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Biomedical subjects

N Williams

Publications and source records attributed to N Williams.

At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Immunochemical characterisation of megakaryocyte potentiator activity from mouse bone marrow.

Megakaryocyte potentiator derived from mouse bone marrow has been shown to be immunologically similar to Interleukin-6 (IL-6). In this study the activity has been characterised by biochemical and immunochemical techniques. The activity is described as a O-linked glycosylated molecule with an apparent MW of 15 Kd and pl of the range pH 5.9-6.35. The data show that mouse bone marrow potentiator activity is a variant of IL-6 and with the potential to enhance megakaryocyte growth.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Evaluation of four animal models of intrarenal calcium deposition and assessment of the influence of dietary supplementation with essential fatty acids on calcification.

Firstly, to determine a satisfactory animal model for induction of intrarenal calcification, a study of four previously described animal models of intrarenal calcification was carried out which showed that intraperitoneal injection of 10% calcium gluconate into female Sprague-Dawley rats was most effective. We then investigated the hypothesis that dietary supplementation with essential fatty acids could reduce the intrarenal calcification developing as a result of intraperitoneal calcium injection. Using a combination of fish oil and evening primrose oil, we demonstrated a significant difference in renal parenchymal calcification, which was 940 +/- 240 micrograms Ca/g dry weight renal parenchyma in unsupplemented animals and 320-370 +/- 55-65 micrograms Ca/g dry weight renal parenchyma in supplemented animals (means +/- SEM, P < 0.005). It was also demonstrated that there was synergism between eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and gamma-linolenic acid (GLA): dietary supplementation with a combined oil preparation containing 27 mg/ml EPA and 67 mg/ml GLA mixed as 2% with food was as effective as oils containing either 400 mg/ml EPA or 80 mg/ml GLA mixed as 4% of food.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Effect of lateral sphincterotomy on internal anal sphincter function. A computerized vector manometry study.

PURPOSE: This study was designed to investigate the effect of lateral sphincterotomy on internal anal sphincter function in patients with chronic anal fissure. METHODS: Using an eight-channel perfusion catheter and computerized data analysis, a prospective manometric study was performed on patients with chronic anal fissure undergoing lateral sphincterotomy (LS). RESULTS: Mean resting pressure (MRP) in patients with anal fissure (85.1 mmHg) was significantly higher (P = 0.012) than control subjects (63.3 mmHg). One week following LS there was a significant reduction in MRP (50.0 mmHg; P = 0.0014), and this was maintained when reassessed five weeks later (MRP = 56.4 mmHg; P = 0.0019). There was no significant difference in coefficient of variation (a measure of the degree of manometric asymmetry of the anal canal) in the control group (mean, 8.9 percent) and in patients with anal fissure (mean, 7.7 percent; P = 0.43). LS created a significant increase in anal canal resting manometric asymmetry when assessed at one (mean, 17.3 percent; P = 0.0013) and six weeks (mean, 11.7 percent; P = 0.027) after the procedure. CONCLUSION: LS produces a global and symmetric decrease in anal canal resting pressure. In addition, it produces a significant increase in manometric asymmetry of the resting anal canal by creating a detectable segmental defect.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Manometric asymmetry in the anal canal in controls and patients with fecal incontinence.

PURPOSE: This study was designed to ascertain the existence of manometric asymmetry in the anal canal in controls and in patients with fecal incontinence. METHODS: A computerized manometric technique with an eight-channel perfusion catheter was used. Coefficient of variation (CV, a mathematical expression of the degree or magnitude of deviation of a set of data points from the mean) was developed in this study as an index of anal canal manometric asymmetry. RESULTS: At 1 cm from the anal verge, mean CV was 9.3 and 8.7 percent in asymptomatic control males and females, respectively. During a maximum voluntary squeeze effort, mean CV in control males was 9.3 percent and was not significantly different (P = 0.28) from that in control females (7.8 percent). In 14 consecutive female patients with fecal incontinence, mean CV at rest (1 cm from the anal verge) was 21 percent and was significantly higher (P < 0.01) than in control females. Similarly, during a maximum voluntary squeeze effort, mean CV in patients with fecal incontinence was 20.5 percent and was significantly higher (P < 0.01) than in the female control group (7.8 percent). CONCLUSION: It is concluded that CV, a method of expressing anal sphincter manometric asymmetry, is a useful manometric parameter in the assessment of anorectal function.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

The value of possessions in compulsive hoarding: patterns of use and attachment.

Hoarding behavior, patterns of use of possessions, and emotional attachment to possessions were examined among a sample of female undergraduates and a sample of community volunteers. Hoarding behavior was associated with a decreased frequency of use of possessions and excessive concern about maintaining control over possessions. Furthermore, high scores on the hoarding scale were associated with higher levels of perceived responsibility for: (1) being prepared; and (2) the well-being of the possession. Hoarding was also associated with greater emotional attachment to possessions and to the reliance on possessions for emotional comfort. The implications of these findings for the definition of hoarding are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Quality of life on home parenteral nutrition: a single centre study of 37 patients.

Quality of life was assessed in 37 patients receiving home parenteral nutrition (HPN) for intestinal failure. A questionnaire was developed specifically for this purpose and the results were compared with those obtained by subjective assessment using a simple linear scale. The majority of patients (n = 26, 70.3%) had a good objective quality of life and most (n = 16, 53.3%) of those eligible (n = 30, 81.1%) did not express an interest in intestinal transplantation. Despite the apparent good quality of life enjoyed by patients receiving HPN, there were numerous areas in which patients with intestinal failure felt that their quality of life left much to be desired: many patients reported significant psychological symptoms (n = 15, 40.5%) sexual (n = 10, 27.0%) and social dysfunction (n = 19, 51.3%) and most patients with intestinal failure were unable to return to work (n = 24, 88.9%). Detailed quality of life assessment reveals that there is much still to be done to ensure that provision of care for patients with intestinal failure involves not only prolongation of life but also an improvement in quality of life.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1995

Urban-rural differentials in infant mortality in Victorian England.

This paper examines the magnitude of urban-rural differentials in infant mortality in England during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and also compares the timing of decline for a selection of towns of varying size, and their immediate rural hinterlands. Most towns continued to experience short-term fluctuations in infant mortality until the very end of the nineteenth century; however, in some of the adjacent rural communities--where levels of infant mortality were much lower--conditions were sufficiently favourable to allow a continuous decline in infant mortality from at least the 1860s, if not before. The final part of the paper considers the causes of these patterns and their implications for explanations of infant mortality decline.

History, 19th Century↗
PubMed1995

Spinal anaesthesia for transurethral surgery: comparison of 2% lignocaine with hyperbaric 0.5% bupivacaine.

We have compared 2% lignocaine 3.5 ml with 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine 3 ml in a randomized, double-blind study in 30 patients undergoing subarachnoid anaesthesia for transurethral surgery. A sensory level of T10 was produced more quickly (P = 0.0001) and maximum height reached sooner (P = 0.0002) with lignocaine, although there was a greater reduction in systolic arterial pressure (P = 0.03) and a trend towards slower heart rates (P = 0.056). Return of full sensory and motor function occurred earlier with lignocaine (P = 0.00005 and P = 0.02).

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Absence of symptoms in silver refiners with raised blood silver levels.

Silver has been implicated as a cause of ill health, related largely to its use in the medical setting as a treatment for burns and in prosthetic cements. This report discusses occupational silver exposure in two workers with blood silver levels of 49 micrograms/l and 74 micrograms/l who were asymptomatic and showed no signs of argyric neuropathy which has previously been described at blood silver levels as low as 10 micrograms/l. One of the men showed non-characteristic clinical signs of argyrosis. The clinical findings, results of environmental monitoring and effects of environmental improvements on blood silver levels are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Suggestive evidence for linkage of schizophrenia to markers on chromosome 13q14.1-q32.

Family, twin and adoption studies highlight the influence of genes in the aetiology of schizophrenia, though the mode of inheritance is unclear. We have been conducting a systematic search for major genes in schizophrenia using a series of multiply affected families and report preliminary results of linkage under heterogeneity with markers on chromosome 13. A lod2 score of 1.61 for marker D13S144 was obtained at theta = 0 and alpha of 0.5 and nearby markers also produced positive values.

Adoption↗
PubMed1995

Association study of bipolar disorder using a functional polymorphism (Ser311-->Cys) in the dopamine D2 receptor gene.

Several pieces of evidence are consistent with the involvement of dopamine neurotransmission in the aetiology of bipolar disorder. We have tested the hypothesis that the functional mutation Ser311-->Cys of the dopamine D2 receptor gene confers susceptibility to bipolar disorder. There was no increased frequency of the mutation in 82 bipolar probands compared with 72 controls, showing that this mutation is not involved in the pathogenesis of (at least) the vast majority of cases of bipolar disorder. Our findings are consistent with other evidence from linkage and association studies against the involvement of the dopamine D2 receptor in bipolar disorder.

Alleles↗
PubMed1995

Medullary carcinoma of the thyroid metastatic to breast.

Medullary carcinoma of the thyroid commonly spreads to the lymphatics and later on in the disease process, to distant sites such as lung, liver and bone. Spread to the breast is rare (only two previous reported cases) and presents a major diagnostic dilemma. We report a case of metastatic medullary carcinoma of the thyroid which presented as a primary breast nodule with ipsilateral axillary lymphadenopathy. Clearly it was important to distinguish this tumour from a breast primary as each are managed differently. Both cytological and radiological investigations were inconclusive but excision biopsy was diagnostic.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed1995

Pain and vomiting after vitreoretinal surgery: a potential role for local anaesthesia.

Periconal local anaesthesia with subtenon supplementation was used to provide anaesthesia for 94 patients having vitreoretinal surgery. Of these, 44 patients also received general anaesthesia with neuromuscular block. None of these patients received opioid or antiemetic before or during surgery. In comparison with a retrospective control group, patients who had received local anaesthesia as part of their anaesthetic technique were less likely to be given a parenteral opioid (P < 0.001) or to vomit (P < 0.001) within six hours of the completion of surgery. They also experienced significantly fewer bradycardic episodes during surgery (P = 0.001). For patients having general anaesthesia, administration of an intraoperative antiemetic reduced the incidence of vomiting within six hours of the completion of surgery (P = 0.008). For patients who did not receive local anaesthetic, shorter operating time was a factor associated with both reduced postoperative vomiting (P = 0.0015) and administration of parenteral opioid (P = 0.0014). It is suggested that the use of local anaesthesia as part of the anaesthetic technique for vitreoretinal surgery is associated with improved patient comfort.

Analgesics, Opioid↗
PubMed1995

Detection without correction: problems in assessing the quality of English ecclesiastical and civil registration.

Reliable, good quality source material is required for any demographic study. By selecting specific examples from York during the parish register period and Sheffield during the civil registratiion period deficiencies in both ecclesiastical and civil registration are discussed with reference to how they affect infant and adult mortality calculations. In particular, the extent to which the deaths of very young infants were registered is considered in detail. Bourgeois-Pichat's biometric test, Farr's early life tables and Coale and Demeny's model life tables have all been used to correct inaccuracies within original sources. We consider the limitations of each of these methods and suggest that a reassessment of the quality of vital registration data and the methods used to make corrections is needed in order to make further advances in historical demography possible.

Child↗