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Biomedical subjects

J Webb

Publications and source records attributed to J Webb.

At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Dermatopolymyositis and other connective tissue diseases: a review of 105 cases.

Of 105 cases seen over 12 years with mean 4 years followup, there were 69 with polymyositis (PM) and 36 with dermatomyositis (DM). and in 43 this complicated another connective tissue disease (CTD). Primary PM had onset a decade later than others and most severe myopathy occurred in DM. Earliest symptoms were polyarthritis and Raynaud's phenomenon with frequent sicca syndrome (51%). The less than universal prevalence of elevated muscle enzymes (68%), myopathic electromyography (86%). and abnormal muscle biopsy (78%) emphasizes the need for complete evaluation in all cases. Improvement occurred in 69% overall, including all 23 given no therapy or low dose corticosteroids and 59% of the remainder who received high dose corticosteroids with added cytotoxics in one-quarter. Outcome was worse in older patients and in those where weakness exceeded 4 months before diagnosis. Eight of 19 deaths were due to myositis or its therapy which also caused considerable morbidity. Malignancy in 16 cases was temporally related to myositis in half of these cases.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗
PubMed1984

Knee-joint rupture with giant antefemoral cyst formation.

A case of a patient with Reiter's disease, whose ruptured knee-joint effusion extended proximally along the femur to just below the inguinal ligament, and simulated an iliofemoral thrombosis, is reported. The mechanisms of joint rupture, and the need to differentiate it from thrombophlebitis, are discussed.

Arthritis, Reactive↗
PubMed1984

Severe vascular spasm due to erythromycin-ergotamine interaction.

We report a case of ergotism due to the interaction of erythromycin with a small dose of ergotamine tartrate (2 mg). Besides severe peripheral vasospasm with dysaesthesiae there was transient renal ischaemia. Recovery occurred after several weeks without sodium nitroprusside therapy. Cases previously reported in the literature are reviewed.

Acne Vulgaris↗
PubMed1984

Fertilization of human oocytes following reinsemination in vitro.

The reinsemination of human oocytes that failed to show any evidence of fertilization 12 to 14 hours after insemination was examined to determine whether this would increase success of in vitro fertilization or be of use in determining the fertilizing capacity of the husband's spermatozoa. Reinsemination with spermatozoa of a donor of known fertility resulted in a significantly higher fertilization rate than reinsemination with the husband's spermatozoa. However, the rate of the spontaneously delayed fertilization in oocytes that were not reinseminated was not significantly different from fertilization rates following reinsemination with either the donor's or the husband's spermatozoa. One pregnancy that miscarried at 12 weeks' gestation was obtained from reinseminated oocytes, and none was obtained from oocytes that were spontaneously delayed in fertilization. It is concluded that at present neither reinsemination nor embryo replacement in utero of embryos resulting from delayed fertilization is useful for human in vitro fertilization.

Culture Media↗
PubMed1984

Response of circulating somatostatin, insulin, gastrin and GIP, to intraduodenal infusion of nutrients in normal man.

We have studied the effect of direct infusion of nutrients into the duodenum of normal subjects on circulating plasma somatostatin, insulin, gastrin and gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) levels. Six normal subjects were given on four separate occasions 150 ml of isotonic solutions containing 100 calories of carbohydrate, protein, or fat, and a control solution of saline, by infusion into the second part of the duodenum. Plasma somatostatin rose slightly after carbohydrate, mean basal 30 +/- 3 pg/ml, peak 46 +/- 16 pg/ml at 15 min; and more markedly after protein, peak 57 +/- 9 pg/ml at 30 min. However, fat was the most potent intraduodenal stimulus to plasma somatostatin release into circulation, peak 101 +/- 11 pg/ml at 30 min. The plasma insulin rise was greatest after carbohydrate, peak 68 +/- 10 i.u., but there was a significant rise after protein also, peak 34 +/- 6 i.u. Plasma gastrin rose significantly after protein only, peak 70 +/- 22 pg/ml. Plasma GIP rose markedly after carbohydrate, basal 506 +/- 50 pg/ml, peak 1480 +/- 120 pg/ml. Protein was also a potent stimulus of circulating plasma GIP release, peak 1200 +/- 190 pg/ml, while fat was the least potent, peak 730 +/- 190 pg/ml. Thus, calorie for calorie, fat is the most potent intraduodenal nutrient stimulus of circulating somatostatin. We postulate therefore that somatostatin may be an enterogastrone--a circulating hormone released by intraduodenal fat which inhibits gastric acid secretion. Fat is the least potent intraduodenal nutrient stimulus of circulating GIP release. This is evidence against the hypothesis that circulating GIP acts as an enterogastrone.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Does gastric acid release plasma somatostatin in man?

Food and insulin hypoglycaemia raise plasma concentrations of somatostatin. Both also stimulate gastric acid secretion but it is not clear whether gastric acid itself has any effect on somatostatin secretion. We, therefore, studied the effect on plasma concentrations of somatostatin of infusion of 0.1 N HC1 into the stomach and duodenum of healthy subjects. Plasma somatostatin did not rise with a small dose of HC1 given intragastrically (15 mmol) or intraduodenally (4 mmol). After an intraduodenal infusion of 60 mmol HC1 over 30 minutes, sufficient to reduce intraluminal pH to 2, plasma somatostatin rose moderately in five subjects from a mean value (+/- SEM) of 32 +/- 3 pg/ml to a peak at 10 minutes of 54 +/- 11 pg/ml. It is concluded that: (a) intragastric acid infusions do not release circulating somatostatin in man; and (b) that intraduodenal acidification albeit at grossly supraphysiological doses is a moderate stimulus of plasma somatostatin release. Therefore, gastric acid is unlikely to be a major factor mediating postprandial plasma somatostatin release in man.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Cross-cultural validity of the developmental test of visual-motor integration.

For 28 mildly handicapped Japanese students visual-motor integration scores were significantly correlated with both mathematics and reading scores, which substantiates the test's cross-cultural validity. Although slightly larger correlations with mathematics achievement than with reading achievement were noted in both cultures, the differences between reading and mathematics correlations were not significant for Japanese children. In contrast, in at least one American study the correlation between the visual-motor integration scores and mathematics achievement was significantly greater than that between the test and reading achievement. It is clear that further research with larger samples for both American and Japanese groups is essential.

Achievement↗
PubMed1984

A mono-sited transferrin from a representative deuterostome: the ascidian Pyura stolonifera (subphylum Urochordata).

An iron-binding protein has been found in the plasma of Pyura stolonifera. This protein has a molecular weight of about 41,000 +/- 2,000 and binds 1 mol iron/mol protein. The absorption maxima are lambda = 280 and lambda = 429 nm (E429/E280 = 0.044). Bicarbonate is bound concomitantly with high affinity and is necessary for optimal color formation at lambda = 429 nm. The protein showed a negligible exchange of iron with human apotransferrin under physiologic conditions over two hours. Upon incubation with rat reticulocytes, the protein reacts with membrane receptors for transferrins, and the protein, with its iron, is transported intracellularly where the iron is incorporated into heme. The 59Fe protein, after intravenous injection, disappears rapidly from the plasma and is excreted largely in the urine, with a substantial fraction present in the kidney and another large fraction present in the gut. These findings established the protein as a "transferrin" and support the concept that the larger transferrin molecule in vertebrates, with two iron-binding sites, resulted from a gene duplication.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

The neck-tongue syndrome: occurrence with cervical arthritis as well as normals.

The syndrome of unilateral occipital pain with simultaneous ipsilateral tongue dysesthesia on sharp turning of the neck, recently reported in 4 otherwise normal young adults, is now described in 3 additional instances; one without disease and one each having degenerative spondylosis and ankylosing spondylitis. The originally proposed anatomical explanation for the syndrome, interconnections between the lingual and hypoglossal nerves and the C2, C3 nerve roots, is consistent with this syndrome complex arising from arthritis affecting the C1-C2-C3 articulation.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Studies of autologous mixed lymphocyte reactions in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

The autologous mixed lymphocyte reaction (AMLR) measures the proliferative response of peripheral blood T cells to surface antigens of non T cells. The AMLR of SLE patients with active or inactive disease either with (13) or without (6) immunosuppressive treatment was low compared with age and sex-matched controls, confirming previous reports. Only one patient with inactive, untreated SLE and one with drug induced lupus (procainamide) showed normal AMLR. Autologous reactivity was also reduced in 2 patients without treatment who presented with clinically complex disease syndromes, including primary biliary cirrhosis, or polyarteritis nodosa, together with Sjögren's syndrome and serological evidence of lupus. The AMLR could not be increased by changing the ratio of responder to stimulator cells. Patients with decreased AMLR also showed a decreased response to phytohemagglutinin which suggested a general depression of T cells. There was no correlation between the decreased AMLR and age, clinical features or anti-DNA antibody levels of the patients. In allogeneic mixed lymphocyte reactions (MLR) it was shown that non-T cells from SLE patients were poorer stimulators of allogeneic T cells than normal cells, and T lymphocytes from SLE patients were poorer responders to allogeneic non-T cells than were normal T cells. Both effects were much more marked in patients with active disease than in those with inactive SLE. This suggests a defect in both responder and stimulating cell populations in SLE.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Partial purification of anti-DNA antibodies from systemic lupus erythematosus serum by dye-ligand chromatography.

Purification of anti-DNA antibodies from systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) serum is usually achieved by DNA-affinity chromatography. However, using DNA-cellulose, the present study has found that this technique results in very low yields of DNA binding activity, much of which is contaminated with DNA simultaneously released during chromatography. In comparison it has been found that the anionic dyes Cibracon blue F3GA and Procion red HE3B, bound to crosslinked agarose, give more than 80% recovery and purification of DNA binding activity from whole SLE serum of 11- and 7-fold respectively. The majority of serum immunoglobulin did not bind to the dyes, but that which did, including anti-DNA antibody, bound by ionic interaction. Dye-ligand chromatography is therefore suggested as a useful technique for high yield recovery of partially purified DNA binding activity which can be subjected to further purification procedures, such as preparative isoelectric focusing.

Antibodies, Antinuclear↗
PubMed1982

A comparison of the effects of different methods of administration of beta-2-sympathomimetics in patients with asthma.

Double-blind cross-over studies of oral and inhaled terbutaline and salbutamol have been performed in two groups of asthmatic patients. Both drugs at the doses recommended by the manufacturers produced similar maximal effects. The onset of response was faster with inhaled treatment and there was no difference in length of action between the drugs or the routes of administration. Side-effects were much more common with oral treatment. In a separate study oral and inhaled terbutaline were compared in 11 asthmatic patients and this also showed a similar maximal response in tests of forced expiration. A greater response was seen in sGaw following inhaled treatment (P less than 0.05). These results suggest that beta-2-sympathomimetic drugs should be administered by the inhaled in preference to the oral route.

Administration, Oral↗