-stage embryos. Early expression is in agreement with findings reported in human embryos.

Animals↗

Position effect variegation at the mating-type locus of fission yeast: a cis-acting element inhibits covariegated expression of genes in the silent and expressed domains.

Schizosaccharomyces pombe switches its mating type by transposing a copy of unexpressed genes from the respective mat2 or mat3 cassettes to mat1. The donor cassettes are located in a silent domain that is separated from the expressed mat1 cassette by the L region. We monitored the expression of ade6 from sites in the L region and examined the relationship between the expression state at these sites and at sites within the silent domain. Results indicate that: (1) the silent domain extends into the L region, but repression is gradually alleviated with increasing distance from mat2, and overexpression of swi6 enhances PEV in the L region; (2) a transcriptionally active chromatin state, associated with reporter gene expression in the L region, spreads toward the silent domain; (3) a cis-acting element, located at the junction between the L region and mat2-P, ensures repression in the silent domain, regardless of the expression state in the L region; and (4) repression in mat1-P cells is less stringently controlled than in mat1-M cells. We discuss the functional organization of the mat region and genetic elements that ensure separation between repressed and derepressed domains.

Adenine↗

New healing agent for colonic anastomosis.

This study evaluated the healing property, on colonic anastomoses, of a new compound termed RGTA11 (standing for "regenerating agent," a dextran derivative with heparin-like properties). Colonic anastomoses were performed in 183 adult rats after dipping both ends of the colon in solutions containing RGTA11. The anastomoses were made end-to-end on a single plan, 8 sutures. Healing was evaluated mechanically by the bursting pressure in 108 animals and histological analysis in 75. Results indicated that after 48 h RGTA11-treated animals presented a twofold increased resistance to anastomoses breakage (P < 0.01) over nontreated (saline buffer) animals. After 96 h and until day 7 there was no longer a difference between study and control animals. Although this difference in breakage was not readily observed at histological level, results suggest that RGTA11 could be used to aid colonic anastomosis healing. RGTA11 is of potential clinical interest in this regard since complications that are known to occur postoperatively result from early leakage.

Anastomosis, Surgical↗

Xist RNA is associated with the transcriptionally inactive XY body in mammalian male meiosis.

In eutherian mammals, X inactive-specific transcripts (Xist) are expressed in somatic cells possessing more than one X chromosome, and in germline cells of males, in which the single X chromosome is transcriptionally inactive. In early meiosis of males the sex chromosomes form an inactive XY nuclear compartment (XY body). We show by in situ reverse-transcribed polymerase chain reaction that Xist RNA is concentrated in the XY body. This fine localization suggests that Xist RNA is involved in inactivation of the male X chromosome, and that it has spreading capability, not only in cis but also in a quasi-cis mode, to juxtaposed non-X chromosomes. A hypothetical scheme links the evolution of heteromorphic sex chromosomes to the development of X condensation/inactivation in the male. The mechanism of X inactivation in somatic cells of mammalian females, resulting in male/female dosage compensation, has been recruited from the Xist-activated chromosome condensation machinery that developed in male meiosis earlier in evolution.

Animals↗