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Biomedical subjects

N D Suite

Publications and source records attributed to N D Suite.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Prevalence of anticardiolipin antibody in isolated mitral or aortic regurgitation, or both, and possible relation to cerebral ischemic events.

Anticardiolipin antibodies (acLa) are associated with a thrombotic tendency (often involving cerebral ischemic events), are frequently present with systemic lupus erythematosus and have been found together with cardiac valve abnormalities. Previous studies evaluated patients characterized by the presence of acLa or lupus, precluding assessment of the frequency of acLa in those with valvular disease. This study aims to establish the prevalence of acLa in patients with valve disease in the absence of lupus and, furthermore, to determine the influence of acLa on the risk of cerebral events in valve disease. Eighty-seven consecutive patients with mitral or aortic regurgitation, or both, prospectively underwent enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay testing for immunoglobulin G (IgG) and M acLa, as did 24 normal subjects. AcLa values greater than or equal to 3 SD above the normal mean were considered "positive." Prior cerebral events were defined retrospectively. Of 87 patients with valvular disease, 26 had positive IgG acLa levels compared with 0 of 24 normal subjects (p less than 0.01). AcLa values did not vary with valve disease etiology. Focal cerebral events had occurred in 8 patients and were embolic or probably embolic in 7, including 7 of 26 IgG acLa-positive and 1 of 60 IgG acLa-negative patients (p less than 0.001). In the absence of lupus, IgG acLa is highly prevalent among patients with aortic or mitral regurgitation, or both; this association may indicate a relatively high risk for cerebral emboli.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Seizures in human immunodeficiency virus infection.

Among 630 patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection, 70 patients with new-onset seizures were studied. Generalized seizures occurred in 66 patients (94%): they occurred as the initial seizure in 56 patients (80%) and during follow-up in another 10 patients (14%). Partial seizures (18 patients), status epilepticus (10 patients), and recurrent seizures (38 patients) were also noted. Identified processes included cerebral toxoplasmosis in 11 patients, cerebral lymphoma in 8, metabolic derangement in 8, cryptococcal meningitis in 7, and vascular infarction in 4. In 32 patients (46%) seizures were not associated with identifiable brain lesions and were believed to result from human immunodeficiency virus cerebral infection. Phenytoin treatment was associated with adverse drug reactions in 16 of 62 patients who received it. Our results suggest that the majority of patients with human immunodeficiency virus and seizures do not have secondary focal brain lesions as the cause of the seizures and that human immunodeficiency virus infection alone can, and often does, cause seizures.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1989

Optimal use of the Ommaya reservoir in clinical oncology.

A major obstacle to the effective systemic therapy of intracranial malignancies and infections, the bloodbrain barrier was overcome by the development of the Ommaya reservoir in 1963. Initially used in treating cryptococcal meningitis, this closed system for continued access to the ventricular spaces has a variety of applications. They include treatment of cancer pain, chronic or recurrent CNS infection, prophylaxis of CNS involvement in acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and treatment of leptomeningeal malignancy. The authors outline the rationale, latest indications, surgical technique, and potential complications arising from the use of the Ommaya reservoir and other such subcutaneous reservoirs.

Brain Neoplasms↗
PubMed1987

The effect of volatile anesthetics on the pH dependence of calcium uptake by cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum.

The effect of volatile anesthetics (VA) on the pH dependence of calcium uptake by cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) was studied. SR was incubated at 37 degrees C with 45CaCl2 in the control state (no anesthetic) and in the presence of each of the VA from pH 6.6-7.6. The VA used were: halothane, 1.3%; enflurane, 1.8%; and isoflurane, 1.2%. In the control state, the initial rate of calcium uptake, measured after a 2-min incubation, was maximal at pH 6.8 (mean +/- SEM: 665 +/- 37 nmoles/mg) and markedly inhibited at pH 7.6 (107 +/- 9 nmoles/mg). In the presence of the VA, the calcium uptake rate was mildly depressed (7-32%) at pH 6.6-6.8, unchanged at pH 7.0, and greatly enhanced (52-78%) at pH 7.2-7.6, when compared to control. The maximal uptake of calcium by the SR at a calcium concentration of 10(-6)M, measured by a 20-min incubation, had a similar pH dependence in the control state, with a decline first evident at pH 7.2 and a 50% drop in the maximal uptake of calcium from pH 7.0-7.6. The presence of the VA was associated with a uniform depression of the maximal uptake of calcium by the SR at all pH levels measured. In view of these findings, it appears that pH does affect SR function in the presence of VA. This alteration of the pH effect by VA may be a factor responsible for discrepancies in results previously reported by investigators studying the effects of VA on the uptake of calcium by the SR.

Anesthetics↗
PubMed1986

Machado-Joseph disease in a Sicilian-American family.

Machado-Joseph disease (MJD) is an autosomal dominant motor system degeneration which was originally described in Portuguese-American families. Large pedigrees have been found on the east and west coasts of the United States in which 4 main syndromes are described. Type I disease presents with pyramidal and extrapyramidal findings usually in individuals in the second or third decades of life. Type II disease, which is the most common form of presentation, includes true cerebellar deficits associated with other motor features. Type III is late-onset in the fifth through the seventh decades of life presenting with pancerebellar deficits with motor and sensory polyneuropathy. A rare presentation is Type IV with parkinsonian features with mild cerebellar deficits and a distal motor sensory neuropathy or amyotrophy. A family is described here with typical MJD who are of Italian origin. It thus indicates a wider distribution of this gene which now clearly has entered a second Italian-American family.

Adolescent↗