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Biomedical subjects

S Farag

Publications and source records attributed to S Farag.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Therapy-related myelodysplasia and leukemia occur infrequently following VP-16 priming and autotransplantation without total body irradiation.

The use of VP-16 for stem cell mobilization has been cited as a significant risk factor for the development of therapy-related myelodysplasia/leukemia (tMDS/tAML) following autologous transplantation. The present study analyzed a large cohort of patients who underwent autotransplantation following stem cell mobilization with VP-16 and radiation-free preparation in order to determine the risk of tMDS/tAML. The estimated incidence of 9.9% at 7 years suggests that in the absence of TBI, VP-16 priming is not associated with an increased incidence of tMDS/tAML.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Stereotactic biopsies guided by an optical navigation system: technique and clinical experience.

Frame-based stereotactic biopsies are time-consuming procedures making necessary head fixation in a ring, explicit coordinate calculation and setting of the parameters. Frameless systems make many of these intermediate steps unnecessary, impose less mechanical restrictions regarding access to the lesions, and with slight modifications can be used to perform stereotactic biopsies. A special adaptation designed to fix the holder and the biopsy instrument is described. The neuronavigation optical tracking system of Radionics was used. CT scans were performed with 6 skin markers. Calibration was performed after head fixation in the Mayfield clamp. Mean calibration error was 2.19 +/- 0.81 mm. The light-emitting diode holder of the pointer was fixed into 2 Leila arms and moved under visual control based on CT images. The target point was selected, Leila arms fixed and a burr hole performed. The cannula was introduced to the target, being fitted with a depth stop in a length identical to that of the pointer on the screen. If necessary a second trajectory was easily selected. 49 patients underwent a frameless stereotactic biopsy. All targets except seven were superficial or in the white matter. In selected cases the biopsies were taken from deep-seated lesions. A histological diagnosis was obtained in 100 % of the cases. Four cases deteriorated postoperatively, two of these related to intratumoral bleeding. Navigation is a simple and effective method to perform biopsies of superficial and relatively large lesions. Frame-based procedures are restricted to brainstem tumors and lesions less than 1.5 cm in diameter.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Cubital tunnel syndrome. Treatment by decompression without transposition of ulnar nerve.

Cubital tunnel syndrome is the second most common entrapment neuropathy in the upper limb; however, surgical treatment of the ulnar nerve entrapment at the elbow remains controversial. None of the presently advocated procedures (simple decompression of the ulnar nerve, medial epicondylectomy, subcutaneous, submuscular or intramuscular anterior transposition of the ulnar nerve) has proven optimal regarding long-term results. This paper presents the experience of treating cubital tunnel syndrome with simple decompression in 40 patients. Three months after surgery 23/36 patients did not feel any pain in their operated hands. In 11/36 cases we observed an improvement of preoperative pain. Sensory disturbances disappeared completely in 24/40 cases. 11/40 patients reported an improvement of preoperative dysesthesia or hypesthesia. In 12/22 patients we observed complete recovery of preoperative pareses of adductor muscle of thumb or hypothenar muscles weakness. 7/22 cases demonstrated an improvement of these pareses. In total 28 patients (70 %) had an excellent outcome without residual symptoms. For 5 patients treatment results were classified as good with slight residual pain and sensory disturbance (12.5 %). In 4 cases (10 %) we only observed a fair outcome with persistent severe sensory and motor deficits but slow improvement over the last three months. Three patients did not demonstrate any improvement (7.5 %). The mean duration of postoperative disablement in our working patients (18/40) was 28 days. In summary, simple decompression of the ulnar nerve seems to be an adequate and successful minimally invasive technique for the treatment of cubital tunnel syndrome.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Gastric perforation in a case of gastric volvulus.

We describe a case of organoaxial gastric volvulus in which the axis was through the body of the stomach. The intraabdominal part of the volvulus was complicated by bleeding from two necrotic ulcers, one of which was perforated by the tip of a nasogastric tube.

Aged↗
PubMed1993

Differential action of diffusible molecules in long-term marrow culture on proliferation of leukaemic and normal haemopoietic cells.

The capacity of diffusible molecules in the fluid phase of long-term human bone marrow culture (LTMC) to exert preferential adverse effects on leukaemic relative to normal haemopoietic cells has been investigated. Responses of isolated cell populations were assessed in diffusion chamber inserts which permitted contact with fluid phase molecules but not with the adherent stromal cell layer of the LTMC system. Growth of AML cells in diffusion chambers was inhibited during co-culture with LTMC of autologous leukaemic bone marrow, and the same effect was produced during co-culture with normal LTMC. No inhibitory action was exerted on growth of normal haemopoietic precursors under the same conditions. Comparable responses were observed with human leukaemic cell lines and patient leukaemic cells, and studies on cell lines demonstrated inhibition of growth was induced by molecules generated in LTMC which caused accumulation in G1 phase of leukaemic cells of both myeloid and lymphoid lineage. The inhibitory effect was not reproduced by TGF beta, IFN gamma, IFN alpha, TNF alpha, LIF, SCF or Il-6, and was not impaired by inhibitors of nitric oxide or PGE production in the LTMC. These observations suggest the action of diffusible molecules of undefined constitution contributes to the preferential loss of leukaemic cells in LTMC.

Biological Factors↗
PubMed1992

Novel translocation (2;4) with consistent involvement of 2p23 in acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (M2).

A translocation involving the short arm of chromosome 2 and the long arm of chromosome 4 is described in three patients, all of whom had acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (M2). One patient had M2 de novo, one progressed from refractory anemia with excess blasts in transformation to M2 over a 4-month period, and one had had sideroblastic anemia 30 years prior to development of M2. In all three patients, the translocation involved the breakpoint p23 on chromosome 2, but the breakpoints on chromosome 4 varied between q25, q31, and q35. Translocations specifically involving 2p23 have not previously been described in leukemia, but more cases are required to identify a specific association with either the FAB type or prognosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Effect of gamma irradiation and water activity on mycotoxin production of Alternaria in tomato paste and juice.

Gamma-irradiation, water activity (aw) and incubation temperature were found to affect the production of tenuazonic acid (TZA) by Alternaria alternata in tomato paste and juice. By increasing the irradiation doses, the dry weight as well as TZA decreased greatly until complete inhibition at 4 kGy. Greatest production of TZA occurred at 0.98 aw (57.5 micrograms/g and 26.3 micrograms/g) for both tomato paste and juice, respectively, at 25 degrees C. Changing temperature and aw altered the relative amounts of TZA produced in tomato paste und juice by unirradiated and irradiated conidia of A. alternata. Only trace amount of TZA was detected at 0.98 aw (1.50 micrograms/g) by 3 kGy-irradiated conidia in tomato paste, while it was inhibited completely in juice. Increasing gamma-irradiation doses and decreasing water activities decreased greatly or inhibited TZA production in both tomato paste and juice.

Alternaria↗
PubMed1988

Ethanolaminuria: a non-specific laboratory finding in the seriously ill infant.

Ethanolamine is a compound that is frequently seen in urinary amino acid analysis. Although there is a single report of increased ethanolamine excretion associated with a distinctive storage disease in two siblings, the significance of ethanolaminuria is not known. We measured urinary ethanolamine/creatinine ratios in 102 hospitalized infants under two years of age and examined the clinical correlations in six cases whose ratios were more than five-fold higher than the maximum value for the established reference range. We found that ethanolamine excretion was strongly dependent on age even when the data were corrected for significant positive skewing. Increased ethanolamine excretion was common in the first week of life, but five of the six cases we specifically studied were characterized by progressive, debilitating illness and three of the six patients subsequently died. Although we found no evidence of a storage disorder, we did note that there was evidence of neuronal white matter degeneration in most but not all cases. Thus, ethanolaminuria appears to be a non-specific sign of severe neurological disease rather than a distinctive feature of a specific inborn error of metabolism.

Creatine↗