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Biomedical subjects

B L Webber

Publications and source records attributed to B L Webber.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1977

Tuberculosis of the breast.

Twenty-one cases of mammary tuberculosis are reported and the attendant clinical and histological difficulties described. It is probable that contemporary clinicians would now make the clinical diagnosis of breast abscess or carcinoma. Furthermore, the histological features (without demonstration or culture of the organism) may be confused with those granulomatous epithelloid reactions seen in mammary duct ectasia (comedo cell mastitis, plasma cell mastitis) and in traumatic fat necrosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Bone infarction complicated by sarcomatous change: a case report.

A patient with a sarcoma of the tibia associated with multiple bone infarcts and a history of alcoholism, is presented. This is a rare association. The possible aetiological role of bone infarcts in relation to the development of a sarcoma is discussed.

Fibrosarcoma↗
PubMed1976

Portal vein thrombosis with ascites. A case report.

A case of portal vein thrombosis with ascites in an adult is presented with postmortem findings. The experience at Groote Schuur Hospital of portal vein thrombosis and Budd-Chiari syndrome between 1964 and 1974 is summarised and the literature is reviewed.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

The multiple sclerotic osteogenic sarcoma of early childhood.

Two cases of sclerosing osteogenic sarcoma that occurred in early childhood are reported. They and the similar cases reviewed are unusual in their development at an unusually early age, their multicentric presentation and their densely sclerotic nature. These are uncommon manifestations of osteogenic sarcoma and are considered due to proliferative metastatic osteoid formation in areas of rapid bone growth.

Child↗
PubMed1976

Hepatic haem metabolism in porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT): enzymatic studies and their relation to liver ultrastructure.

Hepatic levels of cytochrome P-450 are elevated more than 4-fold in porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) but not in other hepatic porphyrias or in non-porphyrics with alcoholic liver disease. In this study the ability of liver homogenates to metabolise aminopyrine and benzpyrene was correlated with hepatic cytochrome P-450 levels and with liver ultrastructure. The Km and Vmax for aminopyrine-N-demethylation and for benzpyrene hydroxylation exhibited a wide range of values with no significant differences between PCT patients and nonporphyric controls. Proliferation of the hepatic smooth endoplasmic reticulum in PCT was not significantly different from that observed in liver tissue obtained from patients with variegate porphyria or protoporphyria. Kushner reported data suggesting diminished uro'gen-I-decarboxylase activity as the autosomal dominantly inherited metabolic defect in PCT. Red cell uro'gen-I-decarboxylase activity was measured in 5 PCT males and 4 PCT females and activities were compared with 16 sex- and age-matched non-porphyric control patients. There was no significant difference in uro'gen-I-decarboxylase activity in the PCT and non-porphyric patients nor was there any significant difference relating to the sex of the patient. The role of iron in PCT was studied indirectly using the hexachlorobenzene porphyric rat as the rodent model.

Aminopyrine↗
PubMed1976

The hepatic lesion in protoporphyria (PP): preliminary studies of haem metabolism, liver structure and ultrastructure.

Five unrelated patients with protoporphyria (PP) had diagnostic liver biopsies performed to assess the degree of liver damage. The porphyrin content of the liver was quantitated and characterized and liver damage was assessed. Ultraviolet (UV) microscopy was performed in each case. Liver structure was assessed by light, polarization and electron microscopy. In 3 patients the liver was visualized directly before biopsy through a peritoneoscope. Liver damage ranged from minimal cell necrosis to portal fibrosis; the latter was observed in a 27-year-old sib of a patient (M.I.) who had died, aged 29, 3 years previously in liver failure from PP-related cirrhosis. Liver tissue from the latter patient which was obtained at the time of autopsy was re-examined by light and polarization microscopy. Hepatic pigment deposits, thought to be lipofuscin, showed birefringence on polarization microscopy in two cases, one of them being patient M.I. with PP-cirrhosis. Liver fluorescence on UV microscopy was centrizonal, punctate, faded rapidly and was easily distinguishable from that seen in porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT). The porphyrin content of the liver tissue in biopsied patients was between 5 mug and 80 mug, and in the autopsy case 1600 mug protoporphyrin/g wet weight liver, and on thin layer chromatography only dicarboxylic porphyrins were demonstrable. Hepatic cytochrome P-450 levels in protoporphyria were within normal range. Vmax and Km for aminopyrine-N-demethylation and benzpyrene hydroxylation did not differ significantly from our findings in PCT, variegate porphyria in remission and in non-porphyric controls. However, the activity of hepatic delta-aminolaevulinic acid (ALA) synthetase was significantly enhanced in 2 of the 3 patients in whom this measurement was performed.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Jaundice in severe bacterial infection.

Thirty patients are described who developed jaundice during the course of severe bacterial infection. Although the infecting organism was variable, as was the site of infection, the patients were generally ill and pyrexial. The group had a very high mortality rate (43%). A positive blood culture was obtained in 11 patients. Biochemical abnormalities noted were those of an increased concentration of conjugated bilirubin in the serum with only a modest increase in alkaline phosphatase and transaminase levels. Serum cholesterol was found to be normal. The mean serum urea level was significantly elevated, as were creatine phosphokinase and lactic dehydrogenase. Most patients exhibited a neutrophil leukocytosis and an elevated sedimentation rate, and the mean hemoglobin level was low. Liver histology was studied in 13 patients. There was evidence of mild bile stasis in 5 and moderate bile stasis in 2. Findings were otherwise nonspecific and were characterized by fatty change and/or inflammatory cells in the portal areas. There was no correlation between degree or duration of juandice and prognosis, although all patients who died remained jaundiced until death. It is suggested that this syndrome is not one of true cholestasis in that all biliary substances were not shown to be elevated in the serum, but that it is rather a selective defect in the excretion of conjugated bilirubin.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Acute biochemical and histological effects of portacaval shunt in the normal rat.

In previous studies of rats with portacaval shunts, elevated gamma-globulin levels 2 weeks after shunt were attributed to antibodies to bacterial lipopolysaccharide, which were normally filtered by the liver. This study was designed to determine the tempo of this rise and the magnitude of hepatocellular damage within the first 4 days of the operation. Acute reversible hepatocellular damage was shown by elevated levels of aspartate aminotransferase which returned to normal within 48 hours. This was confirmed on histology. There was no rise in gamma-globulin during this study but levels of albumin were better maintained in shunted rats than in sham-operated rats. Levels of alpha2 and beta-globulin in the former fell in comparison with the latter animals.

Alpha-Globulins↗
PubMed1975

Acalculous parotid sialadenopathy.

Acalculous inflammation of the parotid gland has been regarded by some as a specific disorder that can be staged as to the severity of the disease process. A review of the literature, however, indicates a divergence of opinion. It is the purpose of this study to test this hypothesis by a retrospective double-blind analysis of clinical, sialographic and histopathologic findings. Forty-two patients who were seen by the Department of Otolaryngology, Washington University School of Medicine from 1961 to 1970 were evaluated by two separate teams. There were 20 sialograms and 30 pathologic specimens, and all were re-examined. Eleven patients had both sialographic studies and histopathologic examination. The clinical presentations and sialographic findings were reviewed. These findings were then compared to each other. Our results indicate that we could not evaluate the severity of the clinical disease by sialography or histopathology. There was no consistent method of staging the sialographic and pathologic findings. In addition, there was no correlation between these two parameters. They reflect neither the patient's clinical syndrome pattern nor the extent of disease. It appears that the parotid gland responds variable to inflammation. These observations are exemplified by case histories.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

An investigation into the hepatic cytochrome P-450 catalysed metabolism of the anaesthetic fluroxene (2,2,2-trifluoroethyl vinyl ether).

The role of the different cytochromes P-450 in the metabolism of the anaesthetic agent fluroxene, and the mechanism of production of toxic effects seen after pre-treatment of the animals with pehnobarbital prior to anaesthesia, have been investigated. Male rats were anaesthetized with fluroxene, or with 2,2,2-trifluroethyl ethyl ether, or with ethyl vinyl ether in an attempt to ascertain the in vivo toxic effects of the three anaesthetic agents. The resultant hepatic histology is reported. A study of the binding and metabolism of fluroxene by isolated rat hepatic microsomes was also made. We conclude that it is elevated levels of cytochrome P-450 which potentiate the toxicity of fluroxene anaesthesia in phenobarbital treated animals and that cytochrome P-448 does not bind or metabolize fluroxene. The potential toxicity of the fluroxene molecule is considered to reside in the trifluoroethyl moiety, while the vinyl group of fluroxene appears to play a role in the observed liver damage.

Allylisopropylacetamide↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Developmental cystic renal neoplasms in children. Diagnostic imaging characteristics.

We report diagnostic imaging and histopathologic findings in four children with different cystic renal neoplasms. The features discerned with computed tomography (CT), as well as ultrasound, correlated well with gross histologic findings, although a definitive diagnosis could not be made on the basis of CT and ultrasound alone. Because the most malignant variants of these lesions cannot be excluded preoperatively, we advocate complete diagnostic imaging studies, followed by nephrectomy, for all cases of cystic renal neoplasms in infants and children.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Natural language generation in health care.

Good communication is vital in health care, both among health care professionals, and between health care professionals and their patients. And well-written documents, describing and/or explaining the information in structured databases may be easier to comprehend, more edifying, and even more convincing than the structured data, even when presented in tabular or graphic form. Documents may be automatically generated from structured data, using techniques from the field of natural language generation. These techniques are concerned with how the content, organization and language used in a document can be dynamically selected, depending on the audience and context. They have been used to generate health education materials, explanations and critiques in decision support systems, and medical reports and progress notes.

Expert Systems↗