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Biomedical subjects

P Schantz

Publications and source records attributed to P Schantz.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Transmission of visceral leishmaniasis through blood transfusions from infected English foxhounds to anemic dogs.

OBJECTIVE: To conduct serologic surveillance for Leishmania spp in English foxhounds from a kennel, as well as recipients of blood from these dogs, and determine whether L infantum organisms could be transmitted via blood transfusion. DESIGN: Serologic prevalence survey. ANIMALS: 120 English foxhounds and 51 dogs of various breeds receiving blood from these donors. PROCEDURE: Foxhound blood donors, foxhound nondonors, and nonfoxhound blood recipient dogs were evaluated serologically for Leishmania spp by indirect fluorescent antibody testing. Dogs that received packed RBC (PRBC) transfusions from foxhound donors from mid-1996 through mid-2000 were identified. Furthermore, dogs were serologically evaluated if they had received fresh frozen plasma (FFP) transfusions in 1999 and 2000 from seropositive foxhound blood donors. RESULTS: Thirty percent of the English Foxhounds were seropositive for Leishmania spp (titer > or = 1:16), although the degree of seropositivity varied considerably during the period. Furthermore, 57 foxhounds had been used as donors from 1996 to 2000, and 342 units of PRBC had been transfused to at least 227 patients. All 25 dogs screened that received PRBC from seronegative foxhound donors tested negative, whereas 3 of 7 dogs that received PRBC from seropositive donors tested positive. All 9 dogs that received FFP from seropositive foxhound donors remained seronegative. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: To our knowledge, this report documents the first transmission of Leishmania spp by blood transfusion. The use of foxhounds as blood donors may not be advisable in North America.

Anemia↗
PubMed2001

Investigation of risk factors for development of human hydatidosis among households raising livestock in Tibetan areas of western Sichuan province.

OBJECTIVE: To identify factors influencing the development of hydatidosis in Tibetan areas of western Sichuan. METHODS: A questionnaire investigation was carried out to collect data on factors related to hydatidosis among households raising livestock. RESULTS: Analyses of data revealed that dogs rather than foxes were the most important source of AE transmission. People below 19 years old tended to suffering from CE rather than AE and people 19-38 years old, especially the females, were under an increasing risk of suffering from AE (female vs. male, OR = 2.438, CI = 1.317-4.514, P < 0.05). Increased risks of both AE and CE prevalence associated with nomadic life, aging, playing with dogs, not protecting food from flies, and raising yaks or sheep. CONCLUSION: In addition to age, sex, environmental conditions and hygienic behaviors, raising yaks or sheep and playing with dogs also increase the risk of suffering from hydatidosis as well in this area.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Movement and muscle activity pattern in wheelchair ambulation by persons with para-and tetraplegia.

The patterns of movement and muscle activation in wheelchair ambulation have been studied in two groups: subjects with paraplegia (n = 4) and tetraplegia (n = 3). All subjects were physically active and experienced wheelchair users. The tests were done in the subjects' own wheelchairs and under free-wheeling conditions. The tasks studied were: self-chosen normal velocity, maximal velocity and maximally accelerated start. Muscle activation was registered by surface electromyography performed on several arm and shoulder muscles. The movement pattern was studied by goniometry of the shoulder and elbow joints, as well as by observing video recordings. Speed and arm cycle frequency were also recorded. The movement pattern was divided into three phases: pull, push and recovery. Relatively concordant muscle activation patterns were noted within the groups, whereas differences were noted between the groups with regard to muscle activation, length of the pull and push phases and the velocity-dependent adaptation. The subjects with tetraplegia were more dependent on the pull phase. The self-chosen normal and maximal speeds of the subjects with tetraplegia were approximately half those of the subjects with paraplegia. Three different types of recovery movements were noted as well as a velocity-dependent adaptation. Major trunk movements during the rim phase were only noted at the maximally accelerated start. In conclusion, the results point to both similarities and differences in the movement pattern and muscle activation in individuals with para- and tetraplegia under different ambulation conditions. The differences are of such a magnitude that they are important enough to consider when teaching wheelchair techniques and developing rehabilitation programmes for different groups of patients with spinal cord injuries.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Skeletal muscle of trained and untrained paraplegics and tetraplegics.

The effect of physical conditioning on skeletal muscle of individuals with spinal cord injuries (SCI) has been investigated. The anterior portion of the deltoid muscle (active in wheel-chair propulsion) of untrained and endurance-trained paraplegics and tetraplegics, as well as that of untrained able-bodied subjects, was studied. The characterization involved fibre type distribution, capillarization, fibre areas and also oxidative and glycolytic enzyme levels. A general trend towards a successively higher proportion of type I fibres and lower proportion of type IIB fibres was noted in the order of able-bodied subjects (type I, 42%; type IIB, 41%, n = 8), paraplegics (type I, 57%; type IIB, 13%, n = 13) and tetraplegics (type I, 74%; type IIB, 4.5%, n = 11). The trained SCI groups had significantly higher levels of the citric acid cycle marker enzyme citrate synthase (34% and 63%) than the untrained SCI groups and able-bodied subjects, respectively. The glycolytic marker enzyme 6-phosphofructokinase was 32% lower in the tetraplegic groups than in the other groups. In contrast, the fatty acid oxidation marker enzyme 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase was markedly higher in the tetraplegic group than in the able-bodied subjects (58%) and tended to be higher (21%, P < 0.1) than in the paraplegic group. The trained SCI groups displayed significantly higher (28%) levels of capillaries per fibre than the untrained SCI groups, which had about the same levels as the untrained able-bodied subjects. It is concluded that several of the findings are in line with normal muscular adaptation, whereas others are unexpected and support a hypothesis that some of the findings might be due to differences between the groups in, for instance, hormone levels or in types of muscular load.

3-Hydroxyacyl CoA Dehydrogenases↗
PubMed1995

Headache and cysticercosis in Ecuador, South America.

Intractable headaches have been described as the presenting complaint of many patients with T. solium neurocysticercosis. We conducted a house-to-house neuroepidemiological survey of 2,723 residents of an Andean community, known to be endemic for this infection. Migraine headaches were confirmed in 187 cases (68.7 per thousand), and tension headaches were diagnosed in 77 cases (28.3 per thousand). Fifty-seven migraine sufferers accepted computed tomography examination, and in 19 it revealed neurocysticercosis. In 11 out of 52 migraineurs who had their blood drawn, electron immunotransfer blot testing (EITB) was positive for anticysticercal antibodies. In a computer-generated random sample of this community, 109 headache-free individuals were examined by CT, and 87 had EITB. Of the 109 subjects examined by CT, 14 were positive for cysticercosis. Of the 87 individuals tested by EITB, 7 were positive. A statistically significant difference between the symptom-free general population and the migraine patients was obtained for both CT (odds ratio 3.39, P < 0.005) and EITB (odds ratio 3.07, P < 0.05) diagnosis of neurocysticercosis. Neurocysticercosis appears to be a significant risk factor for the presentation of migraine-type headaches in areas endemic for T. solium infection.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

High prevalence of human hydatid disease (echinococcosis) in communities in northern Israel: epidemiologic studies in the town of Yirka.

The resurgence of hydatid disease in communities in northern Israel led to epidemiologic studies in 1988 in the town of Yirka, a semirural Druze community of 8200 persons. In domestic animal surveys, 8% of 63 dogs tested after an arecoline purge and 10% of 255 sheep at the abattoir were found to be infected. In a randomized serosurvey of 758 persons using the indirect hemagglutination test (positive titer greater than or equal to 1:512), 9% (68) had a titer greater than or equal to 1:64, 2.2% had a titer greater than or equal to 1:256 and 0.9% had a titer greater than or equal to 1:512. Of those with titers greater than or equal to 1:64, 59 were evaluated by abdominal sonography and chest x-ray: 6 of the 59 were found to be persons who previously had had a liver or a lung hydatid cyst surgically removed; 6 other persons (5 with negative indirect hemagglutination titers) were found to have a newly detected asymptomatic cyst. Of the latter group, hydatid confirmation was subsequently obtained by surgery for 2 persons and by arc 5 and/or immunoblot assay for 4 persons. Thus, the cumulative percentage of confirmed present or recent past hydatid infections was 12/758 (1.6%) leading to an extrapolated rate of 1583/100,000 persons. This ranks Yirka among the highly endemic areas for hydatidosis worldwide. The study also showed that imaging methods were more sensitive than the indirect hemagglutination serologic test for conducting a prevalence survey.

Abattoirs↗
PubMed1990

Neurocysticercosis in Panama: preliminary epidemiologic study in the Azuero region.

Neurocysticercosis was not been reported from Panama until 1984. The first documented case was a 5-year-old male who lived with his family in a typical subsistence agriculture environment lacking all sanitary amenities. Pigs and other animals ranged freely in and around the home. This report concerns clinical studies of the patient and his family conducted 4 years later. The index case had neurologic sequelae and was strongly seropositive. A cerebral CT scan revealed multiple intracerebral calcifications. Three family members had antibody to Cysticercus detected by immunoblot assay. A 7-year-old seropositive sister had an intracerebral calcification detected by CT scan. All 6 family members had completely normal neurologic examinations.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

An outbreak of hookworm infection associated with military operations in Grenada.

During 1983, a multinational military intervention took place on Grenada. After deployment, troops from several U.S. Army units noted signs and symptoms consistent with soil-transmitted helminthic infection. Of 684 soldiers screened five to seven weeks post-deployment, over 20% reported abdominal pain and/or diarrhea during or after the action. Eosinophilia of at least 10% was observed in 119 (22.5%) of 529 soldiers evaluated further; eosinophilia of 5-9% was documented in another 126 (23.8%) of the 529 soldiers. Stool examinations confirmed hookworm infection in 35 soldiers. One case of strongyloidiasis was also documented. Infection was attributed to ground exposure near homes with compromised sanitation. Units that joined the operation after the initial assault phase were at low risk of hookworm infection.

Disease Outbreaks↗
PubMed1983

Increases in myofibrillar ATPase intermediate human skeletal muscle fibers in response to endurance training.

The response of human muscle triceps brachii (TB) to training, which consisted of skiing with sledges 500 miles over a period of 36 days, has been investigated by means of histochemical fiber typing (myofibrillar ATPase, n = 7). Muscle biopsies were taken in the right TB during pretraining, and in the right as well as in the left TB after training. The percentage of type 2 fibers and intermediate fibers (type 2C and 1B) in the right TB decreased and increased, respectively, by 13%. The fiber type distribution in the left TB after training was very similar to that in the right TB after training. This concordance indicates that the change in fiber type distribution was a result of the training per se, and not related to any eventual effect of the biopsy-sampling.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
PubMed1983

Adaptation of human skeletal muscle to endurance training of long duration.

The aim of this study was to examine the adaptive response of skeletal muscle to dynamic training of long duration and low intensity. The response of m. triceps brachii, (TB) and m. quadriceps femoris, vastus lateralis (VL) to training of long duration at an intensity corresponding to approximately 45% of VO2 max, has been studied in six subjects. Muscle specimens were taken during training (18.5 miles (30 km)), which involved skiing with a backpack, (6 days/week, 8 weeks), as well as during a subsequent period of detraining (33 weeks). Increases in oxidative enzyme activities and capillarization during training were limited to the TB. There were parallel increases in citrate synthase (CS) and malate dehydrogenase (MDH) during the first 3 weeks of training (30%). CS then continued to rise (to 90% above pretraining level), while the increase in MDH levelled off. The activity of 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA-dehydrogenase (HAD) and the number of capillaries per fibre increased by 50% and 40% respectively. A selective decrease (12%) in area of fibre type IIA was noted during training after a 2-week period of energy deficiency. During the first 6 weeks of detraining, the decrease in CS and HAD (30%) was greater than the decrease in capillaries per fibre (14%). It is concluded that prolonged duration of training is not, in itself, sufficient to elicit an adaptive response in the leg muscles, while a modest training effect was seen for the arm muscles. The finding emphasizes the importance of adequate intensity in physical training programmes.

3-Hydroxyacyl CoA Dehydrogenases↗
PubMed1983

Muscle fibre type distribution, muscle cross-sectional area and maximal voluntary strength in humans.

The relationship between maximum voluntary concentric strength, muscle fibre type distribution and muscle cross-sectional areas were examined in 23 subjects (7 female and 11 male phys. ed. students as well as 5 male bodybuilders). Maximal knee and elbow extension as well as elbow flexion torque at the angular velocities 30, 90 and 180 degrees per second was measured. Muscle biopsies were taken from vastus lateralis and m. triceps brachii. The muscle cross-sectional area of the thigh and upper arm was measured with computed tomography scanning. The maximal torque correlated strongly to the muscle cross-sectional area times an approximative measure on the lever arm (body height). Maximal tension developed per unit of muscle cross-sectional area did not correlate significantly with per cent type I fibre area and did not differ between the female and male students or bodybuilders. Neither did the relative decrease in torque with increasing contraction velocity show any significant relationship to the per cent type I fibre area. The total number of muscle fibres was estimated by dividing the muscle cross-sectional area with the mean fibre area of m. triceps brachii. The number of fibres did not seem to differ between the sexes.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗