Biomedical subjects

N O Nartey

Publications and source records attributed to N O Nartey.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2002

Focal epithelial hyperplasia: report of six cases from Ghana, West Africa.

Focal epithelial hyperplasia is a proliferative growth of the oral mucosa with distinct clinical and histopathological features. Although focal epithelial hyperplasia is frequently reported in children of American Indian and Eskimo descent, it is rarely seen in Africans. This report presents six new cases of focal epithelial hyperplasia observed in African children. The age of the patients ranged from 4 to 12 years, and all except one were females. Clinical variants, the papillary and the papular types were noted in the same patient. There was spontaneous regression of focal epithelial hyperplasia in four patients during the study period. However, the lesions still persist in two patients three years after the initial presentation.

Child↗

PubMed1991

Pregnancy tumor: an analysis.

There is some disagreement about the validity of the clinical term "pregnancy tumor." On the basis of its clinical presentation and histologic appearance, some authors believe that it simply represents a pyogenic granuloma (PG), whereas others believe that the lesion is unique because of the apparent influence of female sex hormones. In an attempt to resolve this problem, a study was undertaken to determine whether a significant correlation exists between PG and pregnancy, and whether the clinical term applies to the other epulides. The study involved 42 epulides diagnosed clinically as pregnancy tumors. A chi-square analysis comparing 32 of these lesions with 757 epulides occurring in women revealed a significant disproportion in the number of PGs, whereas the number of peripheral ossifying fibromas and peripheral giant cell granulomas were within the expected range. Very few focal fibrous hyperplasias (fibromas) were diagnosed as pregnancy tumors. Clinical and behavioral features of pregnancy tumors diagnosed microscopically as PGs were also analyzed. The results indicated that the diagnosis of pregnancy tumor is valid clinically in describing a PG occurring in pregnancy, because it describes a distinct lesion not on the basis of histologic features but on etiology, biologic behavior, and treatment protocol.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1987

Immunohistochemical localization of metallothionein in cell nucleus and cytoplasm of fetal human liver and kidney and its changes during development.

The distribution of metallothionein (MT) during human development was investigated using both immunohistochemical and biochemical methods. The level of MT in the fetal liver was higher than the adult liver levels. Higher levels of zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) were also detected in the fetal liver compared to the adult liver. Although cadmium (Cd) was present in detectable levels in the human adult liver, none was detected in the human fetal liver. MT was localized in the nucleus and the cytoplasm of human fetal and neonatal hepatocytes, using a specific rabbit antibody raised to rat liver MT. In the adult human liver cells, MT was localized mainly in the cytoplasm. In the fetal and neonatal human kidney, MT was localized mainly in the nucleus and the cytoplasm of the proximal tubular epithelial cells. In the adult kidney, in addition to nuclear-cytoplasmic localization of MT, intraluminal localization was also observed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1987

Hepatic copper and metallothionein distribution in Wilson's disease (hepatolenticular degeneration).

Wilson's disease is a rare inherited disorder of copper (Cu) metabolism characterized by the deposition of Cu in the liver, brain, and cornea. The levels of metallothionein (MT), Cu, and zinc (Zn) in the livers of two Wilson's disease patients were analyzed in this study. About 50-fold increase in the Cu levels above normal controls was observed in both patients (160 and 298 micrograms/g of wet tissue). About 73% of subcellular Cu was present in the cytoplasmic fraction and most of it was in association with MT. Analysis of hepatic MT levels showed a 3-fold increase (863 micrograms/g of wet tissue) over control human levels (321 micrograms/g of wet tissue). The two forms of MT (MT-I and MT-II) were isolated from one liver sample. Both forms contained high amounts of Cu (11 to 12 g atoms/mole), indicating saturation of MT which had only 2 to 3 g atoms of zinc. The distribution of MT in the hepatocytes was investigated using an immunohistochemical method. In tissue sections with minimal tissue damage, there was intense cytoplasmic staining for MT in hepatocytes whereas both nuclear and cytoplasmic staining was found in tissue sections with extensive necrosis and fibrosis. These results suggest that MT is the major hepatic Cu-binding protein in Wilson's disease, that it is present in a form saturated with Cu, and that only in degenerating hepatocytes is it found in the nucleus as well as the cytoplasm.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Metallothionein levels in liver and kidney of Canadians--a potential indicator of environmental exposure to cadmium.

Liver and kidney cortex samples were obtained from 89 human autopsies for the determination of metallothionein (MT), cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn), and copper (Cu). An age-dependent increase of Cd, Zn, and Cd/Zn was observed in the kidney; increases peaked at mid-age and were followed by a decline. Cadmium was present at a low constant level in the liver at all ages. The mean concentrations of Cd and Zn were 18.0 and 40.1 micrograms/g wet weight, respectively, in the kidney, and for the liver the values for Cd and Zn were 2.0 and 79.0 micrograms/g wet weight, respectively. A positive linear relationship was observed between Cd or Zn and MT in the kidney and between Zn and MT in the liver. No other correlation was found between Cu and MT in either organs. Similar values were obtained for MT when estimated by Ag-hem and Cd-hem methods.

Adolescent↗