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Biomedical subjects

M Gillett

Publications and source records attributed to M Gillett.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Association between blood levels of lead, blood pressure and risk of diabetes and heart disease in workers.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have supported the association between high levels of blood lead levels (BLL) and elevated blood pressure. In addition, significant correlations between BLL and a variety of risk factors for blood pressure and diabetes mellitus have been well-established. OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between BLL, blood pressure and diabetes as well as other selected social and biochemical factors, among workers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). METHODS: This comparative study included 110 industrial workers (exposed to lead in the workplace) and 110 non-industrial workers (not exposed); all were recruited in the city of Al-Ain, Abu-Dhabi Emirate, UAE and the groups were evenly matched for age, gender and nationality. RESULTS: The industrial workers had a significantly higher mean of BLL (median 81 and geometric mean (GM) 62 microg/dl) than did non-industrial workers (median 11 and GM 13 microg/dl). In the present study, the lead-exposed group also had significantly higher blood lead levels, body-mass index (BMI), systolic and diastolic blood pressures, fasting blood glucose and plasma levels of total cholesterol, lactate dehydrogenase and uric acid than did the non-exposed group. Furthermore a significant correlation between BLL and systolic blood pressure was observed. CONCLUSION: The study supports the hypothesis of a positive association between lead exposure, high blood pressure and risk of diabetes and heart disease.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Hypotriglyceridemic and hypocholesterolemic effects of anti-diabetic Momordica charantia (karela) fruit extract in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

Momordica charantia (karela) is commonly used as an antidiabetic and antihyperglycemic agent in Asian, Oriental and Latin American countries. This study was undertaken to investigate the effects of long term feeding (10 weeks) of M. charantia fruit extract on blood plasma and tissue lipid profiles in normal and streptozotocin (STZ)-induced Type 1 diabetic rats. The results show that there was a significant (P < 0.05) increase in plasma non-esterified cholesterol, triglycerides and phospholipids in STZ-induced diabetic rats, accompanied by a decrease in high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol. A moderate increase in plasma (LPO) product, malonedialdehyde (MDA), and about two-fold increase in kidney LPO was also observed in STZ-induced diabetic rats. The treatment of diabetic rats with M. charantia fruit extract over a 10-week period returned these levels close to normal. In addition, karela juice also exhibited an inhibitory effect on membrane LPO under in vitro conditions. These results suggest that M. charantia fruit extract exhibits hypolipidemic as well as hypoglycemic effects in the STZ-induced diabetic rat.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Colchicine-induced bone marrow suppression: treatment with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor.

Bone marrow aplasia is a frequent complication of colchicine poisoning. This typically occurs on day 3 to 5 postexposure, and the blood cell counts remain depressed for a week or more. Unfortunately, because patients suffering from colchicine toxicity develop multiple organ complications and sepsis, the morbidity and mortality associated with bone marrow depression is high. In this article, we present three cases of colchicine toxicity in which granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) was used to treat bone marrow depression. In all three cases, there was a dramatic increase in the white cell count and, to a lesser extent, the platelet count. In view of the critical nature of the bone marrow depression and multi-organ toxicity induced by colchicine, we believe that consideration of the use of G-CSF to shorten the duration of neutropenia is warranted.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Consistency of retrospective triage decisions as a standardised instrument for audit.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the level of agreement between senior medical staff when asked to perform retrospective case note review of nursing triage decisions, both before and after development of a consensus approach. METHODS: Four medical reviewers independently allocated triage categories to 50 emergency department patients after review of their case notes. They were blind to the identity of the triage nurse and their triage categorisation. The process was repeated twice, firstly after agreement on a consensus approach and then using formal guidelines. RESULTS: Agreement between reviewers was initially fair to moderate (kappa = 0.27 to 0.53). This failed to improve after development of a consensus approach (kappa = 0.29 to 0.57). There was a trend towards better agreement when guidelines were used but agreement was still only moderate (kappa = 0.31 to 0.63). CONCLUSIONS: Audit of nurse triage categorisation by senior medical staff performing case note review has only fair to moderate consistency between reviewers. Use of this technique will result in frustration among those whose performance is being audited if they recognise inconsistency in the standard they are compared against.

Australia↗
PubMed1996

Neurological and osteological definitions of cervical vertebrae in mammals.

The presence of seven cervical vertebrae is an almost universal mammalian trait. The posterior boundary of the cervical series is traditionally defined osteologically, but its location is also predictable using neurological markers of the brachial plexus. The existence of three living mammalian genera with osteologically defined cervical counts other than seven offers the opportunity to examine the coincidence of osteological and neurological definitions of the term 'cervical'. Despite variations in rib and articular processes of cervical vertebrae dissections of the brachial plexuses of these genera reveal that neurological and osteological markers of the cervical series define the same, nontraditional, posterior boundaries of the series. Subdivision of the predetermined cervical mesoderm into a nontraditional number of segments has not altered the relationship of the limb or its innervation to the cervical/thoracic boundary. This nontraditional subdivision appears to have evolved separately at least three times.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Iron-transferrin binding to isolated guinea pig enterocytes and the regional localisation of intestinal iron transfer during ontogeny.

Neonatal animals are iron replete but in comparison with adults they display increased intestinal iron absorption. In order to examine possible mechanisms for this developmental adaptation we have measured the appearance of iron in peripheral blood following 30 min exposure of duodenal and ileal segments of adult and neonatal guinea pigs in vivo to 59Fe-ascorbate. Parallel experiments have determined the kinetics of 125I-labelled diferric transferrin binding to villus enterocytes isolated from duodenum and ileum. In adult animals the rate of appearance of 59Fe in peripheral blood was 11-fold greater following duodenal, compared to ileal exposure to the radioligand. No such regional difference was detected in the neonate. Isolated cells showed saturable binding of [125I]transferrin which was maximal between 30 and 60 min. The kinetics of specific transferrin binding by adult duodenal and ileal enterocytes were similar and were also not significantly different to respective values in neonatal duodenal and ileal cells. Thus, it is likely that increased iron absorption in the neonate is due in part to enhanced ileal iron transfer. The interaction of transferrin with its receptor, however, is not involved in this developmental change in uptake.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Giving patients their own records in general practice: experience of patients and staff.

Patients have reacted positively to seeing their medical records in a general practice which has a predominantly working class population in south east London. Most patients were familiar with the information in their records. Older people tended to avoid reading their notes. There have been few inaccuracies and unpleasant reactions reported, and few problems have arisen.

Aged↗
PubMed1984

Gaining leeway: activities in an open psychiatric institution.

"Gaining Leeway : Activities in an Open Psychiatric Institution" describes the philosophy and instructional work of the Activities Department at the Austen Riggs Center in Stockbridge , Massachusetts. The paper also discusses some of the limitations and problems of the department in this particular environment. Goals of both the hospital and the patients are cited, as well as some discussion of the importance of creative expressiveness and competence as agents of change in restoring mental health.

Art Therapy↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A tale of two surgeons.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

History, Modern 1601-↗