Browsing by Author "Figueroa, C"
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- ItemAccuracy of invasive and noninvasive tests to diagnose Helicobacter pylori infection after antibiotic treatment(WILLIAMS & WILKINS, 1997) Rollan, A; Giancaspero, R; Arrese, M; Figueroa, C; Vollrath, V; Schultz, M; Duarte, I; Vial, PObjectives: To compare the diagnostic accuracy of the most widely available tests for diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection after antibiotic treatment, Methods: A total of 59 H, pylori-positive, duodenal ulcer patients (mean age, 40.7 +/- 11.7 yr; 40 male and 19 female) were treated for 2 wk with either amoxicillin-metronidazole (n = 36) or omeprazole-amoxicillin-tinidazole (n = 23), and after 4 wk, were tested for H, pylori infection by [C-14]urea breath test (UBT), serum IgG antibody level, and multiple antral biopsies for rapid urease testing, histology, Warthin-Starry stain, and polymerase chain reaction to detect H, pylori DNA, Infection status was established by a concordance of test results, Results: H, pylori was eradicated in 47 patients (80%), UBT and rapid urease testing had the best sensitivity and specificity, although not statistically different to Warthin-Starry stain and polymerase chain reaction, Serology and histology had little diagnostic value in this setting due to high proportion of false-positive results, Conclusions: Noninvasive UBT is as accurate in predicting H, pylori status after antibiotic treatment as rapid urease testing and Warthin-Starry stain, Especially for duodenal ulcer patients, UBT could be considered the gold standard to confirm eradication of H, pylori.
- ItemEstrogen and luminal stimulation of rat uterine kallikrein(OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC, 1997) Corthorn, J; Figueroa, C; Valdes, GTo understand the regulation of rat uterine kallikrein, we evaluated its variations in animals that had been ovariectomized and supplemented with estradiol or progesterone, in pseudopregnant animals intraluminally oil-stimulated or unstimulated, and in unilaterally pregnant animals. The content of kallikrein, determined by an RIA highly specific for rK1 (true tissue kallikrein), rose in ovariectomized rats with estradiol supplementation (0.28 +/- 0.03 to 0.44 +/- 0.05 ng/mg) and decreased with progesterone (0.13 +/- 0.02 ng/mg; n = 15; p < 0.001). Kallikrein content rose from Day 1 of pseudopregnancy (PP1) to a maximum on PP7 (0.18 +/- 0.01 to 0.39 +/- 0.04 ng/mg protein; n = 36; p < 0.001). On PP7 with unilateral oil intraluminal stimulation, the decidualized horn had higher kallikrein content than did the contralateral (0.98 +/- 0.09 vs. 0.35 +/- 0.05 ng/mg protein; n = 7; p < 0.001). Immunocytochemistry revealed that mainly rK1 is localized in the luminal and glandular epithelium, and it increased in the stimulated horn. In the unilaterally pregnant rat on Day 7, the fertile horn had a higher kallikrein content than its contralateral control (0.71 +/- 0.07 vs. 0.37 +/- 0.03 ng/mg protein, pt 0.001; n = 8), as well as a higher kininogenase activity (239 +/- 34.3 vs. 83.5 +/- 7.9 ng bradykinin(BK)/h per horn, p < 0.003; and 945 +/- 90 vs. 585 +/- 40 ng 8K/h per gram tissue, p < 0.002; n = 6). These results indicate that estrogen stimulates, whereas progesterone inhibits, kallikrein production, and that hormonal regulation is overridden by intraluminal stimulation, thus associating the enzyme with decidualization.