PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

R Peluso

Publications and source records attributed to R Peluso.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Cigarette smoking and appendectomy are risk factors for extraintestinal manifestations in ulcerative colitis.

OBJECTIVE: Two common factors, cigarette smoking and appendectomy, have been found to play a role in ulcerative colitis (UC). Data on their role in the development of extraintestinal manifestations (EIM) are scarce. METHODS: The relationship between cigarette smoking, appendectomy, and EIM was examined in a prospective study involving 535 (M/F = 319/216) consecutive UC patients followed up for 18 yr. We considered the major EIM: seronegative spondyloarthropathy, pyoderma gangrenosum/erythema nodosum, acute anterior uveitis, and primary sclerosing cholangitis. We excluded patients with a history of EIM or those colectomized before study entry, ex-smokers, and those who started to smoke during the course of UC. RESULTS: In UC patients, seronegative spondyloarthropathy and dermatologic complications were found increased in smokers (p < 0.0001; p = 0.001) or in subjects with appendectomy (p = 0.0003; p = 0.02), while acute anterior uveitis and primary sclerosing cholangitis did not differ. The Kaplan-Meier analysis showed 18-yr rates for EIM of 71% in smokers and 45% in nonsmokers (log-rank test, p = 0.0001), and of 85% in patients with appendectomy and 48% in those without (p = 0.0001). Cox proportional-hazard model showed that cigarette smoking and appendectomy are independent factors promoting EIM. In smokers with appendectomy the adjusted hazard ratio (3.197, 95% CI 1.529-6.684) was higher than in patients with appendectomy alone (2.617, 95% CI 1.542-4.442) or smoking alone (1.947, 95% CI 1.317-2.879). CONCLUSIONS: In UC patients, appendectomy and cigarette smoking are prognostic factors for the development of EIM. The unfavorable effect of cigarette smoking on EIM is additive to that of appendectomy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Ketamine blocks a taste-mediated conditioned motor response in perinatal rats.

Brain N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptors have been implicated as important mediators of both learning and neuronal development. The current study investigated how ketamine HCl (a well-known NMDA-receptor blocking drug) would influence taste-mediated conditioned motor responses in perinatal rats. Dams pregnant with E19 rat fetuses were injected with 0, 50, or 100 mg/kg ketamine HCl (IP). One-half hour later, a reversible spinal block was performed on the dam, and fetuses received an oral injection of 10 microl 0.3% Saccharin (SAC) or water while in utero. After the oral injection, fetuses received either saline or LiCl (81 mg/kg, IP). The uterus was replaced and, 2 days later (E21), rats received oral lavage with SAC. Rats in other litters were born via a normal vaginal delivery and were exposed to SAC on postnatal day 3 (P3). Observations of motor responses were recorded immediately after the oral lavage of SAC. If SAC had been paired with LiCl in utero, both E21 and P3 pups exhibited a conditioned suppression of orofacial movements (compared to controls). Both doses of ketamine significantly attenuated this taste-mediated conditioned motor response. These data reinforce the current conception of the fetus and neonate as sophisticated sensors and responders to the uterine and extrauterine environment. Further, our findings indicate a role for NMDA receptors in the formation of a conditioned motor response in fetal rats.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Ketamine blocks a taste recognition memory in fetal rats.

Decisions about novelty/familiarity are critical in determining whether or not information should be attended to, and possibly encoded, for long-term storage. We have reported that fetal and neonatal rats exhibit an increase in orofacial movements (e.g., perseverative mouthing and mouth movements, and licks) upon tasting saccharin (SAC), if it was experienced previously. E19 rat fetuses can acquire this taste recognition memory and retain it for at least 5 days (P3). In the current study, we sought to evaluate the role of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in establishing a taste recognition memory. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats received ketamine (NMDA receptor antagonist) (doses: 0, 50, or 100 mg/kg, i.p.). One-half hour later, we performed a reversible spinal block on each pregnant dam, and E19 fetuses received an oral injection of 10 microl, 0.3% SAC or water (control) while in utero. The uterus was replaced and the pups were later born via a normal vaginal delivery. On P3, all pups experienced oral lavage of 10 microl, 0.3% SAC, and motor responses were recorded. As expected, non-drugged control neonates tasting familiar SAC exhibited significantly more perseverative mouth movements, as well as total mouth movements and licks, than did pups tasting novel SAC. However, this taste recognition memory response was not observed in rats exposed to ketamine in utero. The data suggest that early non-associative taste memories may be disrupted by NMDA receptor blockade.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Drug use and prescribing problems in the community-dwelling elderly: a study of three state Medicaid programs.

This paper describes a study of drug use and drug-related problems in community-dwelling elderly (> or =65 years) Medicaid recipients in Maryland, Iowa, and Washington from 1989 through 1996. A claim-by-claim review of Medicaid prescriptions was conducted to detect 5 types of prescribing problems (dose, duration of therapy, duplicative therapy, drug-drug interactions, and contraindications or initial therapy). The study examined 8 drug categories: angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, antidepressant agents, antipsychotic agents, benzodiazepines, calcium channel blockers, digoxin, histamine2-receptor antagonists, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The total number of persons with prescriptions in any of the 8 drug classes increased over the 8-year period, with the greatest growth in ACE inhibitors. Mean annual drug use per person declined in Maryland but increased in Washington and Iowa. Despite increasing use, the overall incidence of prescribing problems fell dramatically in all 3 states, particularly for dose- and duration-related criteria. Except in the area of drug-drug interactions, this elderly population was less likely to have received a prescription falling outside commonly accepted drug utilization review criteria for 8 major drug classes in 1996 than in 1989.

Aged↗
PubMed1997

Interfacing managed care and long-term care: understanding the issues.

Both marketplace forces and legislative initiatives are forcing the traditional fee-for-service long-term health care sector into the managed care arena. To identify and address the issues surrounding quality and cost-effective pharmaceutical use at the interface between managed care and long-term care, the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science convened a day-long conference between managed care and long-term care medical and pharmacy directors. This paper outlines the discussion and recommendations in respect to these issues.

Continuity of Patient Care↗
PubMed1996

Normal replication of vesicular stomatitis virus without C proteins.

The expression of two small basic proteins (C and C') encoded by a second open reading frame of the New Jersey serotype of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) P gene was reported previously (Spiropoulou and Nichol, J. Virol., 67, 3103-3110, 1993). Here we found that the Indiana serotype virus also expressed C and C' proteins from this reading frame. We eliminated C and C' expression by making a single base change that introduced a stop codon in the C and C' coding sequence, but left the P-protein sequence unchanged. This mutated P gene supported normal replication and packaging of VSV minigenomes encoding G and M proteins. The mutated P gene was also recombined into an infectious clone of VSV that was used to recover virus. The mutant virus no longer expressed the C and C' proteins but showed growth kinetics identical to wild-type virus. The amounts of viral mRNAs and proteins synthesized were indistinguishable in mutant and wild-type virus infected cells as were the yields and composition of mutant and wild-type virus particles. The kinetics of host protein-synthesis shut-off were also identical for both viruses. Although the C and C' proteins were dispensable for VSV growth in tissue culture, they are known to be conserved in all vesiculoviruses, and thus perhaps play a role in viral pathogenesis or transmission by insect vectors.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1985

A Trojan Horse mechanism for the spread of visna virus in monocytes.

Visna virus is the prototype of the lentivirus subfamily of retroviruses that cause slow infections of sheep and goats. These viruses persist and can be isolated from blood and cerebrospinal fluid for years despite neutralizing antibody. In the studies reported here we have used quantitative in situ hybridization to analyze infected leukocytes. We show that (1) monocytes harbor the visna genome; and (2) virus gene expression is as constrained in this cell as it is in glial and epithelial cells. These results are in accord with a Trojan Horse mechanism of virus dissemination in an immunologically responsive host.

Animals↗