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Biomedical subjects

S Berry

Publications and source records attributed to S Berry.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Frequent detection of genital herpes simplex virus DNA by polymerase chain reaction among pregnant women.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence and level of genital herpes simplex virus (HSV) among women at delivery. DESIGN, PATIENTS, AND SETTING: A prospective analysis of HSV by culture and by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of genital specimens and by HSV serologic studies in 100 asymptomatic women in labor; prospective analysis of HSV by PCR among 50 seronegative nonpregnant women at a student health center; and retrospective analysis of genital specimens for HSV by PCR from 17 HSV culture-positive women with uninfected neonates and from two HSV culture-negative women with HSV-infected neonates. All pregnant women were at a university hospital. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Presence of HSV by culture and levels of HSV by quantitative, type-specific PCR in cervical and vulvar specimens; HSV serologic testing by Western blot. RESULTS: All of the 100 asymptomatic women in labor who were studied prospectively were HSV culture negative. In nine HSV was recovered by PCR. Herpes simplex virus was recovered by PCR in one of the 50 seronegative nonpregnant women; she soon became seropositive. All 17 culture-positive women had HSV recovered by PCR. High levels of HSV DNA were obtained by PCR from the two culture-negative women with infected neonates. Among those from whom HSV was recovered by PCR, HSV DNA levels were 250 times higher from culture-positive samples than from culture-negative samples (11,571 genome equivalents vs 46 genome equivalents; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of infant exposure to HSV DNA-containing secretions from HSV-seropositive mothers is about eight times higher than previously reported using HSV culture methods. High maternal levels of HSV DNA may be associated with an increased frequency of transmission of HSV to the infant.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Long-term outcome in children with opsoclonus-myoclonus and ataxia and coincident neuroblastoma.

We reviewed the neurologic and developmental courses in 10 children with opsoclonus-myoclonus ("dancing eyes syndrome") and neuroblastoma. All patients are alive without evidence of neoplastic disease after 8+ to 111+ months of follow-up. All had localized disease and 50% had extraabdominal tumors. Neuroblastomas of nine children had favorable Shimada histologic characteristics, and all tumors had single copies of the N-myc oncogene. After neuroblastoma resection, all patients had persistent opsoclonus-myoclonus or ataxia that responded to therapy with adrenocorticotropic hormone. Nine children had relapses of neurologic symptoms. Three years after resection, six of seven patients with sufficient follow-up were free of symptoms and had discontinued therapy. However, nine children had chronic neurologic deficits, including cognitive and motor delays, language deficits, and behavioral abnormalities. All six patients in educational programs required special assistance. Five children required physical, occupational, or speech therapy. Long-term developmental and cognitive problems should be anticipated in patients with neuroblastoma who have opsoclonus-myoclonus or ataxia or both, and early intervention should be instituted to try to minimize these deficits.

Abdominal Neoplasms↗
PubMed1993

Immunologic parameters 2 years after high-titer measles immunization in Peruvian children.

Immunization with high-titer measles vaccines has been associated with excess mortality in children 2-4 years after vaccination. In this study, immunologic parameters in 64 Peruvian children who had been immunized an average of 27 months earlier with high-titer vaccines were compared with parameters in 76 recipients of low-titer vaccines. Delayed-type hypersensitivity, lymphocyte phenotype distributions by flow cytometry, and lymphoproliferation after phytohemagglutinin (PHA) stimulation were assessed. High-titer recipients had smaller indurations to tetanus, diphtheria, and Proteus (P < .05) antigens, decreased PHA stimulation (P = .04), and a lower percentage of CD4+ lymphocytes (P = .04) than low-titer recipients. After adjustment for sex, concurrent illnesses, and other variables in regression analyses, high-titer recipients had a lower percentage of CD4+ lymphocytes (P = .025) and decreased lymphocyte proliferation to PHA (P = .058). These results may provide a clue to the pathogenesis of delayed excess mortality after high-titer measles vaccination in some developing countries.

Cell Division↗
PubMed1992

Physical properties and repair bond strength of direct and indirect composite resins.

Use of composite resins now includes indirect curing methods. Surface chemistry, repair bond strength, plus location of failure and five physical properties of two direct and three indirect composite resins were determined. There were statistically significant differences in flexural strength of materials and in hardness values. Repair bond strength failures were not significantly different; failures occurred primarily at the interface. Multiple internal reflection spectroscopy confirmed the presence of unpolymerized material after cure in all products. Indirect cure of the direct composite resin increased the degree of cure.

Absorption↗
PubMed1992

Comparison of high titer Edmonston-Zagreb, Biken-CAM and Schwarz measles vaccines in Peruvian infants.

In an effort to identify the optimal dose and strain of measles vaccination for early immunization, Peruvian infants were randomly assigned to receive one of three measles vaccines in varying doses at 5 to 6 or 8 to 9 months of age. Edmonston-Zagreb vaccines were significantly (P < 0.001) more immunogenic than equivalent or higher titers of Schwarz or Biken-CAM vaccines as determined by neutralization antibody response 3 months after vaccination. Eighty-two percent of infants who received high titer Edmonston-Zagreb vaccine at 5 to 6 months of age developed protective concentrations of measles antibody, a response rate similar to that observed after standard titer Schwarz (81%) or high titer Biken-CAM vaccine (81%) at 8 to 9 months of age. No significant differences in the rates of fever, rash or other adverse events were noted by vaccine group 10 to 14 days after vaccination. Although the high titer vaccines are more immunogenic in young infants than standard vaccines, long term safety must be assured before these vaccines can be put into widespread use.

Antibodies, Viral↗
PubMed1992

Herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2) type-specific antibody correlates of protection in infants exposed to HSV-2 at birth.

Western blot analysis was used to compare the herpes simplex virus (HSV)-2 antibody profiles of 40 infants less than 2 wk of age who had been exposed to maternal genital HSV-2 at birth. 4 mothers were HSV seronegative at delivery and seroconverted to HSV-2 ("primary infection"), 9 had HSV-1 antibodies and seroconverted to HSV-2 ("nonprimary first episode infection"), and 27 were HSV-2 seropositive ("recurrent infection"). Neonatal herpes infections developed in 1 of 4 infants of women with primary infection, in 3 of 9 infants of women with nonprimary first episode infection, and in none of the 27 infants of women with recurrent HSV-2. Antibodies to HSV-2 proteins gG-2, VP5, and ICP35 were detected in 83, 89, and 72% of the 36 uninfected infants, respectively. None of the four infected infants had detectable antibodies to gG-2 and only one (25%) had antibodies to VP5 or ICP35. The more limited profiles of the 13 infants born to mothers with first episodes of HSV-2 were then analyzed separately; these profiles were similar among infected and uninfected infants except for gG-2, which elicits antibodies that are type specific for HSV-2. None of the infected infants versus seven of nine (78%) uninfected infants were gG-2 seropositive. These comparisons suggest that maternal type-specific antibodies may play a role in preventing neonatal infection after exposure to HSV-2.

Antibodies, Viral↗
PubMed1991

Neonatal herpes simplex virus infection in relation to asymptomatic maternal infection at the time of labor.

BACKGROUND AND METHODS: To define the risk factors associated with neonatal acquisition of herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection, we prospectively obtained HSV cultures from the cervix and external genitalia of 15,923 pregnant women in early labor who were without symptoms or signs of genital HSV infection. Follow-up of the women with positive cultures for HSV and their HSV-exposed infants included serologic tests and serial cultures for HSV. RESULTS: HSV was isolated from 56 of the women (0.35 percent), 18 of whom (35 percent) had serologic evidence of a recently acquired, subclinical first episode of genital HSV infection, and 34 of whom (65 percent) had reactivation of HSV. Neonatal HSV developed in 6 of 18 infants (33 percent) born to the women with a first episode of genital HSV, and in 1 of 34 infants (3 percent) born to the women with reactivation of HSV (P less than 0.01); neonatal HSV also occurred in three of the infants born to the 15,867 women with negative cultures. Neonatal HSV-2 occurred in 1 of 4 infants born to mothers seronegative at delivery for both HSV-1 and HSV-2, in 4 of 12 infants exposed to HSV-2 whose mothers had only HSV-1 antibodies at delivery, and in none of the infants born to 31 women who were HSV-2-seropositive. An increased risk of neonatal HSV was associated with exposure to viral shedding from the cervix and the use of fetal-scalp electrodes. CONCLUSIONS: Of the asymptomatic women who shed HSV in early labor, about a third have recently acquired genital HSV, and their infants are 10 times more likely to have neonatal HSV than those of women with asymptomatic reactivation of HSV. The presence of maternal antibodies specific to HSV-2 but not HSV-1 appears to reduce the neonatal transmission of HSV-2. Further studies are necessary to determine whether screening and prophylactic treatment are warranted for infants of HSV-2-seronegative mothers who shed HSV-1 or HSV-2 in early labor.

Antibodies, Viral↗
PubMed1991

Amino acid composition of a neutrophil respiratory burst stimulant. Evidence for a protein, noncollagenous source.

Activation of the neutrophil respiratory burst by the supernatant fraction from an alkali-treated collagen preparations (SAC) was enhanced by longer durations of exposure to alkali (1 N NaOH for 0.5-24 hr). The concentrate obtained from ultrafiltration (greater than 30,000 molecular weight) of SAC (1 N NaOH for 24 hr) retained the stimulatory factor. Fractionation of this ultraconcentrate by high-performance liquid chromatography showed that the stimulatory activity resided in the void volume (highest molecular weight). The amino acid composition of this active fraction revealed that this proteinaceous stimulant was not derived from the collagen molecule. Treatment of the SAC with ultrapure bacterial collagenase increased its stimulatory capacity, confirming its noncollagenous nature. Alkali treatment of whole cornea also released a similar large molecular weight, noncollagenous protein that stimulated the respiratory burst of polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Enhanced stimulation after prolonged NaOH treatment of the collagen preparation or collagenase treatment of SAC suggests that the stimulant might reside between collagen fibrils and then be released as the matrix is degraded.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1990

Altered platelet calcium metabolism as an early predictor of increased peripheral vascular resistance and preeclampsia in urban black women.

BACKGROUND: Although preeclampsia is an important and relatively common medical problem, its pathophysiology remains unresolved and the search for a biochemical marker that precedes the hemodynamic abnormalities of preeclampsia continues. We designed a study to investigate the hemodynamic changes that characterize preeclampsia and to evaluate the metabolism of platelet intracellular calcium as a possible predictor of the development of preeclampsia. METHODS: Hemodynamic measurements and spectrofluorometric determinations of the levels of intracellular calcium in platelets in the basal state and after stimulation with an agonist were performed in 48 nulliparous black women during each trimester of pregnancy. The data on the 14 women (29 percent) in whom preeclampsia developed were then compared with the data on the other 34, who served as normotensive controls. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between the two groups in the basal levels of intracellular calcium at any time. In contrast, the levels measured after arginine vasopressin was administered during the first trimester indicated an exaggerated response in the group with preeclampsia as compared with the control group (1494 +/- 388 [+/- SEM] percent vs. 545 +/- 55 percent of base line; P less than 0.0002), which was sustained through the second and third trimesters. All but three of the women with preeclampsia had responses higher than the highest response among the controls. Platelet intracellular calcium responses to arginine vasopressin during the first trimester were a sensitive predictor of the subsequent development of preeclampsia (P less than 0.00009). Although vascular resistance was similar in the two groups during the first trimester, it subsequently decreased in the control group (P less than 0.02) but not in the group with preeclampsia. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that preeclampsia is characterized by the absence of the normal pregnancy-related decrease in vascular resistance, which is preceded in most instances by an exaggerated response of platelet intracellular calcium to arginine vasopressin early in pregnancy. We therefore propose that an increase in the sensitivity of platelet calcium to arginine vasopressin can be used as an early predictor of subsequent preeclampsia.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Fetal lateral cerebral ventriculomegaly: associated malformations and chromosomal defects.

In 267 consecutive cases of fetal lateral cerebral ventriculomegaly, additional fetal malformations were detected by ultrasonography in 209 (78%) of the cases. On the basis of the ultrasound findings, the patients were subdivided into three groups: (i) isolated ventriculomegaly (n = 58), (ii) ventriculomegaly and open spina bifida only (n = 172), and (iii) ventriculomegaly and other malformations (n = 37) with or without spina bifida. Antenatal karyotyping was performed in 64 cases from groups (i) and (iii), and 11 (18%) of the fetuses had chromosomal abnormalities. The incidence of chromosomal abnormalities was strongly related to the presence of multisystem malformations. Thus, only 3% of fetuses with isolated ventriculomegaly as opposed to 36% of those with additional malformations had chromosomal defects. Furthermore, the degree of ventriculomegaly in the chromosomally abnormal fetuses was relatively mild. In the chromosomally normal fetuses, mild, static ventriculomegaly was associated with apparently normal subsequent mental development.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1989

The functioning and well-being of depressed patients. Results from the Medical Outcomes Study.

We describe the functioning and well-being of patients with depression, relative to patients with chronic medical conditions or no chronic conditions. Data are from 11,242 outpatients in three health care provision systems in three US sites. Patients with either current depressive disorder or depressive symptoms in the absence of disorder tended to have worse physical, social, and role functioning, worse perceived current health, and greater bodily pain than did patients with no chronic conditions. The poor functioning uniquely associated with depressive symptoms, with or without depressive disorder, was comparable with or worse than that uniquely associated with eight major chronic medical conditions. For example, the unique association of days in bed with depressive symptoms was significantly greater than the comparable association with hypertension, diabetes, and arthritis. Depression and chronic medical conditions had unique and additive effects on patient functioning.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

The role of microtubules in platelet secretory release.

The role of microtubules in platelet aggregation and secretion has been analyzed using platelets permeabilized with digitonin and monoclonal antibodies to alpha (DM1A) and beta (DM1B) subunits of tubulin. Permeabilized platelets were able to undergo aggregation and secretory release. However, threshold doses of agonists capable of eliciting a second wave of aggregation and the platelet release reaction were higher than in control platelets exposed to dimethyl sulfoxide, the solvent for digitonin. Both antibodies to alpha and beta tubulin caused a further increase in the threshold concentration of agonists and inhibited the secretory release of permeabilized platelets, but were ineffective using intact platelets. Neither monoclonal antibody inhibited polymerization or depolymerization of platelet tubulin in vitro. Antibodies to platelet actin and myosin also exhibited an inhibitory activity on platelet aggregation albeit less severe than that observed with the antibodies to alpha and beta tubulin. There was evidence of an interaction between DM1A and DM1B and the antibodies to actin and myosin. The interaction of platelet tubulin and myosin was investigated by two different methods. (1) Coprecipitation of the proteins at low ionic strength at which tubulin by itself did not precipitate and (2) affinity chromatography on columns of immobilized myosin. Tubulin freed of its associated proteins (MAPs) by phosphocellulose chromatography bound to myosin in a molar ratio which approached 2. Platelet actin competed with tubulin for 1 binding site on the myosin molecule. MAPs also reduced the binding stoichiometry of tubulin/myosin. Treatment of microtubule protein with p-chloromercuribenzoate or colchicine did not influence its binding to myosin. DM1A and DM1B inhibited the interaction of tubulin and myosin. This effect could also be demonstrated by reaction of electrophoretic transblots of extracted platelet tubulin with the respective proteins. We interpret these results as evidence for an interference of the two monoclonal antibodies to the tubulin subunits (DM1A and DM1B) with the translocation of microtubule protein from its submembranous site to a more central one during the activation process.

Actins↗
PubMed1989

Time resolved analysis of tubulin phosphorylation during platelet activation.

Tubulin phosphorylation was analyzed during the different phases of platelet activation. Platelets preloaded with [32P]-phosphate were stimulated with collagen. Tubulin was immunoprecipitated from serial samples obtained during the activation process. The immunoprecipitates were resolved by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and autoradiographs analyzed by laser densitometry. Agonist induced dephosphorylation of platelets occurred after the onset of shape change at the time of initiation of the secretory release. The dephosphorylation was selective affecting specific peptides.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗