PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

N Gallagher

Publications and source records attributed to N Gallagher.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Retrograde menstruation in women undergoing chronic peritoneal dialysis.

Blood in the peritoneal dialysis catheter just before menstruation was regularly observed in 9 of 11 premenopausal women maintained on peritoneal dialysis for end-stage renal failure. Peritoneal bleeding at other times during the menstrual cycle was not seen in any of these patients. Likewise, peritoneal bleeding in men or nonmenstruating women on chronic peritoneal dialysis was exceedingly rare, was not periodic, and usually was due to recognizable causes. These observations suggest that retrograde menstrual bleeding into the peritoneal cavity is the rule rather than the exception in women on peritoneal dialysis and possibly in all menstruating women. Implications of this observation for the pathogenesis of endometriosis and dysmenorrhea are discussed.

Adolescent↗

Is pancreatic polypeptide estimation of value in diagnosing gastrinomas (Zollinger-Ellison syndrome)?

Serum levels of pancreatic polypeptide (PP) were determined in 32 normal subjects, 18 patients with gastrinoma, 19 patients with pituitary adenoma and 11 patients with duodenal ulceration. Mean serum levels of PP in patients with gastrinomas (67 +/- 31 pmol/l (SD)) were significantly (P less than 0.01) higher than in the normal subjects (47 +/- 15 pmol/l). However, only five of 18 of the patients with gastrinomas had PP levels above the upper limit of normal and elevations of similar magnitude were observed in patients with other disease processes. It is therefore concluded that serum PP estimations are not of value in the diagnosis of gastrinomas.

Evaluation Studies as Topic↗

Effect of iron stores and hysterectomy on iron absorption and distribution in pregnant mice.

Intestinal uptake (U) and transport (T) of 50Fe from a 1-mug oral dose was studied in the mouse. U increased to a similar degree in both pregnant and iron-deficient animals. The increase in T was greater in pregnant than in iron-deficient mice. In iron-loaded pregnant mice, U increased to levels found in pregnant animals, whereas T increased, but by a lesser amount. Termination of pregnancy by delivery or hysterectomy at days 20-21 resulted in a fall in U and T to normal levels within 24 h. Eighty percent of iron transported across the intestine in pregnancy was recovered from the fetuses, compared to 6.7% recovered in the maternal liver. Hepatic uptake was lower in pregnant than in iron-deficient mice or in postpartum mice with persisting iron deficiency. Hepatic uptake by the maternal liver after an intravenous dose of 2 mug 50Fe increased to levels in iron-deficient mice within 5 min of hysterectomy. The results demonstrate an effect of pregnancy on intestinal iron transport and its distribution that was dependent on the presence of fetuses and placentas.

Administration, Oral↗

Humoral regulation of vitamin B12 absorption by pregnant mouse small intestine.

In vivo experiments in which pregnant mice were fed an oral dose of 40 ng of [57Co]B12 demonstrated that there was a progressive increase in B12 absorption in the 3rd week of pregnancy. The absorptive mechanism resembled that in nonpregnant animals on the grounds that the mechanism was saturable, and presumably intrinsic factor (IF) dependent, and that it was localized to the ileum. In vitro studies of IF-57Co B12 binding to ileal homogenates confirmed the requirement for IF. Studies in late pregnancy showed that IF-[57Co]B12 binding to ileal homogenates, expressed as nanograms of IF-[57Co]B12 bound per milligram of protein, was twice that of nonpregnant animals. When ileal homogenates were prepared from mice on days 20 to 21 of gestation, IF-[57Co]B12 binding fell to nonpregnant levels within 2 to 4 hr of hysterectomy. Hourly injections of serum from mice in late pregnancy, or from a female at the 37th week of gestation, maintained IF-B12 binding at levels reached during pregnancy, whereas nonpregnant serum was ineffective.

Animals↗

Significance of serum and hepatic markers of hepatitis B viral infection in HBsAg-positive and HBsAg-negative chronic active hepatitis.

The correlation between serum and hepatic markers of hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been studied in 70 subjects with chronic active hepatitis of whom 18 were HBsAg+ and 52 were HBsAg-. In HBsAg+ subjects, sera were tested for HBeAg/anti-HBe status and for HBV DNA sequences using a DNA dot hybridization technique. Anti-HBs and anti-HBc were measured in serum in the HBsAg- group. Immunoperoxidase staining was used to detect HBsAg, HBcAg and delta antigen in liver tissue. Of the 18 HBsAg+ patients, 13 were HBeAg+ and 5 were anti-HBe+. A good correlation was shown between HBeAg and HBV DNA in serum and HBcAg expression in liver tissue. Neither HBV DNA in serum nor HBcAg in liver tissue was detected in any of the anti-HBe+ patients. HBsAg and/or HBcAg were detected in liver tissue in 17 of 18 HBsAg+ subjects (95%). However, neither HBsAg nor HBcAg were detected in liver tissue in 52 HBsAg- patients. This group included 11 patients with antibody markers in serum of past HBV infection. Thus, in contrast to previous studies, a good correlation was demonstrated between the serum and hepatic markers of viral replication, and no evidence was obtained to implicate the HBV as an etiological agent in HBsAg- chronic active hepatitis.

Adult↗