Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

A Gordon

Publications and source records attributed to A Gordon.

At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

Drinking and occupational status in New Zealand men.

The self-reported alcohol consumption of various occupational groups in New Zealand is examined. A sample of 10,000, representative of the general adult population, was questioned in 1978-1979. Only data on men (N = 5000) are considered in the present study. Various occupations and groups of occupations are ranked on several variables of frequency and quantity of drinking. The interrelationships of these variables and the working conditions related to them are discussed. There is an association between drinking pattern and general social class, but 61% of the specific occupational groups form a cluster in the range of 25-60 ml of absolute alcohol consumed on one or two occasions per week. The extreme positions on drinking variables of specific occupational groups is examined in terms of job characteristics. Most of the correlations are very low; drinking at work is the highest. The relationships can best be described in terms of the social class of the occupational groups and the frequency vs quantity dichotomy. The distribution of the social classes in terms of drinking intensity is discussed. Employment in the lower classes is related to lower frequency and higher quantity of drinking, and higher cirrhosis mortality. Overall, social class appears to be a more important indicator than occupational group or drinking pattern.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Dehydrated hereditary stomatocytosis--a report of two families and a review of the literature.

Two families with an unusual type of congenital hemolysis characterized by a normal to high hemoglobin, high reticulocyte count, the presence of target cells or small irregular cells on the peripheral blood smear, and bowl shaped cells in hypotonic wet preparations are described. The underlying abnormality appears to be an increased membrane permeability to both Na+ and K+, with consequent alteration of total cell cation and water content. Seven families previously reported are also reviewed. The entity is currently known as hereditary stomatocytosis with hydrated and dehydrated subtypes, but the diagnosis is frequently overlooked because of the variable morphology of the red cells, often without obvious stomatocytosis.

2,3-Diphosphoglycerate↗
PubMed1983

Catecholamines and cholinergic enzymes in pre-senile and senile Alzheimer-type dementia and Down's syndrome.

Noradrenaline, dopamine, homovanillic acid (HVA), choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) levels were measured in post-mortem brains from 8 cases of pre-senile Alzheimer-type dementia (ATD), 5 cases of senile ATD, 4 cases of Down's syndrome aged 53-57 years, one 27-year-old case of Down's syndrome and 13 controls. In the controls, the concentration of noradrenaline in hypothalamus (P less than 0.05) and mamillary body (P less than 0.02) decreased with age. Compared with age-matched controls, noradrenaline levels in these areas were more markedly reduced in pre-senile ATD (P less than 0.01), the 53-57-year-old cases of Down's syndrome (P less than 0.001) and in the 27-year-old Down's, than in senile ATD (hypothalamus P less than 0.05, mamillary body, n.s.). Dopamine and HVA concentrations in caudate nucleus were unaltered in pre-senile or senile ATD but dopamine was decreased (P less than 0.01) in the older cases, although not in the 27-year-old case, of Down's syndrome. In the olfactory tubercle in ATD the level of HVA was unaltered but the activity of ChAT was decreased (P less than 0.01). ChAT activity was reduced in pre-senile ATD (P less than 0.001), the older Down's cases (P less than 0.01) but not the young Down's case, and senile ATD (P less than 0.001) in the temporal cortex and in pre-senile ATD (P less than 0.001) and the older Down's cases (P less than 0.001) but not senile ATD in the caudate nucleus.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Acetylcholinesterase↗
PubMed1983

Depressive mood in male college students. Father-son interactional patterns.

This study was designed to investigate the interrelationship of sets of paternal and adolescent factors in explaining depressive mood in normal male adolescents. Two hundred forty-six male college students and their fathers were administered separate, written questionnaires assessing the personality attributes of both fathers and sons and the socialization practices of the fathers. Results of regression analyses indicated that of three hypothesized models (independent, mediational, interdependent) the mediational model was consistent with the data. Thus, we found that the father's personality attributes and his socialization techniques are related to the son's personality, which, in turn, is related to the son's depressive mood. In addition, certain personality attributes of the son interacted synergistically with those of his father to produce more frequent reports of depressive mood in the son.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Postoperative malignant hyperthermia episodes in patients who received "safe" anaesthetics.

Three cases of postoperative malignant hyperthermia (MH) episodes, after what was considered to be a "safe" anaesthetic, are described. In each case the temperature rose in a delayed fashion after an uneventful anaesthetic. Treatment included intravenous dantrolene, surface cooling and ventilation with 100 per cent oxygen. Stress in the postoperative period may have been the triggering factor responsible for these reactions. Patients should be monitored well into the postoperative period as MH episodes may occur long after surgery is completed. If stress represents a significant triggering mechanism then no anaesthetic technique can be considered entirely safe.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Antrafenine, naproxen and placebo in osteoarthritis: a comparative study.

Antrafenine is a new non-narcotic analgesic. In a double-blind, cross-over study the efficacy of antrafenine at doses of 450 mg/day and 900 mg/day was compared to naproxen 750 mg/day and placebo in patients with osteoarthritis. Each drug treatment was given for two weeks, the total duration of the study being eight consecutive weeks. Antrafenine, at either dose, was effective in relieving pain associated with osteoarthritis; the efficacy was comparable to naproxen. There was no definite indication that 900 mg/day was more effective than 450 mg/day. Antrafenine, at both dosage levels, was well tolerated. Any noted side-effects were mild. There was a total of 12 side-effects in nine patients with the high dose, five side-effects in five patients with the low dose, compared with 11 side-effects in nine patients with naproxen and 10 side-effects in seven patients with placebo.

Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal↗
PubMed1983

Biofeedback improvement of lower esophageal sphincter pressures and reflux symptoms.

During a course of 10 biofeedback sessions in a single subject, the lower esophageal sphincter pressure measured with an open-tipped perfused catheter assembly showed significant and progressive increase with each session, until it reached normal levels. There was also a decrease in symptomatic reflux episodes, from three times daily to once every 2 weeks. Macroscopic esophagitis was detected by endoscopy before the first session, but was no longer evident in the endoscopic examination after biofeedback training. After the biofeedback training program, the subject was able to control his lower esophageal sphincter without biofeedback.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Behaviour disturbances during recovery from herpes simplex encephalitis.

Bizarre behaviour disturbances in four patients occurring during incomplete recovery from herpes simplex encephalitis are described. Some aspects of their behaviour were similar to that originally described by Klüver and Bucy in monkeys following bilateral temporal lobectomy. Previous reports of behavioural disturbances in man after herpes simplex encephalitis are reviewed and attention drawn to the aggressive and disruptive behaviour that is often seen. With the reduced mortality in herpes simplex encephalitis in recent years it is possible that behaviour disturbances such as those described here will be seen more frequently.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Primary hyperparathyroidism diagnosed at autopsy. A study of eight cases.

This paper describes the clinical and pathological findings of eight cases of primary hyperparathyroidism first diagnosed at autopsy. The eight cases were obtained from the autopsy files of the Western General Hospital, Edinburgh over a decade (1971-80). The duration of the final hospital admission was very short in the majority of cases but analysis of the clinical history, in which gastro-intestinal and neuro-psychiatric disturbances figured prominently, showed that symptoms of the disease may have been present for very much longer--perhaps years in some instances. Details of the main autopsy findings and cause of death are also presented.

Adenoma↗
PubMed1983

Stimulation of sugar transport in cultured heart cells by triiodothyronine (T3) covalently bound to red blood cells and by T3 in the presence of serum.

T3, covalently bound to red blood cells (RBCs), stimulated the uptake rate of 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DOG) in cultured chick embryo heart cells. The response, measured 6 h after exposure, was at least the same than that to free T3. An inhibitor of rhodamine-T3 internalization, bacitracin, did not affect the stimulation of sugar uptake by T3 regardless of whether T3 was covalently bound or free. Pretreatment of RBC-T3 with anti-T3 immunoglobulin G completely blocked the effect of T3, whereas normal rabbit immunoglobulin G failed to do so. Addition of 5% chick serum to the medium stimulated 2-DOG uptake to 144% of the control at 6 h. Adding T3 (10 nM) to the serum-containing medium increased 2-DOG uptake to 171% of the control. The effect of T3 alone or in the presence of serum was not inhibited by cycloheximide, puromycin, or actinomycin D. A T3 dose response curve, in medium containing 10% dehormonized serum, showed enhancement of the T3 effect when compared with the curve obtained in the serum-free medium. The minimal effective concentration of T3 was 10 pM in the presence of serum and 100 pM in its absence. The slope of the linear portion of the dose response curve was greatly increased and the maximal response markedly enhanced by serum. The ED50 was 0.33 nM vs. 0.43 nM in terms of total T3 concentration and 0.16 nM vs. 0.43 nM in terms of free T3 in the presence or absence of serum, respectively. These data suggest that T3, in physiological concentrations, activates sugar transport through an external contact with the cell surface.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Thyrotrophin and growth hormone secretion and cell morphology in hypothyroid pituitary cells cultured on a natural extracellular matrix.

Hypothyroid rat pituitary cells were cultured on an extracellular matrix (ECM) produced by corneal endothelial cells. ECM markedly affected the following parameters. 1) Cell attachment, spreading and proliferation were improved, resulting in a more rapid formation of confluent cell monolayers. 2) In the presence of ECM the production of both thyrotrophin (TSH) and growth hormone (GH) was larger than in its absence. Immunofluorescence studies revealed that 20% of the cells in these monolayers were thyrotrophs; consequently, TSH content was higher while GH level was lower than in control cultures of euthyroid pituitaries. These data suggest that the in vivo physiological differences are maintained by the conditions of the culture. 3) ECM enabled the response of both the somatotrophs and the thyrotrophs to thyrotrophin releasing hormone (TRH) and the cells remained responsive for at least 10 days. Maximal stimulation (1.3- to 6-fold) was obtained with 14 nM of TRH. In the absence of ECM the cells failed to respond to TRH. 4) Cell morphology was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Cells grown on ECM were characteristically epithelial, whereas those cultured on plastic plates had a fibroblast-like appearance. Four types of cells were identified in the epithelial cell monolayers by the appearance of their surface. TRH induced a 2-fold increase in the number of cells covered with microvilli and a corresponding decrease in the number of smooth surfaced cells. This suggests that hormone secretion is associated with the formation of microvilli.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

A double blind study of antrafenine, naproxen and placebo in osteoarthrosis.

Antrafenine, a new non-narcotic analgesic, has been compared at a dose of 600 mg/day to naproxen 500 mg/day and placebo in a double blind three way cross-over study on 36 patients with osteoarthrosis of the hip and/or knee. There was significant improvement with both active drugs. There was no significant difference between the two active drugs. Patients' preference at the end of the study was antrafenine 7, naproxen 10, placebo 2, no preference 9.3 patients withdrew because of concomitant illness; 2 patients withdrew because of lack of efficacy in the placebo period; 3 patients failed to attend clinic. Antrafenine is more efficacious than placebo in the treatment of osteoarthrosis of the hip and/or knee, and at the doses tested, is of comparable potency to naproxen.

Bone Diseases↗
PubMed1983

Immunodeficiency measles encephalitis.

The first case of measles encephalitis occurring in an adult with late onset primary hypogammaglobulinaemia is described. This diagnosis was confirmed by examination of the parietal cortex at autopsy with the electron microscope. As the fatal outcome of this case might have been prevented with immunoglobulin replacement therapy, we suggest that such therapy be commenced following the diagnosis even if the patient has only minor infective episodes.

Agammaglobulinemia↗