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Biomedical subjects

N Cohen

Publications and source records attributed to N Cohen.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

[Cimetidine hepatitis].

A 41-year-old man with rheumatoid arthritis developed severe acute hepatitis 3 days after starting cimetidine for duodenal ulcer. Other causes were ruled out and he recovered after cimetidine was discontinued. Mild transient elevations of hepatic enzymes have been reported in 3.6% of patients taking cimetidine. However, only 12 cases of severe acute hepatitis associated with cimetidine, mostly secondary to idiosyncrasy, have been reported in the English literature. This rare but serious complication of cimetidine should be kept in mind.

Acute Disease

Metabolism of americium-241 in man: an unusual case of internal contamination of a child and his father.

The metabolism of americium-241 has been studied during an 8-year period in an adult male and his son who, at the ages of 50 and 4 years, respectively, were accidentally and unknowingly contaminated within their home by means of inhalation. Chelation therapy with calcium trisodium pentetate was more effective in enhancing the removal of americium-241 from the child than from the father.

Age Factors

Conditioned suppression of a thymus-independent antibody response.

An illness-induced taste aversion was conditioned in mice by pairing cyclophosphamide, an immunosuppressive drug, with the consumption of saccharin, a novel drinking solution. Two weeks after conditioning, animals were injected with the hapten trinitrophenyl (TNP) coupled to the thymus-independent carrier, lipopolysaccharide. Serum antibodies to TNP were titered 6 days later by passive hemagglutination. Relative to control groups, conditioned animals provided with saccharin at the time of antigenic stimulation and, again, 3 days later showed a significant attenuation of their anti-TNP antibody response. In a second experiment, the conditioned stimulus (CS) consisted of the novel saccharin drinking solution plus the noxious internal effects of an injection of LiCl. Conditioned animals reexposed to the CS again showed the lowest antibody titers, but differed significantly from only one of the control groups. Taken together, the results of these experiments confirm previous reports of conditioned immunosuppression and suggest that the effects of conditioning on a primary humoral antibody response can be observed in response to a T-cell independent antigen in the mouse.

Antibody Formation

Significance of urinary enzymes in gestosis.

The levels of five enzymes were examined in the urine and the serum of pregnant women. They included leucine aminopeptidase (LAP), alkaline phosphatase (AP), N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase (ABG), lactic acid dehydrogenase (LDH) and glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT). After establishing the normal curve and upper confidence limits in healthy pregnant patients (138 examinations in 52 women), the the enzymes were examined in the urine and the serum of 21 severe and 23 mildly toxemic cases. The mean urinary levels of ABG, AP and LAP in the severe cases were significantly higher than in the normals, and by examining all three enzymes, at least one of them was found to be above the upper confidence limit in 95% of the severely ill women. The changes did not show up early enough to form a good diagnostic and prognostic sign in moderate pregnancy-induced hypertension, but severe kidney damage may be revealed earlier than by the regular kidney function tests, and patients with a bad remote prognosis can be singled out by this method.

Acetylglucosaminidase

The hyperactive child at adolescence: cognitive, emotional, and social functioning.

In view of the paucity of detailed follow-up studies on hyperactive children, the performance of 15 adolescents diagnosed hyperactive 5 years previously was compared to that of a control group of equivalent age, sex, intelligence, and social class. Eleven cognitive tests measuring sustained attention, visual-motor and motor skills, abstraction, and reading ability, as well as three self-assessment tests examining self-esteem, activity level, social functioning, academic status, and career aspirations were administered. The hyperactives performed significantly worse than the controls on the sustained attention, visual-motor, and motor tasks, and on two of the four reading tests. They also gave themselves significantly lower ratings on some of the self-esteem and sociability items. It would appear that the hyperactives at adolescence still have attentional and stimulus-processing difficulties, which affect not only their academic performance but also their social functioning.

Achievement

Analgesic activity of novel spiro heterocycles. 2-Amino-7-oxa-3-thia-1-azaspiro[5,5]undec-1-enes and related compounds.

(+/-)-2-Amino-7-oxa-3-thia-1-azaspiro[5,5]undec-1-ene (1a) and many of its derivatives exhibit significant activity in the phenylquinone writhing and yeast inflamed foot assays. In order to develop structure-activity relationships, the related spiroheterocycles, (+/-)-2-amino-7-oxa-3-thia-1-azaspiro[5,4]dec-1-ene (2), (+/-)-2-amino-3-thia-1-azaspiro[5,5]undec-1-ene (3), and (+/-)-2-amino-7-oxa-1-azaspiro[5,5]undec-1-ene (4), were examined. Of these, only 4 failed to show activity indicating that the analgetic properties displayed by compounds 1--3 are associated, mainly, with the 2-amino-1,3-thiazine ring system. In the 2-acylimino series, evidence is presented suggesting a contribution to the observed activity on the part of the spiroannulated ether ring as well. Both 1a and its p-fluorobenzoyl derivative 33 exhibit analgesic activity in the rat tail-flick assay.

Analgesics

Seasonal variations in weight of children attending an under-fives clinic in Lesotho.

The incidence of weight loss between successive visits, prevalence of under centile 3 weight-for-age and over centile 97, showed a marked bimodal annual variation for 1243 children attending an under-fives clinic. 9949 weighings on 661 boys and 682 girls over a five year period, contributed to the database. Season of birth also significantly influenced the centile distributions of weight-attained-for-age. Children over 1 1/2 years old showed considerably higher rates of weight loss (about 1 in 5 children attending in their fifth year of life), than children younger than the mean age of weaning. The rates of weight loss, together with seasonal variation, was considerably higher for a group of 'Regular Attenders' to the clinic, than for a group of 'Low Attenders'. Seasonal influences on growth need to be taken into accounts in evaluating the quality of care and outcome produced by under-fives clinics.

Body Weight