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Biomedical subjects

Y Eshel

Publications and source records attributed to Y Eshel.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Giant axonal neuropathy with predominant central nervous system manifestations.

The authors describe a 25-year-old woman with giant axonal neuropathy (GAN) and severe CNS involvement. She had been admitted to hospital with generalized seizures, and had gait disturbances followed by progressive mental deterioration since childhood. Neurological examination revealed mental retardation, scanning speech, cerebellar dysfunction, pyramidal signs, mainly in the lower extremities, and peripheral sensory neuropathy. Sensory nerve conduction velocity was decreased; brain CT and MRI showed diffuse demyelination. Sural nerve biopsy revealed characteristic signs of GAN. The patient's older sister had died at the age of 23, after having had similar neurological disturbances since childhood. This case illustrates an unfamiliar presentation of GAN, characterized by mild sensory neuropathy and serve CNS involvement, including seizures.

Adult

Weight gain, increased appetite, and excessive food intake induced by carbamazepine.

Four young patients who developed weight gain induced by carbamazepine therapy are described. The patients received the carbamazepine as anticonvulsant treatment, and soon after starting the drug, abruptly developed an increase in appetite with a concomitant increase in food intake. During a period of 2 months the patients' weights rose by between 7 and 15 kg. Dietary restriction during the carbamazepine treatment was ineffective in promoting weight loss, and loss of the excess weight was achieved only when the drug was discontinued. These patients demonstrate an as yet unpublished adverse effect of carbamazepine. In carbamazepine-induced weight gain, overeating and fat deposition must be taken into consideration as a differential diagnosis to the hitherto described water retention and edema.

Adolescent

Autosplenectomy complicating pneumococcal meningitis in an adult.

We present a rare complication of pneumococcal meningitis. A 56-year-old female patient with pneumococcal meningitis developed acute hyposplenism. Left-sided hypochondriacal pain accompanied by a marked thrombocytosis developed during the convalescent period. Abdominal radionuclide and computed tomographic scans demonstrated damage to the spleen. The findings were compatible with autosplenectomy.

Female

Alkaline phosphatase level in CSF in various brain tumors and pulmonary carcinomatous meningitis.

Twenty-six patients with various brain tumors or carcinomatous meningitis were examined for alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in the cerebrospinal fluid. ALP enzyme levels were compared with the respective levels in control groups of 75 patients with epilepsy, stroke, bacterial and viral meningitis and intervertebral disc prolapse. Extremely high ALP levels in CSF (9516 mu/l, 1425 mu/l, and 871 mu/l) were found in patients with pulmonary carcinomatous meningitis. Among all other patients with brain tumors, ALP levels in CSF were in the normal range. Examination of ALP in serum yielded normal results in all patients. In patients with pulmonary carcinomatous meningitis, the enzyme level in CSF was examined during various stages of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Decreased ALP enzyme level was found during treatment followed by recurring rising levels a month after the treatment coinciding with clinical relapse. No correlation was found between the level of ALP enzyme and the biochemical and cellular content of the CSF during the various stages of treatment.

Adolescent

Glioblastoma multiforme with bone metastase and cauda equina syndrome.

Remote metastases, leptomeningeal dissemination and spreading of the tumor by infiltration are rare complications of glioblastoma multiforme. The existence of different forms of spreading simultaneously is very rare. We present a case of a young patient with glioblastoma multiforme who was operated and subsequently received radiation therapy and cytotoxic treatment. Eight months following the operation, the patient developed cauda equina syndrome. Bone metastases of vertebrae and ribs, and direct infiltration of the recurrent tumor mass into the ethmoidal and frontal sinuses were found. The described patient demonstrates a very rare combination of all forms of spreading metastases in glioblastoma multiforme. The infiltration of the tumor mass into the sinuses and the direct permeation of the meningeal and dural venous system and of the leptomeninges, may explain the mechanism of the development of distant metastases and leptomeningeal dissemination in glioblastoma multiforme.

Adult

Chloral hydrate in intractable status epilepticus.

Five adult patients were admitted to the neurological department in a state of status epilepticus. All were treated unsuccessfully with IV diazepam and diphenylhydantoin. Administration of sodium valporate or phenobarbital also was ineffective. However, after treatment with intrarectal chloral hydrate, all seizures ceased. The excellent effect of this drug was proved both clinically and electrodiagnostically. Discussed is the possibility of using chloral hydrate to treat patients with status epilepticus in whom conventional treatment has failed.

Administration, Rectal

Individualised instruction, congruent authority structure and student outcomes.

Measures of formal and informal authority structure were employed in order to assess academic and non-academic outcomes of individualised instruction. A sample of 386 fourth and fifth-grade elementary school children studying in nine individualised and 10 traditional classes was employed. Thus academic outcomes of either method of instruction were found to be contingent on the congruence between formal and informal authority structure: higher achievement scores were obtained when individualisation as school policy was accompanied by teacher sharing of authority with pupils at the informal classroom level. Achievement in less individualised classes was higher when teacher did not extend decision-making opportunities to pupils. Non-academic pupil outcomes were generally unrelated to either formal or informal authority structure. Similarities and differences between these results and former findings are discussed in light of cross-cultural differences in classroom individualisation.

Achievement

LDH isoenzymes in cerebrospinal fluid in various brain tumours.

This study examined the isoenzymatic pattern of LDH in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) as well as the ratio between the five fractions of LDH among patients with various brain tumours, carcinomatous meningitis and control groups. LDH 1/LDH 2 less than 1 was found significant for carcinomatous meningitis (p less than 0.001) and brain metastases (p less than 0.001). LDH 1/LDH 2 ratio was found to be significantly lower in carcinomatous meningitis than in brain metastases (p less than 0.05). No LDH 1/LDH 2 ratios smaller than 1 were found in the other groups. The LDH 1/LDH 2 ratio smaller than 1 was found in the early stage of carcinomatous meningitis without other evidences of the involvement of the leptomeninges. Examination of LDH 1/LDH 2 can be found as an adjunctive method to identify brain metastases and carcinomatous meningitis at the initial stage.

Biomarkers, Tumor

Cerebrospinal fluid lactate dehydrogenase levels in early stroke and transient ischemic attacks.

We examined the concentrations of lactate dehydrogenase in the cerebrospinal fluid of 25 patients with strokes and 15 patients with transient ischemic attacks less than or equal to 8 hours after the onset of the vascular event and in a control group of 21 patients. We found significantly higher concentrations in the stroke patients (40.9 +/- 14.5 units/l) than in the transient ischemic attack patients (11.8 +/- 2.9 units/l, p less than 0.001) and the controls (11.2 +/- 6.7 units/l, p less than 0.001). Among the stroke patients, we found a significantly higher lactate dehydrogenase concentration in those with cortical strokes (n = 12, 50 +/- 12.3 units/l) than in those with lacunar white matter infarcts (n = 5, 26.4 +/- 6.5 units/l; p less than 0.001) and those with basal ganglia infarcts (n = 8, 36.37 +/- 11.7 units/l; p less than 0.05). Our study offers a supplementary examination for diagnosing cortical or subcortical infarction during the early stage of the event, with the possibility of distinguishing precisely stroke from transient ischemic attack during the first hours after onset of the event.

Acute Disease

Characterization of the binding of alpha-bungarotoxin to bacterially expressed cholinergic binding sites.

Bacterially expressed cDNA fragments of the alpha-subunit of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor previously have been shown to bind alpha-bungarotoxin (Gershoni, J. M. (1987) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 84, 4318-4321). Here, a novel system has been developed in which totally synthetic alpha-bungarotoxin binding sites are expressed in Escherichia coli transformants. The amino acid sequences, alpha 184-200 and alpha 184-196 of the Torpedo californica alpha-subunit of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor were expressed as trpE fusion proteins via the expression vector pATH2 and a method for the enrichment of these fusion proteins is described. Quantitative analysis of toxin binding to the recombinant binding sites demonstrates that they bind toxin with affinities of KD = 2.5 X 10(-7) and 4.7 X 10(-6) M, respectively. Furthermore, the pharmacological profile of alpha 184-200 qualitatively reflects that of the intact receptor. These data not only indicate that the area of alpha 184-200 is an essential element of the cholinergic binding site but that residues alpha 197-200 contribute a point of contact between the receptor and alpha-bungarotoxin.

Amino Acid Sequence

Amantadine antagonism of oxotremorine effects.

Administration of oxotremorine to mice produced centrally-mediated effects, such as catalepsy and tremor, and peripheral muscarinic actions, such as diarrhoea and lachrymation. Pretreatment with amantadine (25--200 mg/kg) prevented these oxotremorine-induced effects in mice. Catalepsy was most susceptible and tremor most resistant to the administration of amantadine. The possible mechanisms involved are discussed. Our results validate the use of the oxotremorine model in the search for novel antiparkinsonian drugs.

Amantadine

Dopamine-beta-hydroxylase activity in serum of patients with hepatic damage.

1. The activity of dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DBH) was assayed in the serum of 102 patients, mostly with varying degrees of hepatic dysfunction. 2. DBH activity was not elevated in those with liver disorder and did not correlate with serum bilirubin, transaminase, lactic dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase or creatine phosphokinase. 3. It is concluded that the liver is not necessarily involved in the inactivation of DBH.

Dopamine beta-Hydroxylase

Serum dopamine beta-hydroxylase activity in acute cardiac disease.

The activity of dopamine beta-hydroxylase in the serum was measured in patients with acute cardiac disorders who were admitted to a coronary care unit. The activity of the enzyme on admission was similar in patients with acute myocardial infarction and in those with other conditions; on discharge, the activity was reduced significantly. Patients with myocardial infarction had the greatest fall in the activity of dopamine beta-hydroxylase. Patients with multiple signs of sympathetic hyperactivity had significantly higher values for the activity of dopamine beta-hydroxylase on admission. Pain was found to significantly increase the activity of the enzyme. These data confirm findings that the activity of dopamine beta-hydroxylase in the serum reflects the intensity of sympathetic activity. The factors contributing to the elevated sympathetic activity in some patients with acute myocardial infarction seem to be nonspecific, but because of the ominous nature of increased sympathetic tone in this condition, it could be advantageous to identify these patients.

Acute Disease