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Biomedical subjects

P H Shah

Publications and source records attributed to P H Shah.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Fatal 'Bhang' poisoning.

A young adult male of about 25 years of age consumed a glass (about 300 ml) of Bhang on the holy occasion of ShivRatri. The deceased died within 24 hours of consuming the Bhang. The deceased had suffered from rheumatic heart disease with multiple valvular involvements. He had also undergone open-heart surgery in the past. Fatality due to Bhang is extremely rare and therefore the case is presented. An attempt is made to review the literature. Bhang is one of the Indian preparations of Indian hemp (Cannabis sativa). It is prepared by the wet grinding of the leaves of the plant. The bolus is then consumed in various ways. Water is used as a vehicle. In the present case a bolus of about 1 to 2 gm was mixed in a glass of water. ShivRatri is a Hindu festival. On this day prayers are offered to Lord Shiva, who is the god of all evils and poisons. Bhang is a special article, which is offered to Lord Shiva on this auspicious day. Then, the devotees consume it as the God. Gujrat is a dry state (possession, consumption, sale, etc. of alcohol, Bhang, opium and other psychotropic substance, etc. is governed by particular laws), but on the holy occasion of ShivRati, for a day, the law is relaxed for the use of Bhang. In most other parts of the country, particularly, in northern India, it is a common practice to consume various preparations of Indian hemp like Bhang, Charas, Ganja, sweetmeat, etc. The bolus mentioned above is probably the minimum single dose.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Trichomonas vaginalis: analysis of a heat-inducible member of the cytosolic heat-shock-protein 70 multigene family.

A 2253-nucleotide (nt) transcript for a Trichomonas vaginalis heat-shock protein 70, TVCHSP70, has been isolated that encodes for a protein of 659 amino acids with a predicted molecular weight of 71.3 kDa. TVCHSP70 has a short (10-nt) 5' untranslated region (UTR), and the 263-nt 3' UTR is the longest reported for a Trichomonas peptide. Amino-acid sequence analysis and phylogenetic comparison identifies TVCHSP70 as a member of the heat-inducible cytoplasmic HSP70 gene family. Southern-blot data indicate that T. vaginalis contains at least four members of the cytoplasmic HSP70 gene family. Members of the TVCHSP70 family are expressed as 2.3-kb transcripts at low levels during 37 degrees C culture, and their expression is significantly up-regulated at 43 degrees C. Slot-blot analysis of seven T. vaginalis clinical isolates demonstrated a 3- to 44-fold up-regulation of TVCHSP70 under conditions of heat shock (43 degrees C) or oxidative stress (500 microm H2O2) as compared with controls (37 degrees C).

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Antigenicity of Trichomonas vaginalis heat-shock proteins in human infections.

Patients infected with Trichomonas vaginalis mount humoral and cellular immune responses that often do not protect against reinfection. The oxidative stressors produced by leukocytes may trigger a heat-shock-like response in T. vaginalis trophozoites, helping the parasite to survive host immune defenses. The antigenicity of T. vaginalis heat-shock proteins (HSPs) was examined by immunoprecipitation of T. vaginalis heat-induced proteins with sera from infected patients and controls. When T. vaginalis was heat-shocked, HSPs of 169-167 and 140-137 kDa were specifically recognized by sera from infected male and female patients. However, the majority of T. vaginalis HSPs were also immunoprecipitated by control sera; all sera recognized 72- to 71-kDa, 47- to 45-kDa, 38- to 37-kDa, 35-kDa, and 31-kDa heat-induced proteins. At least 15 proteins from non-heat-shocked T. vaginalis were immunoprecipitated by sera from infected patients and controls, indicating that natural or cross-reacting antibodies could participate in host responses to trichomoniasis. Molecules of 158, 135, 89, and 74-72 kDa were immunoprecipitated from some non-heat-shocked parasites only by patients' sera. A 38-kDa T. vaginalis protein was immunoprecipitated only by sera from infected females and may be specific for infection in women.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Molecular typing of Trichomonas vaginalis isolates by HSP70 restriction fragment length polymorphism.

Subtyping isolates of Trichomonas vaginalis is an essential tool for understanding the epidemiology of this common sexually-transmitted disease. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis employing a probe from the heat-inducible cytoplasmic HSP70 gene family hybridized with EcoR I-digested genomic DNA was used in the molecular typing of Trichomonas isolates. Analysis of five American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) reference strains and 31 Jackson, Mississippi, isolates from six male and 21 female patients, revealed 10 distinct RFLP pattern subtypes of Trichomonas. The subtypes were temporally stable and cosmopolitan. The RFLP profiles seen in Maryland, Ohio, Massachusetts, and New York ATCC strains were identical to those of some Mississippi isolates, even though the samples were isolated 10-35 years apart. There was no correlation between metronidazole resistance and RFLP subtype with resistant isolates from eight patients distributed among six different subtypes.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Genomic organization, transcription, splicing and gene regulation in Leishmania.

The parasitic protozoan Leishmania is the aetiological agent of a spectrum of clinical diseases, ranging from disfiguring skin lesions to life-threatening visceral infection, and is a serious health problem in tropical and subtropical areas world-wide. Leishmania parasites undergo a dramatic transformation as they move between the different environments of an extracellular insect stage and an intracellular form in the vertebrate host. In an attempt to develop new strategies for the treatment of leishmaniasis, the techniques of molecular genetics have been utilised to elucidate the mechanisms which direct and control this cyclical differentiation. This review discusses current knowledge concerning the organization and regulation of the Leishmania nuclear genome and includes a discussion of chromosomal organization, genomic arrangement, transcription, transcript processing by trans-splicing and polyadenylation, and post-transcriptional regulation. The salient features as well as the supporting evidence for each topic are briefly reviewed.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Treatment of protracted diarrhea of infancy.

Ten patients with protracted diarrhea of infancy received either 8% or 16% of 130 calories/kg/day as amino acids. Patients were treated initially with total parenteral nutrition (TPN) and subsequently with an elemental diet. Nitrogen balance was better during TPN in those who received the higher amino acid intake. No differences were noted between groups in weight gain or restoration of muscle mass. Higher levels of serum urea nitrogen and alkaline phosphatase were noted in patients with the higher amino acid intake; cholestatic liver injury developed in two of these patients. The patients receiving the higher amount of amino acid demonstrated enhanced calciuria during TPN. Other than better nitrogen balance, no clinical benefits and more undesirable side effects were observed in patients receiving 16% amino acid calories.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Use of intravaginal microbicides to prevent acquisition of Trichomonas vaginalis infection in Lactobacillus-pretreated, estrogenized young mice.

D2A21, a novel peptide antibiotic has in vitro activity against a wide spectrum of sexually transmitted diseases (STD). In this study we tested the hypothesis that intravaginal D2A21 would interfere with acquisition of Trichomonas vaginalis infection in a modified mouse model. T. vaginalis infections of estrogenized young mice pretreated with Lactobacillus vaginalis or Lactobacillus rhamnosus were more frequent and persistent than those in mice pre-treated with Lactobacillus gasseri or Lactobacillus acidophilus. One hundred percent T. vaginalis infection was achieved for 2-4 days post-challenge when intravaginal L. rhamnosus pre-treatments were given to estrogenized mice 48 hr prior to a single T. vaginalis challenge. Estrogenized mice pre-treated with L. rhamnosus were pre-medicated with intravaginal placebo gel, 0.5% or 2% D2A21 gel, or 500 microg/mL metronidazole gel prior to T. vaginalis challenge. Both 2% D2A21 and metronidazole gels were significantly more efficacious (10% or none infected) than placebo gel (53% infected) in preventing vaginal T. vaginalis infections in mice.

Administration, Intravaginal↗