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Biomedical subjects

H Simpson

Publications and source records attributed to H Simpson.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1977

Survival of nieces and nephews of schizophrenic patients.

Evidence was found against the hypothesis that heterozygous carriers of a schizophrenic gene have a reproductive advantage through enhanced fertility. In consequence an investigation was made of the possibility that an advantage is gained through diminished early mortality among the off-spring of carriers. The results were equivocal. While an observed deficit of infant deaths was attributable to under-reporting, the possibility of a true advantage could not be ruled out, because of the statistical unreliability of the findings in a sample of the size available. A plea is made for a collaborative effort to settle the issue.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Osmolar relation between cerebrospinal fluid and serum in hyperosmolar hypernatraemic dehydration.

The relation between cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum osmolality was studied in 16 patients with hyperosmolar hypernatraemic dehydration before treatment. After correcting shock and acidosis, 0-45% saline in 2-5 or 5% dextrose was infused in each patient over a 48- to 72-hour period. During rehydration, serum osmolality, electrolyte concentrations, urea nitrogen, and blood pH were measured sequentially. Five patients developed severe neurological abnormalities within 48 hours of addmission (convulsions 2, convulsions with hemiplegia 2, hemiplegia 1). Of these, 3 had residual defects on follow-up at least one year later. This group was indistinguishable from the 11 without significant neurological abnormality, both on clinical grounds before rehydration, and after analysis of admission and subsequent serum biochemical variables. A significant osmolar gap (greater than 4 mmol/kg H2O) between serum and CSF was found in 13 patients. Severe neurological disturbance only occurred when CSF osmolality exceeded that of serum by 7 or more mmol/kg H2O. Discriminant analysis of the paired osmolar data showed that D = -117+1-74 X(CSF osmolality) -1-41 X (serum osmolality), and that severe neurological abnormality was predicted when D was positive.

Blood Glucose↗
PubMed1976

Viral infection in wheezy bronchitis and asthma in children.

Virus isolation was attempted on 267 out of 360 patients with wheezy bronchitis or asthma admitted to hospital during a 3-year period. Viruses were isolated on 39 occasions, the most common being respiratory syncytial virus and rhinovirus. The peak months for virus isolation were February and August. Virus isolation was significantly more common in readmissions than in first admissions (P less than 0-01). Viruses were isolated in both sexes throughout childhood and though the admission rate fell with increasing age, the isolation rate was unaffected. The possible significance of viral infection as a cause of acute attacks of wheezing in children is discussed.

Asthma↗
PubMed1975

Fertility of the sibs of schizophrenic patients.

This investigation has provided evidence against the hypothesis that heterozygous carriers of schizophrenic gene have a reproductive advantage through enhanced fertility. An advantage arising from lower mortality between birth and the end of the reproductive period was not investigated, but should be examined before we search for other explanations of the apparently stable polymorphism of schizophrenia.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1974

Virological findings and blood gas tensions in acute lower respiratory tract infections in children.

Sequential blood gas tensions and pH have been measured in 84 children selected from 486 admitted to hospital during a 15-month period with acute lower respiratory tract infections. Of those selected 73 were treated conservatively and 11 by intermittent positive-pressure ventilation; one infant in the latter group died. Respiratory syncytial virus (R.S.V.) was isolated from 24 out of 62 patients studied and the main pathogen in the most severely affected infants. Statistical analysis showed that age and R.S.V. infection were independent determinants of severity, as reflected by a peak Pco(2) measurement at the height of the illness (age, P < 0.01; R.S.V. 0.05 > P > 0.01).

Age Factors↗
PubMed1974

Acute respiratory failure in bronchiolitis and pneumonia in infancy. Modes of presentation and treatment.

The modes of presentation and the management of acute respiratory failure in 11 infants with severe lower respiratory tract infections (due to respiratory syncytial virus in eight) are described. Progressive respiratory difficulties leading to exhaustion, peripheral circulatory collapse, recurrent apnoeic attacks, or generalized convulsions were the main clinical presentations resulting in severe ventilatory failure. In nine infants preventilation carbon dioxide tensions exceeded 65 mm Hg. It seems likely that the use of intermittent positive-pressure ventilation in these patients contributed to the low mortality rate, less than 0.5%, from such illnesses during the 15-month study period.

Acid-Base Equilibrium↗
PubMed1968

Arterial blood gas tensions and pH in acute asthma in childhood.

Studies of the arterial blood gas tensions and pH in 21 children during 24 acute attacks of asthma showed that all were hypoxic on admission to hospital, and in 10 there was evidence of carbon dioxide retention. Cyanosis, invariably present when the So(2) was below 85%, and restlessness in patients breathing air were the most reliable indices of the severity of hypoxia. There were no reliable clinical guides to the Pco(2) level. Conventional oxygen therapy in tents (25-40%) did not always relieve hypoxia, and in three cases the administration of oxygen at a concentration of 40% or over failed to produce a normal arterial oxygen tension. Uncontrolled oxygen therapy may aggravate respiratory acidosis, and three of our patients developed carbon dioxide narcosis while breathing oxygen. The necessity for blood gas measurements in the management of severe acute asthma in childhood is emphasized.

Acid-Base Equilibrium↗