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Biomedical subjects

F P Retief

Publications and source records attributed to F P Retief.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

The Medical University of Southern Africa after 5 years.

The Medical University of Southern Africa (MEDUNSA), created by an Act of Parliament on 1 August 1976, comprises Faculties of Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Science. Optimal co-operation between these faculties in teaching, research and even patient care is basic to the education philosophy of MEDUNSA. The first students enrolled 5 years ago, in February 1978, and will graduate on 26 November 1982. Students were admitted to degree courses in veterinary science and dentistry at the beginning of 1982. The training of nurses and supplementary health-professionals (encompassing the fields of physiotherapy, occupational therapy, radiography and dietetics) take place within the Faculty of Medicine. Schools of pharmacy and optometry will open in 1984. Although the university is empowered to admit students to all racial groups it sees its primary task as being the training of Black health professionals. Students of other races are at present admitted only when suitable Black candidates are not available. Academic standards are monitored by respective statutory councils, and are on a par with other, comparable South African health science faculties. MEDUNSA is enthusiastic to co-operate with neighbouring states in the field of health education, and students from as far afield as Malawi and Zaire number among our graduates.

Faculty↗
PubMed1981

[President J. H. Brand and his medical history].

During his term of office of 25 years (1863-1888) Johannes Hendrikus Brand, fourth President of the Orange Free State, proved himself a remarkable statesman of international stature. Born in the Cape Town of Lord Charles Somerset he was educated in the British tradition, and later received knighthoods from both Portugal and Britain. However, in converting his young embryonic state into South Africa's 'Model Republic' he showed himself to be a staunch republican. Total loyalty towards his country of adoption was aptly demonstrated by his uncompromising stand over the British annexation of the diamond fields in 1871. While preparing to put his case before the Colonial Secretary in London, he developed Bright's disease at the age of 49 years in August 1872. After an extreme illness lasting 5 months he appeared to recover fully. His subsequent health was excellent up to the end of the next decade when he developed symptoms of heart failure, epistaxis and possibly a cerebrovascular incident. In March 1888 his two Bloemfontein doctors, C. J. G. Krause and B. O. Kellner, in consultation with Dr Leander Starr Jameson (of Jameson Raid fame) diagnosed a recurrence of his kidney ailment and progressive heart disease. His death on 14 July 1888 was probably due to acute left ventricular failure as a late hypertensive complication of glomerulonephritis.

Famous Persons↗
PubMed1980

Preparation of a viable population of indium-111-labelled human blood platelets.

Factors influencing labelling of human platelets with 111Indium-8-hydroxyquinoline ([111In]-oxine) in a physiological saline medium were investigated. The efficiency of labelling is influenced by time of incubation, concentration of oxine, and pH of the incubating medium. It was found that a viable platelet population could be labelled under the following conditions: (1) centrifugation of platelet rich plasma in polystyrene conical tubes at 800 g for 15 min; (2) resuspension of the platelet pellet in saline, pH 5.5; (3) incubating for 30 min at 22 degrees C with [111In]-oxine at a concentration of 6.25 mg oxine/litre platelet suspension; (4) washing once with platelet poor autologous plasma (PPP); and (5) finally resuspending the platelets in PPP. The labelled platelets aggregated normally with collagen and ADP. Electron microscopy, done immediately after labelling, showed internal organelle reorganization characteristic of activated platelets. These ultrastructural features were reversible on incubation in PPP at 37 degrees C for 30 min. The 111In is not released from aggregated platelets and the label does not elute from incubated platelets for at least five hr. We conclude that human platelets thus labelled are suitable for in vivo kinetic studies.

Blood Platelets↗
PubMed1980

Kinetics, distribution and sites of destruction of 111indium-labelled human platelets.

The survival, tissue distribution and fate of 111In-oxine labelled autologous platelets in six normal humans were studied with serial blood sampling, scintillation camera and computer-assisted imaging, whole body profile scanning, and rectilinear scanning. 111In-platelets recovery in the circulation was 72+/-16% and survival was 216+/-17 h. Platelet survival curves fitted a linear function best. Initially platelets pooled rapidly in the spleen as a single exponential function, and at 90 min 26% of the injected 111In was located in this organ. Early hepatic uptake was also significant and at 90 min constituted 16% of total body 111In-activity. As labelled platelets disappeared from the circulation there was a threefold increase of radioactivity in the liver to reach 39% of whole body activity at 216 h. Radioactivity also increased significantly in the spleen (33.3% at 216 h). There was significant residual radioactivity in the thoracic and lower abdominal regions at 216 h, suggesting that platelets are also sequestered in the bone marrow. Radioactivity in the lower limbs almost disappeared with time (0.7% at 216 h), indicating that utilization of platelets in the peripheral vasculature is not marked in normal subjects.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Plasma cell leukaemia. Diagnostic problems in our experience with 11 cases.

11 patients with plasma cell leukaemia (PCL) are reported. Diagnostic clinical, haematological, immunological, biochemical and electron microscopical (TEM) data were analysed and compared to the largest series of PCL cases reported in the literature. Special attention was paid to four facets of this disease: (a) the clinical picture at admission; (b) the frequency of PCL; (c) the production of M components in relation to the maturity and type of the asynchronous plasma cells, and (d) the diagnostic problems of this entity of acute leukaemia of the afferent limb of the B lymphocyte transformation. In this series PCL emerges as a distinct clinical entity: patients are severely anaemic, hepatosplenomegaly is prominent, bone lessions are uncommun, but if present are usually non-osteolytic, and the response to treatment with an alkylating agent and glucocorticoid is poor. The diagnosis is difficult since the circulating plasma cells may have morphological features which only allows the diagnosis to be made after the TEM examination. If the peripheral blood of cases of acute leukaemias and immunocytic dyscrasias is routinely examined by TEM, PCL appears to be a not uncommon variant of plasma cell dyscrasia--in the present study it was 11%.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. A case investigated with 111In-oxine-labelled platelets.

A 34-year old woman presented with the clinical and laboratory features of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). Studies with isologous platelets labelled with 111In-oxine revealed a short half-life of circulating platelets (18,5 hours) and destruction of the transfused platelets in the spleen, liver and bone marrow. There was no scientigraphic evidence of deposition of labelled platelets in the vasculature. The patient was treated with daily fresh frozen plasma transfusions, but no improvement in platelet count or serum urea level was noted. Although there was no clinical evidence of a bleeding tendency at the time, the patient had a fatal cerebrovascular haemorrhage. The findings in this case suggest that an immune type destruction of platelets may occur in TTP.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

[The first ten years].

On 6 June 1979, the Medical Faculty of the University of the Orange Free State, Bloemfontein, will be 10 years old. The completed Faculty buildings, situated between the Universitas teaching hospital and the University campus, were officially opened on 20 March 1978 by the Minister of National Education, Dr P. Koornhof. The first 46 medical students graduated in Novemer 1976, and with a present annual intake of 120 students the final-year class will grow to approximately 100 students. In addition to medicine, undergraduate training is offered in physiotherapy, occupational therapy, radiography, hospital dietetics and basic medical sciences. More than 50 M.Med. candidates have completed their specialist training, 10 doctorates were conferred and 32 students obtained Honours or Master's degree in the basic medical sciences. The undergraduate course with electives in non-medical fields, fully integrated clinical medicine teaching and interdisciplinary co-ordination of final clinical examinations, were novel endeavours for South Africa.

Curriculum↗
PubMed1979

A stable non-prostaglandin inhibitor of platelet aggregation in human aorta intima extracts.

An inhibitor of platelet aggregation induced by adenosine diphosphate, collagen, adrenaline and thrombin is present in aorta intima extracts. The inhibitor is relatively stable and is not inactivated by prolonged incubation at 37 degrees C or 22 degrees C, but boiling for 15 seconds destroys it. It is not extracted by diethyl ether or chloroform, and is not affected by incubation with indomethacin or tranylcypromine. Platelet aggregation induced by arachidonic acid is not affected by this inhibitor. These results suggest that this inhibitor is not PGI2 (prostacyclin), a recently described potent anti-aggregatory agent generated by blood vessel microsomes.

Aorta↗
PubMed1979

Folate metabolism and in vivo radiofolate binding in normal, folate-deficient and folate-saturated subjects.

After ingestion of 14C-CH3H4Pte Glu by folate-deficient and folate-saturated subjects, and 14C-CH3H4PteGlu as well as 3H-PteGlu by a normal control subject, the dialysis-resistant (bound) plasma radiofolate fraction appeared increased in folate saturation and decreased in folate deficiency (compared with normal folate status). This suggests that absorbed radiofolate does not admix with the total folate pool before complexing with the plasma binder. As the bound plasma fractions appeared later than did the total biofolate peaks, in vivo plasma folate binding probably occurs independently of the intestinal folate absorption process. It also appears unrelated to postabsorption storage folate displacement, as this biofolate fraction is unbound. A bound radiofolate fraction persisting in plasma for 72 hours in spite of a normal food intake indicates a relatively inert binder complex.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Agranulocytosis in an arthritic patient treated with levamisole. A case report.

A case of agranulocytosis in a man with nonspecific seronegative polyarthritis treated with levamisole in the form of a proprietary veterinary anthelmintic is described. At the time of presentation he had a relative monocytosis. Recovery was uneventful and was heralded and paralleled by an increase in monocytes, serum vitamin B12 and total vitamin B12 binding capacity. Levamisole induced agranulocytosis and the significance of monocytosis and serum vitamin B12 binding proteins in neutropenia are briefly reviewed.

Agranulocytosis↗
PubMed1979

Is the d an allelic gene of D in the Rh blood group system? A quantitative study using 99mTechnetium-pyrophosphate-labelled antibody (TcLA) method.

This article reports on studies of Rh antigens, such as D, Du and d, using uranyl-labelled antibody (ULA) and TcLA (99mTc-pyrophosphate-labelled antibody) methods for the first time for this purpose. TcLA method proved to be simple in labelling and very sensitive (20--100 times more so than the indirect Coombs test) in the detection of Rh antigen-antibody binding. Results of this quantitative study demonstrate convincingly that the d is not an allelic gene of D but rather the weakest of the series D less than Du less than d. Although the evidence from this study demonstrates clearly that differences between D and d are only quantitative, the authors do not think that the Rh nomenclature should be changed but they do think that the present evidence should be used in regard to the understanding of the allelism in the Rh blood group system. The c is an allelic gene of C as the e is an allelic gene of E; specific test sera detecting every one of these antigens exist and the family studies verify these statements. However, the d is not a distinct antigen as c and e are, even if the pattern of inheritance from family studies, using the existent anti-D serum, would suggest the allelism as probability. That is why in the past the anti-Du and anti-d specific test sera never incidentally found or artificially produced.

Alleles↗