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Biomedical subjects

S Penchas

Publications and source records attributed to S Penchas.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Beneficial effects of colchicine in experimental nephrotoxic serum nephritis in the rat.

Glomerulonephritis was induced in rats by multiple injections of rabbit anti-rat kidney serum. Colchicine was administered daily for 4 months to nephrotoxic serum treated rats and untreated control animals. Nephritic rats receiving colchicine had significantly less proteinuria and less glomerular damage than unprotected nephritis animals. A possible role for colchicine in the early treatment of human glomerulonephritis is suggested.

Animals↗

Idiopathic granulomatous hepatitis with a prolonged course: effect of corticosteroid therapy.

The effect of corticosteroid (or ACTH) therapy on 4 patients with idiopathic granulomatous hepatitis is described. All patients presented with spiking fever and chills and none had jaundice. Only 1 patient had an enlarged tender liver and 3 had splenomegaly. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate was increased in all cases while the white blood cell count was typically normal. Impairment in liver function was insignificant and consisted of a mild elevation of SGOT and alkaline phosphatase activities and prolonged prothrombin time. All patients presented a diagnostic challenge. The diagnosis was established by routine liver biopsies in 3 cases and by laparotomy in the 4th. The etiology could not be established. All patients reacted dramatically to prednisone (or ACTH) after failure of other therapeutic regimens. The disease has, however, been present for 5 years in 1 patient and 10 years in another, Relapses occur after cessation of therapy.

Adolescent↗

Plasma digoxin levels and the interbeat interval signal in atrial fibrillation.

Fifty-eight patients with atrial fibrillation treated with digoxin were studied to determine the correlation between serum digoxin levels and the ventricular rate. The study was a computer-based exercise, processing a signal consisting of R-R intervals, derived by point-digitising electrocardiograms. The means, variances and centers of gravity of power-spectra from the signal were correlated with serum digoxin levels, the peripheral pulse and with each other. A poor negative correlation of -0.31 was calculated between the means of interbeat-intervals and serum digoxin levels. Other Ecg-derived rate parameters did not correlate any better with serum digoxin. The mean interbeat-interval in a group of patients with higher serum digoxin levels (2 ng/ml) was significantly (p is less than or equal to 0.05) shorter than in a group with a low level (1 ng/ml). The negative correlation and this significant difference are best explained by the gradual increase in the dose administered to non-responders by the attending physicians who did not fear over-dosage because of frequent serum level determinations. It is concluded that the serum digoxin level is a poor predictor of the ventricular rate in patients with atrial fibrillation because of marked individual differences. These are due to the poor representation by serum levels of drug concentration at the point of interest (A-V node) and the non-linearity of the chronotropic effect of digitalis.

Adult↗

High fidelity ECG in the diagnosis of occult coronary artery disease: a study of patients with normal conventional ECG.

High fidelity (HF) electrocardiography (ECGY) was performed on four groups of patients with a normal resting electrocardiogram (ECG). Two groups (A and B) consisted of normal subjects over or under the age of 40, while the other two groups of patients (C and D) underwent coronary arteriography because of chest pain. HR ECG components within the initial portion of the QRS complex were significantly more common among patients with advanced coronary disease. The difference between the normal groups and the group with documented coronary artery disease (CAD) became more significant when the number of leads showing the HF ECG components was counted. Precordial leads were more sensitive in predicting the presence or absence of CAD than limb leads. HF ECG components in the terminal portion of the QRS complex did not differentiate between normals and patients with coronary artery disease, unless the number of leads showing these HF ECG components was considered. It seems that abnormal HF ECG components can point to minor areas of fibrosis caused by coronary artery disease even if the resting conventional ECG is normal.

Adult↗

Thrombocytosis in rheumatoid arthritis. Recurrent arterial thromboembolism and death.

A patient with rheumatoid arthritis complicated by excessive thrombocytosis and recurrent thromboembolic events is presented. The platelet count correlated well with disease activity and thrombosis occurred when thrombocytosis was marked. The patient died from massive thrombosis of the aorta despite treatment with anticoagulants, corticosteroids, and azathioprine.

Adult↗

Pyridoxal-5-phosphate-resistant sideroblastic anaemia with trisomy 8 mosaicism in the bone marrow.

A patient with sideroblastic anaemia manifested a trisomic condition for chromosome number 8 in 75% of his bone marrow cells. Cytogenetic studies of peripheral lymphocytes demonstrated a normal male karyotype. The anaemia was resistant to treatment with pyridoxal-5-phosphate; this is in contradiction with the response achieved in some patients with the primary acquired form of sideroblastic anaemia.

Adult↗