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Biomedical subjects

L Solomon

Publications and source records attributed to L Solomon.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1978

Relationship between gene function and gene location in Escherichia coli.

Genes of Escherichia coli were grouped according to the "biochemical relatedness" of the enzymes they specifiy, using two schemes to determine relatedness: similarity of reaction or similarity of reactants. The tendency of biochemically related genes as so defined to lie approximately 90 degrees or 180 degrees from one another on the circular genetic map was analyzed statistically. Of the classes analyzed, only the genes for the enzymes of glucose catabolism showed a significant departure from random distribution in this respect. The glucose catabolism genes showed a pronounced tendency to lie either 90 degrees of 180 degrees from one another (P = ca. 10(-9)), and, furthermore, most of these genes were found to lie in only four gene clusters on the E. coli genome. The significance of this observation is discussed in relation to evolutionary mechanisms and to mechanisms of gene expression.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1978

A long-term study of diclophenac sodium in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and osteo-arthrosis.

One hundred and two patients with either rheumatoid arthritis or osteo-arthrosis were treated for prolonged periods with diclophenac sodium (Voltaren; Geigy) to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of the drug. Fifty-seven patients completed a trial of 12 months. A total of 70% showed an improvement in functional class, and 40% of the total had complete functional capacity by the end of the trial. The drug was well tolerated. The side-effects (heartburn, abdominal cramps, headache and dizziness) were mild and in most cases did not require cessation of treatment. In 9 patients the Coombs test became positive during the trial, but this did not require cessation of therapy.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Spondylothoracic dysostosis: report of two cases and review of the literature.

Two Puerto Rican infants, offsprings of nonconsanguineous parents, died with spondylothoracic dysostosis as characterized by widespread anomalies of the spine (malformed vertebral bodies including hemivertebrae), deformity of the thorax, and fan-like configuration of the ribs. The disease was lethal in early life in the 18 cases previously reported. An autosomal-recessive inheritance has been described. Spondylocostal dysostosis, a related entity, showed associated intrinsic anomalies of the ribs. The 17 cases culled from the literature pursued a milder course, affected mainly older children and adults, and had a different pattern of inheritance.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Instructor plays patient: an alternative to the case presentation method.

This article describes a teaching technique which provides an alternative to the usual case presentation for teaching small groups. In this method the instructor plays a patient, an intern, and a laboratory technician, while a group of students play the role of physicians. Students have the opportunity to deal with a combination of medical and psychosocial problems, demonstrate their ability to interact with patients, and discover that in the total clinical process a correct diagnosis is only one step toward solving the patient's problem. This technique allows the instructor to teach material not found in standard texts, assess students' problem solving efforts, and observe student interaction. Other advantages of this method are that it involves a group of students in "live" interaction with a patient and various members of the healthcare team. The instructor can also observe the thought processes of students during their interaction around a case paralleling what one typically faces in a clinical setting.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed1977

Bumadizone calcium in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

A double-blind crossover trial of bumadizone calcium (Eumotol), a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, has been carried out in 56 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. On both objective and subjective criteria bumadizone was superior to placebo and paracetamol at a statistically highly significant level (P less than 0,01). When tested against acetylsalicylic acid, bumadizone was more effective in 13 patients and less effective in 4 patients. Although this does not represent a statistically significant difference it does suggest that its anti-inflammatory and analgesic qualities are at least equal to those of salicylate in high dosages. There were no serious side-effects in the patients who received bumadizone and the drug was better tolerated than either acetylsalicylic acid or paracetamol.

Acetaminophen↗
PubMed1977

Rheumatic disorders in the South African Negro. Part IV. Gout and hyperuricaemia.

The prevalence of gout and the frequency distribution of serum uric acid (SUA) concentrations have been studied in four South African populations. Approximately 450 respondents over the age of 15 years were investigated in each of the following: a tribal Xhosa community in Transkei; a rural Tswana community in the northwestern Transvaal; an urban Negro population in Johannesburg; and a Caucasian community in the same city. No case of gout was encountered in any of the Negro groups, while the prevalence among the urban Caucasians was 13/1 000 men and 3/1 000 women. The mean SUA concentrations showed two consistent trends: (i) the levels rose with age in all four populations and in both sexes; (ii) they were generally higher in men than in women throughout the age range. There was, moreover, an increase in SUA concentrations with increasing sophistication of lifestyle (P less than 0,01), the lowest levels occurring in the tribal Africans, and the highest in the urban communities. This latter finding could not be explained on a genetic basis, nor were there significant differences in physical configuration and nutritional status among the three Negro groups. It is suggested that hyperuricaemia, and possibly the clinical manifestations of gout, have a polygenic aetiology in which acculturation plays an important contributory role.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

The changing epidemiology of serum albumin levels in Southern Africa.

It is generally accepted that serum albumin levels are the best criterion of protein nutritional status. In order to investigate this situation in the Black populations of South Africa, serum albumin concentrations were determined in several hundred normal individuals during each of three large-scale epidemiological surveys. The populations, who lived at very different socio-economic levels, were a tribal Xhosa group, a rural Tswana community and a sample of the detribalized urban population of Soweto. In each group males and females had similar serum albumin levels, which decreased with advancing age; however, there were significant overall differences between each of these populations (P less than 0,05). In distinction to the findings in other surveys, the rural group had the highest serum albumin level, while the tribal population had the lowest. It is apparent that the semi-westernized rural Tswana group enjoy an adequate standard of protein nutrition, the urban community is in a marginal situation, and the tribal Xhosa group is seriously undernourished.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

Biochemical changes in progressive osteoarthrosis.

Quantitative and qualitative variations in glycosaminoglycan content were studied in fibrillated, intact, and osteophytic cartilage of the human femoral head in osteoarthrosis. Total glycosaminoglycan content was reduced in fibrillated, unchanged in intact, and raised in osteophytic cartilage. In fibrillated and osteophytic cartilage the ratio of chondroitin sulphate to keratan sulphate was high and therefore resembled immature cartilage. Hyaluronic acid was present in reduced amount in all osteoarthrotic material. Proportionally more proteoglycans were extractable by 0-15 M NaCl and 4 M guanidinium chloride from the diseased cartilage than from normal cartilage, and all proteoglycans irrespective of buoyant density were carbohydrate deficient. It is postulated that the changes described are compatible with collagen and matrix disruption due to focal overloading and the general attempt at repair.

Cartilage, Articular↗
PubMed1976

Osteoarthrosis in a rural South African Negro population.

The prevalence and distribution of osteoarthrosis has been studied in a South African Negro population. One or more joints were affected in 60% of the males and 48% of the females, compared with a prevalence of 55% in males and 63% in females in a comparable English population. Multiple osteoarthrosis was significantly less common in the African than in the English population, the difference here being greatest in females. Clinical Heberden's nodes were also very infrequent in the African population. However, the Tswana males had significantly more osteoarthrosis of the metacarpophalangeal and proximal interphalangeal joints than was encountered in English males. This is attributed to the traumatic effect of hard manual work which is carried on into old age among most African populations.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Patterns of osteoarthritis of the hip.

The division of osteoarthritis into primary and secondary varieties implies that these are aetiologically distinct entities, the former being due to some intrinsic defect of cartilage and the latter resulting from previous articular damage. This traditional concept is questioned and the hypothesis is advanced that osteoarthritis is always secondary to some underlying abnormality of the joint. A detailed clinical, radiographic and morbid anatomical study of 327 cases of osteoarthritis of the hip is presented. In all but twenty-seven some predisposing abnormality of the joint was diagnosed: 107 (33%) were associated with major pathology such as Perthes' disease or epiphysiolysis; minor acetabular dysplasia was present in sixty-seven (20%), with a male: female ratio of 1:10; minimal femoral head tilt was demonstrated in fifty-nine (18%), the male: female ratio being 14:1; and in forty-three (13%) there were features suggesting an underlying inflammatory arthritis. On the basis of this study a new classification is proposed and osteoarthritis of the hip is divided into three pathogenetic groups: 1) failure of essentially normal cartilage subjected to abnormal or incongruous loading for long periods; 2) damaged or defective cartilage failing under normal conditions of loading; 3) break-up of articular cartilage due to defective subchondral bone.

Acetabulum↗
PubMed1975

Rheumatic disorders in the South African Negro. Part III. Idiopathic necrosis of the femoral head.

Idiopathic necrosis of the femoral head, with progressive articular destruction, is a well-recognised disorder in the South African Negro. Twenty-nine cases were studied in detail. In 17 there was evidence of associated iron overload, but it is unlikely that this contributed directly to the occurence of osteonecrosis. The syndrome of siderosis, scurvy and osteoporosis in Johannesburg Blacks is attributed to the ingestion of large quantities of iron in home-brewed beer. Often the beer is mixed with much more potent liquor and it is postulated that this, rather than the iron overload, is the cause of 'idiopathic' femoral head necrosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

Rheumatic disorders in the South African Negro. Part II. Osteo-arthrosis.

The prevalence of osteo-arthrosis of the hip, the knee, the small joints of the hand and the metatarsophalangeal joint of the big toe, has been studied in a South African Negro population. The pattern of joint involvement differed considerably from that expected in a White population. Interphalangeal osteo-arthrosis was much less common in Black women than in White, and Heberden's nodes were seen in only 3 of 93 respondents who were over 65 years of age. Osteo-arthrosis of the metacarpophalangeal joints also, was less common in Black women than in White, but the Black men showed a much greater involvement than that seen in White men. As in White peoples, osteo-arthrosis of the metatarsophalangeal joint of the big toe was commoner in women than in men, but the over-all prevalence did not reach the high levels in Whites. Osteo-arthrosis of the knee was much commoner in the women than in the men; this was associated with a marked tendency to obesity in the older women. The hip joint which is a common site for osteo-arthrosis in Whites, was seldom affected in this Black population. It is clear from this study that the apparent rarity of certain forms of degenerative arthritis in the South African Negro is not owing to any inherent resistance to the disease, because osteo-arthrosis of certain joints, such as the knee in women and the metacarpophalangeal joints in men, is even more common in Blacks than in Whites. The differences encountered can, in many instances, be attributed to differences in occupation and life style in the two populations; but genetic factors, may also play a part in the sense that certain predisposing disorders, such as congenital subluxation of the hip, appear to be far less common in Blacks than in Whites.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

Rheumatic disorders in the South African Negro. Part I. Rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis.

Epidemiological studies to determine the prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been carried out in two South African Negro populations: one rural people in the north-western Transvaal, and the other an urban community in Johannesburg. Altogether 1352 subjects over the age of 15 years were examined clinically and radiologically; serological tests for rheumatoid factor (RF) were carried out in 920. Rheumatoid arthritis was graded 'definite' or 'probable' on the basis of a modification of the 'Rome criteria' of 1963. A marked difference in the prevalence of RA was encountered in the two populations. Among the rural Blacks only 1 respondent had definite RA and 6 had probable RA, giving a prevalence of 0,87% for combined definite and probable RA. Among the urban group 5 respondents had definite RA and 13 had probable RA, a combined prevalence of 3,3%. This difference is statistically highly significant (P less than 0,01). Moreover, the form and severity of the disorder differed markedly in the two populations. In the rural community such changes as were encountered were invariable mild and no-one had clinical features resembling classical rheumatoid arthritis; by contrast, among the urban Blacks the changes resembled those of rheumatoid disease in White populations. Such marked differences in genetically closely related communities point to the importance of sociological and environmental factors in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Osteonecrosis following renal transplantation.

Subarticular osteonecrosis has been described with increasing frequency after renal transplantation and the use of immunosuppressive corticosteroids. Six cases have been encountered among 170 patients in the Johannesburg renal transplantation programme. The commonly affected sites are the femoral head, the femoral condyles, the humeral head, the talus and the capitulum. The radiological and morbid anatomical features of this complication are described, alternative theories of pathogenesis are considered and an approach to treatment is outlined.

Adolescent↗