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Biomedical subjects

H Gordon

Publications and source records attributed to H Gordon.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1979

Pregnancies in women with hyperprolactinaemia: clinical course and obstetric complications of 41 pregnancies in 27 women.

Observations are reported on 41 pregnancies in 27 patients who initially had infertility and raised serum prolactin concentrations. Associated symptoms were secondary amenorrhoea (81 per cent) and galactorrhoea (81 per cent). All patients were at risk of pituitary expansion during pregnancy, especially these 19 (70 per cent) with radiological evidence of pituitary tumours. Fifteen patients had 21 pregnancies after pituitary implantation with 90yttrium; 14 patients had 20 pregnancies without prior pituitary implantation or any other attempt to prevent tumour expansion. During pregnancies, tumour enlargement as shown by diminished visual acuity, visual field defects, severe headaches, diabetes insipidus and radiological changes occurred only in 3 of the 14 patients who had not had implants. Two patients who became pregnant both before and after pituitary implantation suffered tumour expansion in their pregnancies before implantation, but not when pregnant after the operation. The induction and Cesarean section rates were about 30 per cent in 32 term pregnancies in 25 patients. Details of how pregnancy was achieved and the associated obstetric problems are given.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Cytohormonal patterns in mature and pre-term babies.

Comparison of cytohormonal patterns in full-term and pre-term babies of both sexes showed significant differences. At birth, irrespective of gestational age, both groups had high oestrogen levels, reflecting the maternal hormonal environment, but whereas the mature neonates were capable of metabolising and excreting the excess hormone within the first week of life, the pre-term infants took much longer to do so. It is thought that immaturity or impairment of liver function is at least partially responsible for this finding.

Cell Count↗
PubMed1979

Congenital haemolytic anaemia resulting from glucose phosphate isomerase deficiency: genetics, clinical picture, and prenatal diagnosis.

Glucose phosphate isomerase (GPI) deficiency with severe haemolysis and hydrops fetalis was found in the first child of unrelated, healthy Caucasian parents. The child died at 3 hours. Both parents were found to have 50% of normal red cell GPI activity and qualitative tests on their red cells and white cells showed that each was heterozygous for a different GPI variant allele associated with enzyme deficiency. Tests on the placenta showed that the propositus was a 'compound' heterozygote. Examination of amniotic cells obtained by amniocentesis on the mother at 28 weeks in her second pregnancy led to the prenatal diagnosis of GPI deficiency. This second child, a 'compound' heterozygote at the GPI locus indistinguishable from the first, was successfully treated by immediate exchange transfusion and subsequent blood transfusions.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Clinical spectrum of Wilson's disease (hepatolenticular degeneration).

Fifty-eight patients with Wilson's disease are reviewed, of whom 25 symptomatic patients experienced liver disease first and 28, brain disease. Ten of these patients presented with liver disease alone, 19 with brain disease alone, and 24 with evidence of both liver and brain disease. The remaining five were discovered as asymptomatic siblings of known patients. Three of the patients with hepatic presentation and one with neurologic presentation later experienced the other type of symptomatology, bringing the total number of patients with mixed disease to 28. Of the 44 patients with brain disease, 12 presented primarily with extrapyramidal findings, 6 with cerebellar findings, and 17 with both; pseudobulbar findings were noted in 9 patients, all of whom had other symptoms of severe nervous system disease. In addition to these presentations, in an appreciable number of patients the first symptoms were of a mental or emotional disorder. Disease of other organ systems, such as the joints and kidneys, also occurred but infrequently. Where adequate family information was available, 13 of 65 siblings (20%) were known to have had or were suspected of having had Wilson's disease. This is consistent with the autosomal-recessive pattern of inheritance.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Replication patterns of three isodicentric X chromosomes and an X isochromosome in human lymphocytes.

Chromosomes from four patients with variants of the Turner syndrome were investigated by G- and C-bandind and DNA replication techniques. Their karyotypes were: 1) 46,X,idic(X)(q28), 2) 45,X/46,X,idic(X)(q24), 3) 45,X/46,X,idic(X)(p11), and 4) 46,X,i(Xq). In patients 1, 2, and 3, the abnormal X was isodicentric, with different break-and-fusion points in each case. In each, the G-band pattern on one side of the breakpoint was a mirror image of that on the other side. Each had two distinct C-bands, only one of which was associated with a primary constriction. The fourth patient had an isochromosome of the long arm of an X in which only one C-band could be discerned. Replication studies were done on lymphocyte cultures by incorporating a thymidine analogue and staining with acridine orange. In addition, replication patterns of normal early- and late-replicating X chromosomes were studied in two normal females. In the four patients, all the normal X chromosomes had normal early-replication patterns. The two idic(X) chromosomes with break-and-fusion points on their long arms almost always had symmetric replication patterns, which demonstrates that the corresponding bands replicated synchronously. In contrast, many of the idic(X)(p11) and i(Xq) chromosomes showed asymmetric or asynchronous replication. In each, the replication pattern of the abnormal X was similar to the equivalent portions of a normal late-replicating X.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Diabetic retinopathy and pregnancy.

Diabetic retinopathy was found to be present in 12 out of a group of 67 diabetic patients supervised by us during 92 pregnancies, and 3 further pregnant diabetics were referred to us because of retinopathy. The mean duration of diabetes was 13 years (range 3--25 years). Nine patients had minimal retinopathy, 2 had background retinopathy, and the remaining 4 proliferative retinopathy. The cases with minimal retinopathy showed no progression during pregnancy. In 1 patient with background retinopathy there was deterioration. Of the 4 patients with proliferative retinopathy 1 showed regression during the pregnancy, 2 showed advance and were treated with photocoagulation (these 2 patients now have normal vision), while the patient with extensive retinitis proliferans, with retinal detachment in both eyes and previous photocoagulation remained unchanged. The prognosis during pregnancy for patients with diabetic retinopathy is reasonable and has been improved by the advent of photocoagulation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

A single spiral artefact in arthropod cuticle.

Spirals are often seen in sections transverse to the axes of bumped structures in arthropod cuticle. (Sections through arthropod cornea or exocones yield excellent examples.) As arthropod cuticle has a helicoidal architecture (Bouligand, 1965), it might be expected that the spirals are a simple consequence of that structure. According to a symmetry argument, the spirals thus predicted must be double spirals. In contrast, the observed spirals are usually single. We propose that the single spirals result from an interaction between the microtome knife and the cuticle architecture. The direction of knife travel defines an orientation within the cuticle, subverting the symmetry arguments that require double spirals. Bouligand (1972) presented a model for the interaction of the knife with the cuticle. However, we offer arguments and observations show that Bouligand's model is incorrect. We argue from detailed observations of the single spiral that it is indeed a knifing artifact and that its explanation probably lies within a certain class of models. Two related models based on relative movements of cuticle components are examined via computer techniques.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Simplified management of pregnancy complicated by diabetes.

Simple methods for the management of pregnancy complicated by diabetes are described. Emphasis was placed on keeping patients out of hospital, good control of diabetes and vaginal delivery at 38 weeks: using these methods, there were nine perinatal deaths in a consecutive series of 101 pregnancies complicated by diabetes. Four of the perinatal deaths were due to the respiratory distress syndrome. The patients whose diabetes was diagnosed during pregnancy had significantly heavier babies (18 pregnancies, mean birth weight 3337 g) than the established diabetics (83 pregnancies, mean weight 3011 g) despite significantly lower fasting blood glucose levels in the former and similar mean gestational ages at delivery. Mean fasting blood glucose levels for the whole series during the first, second and third trimesters were 9.0, 6.7 and 5.6 mmol/l respectively. The mean duration of antenatal stay in hospital for complications related to diabetes was 29 days. Diabetic retinopathy did not seem to be adversely affected by pregnancy.

Birth Weight↗
PubMed1978

Sister chromatid exchanges in Bloom's syndrome.

The importance of chromosome instability in Bloom's syndrome is reviewed, and the recently developed technique for demonstrating sister chromatid exchanges (SCE) is described. In Bloom's syndrome, but not in other heritable syndromes associated with chromosome instability, there is a nine- to ten-fold increase in the frequency of spontaneous SCE. We present a case of Bloom's syndrome in which this test facilitated the diagnosis. In four obligate heterozygotes (the parents of children with Bloom's syndrome), however, an increase in the frequency of spontaneous SCE was not observed.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1978

Group B streptococcal infection in a maternity unit.

Neonatal infection due to Group B streptococci is described in a maternity unit. Six babies were affected and two died. Three of the babies were born at term, and weighed more than 2.5 kg. Tachypnoea was the earliest clinical sign in each case, and we suggest that newborn infants with persistent tachypnoea and evidence of maternal or infant colonization with Group B streptococci should receive antibiotics. Alternative approaches to the diagnosis and management of infection with Group B streptococci are discussed and rejected.

Cross Infection↗
PubMed1977

Chromosomal studies in cryptorchidism.

The chromosomes of undescended tests from 13 boys were analyzed. In 12 of these patients the peripheral blood chromosomes were examined and in 7 the chromosomes of normal skin cultures were examined. In addition to standard techniques the chromosomes also were analyzed by G and Q-banding methods. We were unable to detect any significant abnormalities of either chromosome number of structure in the undescended testes. Thus, our investigation failed to demonstrate a chromosomal lesions that may be responsible for maldescent of the testes. Our investigation did not reveal any changes in the chromosomes of these undescended testes that could be interpreted as indicating a potentially malignant state.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

Factors affecting fetal survival after intrauterine transfusion for rhesus isoimmunization.

Intrauterine transfusion of the fetus is described in 165 pregnancies. The overall fetal survival rose from 28 per cent in 1964 to 1969 to 42-5 per cent in 1973 to 1975. Apart from technical complications of the procedure itself, the factors most likely to affect fetal survival were the gestational age and amniotic fluid optical density difference before the first intrauterine transfusion, the birth weight and the cord blood haemoglobin level.

Amniotic Fluid↗