Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

H Berry

Publications and source records attributed to H Berry.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Phenylketonuria and complex spatial visualization: an analysis of information processing.

Recent neuropsychological studies have suggested that patients with early-treated phenylketonuria (PKU) and normal intelligence have a specific deficiency in solving complex spatial problems. In the present study a task involving the assembly of various shapes was used to compare the performance of 16 PKU patients and 11 sibling controls. Error rates generally were higher and response times slower among the PKU patients, but greater complexity did not produce differential changes in accuracy or speed in the PKU group compared to the controls. Correlations between task performance and IQ measures were significant for the PKU patients, but when IQ was controlled for the group differences vanished. The results suggest that choice of problem-solving strategy, attention span and accuracy of mental representation may be affected in PKU patients, despite efforts to maintain well-controlled phenylalanine concentrations in the blood.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Coexisting rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis.

Since the second publication by some of the present authors in which 10 patients with coexisting rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) were described, 7 new cases have been found. For accuracy, all cases of the original study still available were reexamined. Of the total of 17 cases, 13 were male and 4 female. All had positive tests for rheumatoid factor and 6 had subcutaneous nodules. The male predominance and the frequency of nodules are consistent with other publications. In addition, our study demonstrates the strong association of each of these 2 diseases with its genetic marker: the antigen HLA-DR4 was present in 8 of 12 cases tested and the antigen HLA-B27 was present in 16 of the 17 cases. The coexistence of these 2 classical rheumatological entities in the same patient appears to occur by chance and is probably often overlooked.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Metabolic activity of erosions in rheumatoid arthritis.

The hands of 10 patients with rheumatoid arthritis were investigated with diphosphonate scanning and radiology. Increased uptake of isotope can be associated with some erosions but not all and also reflects other processes more linked to acute inflammatory areas unassociated with the development of erosions. If the latter are the hallmark of active rheumatoid arthritis then bone scans are not.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Immunotherapy in rheumatoid arthritis by T-suppressor lymphocytes: experimental model in vitro.

In this study, the immunoregulation of IgG and IgM synthesis by synovial fluid lymphocytes (SFL) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was investigated. A group of 15 sero-positive rheumatoids with a level of lymphocytes in the joint effusion fluids greater than 40% were selected. In 20 experiments, Con A stimulated peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) suppressed Ig synthesis by autologous SFL, tested in the presence and absence of pokeweed mitogen. Mean inhibition value for IgG production was 70.5% +/- 7.1 and for IgM 64.8% +/- 7.5. There were significant differences in the numbers of IgG and IgM producing cells compared to that of controls (p less than 0.001). In contrast, SFLs preactivated with Con A had little suppressive effect; but when SFL's suppressor cells were co-cultured with PBL in a diffusion chamber (used as model for the human joint), they were able to decrease Ig synthesis. The highest inhibition was induced when SFL were pre-incubated with allogeneic PBL from healthy donors. Mean decreases were 514 counts per minute (CPM) for IgG and 486 CPM for IgM compared to control values, almost 50% of the total spontaneous production. These results indicate that the impairment of the suppressor function is restricted to the site of inflammation and can be corrected by PBL. The data hints that intra-articular immunotherapy may have potential therapeutic value.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMed1986

Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with desferrioxamine.

Desferrioxamine was used to treat six patients who had rheumatoid arthritis refractory to conventional treatment, on the basis that levels of intra-articular iron would be reduced and inflammation lessened. After a period of initial intensive treatment which was limited by side effects, five patients continued on once-weekly maintenance doses. Two patients had temporary improvement in their symptoms, but relapsed in spite of continuing treatment. The remaining three patients completed six months of treatment with no improvement in their rheumatoid disease. There were no significant changes in rheumatological parameters, immunological markers of disease activity nor radiological evidence of improvement. Treatment did lead to significant falls in haemoglobin concentration (p less than 0.01), mean corpuscular volume (p less than 0.05) and serum ferritin levels (p less than 0.02). Therefore, in spite of a reduction in iron available for haem synthesis and a fall in tissue storage iron the rheumatoid inflammatory process persisted.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

gamma-Aminobutyric acid in CSF of children with febrile seizures.

Previous studies have suggested that levels of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) may be decreased in children with febrile seizures. We used gas chromatography and mass spectrometry to measure CSF GABA levels in 14 children with febrile seizures. The results were compared with the GABA levels in six children with first-time afebrile seizures, three with recurrent febrile seizures, and 13 controls (febrile children undergoing lumbar puncture to rule out meningitis). Children with central nervous system infections or known neurologic disease were excluded. The CSF GABA levels in children with febrile seizures were not significantly different from those in controls and children with afebrile or recurrent febrile seizures. In the control group, CSF GABA levels correlated with increasing age. There was no correlation with severity of febrile response in any group. The results indicated that the CSF GABA level may not be abnormal in patients with first-time febrile convulsions.

Child↗
PubMed1985

Serum C-reactive protein in polymyalgia rheumatica. A prospective serial study.

A prospective serial study of 13 well-documented, previously untreated cases of polymyalgia rheumatica was undertaken in order to assess the behavior of the nonspecific indices of disease activity, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration, during induction of disease remission by prednisolone therapy. The clinical manifestations of all patients responded rapidly and completely to steroids, and the serum CRP value, which was raised in all patients at presentation, fell to normal at a rate which precisely reflected the clinical improvement. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate also fell, but did so much more slowly than the CRP concentration and, in half the patients, was still not normal after 14 days. These results indicate that assay of serum CRP provides a precise means of objectively assessing the course of polymyalgia rheumatica during initial therapy with steroids, and suggest that routine measurements of CRP may make a useful contribution to the management of the disease.

Aged↗
PubMed1985

An open study of 1.5 g naproxen daily in osteoarthritis.

Sixty-two patients requiring regular treatment for osteoarthritis were entered into a 6-month open assessment of 1.5 g naproxen daily. Fourteen patients withdrew from the study because of side-effects, 9 because of poor efficacy and 2 for a combination of these reasons. Most side-effects related to the gastro-intestinal tract and were not of a serious nature, although 1 patient had a gastro-intestinal bleed at 24 weeks. A further patient developed neutropenia, but its relationship to naproxen therapy was considered unknown. Short-term studies of 1.5 g naproxen daily have shown an increased efficacy compared to lower doses with no increase in side-effects. It is concluded that the results of this study increase the confidence with which such a dose can be used.

Aged↗
PubMed1983

Controlled trial of homoeopathic treatment of osteoarthritis.

In a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study to compare the homoeopathic remedy Rhus tox. 6X with fenoprofen in osteoarthritis of the hip and knee, fenoprofen was shown to have beneficial analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects which differed significantly from those of placebo. The effects of Rhus tox. 6X and placebo did not differ significantly. Patient preference was for fenoprofen. Side-effects were not severe but were seen more frequently with fenoprofen. Similar results were seen in all patients regardless of whether they had been referred to and assessed by a homoeopathic physician or a rheumatologist.

Adult↗