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Biomedical subjects

P Germon

Publications and source records attributed to P Germon.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

Metabolism of the herbicide atrazine by Rhodococcus strains.

Rhodococcus strains were screened for their ability to degrade the herbicide atrazine. Only rhodococci that degrade the herbicide EPTC (s-ethyl-dipropylthiocarbamate) metabolized atrazine. Rhodococcus strain TE1 metabolized atrazine under aerobic conditions to produce deethyl- and deisopropylatrazine, which were not degraded further and which accumulated in the incubation medium. The bacterium also metabolized the other s-triazine herbicides propazine, simazine, and cyanazine. The N dealkylation of triazine herbicides by Rhodococcus strain TE1 was associated with a 77-kb plasmid previously shown to be required for EPTC degradation.

Atrazine

Adjunct endarterectomy of the left anterior descending coronary artery.

During a three-year period, complete revascularization of diffusely diseased left anterior descending (LAD) coronary arteries was accomplished by extensive endarterectomy in conjunction with bypass grafting in 37 patients in whom conventional bypass was not feasible. This group constituted 7.0% of all patients undergoing nonemergency coronary revascularization during this period. The left internal mammary artery was used to bypass the endarterectomized LAD artery in 22 patients. There was 1 (2.7%) operative death and 1 perioperative myocardial infarction. At follow-up, which was 100% with a mean of 41.4 months, all endarterectomy patients were in New York Heart Association Functional Class I or II. Twenty-four endarterectomy patients underwent first-pass radionuclide angiographic stress testing 20 months after operation. Twenty patients (83%) had excellent postoperative exercise tolerance, achieving 5 to 7 mets on treadmill testing. Left ventricular functional reserve was preserved, as evidenced by an increase of global ejection fraction from 48 +/- 15% at rest to 59 +/- 18% (p less than 0.005) with exercise. A similar increase was measured in the proximal and distal anterior wall segmental ejection fractions. No difference in response to exercise was found between the internal mammary artery and the vein graft groups. Thus, complete revascularization of the diffusely diseased LAD artery can be accomplished by adjunct endarterectomy without added morbidity or mortality and with excellent functional results.

Adult

Ventricular function before and after mitral valve replacement.

To evaluate right ventricular function following mitral valve replacement, we studied 84 patients with isolated mitral valve disease with the use of first-pass radionuclide angiography before, 1 week after, and up to 1 year after operation. The right ventricular ejection fraction for the entire group improved from 29% +/- 11% to 43% +/- 10% (p less than 0.001) at 1 week. This increase was maintained at 3 months (41% +/- 10%) and up to year after operation (40% +/- 12%). The improvement was found not to be influenced by either the type of valvular lesion or the presence and/or level of pulmonary hypertension. When the patients were grouped according to the type of prosthetic valve placed at operation, the right ventricular ejection fraction increased in all patients within 1 week of operation, with sustained improvement at 3 months postoperatively. Thereafter, it began to decline in patients receiving a Carpentier bioprosthesis while being maintained in those patients who received disc valves. Further analysis revealed that those patients who receiving the larger Carpentier bioprostheses had a greater deterioration of right ventricular function than those receiving the smaller Carpentier valves. Left ventricular function in the entire group was normal preoperatively (62% +/- 16%) and was unchanged at 1 week (60% +/- 16%) and a 1 year (59% +/- 16%) after operation.

Adult