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Biomedical subjects

M B Pepys

Publications and source records attributed to M B Pepys.

298 records · Page 17Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Immunological studies in inflammatory bowel disease.

Three aspects of immunological function were studied in patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (inflammatory bowel disease): atopic status and serum IgE levels; serum concentration of C-reactive protein; and C3 activation. The incidence of atopy, assessed by prick testing with common allergens, did not differ in patients with inflammatory bowel disease from healthy controls. 12 of 39 patients with Crohn's disease and 5 of 20 with ulcerative colitis, among whom were some non-atopic subjects, had elevated serum levels of IgE. Serum levels of C-reactive protein in patients were significantly greater than normal, even in those in whom the disease was clinically quiescent. Symptomatic patients with Crohn's disease had significantly higher levels than similar patients with ulcerative colitis and in Crohn's disease the levels correlated well with an overall assessment of severity and disease activity. Although conversion of C3 was detected in fresh serum samples from inflammatory bowel disease patients and not controls, only minimal traces were present in just 7 of 89 samples of EDTA--plasma from 47 patients; this finding did not correlate with disease activity. However, there were low titres of immunoconglutinin in the sera of some patients, but not in controls, suggesting that complement activation may be occurring in vivo.

C-Reactive Protein↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Immunohistochemical demonstration of amyloid P component in cerebro-vascular amyloidosis.

The presence of amyloid P component (AP) in cerebral amyloid deposits was sought using a direct immunoperoxidase technique. AP was detected in the amyloid deposits in the vessel walls but was absent from the intracerebral plaques in tissue from patients with senile cerebral amyloidosis. AP was also present in the amyloid deposits in the vessel walls of patients with the Icelandic form of hereditary cerebral haemorrhage associated with amyloidosis.

Amyloid↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Amyloid and the gut.

The systemic amyloidoses are serious and potentially fatal disorders caused by deposition of autologous proteins in an abnormal fibrillar from. The clinical features are highly variable but gut involvement is common and random gastrointestinal biopsies are diagnostic in 80% of patients. Presentations include macroglossia, motility disorders, hemorrhage and pseudo-tumors, although amyloid can mimic almost any other gut pathology. Nonspecific mucosal abnormalities are common both radiologically and at endoscopy. Scintigraphy with serum amyloid P component demonstrates and quantifies the systemic amyloid deposits. Therapy that reduces the supply of the amyloid fibril precursor protein can markedly improve prognosis. Intensive nutritional support for malnourished patients, motility-enhancing drugs and octretide for motility disorders, and correction of clotting disorders in bleeding patients are important adjunctive treatments.

Amyloid↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion does not provoke significant acute-phase response.

C-reactive protein (CRP), the classical acute-phase reactant, and serum amyloid A protein (SAA), the putative precursor of AA-type amyloid fibrils, were measured in 62 diabetic patients. They were all attending their regular clinic appointments and had been asymptomatic during the 2 wk preceding sampling. CRP and SAA levels were similar in 18 patients on continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII), 27 patients treated by conventional insulin therapy (CIT), nine treated by diet only, and eight treated by diet and oral hypoglycemic agents, and were almost entirely within the normal range. It is concluded that CSII does not provoke an acute-phase reaction in diabetic patients and, while caution should always be exercised with a new form of treatment, it does not seem likely that CSII will predispose to the development of reactive systemic amyloidosis.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Serum C-reactive protein in primary Sjögren's syndrome.

Only 11 out of 50 patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome were found to have minimal or moderate increases of C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. Patients with elevated CRP levels did not differ clinically from those with normal CRP levels. Thus, primary Sjögren's syndrome is one of the inflammatory disorders characterized by a relatively low CRP response.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Correlation of clinical parameters of disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis with serum concentration of C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate.

Serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were measured in 99 patients with definite or classical rheumatoid arthritis (RA). At the same time as the serum was obtained, the activity of the RA was assessed by assigning scores to a comprehensive set of subjective, semi-objective and objective clinical features. The results confirmed that the serum CRP concentration closely reflects activity of RA and is of value in its objective assessment. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) followed the same pattern as CRP levels but all of the subjective and semi-objective criteria correlated more significantly with CRP levels than with ESR.

Adult↗