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Biomedical subjects

A W Craft

Publications and source records attributed to A W Craft.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

Intestinal permeability in children with Crohn's disease and coeliac disease.

Mannitol and lactulose were used as probe molecules to measure intestinal permeability in children with active small-bowel Crohn's disease and with untreated coeliac disease. Mannitol and lactulose were administered by mouth in a moderately hypertonic solution (580 mmol (mosmol)/l), and results were expressed as the ratio of the molecules excreted in urine over five hours. Patients with Crohn's disease had a sixfold increase in permeability (due to increased lactulose permeability) and those with coeliac disease a fivefold increase (due to decreased mannitol permeability). From these results the test offers potential as a noninvasive investigation in children with small-bowel disease.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Immunoglobulin concentrations in children receiving treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

As part of a wider survey of infections and defence mechanisms, concentrations of serum immunoglobulins IgG, IgA, and IgM were measured regularly by single radial immunodiffusion in a group of children receiving treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia while in their first remission. IgM concentrations were often markedly raised at diagnosis, and IgG and IgA concentrations both began falling within one month of diagnosis. Four months after diagnosis all three had fallen significantly, but this tendency stopped after six months. Only IgG partially recovered, and non returned to pretreatment concentrations even in children followed for two years. The results suggest that vincristine and prednisone are the major factors that initiated the fall in IgG and IgA. Lowered IgM concentrations may have been due to cranial irradiation or continuous maintenance treatment, or both.

Child↗
PubMed1981

Fatal dissemination of cytomegalovirus after bone marrow transplantation.

The clinical course and necropsy findings are described of an 11-year-old child found to have active cytomegalovirus infection at the time of bone marrow transplantation for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Attention is drawn to the presence of primitive mononuclear cells of uncertain origin in the regenerating bone marrow.

Bone Marrow↗
PubMed1981

Methotrexate absorption in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

The absorption of oral methotrexate (MTX) has been studied in 124 children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Blood levels of MTX were very variable and unpredictable. There was a 20-fold difference between the highest and lowest peak level achieved. Division into two groups has shown that those children who absorb MTX slowly have a worse disease-free survival. It is possible that MTX damages the intestinal mucosa and causes a malabsorption of itself in some children. It is suggested that future protocols for the treatment of ALL should include pharmacokinetic studies, which may help to explain the unexpected relapses of good prognosis patients and lead to the development of more effective treatment.

Child↗
PubMed1980

Liver damage in children with acute leukaemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma on oral maintenance chemotherapy.

Eight of 36 children receiving maintenance chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma had liver biopsies on the basis of clinical abnormalities and/or elevated serum enzyme levels. Six biopsies were abnormal, including one in a boy with spider naevi who showed micronudular cirrhosis; he appeared to retain methotrexate in the blood for a prolonged period and his SGOT level did not return to normal for 19 months after maintenance chemotherapy was discontinued. The five other abnormal biopsies showed minor changes in the portal tracts. The six children with abnormal liver histology showed a wide variation in their early handling of an oral methotrexate dose. There was a statistically significant rise in mean SGOT and alkaline phosphatase during treatment, but the wide scatter in values precluded their use as accurate indicators of liver damage in these children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Virus infections in children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

The pattern of virus isolation and illness was studied in 64 children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) during periods of apparent infection and when the children were well. The virus isolation rate of 2.2 viruses per child a year is similar to that previously found in normal children. In only 32% of children with symptoms were viruses found and 14.5% had viruses isolated when asymptomatic. The children with ALL appear to be more vulnerable to multiple virus infections and to excrete the virus for longer periods. This may be due to failure of production of both local and systemic antibodies. The failure in the past to recognise the true importance of virus infections in ALL may have been due to inadequate diagnostic techniques.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Neutrophil function in children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in the presence and absence of viral infections.

Neutrophil function was assessed regularly in 26 children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) in remission, both when they were well and during viral infections. Tests of candidacidal ability when these children were apparently free of infection showed a trend towards lower levels compared with controls. The most pronounced depression of candidacidal ability and chemotaxis was during viral infections, and these two functions of neutrophils were more likely to be abnormal then than when the children were free of infection. In children with ALL in remission, whose neutrophils may function abnormally even when they are well, the risk of acquiring bacterial or fungal infections may be made greater by virus infections.

Candida albicans↗
PubMed1978

Difficulties in diagnosing and managing congenital dislocation of the hip.

In a 10-year retrospective study of 25 921 consecutive deliveries in a neonatal unit in Newcastle upon Tyne 271 cases of congenital dislocation of the hips were identified. Of these, the outcome was unsatisfactory in 12: four diagnoses were missed at birth and eight children required further surgical treatment. Radiological abnormalities were detected in a further five children at long-term follow-up examination. From the results of this study and other published series it was concluded that lack of attention to detail was the main cause of inadequate diagnosis and management of congenital dislocation of the hips. More detailed instruction of junior staff, confirmation of the diagnosis by senior staff, the use of a non-removable splint early in treatment, and thorough follow-up by senior staff are all important.

Communication↗
PubMed1977

Methotrexate-induced malabsorption in children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

A one-hour D-xylose absorption test was performed on 18 children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Xylose absorption was normal in children who had not received methotrexate, but there was a significant degree of malabsorption in those who had taken methotrexate within the previous seven days. There was a progressive and significant increase in malabsorption related to the cumulative dose of methotrexate. These findings provide further evidence that regular methotrexate treatment every seven days is more toxic than if it is more widely spaced. The spacing of treatment is currently under investigation.

Child↗