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Biomedical subjects

A N Hamlyn

Publications and source records attributed to A N Hamlyn.

46 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1975

Casual blood-ethanol estimations in patients with chronic liver disease.

Patients attending a clinic for diseases of the liver were tested for blood-ethanol by a gas chromatographic technique sensitive to about 5 mg/dl (1 mmol/1). Of 172 patients (51 men, 121 women) 36% gave a history of heavy drinking (greater than 80 g ethanol/day; equivalent to 8 fl oz of whisky or 1 litre of wine) and 13% had ethanol in the bloodstream at values of 8-400 mg/dl. 42 patients (24%) had the liver-biopsy changes of alcoholic liver disease, and 17 of these had ethanol in the blood at one time or another. Nearly half (22/49) of all patients admitting heavy drinking also had detectable blood-ethanol. In all cases but 1 where blood-ethanol was found, a drinking history was admitted on first attendance, and alcoholic liver disease was nearly always found on subsequent biopsy. Blood-ethanol and admission of drinking were most constantly found in association with alcoholic steatosis and hepatitis. Both features were less commonly present in cases of alcoholic cirrhosis. Only 1 patient of 22 with "cryptogenic" cirrhosis on biopsy was found to have both ethanol in the blood and an alcoholic history, although 5 had an alcoholic history alone. The value of serial blood-ethanol estimations in the treatment of alcoholics and the detection of relapses is demonstrated. The findings confirm the relatively low frequency of alcoholism as a contributor to cirrhosis in the United Kingdom. Alcohol does not seem a major cause of cryptogenic cirrhosis. Casual blood-ethanol estimation is a useful and objective adjunct to techniques of investigating diseases of the liver.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1974

The epidemiology of primary biliary cirrhosis: a survey of mortality in England and Wales.

Primary biliary cirrhosis is a rare disease in the general population. Estimates of its true incidence are difficult but since survival time is unaffected by treatment, mortality may reflect important regional and other variations. One hundred and sixty-five death certificates collected in England and Wales over the five-year period 1967-1971 were inspected and confirmed an overwhelming predilection for females. Deaths rose sharply at ages 50-54 in the latter with a peak of 4.1 million(-1) year(-1), with perhaps a secondary peak at ages 70-74. No relation of mortality with climate, altitude, soil type, annual temperature range, or occupation was found, although outside the UK a broad correlation exists with total cirrhosis deaths. There was a suggestive excess of deaths among married women. The greater frequency of deaths in the London area, a rise in mortality from country to urban areas, a fall-off in deaths from primary biliary cirrhosis in old age, and predominance for social class I suggest a simple relationship with standards of medical care or diagnosis. An ;epidemic' of deaths in 1971 is attributed to greater availability of the mitochondrial antibody test in the regions. The importance of familial primary biliary cirrhosis and various models of pathogenesis are discussed. Both constitutional and environmental factors producing the disease must be widely distributed in the population of this country.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1974

ABO blood groups, Rhesus negativity, and primary biliary cirrhosis.

The distribution of blood groups and Rhesus negativity in 91 British patients with primary biliary cirrhosis was compared with a sample of registered blood donors. There were no significant differences from the expected proportions calculated from the control groups. Although the number of cases studied is small the analysis does not confirm previous reports of an excess of A group in the disease. If a genetic basis exists for primary biliary cirrhosis alternative markers must be found.

ABO Blood-Group System↗