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Biomedical subjects

R Amin

Publications and source records attributed to R Amin.

84 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

Increased protease activity in muscles of obese- (ob/ob) mice.

Muscles of genetically-obese animals exhibit decreased binding of and metabolic responses to insulin. Muscle protein catabolism was investigated by measuring the activity of alkaline, myofibril-bound protease in male (ob/ob) mice, fed ad libitum, or fasted for 5 d. Enzyme activity in the isolated myobrillar fraction was determined by the degradation of 14C-globin. Compared to the lean siblings, protease activity in the obese mice was 2.0, 1.5 and 1.3-fold higher in gastrocnemius, diaphragm and soleus muscle respectively, but without change in heart. The higher protease activity in gastrocnemius, diaphragm and soleus was associated with a parallel decrease in the weight and protein mass of the muscles. The muscles of obese mice also showed a 3 to 4-fold increase in triglyceride and a 2-fold increase in glycogen content. After 5-d starvation, the activity of protease rose in the gastrocnemius of obese mice only 1.5 fold, while it increased as much as 4 and 2 fold in gastrocnemius and diaphragm, respectively, in the lean mice. There was no significant change in heart enzyme activity. After 5-d starvation, serum insulin in obese mice fell markedly but remained still higher than that in ad libitum fed lean mice. Insulin-dependent serum metabolites, as well as adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase and hepatic enzymes related to lipogenesis and gluconeogenesis were consequently much less affected in obese mice and the prevalence of adequate insulin supply appeared to be the cause for lack of significant effect on muscle protease activity in fasting obese mice. It is suggested, therefore, that the induction of myofibrillar protease in obesity is linked to the decrease in cellular responsiveness to insulin and may also be interrelated with the intracellular metabolic adjustments to the enhanced muscle lipid availability.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Effect of age on myofibrillar protease activity and muscle binding of glucocorticoid hormones in the rat.

Age-related and muscle tissue-specific alterations in myofibrillar protease activity were observed in different muscles of the rat. Utilizing exogenous, denatured and 3 H-labelled hemoglobin as substrate, proteolytic activity of the myofibrillar enzyme was found to decrease with age in the gastrocnemius muscle while the same activity in the diaphragm and heart muscles increased with age. The extent of response of the enzymes to administration of the potent glucocorticoid triamcinolone was, however, found to be similar in young and old animals, and each muscle retained its specific mode of response to the exogenous glucocorticoid, for example enhancement of the activity in skeletal and diaphragm muscles and diminution of the activity in the heart. Development was associated with a marked reduction in the number of glucocorticoid-specific binding sites in the cytosol of both gastrocnemius and heart muscles, with only negligible changes in the affinity of hormone binding. It is concluded that while the ability of the enzyme to response to exogenous, pharmacological doses of glucocorticoids is not affected by development, development does modify the myofibrillar protease activity in a tissue-specific manner.

Aging↗
PubMed1978

High- and low-potency neuroleptics in elderly psychiatric patients.

The efficacy and side effects of a low-potency neuroleptic, thioridazine hydrochloride, and those of a high-potency neuroleptic, fluphenazine hydrochloride, were compared in 30 elderly chronic schizophrenic patients. Through a crossover design, each patient received both drugs with an intervening washout period. Although both drugs produced a similar degree of improvement, their side effects differed. Fluphenazine caused slightly more extrapyramidal effects than thioridazine, though few occurred with use of either drug. Thioridazine caused weight gain, blood pressure decreases, and ECG changes. High-potency neuroleptic agents appear to be the drugs of choice for elderly schizophrenic patients.

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Kawasaki syndrome: the Iranian experience.

Experience with 50 cases of Kawasaki syndrome in the Islamic Republic of Iran is presented. The syndrome occurred mostly in winter and spring with a 2.1:1 male:female ratio. In 72% of cases, the disease occurred between 1 and 5 years of age, and 80% had an antecedent viral or bacterial illness. Eight patents (16%) had microbiological evidence of infection and 19 (38%) had clinical evidence. Five patients had clinical and radiological evidence of sinusitis. Leukocytosis, neutrophilia, bandaemia, elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, positive C-reactive protein, reversed albumin/globulin ratio and increased antistreptolysin O titre were other indications of infection and inflammation. Male gender, prolonged fever, white blood cell count > 15,000/mm3 and absolute granulocyte count > 10,000/mm3 were significant risk factors for the development of coronary artery disease (10 patients).

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Menstrual regulation training and service programs in Bangladesh: results from a national survey.

Using nationally representative sample survey data collected in 1986, this study evaluates the training and service programs for menstrual regulation (MR), and estimates the number of MR procedures performed during 1986, in Bangladesh. The results show that most of the MR providers, who received either formal or informal training, were physicians and family welfare visitors (paramedics) employed by the government. They were trained in various aspects of MR performance, including contraindications and complications associated with MR, the techniques of MR performance and follow-up procedures, and maintenance and sterilization of MR equipment. Averages of 20.5 and 13.0 MR procedures were performed by formally and informally trained physicians, respectively, in the three-month period preceding the date of interview. The corresponding average numbers for formally and informally trained family welfare visitors were 11.6 and 9.1, respectively. A total of 241,442 MR cases were estimated to have been performed between August 1985 and July 1986.

Abortion, Incomplete↗