Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M Gracey

Publications and source records attributed to M Gracey.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1980

Reduction by aspirin of intestinal fluid-loss in acute childhood gastroenteritis.

Soluble aspirin was given by mouth in therapeutic doses in a double-blind trial to malnourished infants and young children with gastroenteritis and dehydration. Faecal fluid-losses were reduced and weight-grain was enhanced in the group given aspirin. These effects were statistically significant when compared with those obtained with a placebo preparation and in a group of patients given supportive therapy but no specific drug treatment. The results suggest that aspirin may be useful in reducing intestinal fluid-loss in childhood gastroenteritis. Before the widespread use of aspirin can be recommended, its effects in patients not under hospital supervision must be determined.

Aspirin↗
PubMed1980

Obesity and insulin secretion in fasting high school students.

The relationship between plasma glucose, serum insulin, serum C-peptide and obesity was studied in 320 fasting high school students (13-18 years old), as part of a Busselton population study. For males and females respectively plasma glucose was 4.5 +/- 0.4 and 4.4 +/- 0.5 mmol/l (mean +/- SD), serum insulin 0.51 +/- 0.35 and 0.69 +/- 0.39 log10 (nmol/l X 100), and serum C-peptide 0.48 +/- 0.15 and 0.55 +/- 0.14 nmol/l. These sex differences were not statistically significant. Plasma glucose correlated with C-peptide (r = 0.21, p < 0.001) and insulin (r = 0.32, p < 0.001), indicating greater secretion where fasting glucose was higher. Obesity, measured as skin fold thickness, was also associated with serum C-peptide (r = 0.32, p < 0.001) and insulin (r = 0.37, p < 0.001).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Human salmonella carriers in a tropical urban environment.

Salmonella sp. were isolated from rectal swab specimens from 39 to 464 (8.4%) of apparently healthy adults and children in central Jakarta, Indonesia. A wide variety of species of Salmonella were found with S. oranienburg predominating. Most of the S. oranienburg isolated were resistant to a wide range of antibiotics, probably because of their previous widespread and inappropriate administration. The yield of carriers identified increased significantly with the use of double enrichment procedures. This study emphasizes the importance of high rates of carriage of Salmonella sp. as potential causes of diarrhoeal disease in overcrowded, unhygienic cities in the tropics.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

An experimental model of gastrointestinal candidiasis.

Intestinal absorption of arbutin (p-hydroxyphenyl-beta-glucoside), a non-metabolised analogue of d-glucose, and net flux of water out of the small intestinal lumen were found to be decreased in vitro in rats fed with Candida albicans. In rats on a protein-deficient diet and fed C. albicans there was net secretion of water. Sugar uptake and net water transport were also impaired in infected animals in vivo. These abnormalities were present although there was no histological evidence of invasion of the small-intestinal mucosa by C. albicans. The findings suggest that C. albicans has significant enteric pathogenicity and that this is particularly important in malnutrition.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Effects of salicylate on intestinal absorption: in vitro and in vivo studies with enterotoxigenic micro-organisms.

This study was done to determine whether salicylate could affect alterations in intestinal absorption induced by preparations of enterotoxigenic micro-organisms. It was found in rats that salicylate increased intestinal monosaccharide uptake in vitro and reversed the inhibitory effects induced by cell-free preparations of Staphylococcus sp., Candida sp. and Klebsiella sp. In vivo, salicylates increased net water absorption in rat jejunum exposed to cell-free preparations of various micro-organisms. Increase in net fluid flux occurred after subcutaneous injection only with bacteria which stimulate adenylate cyclase activity. These observations suggest that the absorptive and anti-secretory effects of aspirin are cyclic nucleotide dependent. The potential clinical role of salicylates as anti-secretory agents in diarrhoeal diseases, particularly in children, requires further investigation.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

The 1977 Busselton children's survey.

A health survey of 551 high school students in the coastal town of Busselton, Western Australia, was undertaken in November, 1977. Physical measurements showed that approximately 17% of the boys and 24% of the girls were overweight (115% or more of their standard weight for height and age). Blood pressures ranged from 108/64 mmHg at 13 years to 129/70 mmHg at 17 years for boys, and 109/63 mmHg to 116/66 mmHg for girls of the same age group. Fasting plasma glucose, cholesterol and triglyceride values were also obtained. Twenty-seven per cent of the girls and 17% of the boys were regular smokers, a habit often acquired by the age of 12 years. Most of the children watched television from two to four hours daily during the week, and for longer periods at weekends. Although most had satisfactory levels of physical fitness, there was a trend towards poor performance in overweight children, and there was a significant decrease in participation in regular sports by the older teenagers.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Oropharyngeal microflora in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australian children. An indicator of environmental contamination.

Faecal microorganisms, not normally resident in the oropharynx, were isolated much more often from Aboriginal than non-Aboriginal Australian children. This is almost certainly due to differences in standards of hygiene and living in these two groups, and is an important factor in contributing to the common and serious problem of gastrointestinal infections in young Aborigines. In the non-Aboriginal group, the isolations of faecal organisms were much more common from infants and from children under the age of two years when compared with older children; this is probably due to the readiness of spreading microorganisms from the gastrointestinal tract to the mouth in the younger children.

Australia↗
PubMed1979

Faecal pollution of surface waters in Jakarta.

Profuse numbers of Enterobacteriaceae were found in samples of surface waters from the Ciliwung River and adjoining canals which criss-cross metropolitan Jakarta and are used widely for domestic purposes by the poorer sections of its population. 15 of the 20 specimens gres E. coli, Klebsiella were isolated from seven and Citrobacter from four. Using enrichment culture procedures, Salmonella sp. were grown from 10 (48%) of 21 water samples examined, and 12 (63%) of aquatic sediments collected at the same sites. Altogether 14 serotypes and 37 Salmonella isolations were recorded. This high degree of faecal contamination of the environment is a major cause of the immense problem of gastro-intestinal infections in that city and probably in many similar cities in developing countries in the tropics.

Enterobacteriaceae↗
PubMed1979

Defective Candida killing in childhood malnutrition.

This study shows that malnourished children have impaired candidacidal activity of leucocytes, a finding which runs parallel to the higher rates of isolation of Candida sp. from throat secretions. In well nournished subjects the mean candidacidal ability was 44.5% in the moderately undernourished group it was 17.6%, and in the severely malnourished group it was 13.7%. This impaired candidacidal capacity may be important in the establishment of large numbers of Candida sp. which are commonly found in the upper intestine and in the pathogenesis of diarrhoea in children with malnutrition.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Nutrient consumption patterns of families in Busselton, Western Australia.

Nutrient consumption data were obtained from 211 members of 41 families living in the coastal town of Busselton, Western Australia. It was found that food consumption patterns were similar in boys and girls up to the age of 11 years. After that, as expected, males consumed more food than females. There was a general tendency for daily kilojoule intakes to be considerably less than the Australian Dietary Allowances for all age groups with the exception of males aged from 35 to 55 years. There was a significant prevalence of obesity in the subjects who were studied, particularly in the older groups of both sexes. The results suggest that, in the older adult groups, failure to make concessions to decreased levels of physical activity by modifying appetite and customary eating practices is a major factor which contributes to obesity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Intestinal transport of monosaccharide after biliary diversion in the rat.

Sugar absorption is increased in rats with a bile fistula but approaches normal values with the addition of bile salt. It has therefore been suggested that bile salts have a physiological role in decreasing intestinal absorption of monosaccharides. In experiments using rats, jejunal and ileal uptake of arbutin, a glucose analogue was increased 5 days after creating a bile fistula but normal by the 10th day after operation. Bile fistula rats ate only about one third of the intake of normal rats in the first 5 days after operation. Control animals fed the same amount as the bile fistula group showed a similar increase in jejunal and ileal arbutin uptake. In both groups, on the 5th post-operative day, addition of taurocholate depressed arbutin uptake towards normal. In normal rats, taurocholate depressed arbutin uptake in the ileum but not the jejunum. These results suggest that increased monosaccharide uptake in bile fistula rats is related to semi-starvation and is not a specific effect of bile salts.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Effects of intestinal micro-organisms on fluid and electrolyte transport in the jejunum of the rat.

Culture filtrates of micro-organisms isolated from the upper intestinal secretions of malnourished children and grown in pure culture were shown to impair the intestinal absorption of water and electrolytes in live rats. Decreased net movement out of the intestinal lumen, or actual secretion of water, sodium or potassium into the intestinal lumen, was found with culture filtrates of single isolates of Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli 055, Escherichia coli B7A, Shigella sonnei, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis. These organisms have been found to contaminate upper intestinal secretions in malnourished children and it is suggested that the effects observed in these experiments might be relevant to the production of the diarrhoea that is a dominant clinical feature of childhood malnutrition.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Aboriginal children in hospital.

In 1974 there were 932 admissions of 624 Aboriginal infants and children to the Princess Margaret Hospital, Perth, where they were treated for a period of 10,952 bed days. More than 50% of the patients were malnourished and many were anaemic. Most admissions were for nutritional and related disorders, especially chronic and recurrent infections of the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts and the skin. The average stay in hospital was 12 days, approximately double that for non-Aboriginal children. There were six deaths, mostly in infants with overwhelming infections. These findings indicate the need for at least maintaining programmes aimed at improving the health and nutritional standards of young Australian Aborigines.

Australia↗