PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

R García

Publications and source records attributed to R García.

At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

Urinary excretion of prostaglandins (PGE2 and PGF2 alpha) and kallikrein in acute glomerulonephritis.

We studied prostaglandins and kallikrein urinary excretion in 14 children with acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis within 48 hours of hospital admission (period A), and again, 4-6 weeks later, when they were clinically recovered (period B). Seventeen apparently healthy children were studied as controls. The results (mean +/- SEM) indicate that PGE2 urinary excretion (ng/kg/day) was diminished during both periods of study (control group = 2.06 +/- 0.43, patients = period A 0.91 +/- 0.28 [P less than 0.02], period B 0.92 +/- 0.21 [P less than 0.02]). PGF2 alpha urinary excretion (ng/kg/day) was also suppressed during period A, but not during period B when large individual variability existed (control group = 7.10 +/- 1.07, patients period A 3.56 +/- 0.66 [P less than 0.001], period B 10.51 +/- 5.01 [NS]). Kallikrein urinary excretion (EU/kg/day) was also depressed during the acute phase and remained low during convalescence (control group = 0.492 +/- 0.1, patients period A 0.143 +/- 0.044 [P less than 0.001], period B 0.265 +/- 0.093 [P less than 0.02]). There was no difference in PGE/PGF ratio between controls and patients in the periods of study (control 0.328 +/- 0.055, period A 0.395 +/- 0.144, period B 0.384 +/- 0.128). Urine volume (ml/day) was lower in period A (582 +/- 75.8) but comparable in period B (1020 +/- 140.2) and control children (1210 +/- 80.2). No correlation could be found between the urinary excretion of PGE2, PGF2 alpha and kallikrein with any of the following parameters: urinary or serum sodium and potassium, serum or urinary osmolality, Cosm, urine flow, plasma renin activity, plasma or urinary aldosterone, hypertension or fluid retention.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1981

Attack rate of poststreptococcal nephritis in families. A prospective study.

Twenty-two families comprising 141 first-degree relatives (42 parents and 99 siblings) were studied prospectively after the appearance in the family of an index case with acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis (APSGN). There was no epidemic when the studies were conducted. Families were observed weekly for 4-6 weeks after the appearance of the index case, and at least every 6 months thereafter for 1-3 years. At each examination all members of the family gave a history and had a physical examination, urine analysis, and appropriate cultures; antistreptococcal antibody titres and serum C3 were determined. 33 parents and 95 siblings showed changes in antistreptococcal antibody titres suggestive of infection during or shortly before the period of weekly observation. Group A streptococci of various M and T types were isolated from 17 individuals in 14 families. 25 cases of clincal APSGN (including 22 index cases) and 12 cases of asymptomatic APSGN were detected. The results indicate that within families the streptococci responsible for nonepidemic APSGN are very infectious. The subclinical/clinical disease ratio (excluding index cases) was 4.0. The high attack rate (37.8%) in 77 sibling contacts at risk may indictae that susceptibility to nephritis after streptococcal infection is a familial trait.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1981

Long-term prognosis of epidemic poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis in Maracaibo: follow-up studies 11-12 years after the acute episode.

In 1968 there was an epidemic outbreak of acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis in Maracaibo during which 384 cases were hospitalized. Of these cases, 120 were recalled in 1974 and the results of their investigations were reported. The present work concerns 71 patients from this group followed for 11-12 years and studied with measurement of creatinine clearance (CCr), protein excretion and urine sediment analyses. Measurements of serum immunoglobulins, cryoglobulins, C3 levels and rheumatoid factor titers were also made. One patient developed uremia and is in chronic dialysis. Persistent abnormalities were detected in 21.1% of the patients. Depressed creatinine clearance was found in 12.6% of the patients and proteinuria (0.5-2.0 g/day) in 11.2%. Microscopic hematuria occurred in 4.1%. Only 2 patients wer hypertensive. Transient serological abnormalities were seen in 36 patients: elevated IgG levels in 27, serum cryoglobulins in 17 and a low C3 level in 1 patient. Cryoglobulins were found in 50% of the patients with abnormal renal findings and in 22.9% of the patients with normal renal function and urine sediment. Children (at the time of the epidemic) had urinary abnormalities less frequently (16.1%) than did adults (55.5%). Of 9 patients who had been found abnormal five years before, 3 were improved or normal, 3 were stable and 3 showed progressive disease. our studies indicate that uremia is rare in the first decade after epidemic poststeptococcal glomerulonephritis. Nevertheless, the increasing incidence of depressed renal function dictates the need for continued follow-up of this group of patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Evidence of sensitized basophils in renal transplanted patients.

The participation of basophil polymorphonuclear leukocytes in the response to kidney allografts in man has hardly been studied. In 23 patients, followed from the immediate post-transplant period for several years, the number of circulating basophils, expressed either as absolute number or as percentage of leukocytes, was significantly low in relation to that of controls. IgE on the basophil surface was determined by radioimmunoassay in 14 patients. All patients but one had elevated numbers of IgE molecules per basophil, values being higher in patients with cadaver grafts and in patients with a graft functioning at 6 months or less. When the count of circulating basophils was roughly normal, six of the eight patients showed a positive basophil degranulation test against the donor lymphocytes. These results suggest the existence of specific IgE antibodies for HLA antigens in renal transplanted patients.

Basophils↗
PubMed1980

Evidence of an immediate hypersensitivity mechanism in systemic lupus erythematosus.

In 30 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus the number of a circulating basophils was countered in different stages of activity. An inverse correlation was found between the absolute basophils count and anti-DNA antibodies and presumptive circulating immune complexes (as judged by polyethylene glycol precipitation of serum). A positive correlation was found between the absolute basophil count and C3 or C4 levels. IgE on the basophil surface was determined by radioimmunoassay in 7 patients. All of them showed a significantly higher surface IgE number. When the count of circulating basophils was roughly normal, 5 out of the 6 patients showed a positive basophil degranulation test with native DNA. These results suggest the existence of an anti-DNA specific IgE in lupus patients. Depression of the circulating basophil count may be a useful index of lupus activity.

Antibodies, Antinuclear↗
PubMed1980

Characterization of the glomerular antibody in acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis.

Glomerular-fixed antibody was eluted from the kidney of a 17-year-old patient who died 2 weeks after the onset of acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis. Elevated titers of antibodies to streptococcal enzymes were found in the serum but not in the glomerular eluate. Streptococcal M protein and anti-M protein reactivity were not detected in the eluate. Immunoglobulin G was the only serum protein demonstrated in the eluate, and it was found to have anti-IgG activity highly concentrated with respect to the serum. These studies appear to indicate that anti-IgG is involved in the immune pathogenesis of acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis. Native IgG may be rendered autoimmunogenic by the streptococcus with subsequent antibody production to the neoautoimmunogen. Alernatively, anti-IgG may be produced to the IgG incorporated in an exogenous streptococcal antigen-antibody complex.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

[Levels of lactate dehydrogenase isoenzymes in the serum of Hansen's disease patients].

The LDH isoenzymes levels in fresh serum of seven patients affected by different forms of hanseniasis from Argentina, were measured by acrylamide electrophoresis. In all cases the LDH-4 fraction was found elevated; on the contrary, LDH-2 was reduced. The LDH-5 fraction was detected in only three serums, all of them significantly increased when compared with controls.

Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel↗
PubMed1980

Circulating immune complexes and serum immunoglobulins in acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis.

Acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis (APSGN) is a disease thought to be induced by the renal deposition of circulating immune complexes. In order to test this possibility, serum samples from 119 patients with APSGN were studied for Clq binding activity (ClqBA), levels of IgG, IgM, IgA, C3 and antibody titers to streptococcal enzymes. These parameters were analyzed in relation to the clinical and laboratory data of the acute nephritic syndrome and with respect to the time elapsed from streptococcal infection and from the onset of nephritis. Elevated ClqBA was found in 66.7% of the patients in the first week of the disease and this frequency decreased progressively to 17.6% after the second week. Normal ClqBA was found in patients after the third week of nephritis. Serum levels of IgG and IgM were elevated in over 95% of the patients. Levels of IgG in excess of 2400 mg/dl were detected in 71.1% of the cases. No correlation could be found between the ClqBA and the clinical or immunoserological findings of the disease. The data support the hypothesis that circulating immune complexes are responsible for the nephritis that follows streptococcal infection.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1979

H2 breath tests during diarrhea.

The peak rise in breath hydrogen and the volume of excess pulmonary excretion of hydrogen in response to a 10 g dose of the non-abosorbable disaccharide, lactulose, was significantly lower in children with active gastroenteritis and diarrhea than in nondiarrheal controls. Thus, despite the fact that the H2 breath test is a convenient, noninvasive technology for use in children, it cannot be recommended for measuring carbohydrate malabsorption in individuals with active, on-going episodes of diarrhea.

Breath Tests↗
PubMed1978

Effects of triiodothyronine on the anemia of chronic renal failure.

The present study was done in order to determine whether treatment with triiodothyronine (T3) would improve the anemia of chronic renal insufficiency. Four patients with stable renal failure and anemia were treated with 75 microgram/day of T3 for a period of four weeks. The patients were not in chronic dialysis, had normochromic normocytic anemia and hypocellular bone marrow, and showed no evidence of external blood loss during the study. They had received no iron, folic acid, or androgenic steroids for at least six months prior to the study. The administered dose of T3 was adequate to depress the serum levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH); however, there was no detectable improvement in the levels of hemoglobin, hematocrit, bone marrow cellularity, serum and erythrocyte folate determinations, serum iron (Fe), 59Fe half-life, plasma iron turnover rate, percentage Fe incorporated into red blood cells, or in the ratio of surface radioactive counting over bone marrow/liver and spleen. It is concluded that the experimental observations concerning direct bone marrow stimulation by T3 in anephric rats are probably not clinically applicable for the treatment of the anemia associated with uremia.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Evidence of an autologous immune complex pathogenic mechanism in acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis.

Clinical and experimental studies have suggested a role for antiimmunoglobulins in the pathogenesis of glomerulonephritis associated with streptococcal infection. We attempted to localize anti-IgG in the kidneys of 22 patients who had renal biopsies performed 7 to 66 days after the onset of acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis (APSGN). In addition to routine localization of immunoglobulins and C3, specimens were stained with neuraminidase-treated, heat-aggregated, and unmodified IgG. Twelve biopsies showed staining with fluorescein-labeled human neuraminidase-treated IgG. A lesser number gave positive staining with the other IgG preparations. Following treatment of slides with 0.01 M citrate buffer, seven previously negative biopsies showed positive staining with neuraminidase-treated IgG. The demonstration of anti-IgG by these methods was possible in 19 out of 22 biopsies. It correlated best with the presence of C3 and IgG, and to a lesser extent with IgM, in the renal glomerulus. These results and our previous finding of elevated levels of serum anti-IgG early in the course of APSGN, and as early as 8 days following the antecedent streptococcal infection, support a role for anti-IgG in the immune pathogenesis of APSGN. Although our series of studies support the hypothesis that anti-IgG is formed to an IgG modified enzymatically by streptococcal product, the formation of this autoantibody to IgG incorporated in an exogenous (streptococcal antigen-antibody) complex can not be ruled out.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Immunopathology of the skin in acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis.

The immunohistologic features of the skin were studied in 26 cases of poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis. Twenty-two patients had vascular and extravascular dermal deposition of IgG. Positive stains for C3 (eight patients). IgM (two patients), and fibrinogen (five patients) were confined to vessel walls. Staining with anti-IgA serum was uniformly negative. Circulating antiskin antibodies could not be detected. Extravascular accumulation of IgG has a widespread distribution in the dermal papillary layer that is highly characteristic. It was absent in 7 patients with chronic glomerulonephritis and in 11 patients with various other renal diseases. The described findings appear to occur consistently in acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis. The distinctive extravascular demonstration of IgG may prove to be valuable in the diagnosis of this entity.

Acute Disease↗