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Biomedical subjects

C Isaacson

Publications and source records attributed to C Isaacson.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Hollow visceral myopathy in black South Africans. A report of 14 cases.

Familial (hereditary) hollow visceral myopathy is a rare cause of chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction. Fourteen black patients with the disease, 6 males and 8 females, are described. The earliest morphological lesion is an isolated smooth-muscle degeneration of the muscularis propria of the bowel, especially the colon. The pathological changes are lysis and disappearance of the muscularis propria of the bowel wall, leading to dilatation and intra-luminal stasis. progressive involvement results in large areas of defective muscularis propria. The occasional occurrence of mesenteric arteries showing medial muscular fibrosis supports the concept of a generalized primary smooth-muscle myopathy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

The iron status of urban black subjects with carcinoma of the oesophagus.

Non-haem iron concentrations were measured in 65 specimens of liver obtained from 50 male and 15 female black adults who died from carcinoma of the oesophagus in the Johannesburg area between 1971 and 1980. The results were compared with those obtained in two earlier studies on subjects who died from other causes. The first was carried out on 220 men and 164 women in 1959/1960 at Baragwanath Hospital, Johannesburg, and the second series, which consisted of 248 men and 181 women, was obtained at the same hospital in 1976. During the intervening period there was a marked drop in the incidence and severity of iron overload in urban blacks. A direct comparison between subjects with carcinoma of the oesophagus and the 1976 group showed that the geometric mean hepatic iron concentrations in the carcinoma patients were significantly higher in the 40-49, 50-59 and over-60 age groups. While geometric mean hepatic iron concentrations in the various age groups were also higher than those obtained in the 1959/1960 study, the differences only reached statistical significance in subjects over the age of 60 years. Seven of the 15 women had significant hepatic iron deposits (greater than 0,5% dry weight). These results suggest that the excessive consumption of home-brewed alcoholic drinks contaminated with iron may be directly or indirectly associated with the development of carcinoma of the oesophagus in urban black adults.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Aneurysmal bone cysts of the patella secondary to chondroblastoma. Case reports.

Three cases of aneurysmal bone cysts secondary to chondroblastoma of the patella are described. This association is not particularly uncommon, but its occurrence in the patella is unusual. Treatment consists of curettage and bone grafting; however, if the patella is grossly enlarged or distorted, patellectomy is preferable.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Low survival of South African urban black women with cervical cancer.

In Soweto, Johannesburg, the incidence of cervical cancer, the most common cancer in black women, is higher than in most white populations but lower than in many other populations. In a series of 210 patients who were diagnosed in 1981 and 1982, 50% had died within 1.6 years of diagnosis, a third of the reported survival time in white patients. The pattern of stage at presentation was similar to, although sometimes later than, those reported for various white communities. Data on patients' age at birth of first child, parity, smoking practice, and socioeconomic status, differed little from those in a control group. Neither these factors, nor availability of medical services, could be correlated with the distressingly short period of survival, which also occurs among urban black patients with breast and oesophageal cancers. Presumably, unidentified factors linked with low socioeconomic status affect survival time.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Short duration of survival among South African blacks with oesophageal cancer.

South African urban Blacks are very prone to oesophageal cancer, and mean age at diagnosis is almost a decade lower than that of White patients (male preponderance is equally marked in both ethnic groups). In recent years the socio-economic position of urban Blacks has improved greatly, with considerable strides being made in literacy and awareness of hospital services. This socio-economic improvement could conceivably improve the extremely short durations of survival among oesophageal cancer patients noted in earlier studies; this, however, has not occurred. Of a series comprising 146 male and 37 female patients, 50% had died after 3,6 and 4,2 months respectively. The corresponding periods noted for White patients are about twice as long.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

The iron status of Black subjects with amoebiasis.

Hepatic iron concentrations were measured in 60 Black patients who had died of amoebiasis. There were 18 infants and young children, 30 adult males and 12 adult females. The mean hepatic iron concentration in infants was normal (0,11% dry weight), while those in adult males and females were significantly raised (0,64% and 0,30% dry weight respectively). The figures for adults are somewhat higher than those previously found in Black subjects, suggesting that iron overload is more common in patients with amoebiasis than in the general population. The relevance of these findings to the pathogenesis of amoebiasis is not clear but the relationship may well not be a direct one, since hepatic iron stores were no larger in patients with liver abscesses than in subjects without.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Primary squamous cell carcinoma of the liver occurring in association with hepatolithiasis.

Primary squamous cell carcinoma of the liver has previously been reported to arise only from the lining of a developmental hepatic cyst or in a hepatic teratoma. The authors describe the occurrence of such a tumor in association with multiple intrahepatic cholesterol gallstones. It is suggested that the gallstones may have caused squamous metaplasia of the lining of the bile ducts and that this in turn was responsible for squamous carcinoma formation.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

The pathology of hypertension in a tropical environment.

Hypertension is very common in blacks and occurs at a younger age than in whites. It behaves in an explosive manner with death occurring frequently from cerebral hemorrhage, uremia or congestive heart failure. Pathologically the majority have essential hypertension. The development of hypertension is related to urbanization and Westernization, as the incidence in rural blacks is low. Despite the high incidence of hypertension, myocardial infarction remains infrequent.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

The pathological basis of end-stage renal disease in blacks.

In a series of 115 black patients admitted to a chronic haemodialysis programme over a 4-year period, a definitive pathological diagnosis was made in 70 cases. Of these, 5 were made anatomically while in 65 the diagnosis was histological. The commonest single cause of end-stage renal disease was essential malignant hypertension which showed a peak incidence in males aged 40 - 50 years. Chronic pyelonephritis and other diseases prominent in series of White patients were conspicuously absent. The prevalence of malignant hypertension presents a challenge for the detection and treatment of such cases by the community health services.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Hepatocellular carcinoma in an urbanised black community. A changing pattern.

Hepatocellular carcinoma has been extensively studied in Southern Africa, and particularly its relationship to hepatitis B virus infection. Most of this work involved rural Black populations. In this study the impact of urbanization on this relationship is investigated. The material is derived from the laboratory records at Baragwanath Hospital which serves the Black urban community of Soweto, Cases autopsied during the periods 1956-1960 and 1976-1980 have been examined with regard to age, sex, underlying cirrhosis and presence of HBsAg in the non-tumour liver. In addition, all biopsies from 1955 to 1980 have been analysed with respect to age and sex. There is evidence of a significant increase in overall average age and in the proportion of female cases, while the percentage of HBsAg positive cases has fallen. Possible causes for these findings are considered.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Loxoscelism in the Transvaal, South Africa.

Bites by spiders of the genus Loxosceles have been implicated as a cause of necrotic arachnidism in the Transvaal. The identification and natural history of three species of Loxosceles common in the Transvaal, L. spinulosa, L. speluncarum and L. parrami, are discussed, the clinical symptoms of envenomation as observed both in human patients and in experimental animals are presented, and the histopathological appearance of the lesion, at different stages of its development, is described.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Amoebic perforation of the bowel.

In a 20-month period 6 patients with amoebic perforation of the bowel were seen in the pathology department at Baragwanath Hospital. The duration of the disease was short, and the diagnosis was made pre-operatively in only 2 cases. All the patients had total colitis with multiple ulcers, and in 2 there was involvement of the terminal ileum. Single perforations were present in 2 cases and multiple perforations in the remaining 4. All the patients had fibrinous peritonitis and none had an associated liver abscess. Partial or total colectomy was performed on 5 patients, 1 of whom survived. The operative management of amoebic colitis with perforation is discussed; diversion of the faecal stream with drainage is recommended when possible.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Synovial iron deposits in black subjects with iron overload.

The traditional alcoholic beverages drunk by many South African blacks are prepared in iron drums, and, as a result, iron overload is common in this population. The typical pattern of iron distribution in such persons with severe iron overload is one in which the major deposits are in hepatocytes and the reticuloendothelial system. However, when cirrhosis is present, significant epithelial deposits are found in a number of organs. In the present study, the synovium of the knee joint was examined in 41 black subjects and synovial iron deposits, when present, were correlated with those in other organs. Significant amounts of iron in the synovial-lining cells were not found in any subject in whom the hepatic iron concentration was less than 1% dry weight. Heavy deposits, which were found in six of 19 subjects with concentrations above this figure, only occurred in those exhibiting cirrhosis and significant levels of histological iron in a number of epithelial tissues. Insofar as iron uptake is concerned, these findings suggest that there are cells within the synovium that have the functional characteristics of epithelial cells.

Adult↗