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Biomedical subjects

I Robertson

Publications and source records attributed to I Robertson.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

Cutaneous malignant melanoma in South Australia: the main features.

New cases of primary cutaneous melanoma occurring in South Australia in a period of 12 months were studied. The main clinical and pathological features are reported. The incidence is high, but is much less than that reported in Queensland in 1977. Some differences from the Queensland study, concerning the age, sex and site distribution, have been noted, but generally these features are quite comparable. All major pathological types of malignant melanoma occur in South Australia, with a marked preponderance of the superficial spreading type. On the basis of level of invasion and thickness, more than half of the tumours have a good prognosis. The most common reason for excision of melanomas was the observation of a change in the lesion, but some were excised after incidental recognition by a medical practitioner during medical examination for other reasons.

Adolescent↗

Policy for prevention of Asian rickets in Britain: a preliminary assessment of the Glasgow rickets campaign.

Evidence of continuing hospital admissions of patients with Asian rickets and osteomalacia led to a further attempt to provide more effective preventive measures for the Glasgow Asian community. Dose-response studies showed that the equivalent of 10 microgram of vitamin D daily would provide effective prophylaxis, and a general practice survey showed that self-administered vitamin D supplements would reduce the prevalence and severity of Asian rickets. A multidisciplinary working group devised a preventive campaign based on the free issue of vitamin D supplements on demand to children who required them. Supported by a health education programme for community health personnel and the Asian community, the first 16 months of the campaign produced an eight-fold rise in the issue of supplements to older Asian children and a 33% increase in their issue to infants of all ethnic groups. Because more children are receiving vitamin D supplementation the campaign seems likely to reduce the prevalence of Asian rickets in Glasgow.

Adolescent↗

The role of cereals in the aetiology of nutritional rickets: the lesson of the Irish National Nutrition Survey 1943-8.

1. Review of the evidence of the Irish Nutrition Survey concerning a market rise in the incidence of rickets in Dublin in 1942 concludes that a rise in the extraction rate of the national flour from 70 to 100% was principally responsible. 2. This rise and subsequent decrease in incidence as the extraction rate of flour was reduced is not explained by changes in the proportion of children protected by vitamin D supplements or by small changes in dietary vitamin D intake. 3. The evidence suggests that nutritional rickets in man cannot be explained on the basis of deficient vitamin D intake alone, whether derived from diet or u.v. radiation.

Aged↗

Visual loss caused by corneal crystals in myeloma: rapid improvement and plasma exchange and chemotherapy.

Recognition of needle-like crystals in the cornea of a patient with deteriorating visual acuity initiated laboratory studies which demonstrated underlying multiple myeloma. Crystal deposition in the cornea occurs only rarely in multiple myeloma, and evidently reflects an unusual tendency for certain paraproteins to form numerous small aggregates which are deposited particularly within, and between, corneal epithelial cells. Treatment with chemotherapy, plus repeated plasma exchange with a normal plasma protein product resulted in significant depletion of crystals, and improvement in visual acuity over a period of three weeks. Accelerated clearance of paraprotein by plasmapheresis appeared to contribute materially to the rapidity of recovery, since recovery was considerably faster than in reported cases where treatment was with chemotherapy alone.

Aged↗

Magnesium metabolism in patients with coronary heart disease.

1. The oral absorption of magnesium, its myocardial uptake and exchangeable magnesium have been studied in patients with coronary heart disease and controls using the radioactive isotope magnesium-28. 2. No significant difference in oral absorption or myocardial uptake was found between patients and controls. 3. The exchangeable magnesium per kg body weight was significantly lower in the patients than in the controls.

Adult↗

Follow-up of five severely deprived and malnourished siblings, after their placement in foster care.

Five siblings, neglected and malnourished to the extent that they had become nutritional dwarfs, were placed in foster care. Their weights and heights were recorded at the time of placement, and at intervals for the following 6 years. In all cases there was an initial spurt in weight, which lasted for 1 to 2 years. Thereafer, the gains in weight and height continued on lines parallel with, but below the centile lines, except in the cases of the 2 youngest children, both of whom achieved the 3rd centile for weight and approached it for height. The eldest sibling was the most severely dwarfed.

Body Height↗

Study of a proposed international standard for blood coagulation factor IX.

An International Collaborative Study was organized to establish a standard for factor IX. Two freeze-dried concentrate preparations, C1 and C2, and one freeze-dried plasma P were compared with each other, with fresh normal plasmas and with local standards in 13 laboratories. One of the concentrate preparations (C1) contained heparin and this gave rise to non-parallel assays in laboratories testing concentrate C1 in dilutions containing more than 0.05 i.u. of heparin per ml. Assays of factor IX showed good precision for both plasma and concentrate in all laboratories; no systematic effect of method, operator or day of assay was detected. The plasma preparation P and the concentrate preparation C2 were compared with 59 individual fresh normal plasma samples, and a mean potency ratio of 0.78 (95% confidence limits 0.73-0.84) for plasma and 5.62(95% confidence limits 5.13-6.16) for the concentrate C2 obtained. Only 21 estimates of concentrate C1 in terms of fresh plasma were obtained giving a mean potency ratio of 3.85 (95% confidence limits 1.87-7.92). The estimated loss of potency for freeze-dried plasma stored at -20 degrees C is approximately 0.4% per year. The concentrate C2 is apparently more stable and only very small losses occurred even at higher storage temperatures. All participants agreed that the preparation C2 would be suitable to serve as an International Standard for factor IX; they also agreed that the figure assigned for the unitage should be based on the number of ml of 'average fresh normal plasma' estimated to contain the factor IX activity of one ampoule of the preparation. It is proposed to recommend to the World Health Organization that the preparation of factor IX concentrate C2, in ampoules coded 72/32, be considered for establishment as the International Standard for factor IX, and that the international unit for factor IX be assigned on the basis of 5.62 units per ampoule of this preparation.

Blood Preservation↗

A study of changes in whole-body calcium, phosphorus, sodium and nitrogen by neutron activation analysis in vivo in rats on a calcium-deficient diet.

1. A method of measuring changes in the total body content of calcium, phosphorus, nitrogen and sodium in rats by activation analysis in vivo is described. 2. The change in the body content of the elements has been measured in rats on a calcium-deficient diet and in control animals, the body nitrogen being used to represent lean body mass for normalization. 3. There were siginificant differences in Ca/N and P/N but not in Ca/P ratios between the animals on a deficient diet and control animals at the end of the dietary period.

Animals↗

Total thyroidal content of iodine in thyrotoxic patients measured by in vivo neutron activation analysis.

This paper describes an in vivo method for measuring total thyroidal iodine stores by activation analysis, its evaluation and measurements in thyrotoxic patients. There was good correlation between measurements of solutions of iodine and post-mortem thyroids by activation analysis and chemical analysis. Measurements in thyrotoxic patients showed low levels in untreated and treated (antithyroid drugs) patients and a marked increase in patients studied whilst in clinical remission. The practical importance of this method of measurement of thyroidal iodine stores is that it is a reliable in vivo measurement obtained at a single visit and should enable the definition of the relationship of thyroidal iodine stores to pathophysiology and prognosis.

Activation Analysis↗