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Biomedical subjects

R C Godfrey

Publications and source records attributed to R C Godfrey.

33 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1976

The prevalence of immediate positive skin tests to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and grass pollen in schoolchildren.

The prevalence of immediate positive reactions to prick testing with house dust mite (Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus) and grass pollen allergens was determined in a random sample of 303 children aged between 8 and 14 years from two Southhampton schools. One hundred and two (33-7%) showed positive reactions, fifty to both D. pteronyssinus and grass pollen, thirty to D. pternyssinus only and twenty-two to pollen only. Allergic symptoms were present in fifty-one of the 102 children with positive skin tests; amongst thirty children with D. pteronyssinus skin sensitivity by itself, only six had sumptoms suggestive of allergic disorder. Significantly more children with positive than with negative tests were reported by their parents to have suffered from recurrent bronchitis during early childhood.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Asthma and IgE levels in rural and urban communities of The Gambia.

Two hundred and thirty-one randomly selected schoolchildren and adults from rural Gambian villates showed no evidence of asthma, nor could any case of asthma be found in three rural villages with a total population of over 1200. In contrast, asthmatic patients were identified without difficulty in the capital town. The geometric mean serum IgE level of 131 rural schoolchildren was 962 mu/ml, whereas that of sixty age-matched urban schoolchildren was 368 mj/ml (P smaller than 0-001). Forty-four asthmatics, all from the capital town, had a mean serum IgE level of 405 mu/ml, not significantly different from that of urban schoolchildren. Twenty-one asthmatics showed skin sensitivity to house dust mite antigen, but their IgE levels were not significantly higher than asthmatics without skin sensitivity. The incidence of positive skin tests to mite antigen amongst normal Gambians, both rural and urban, was around 1%. The findings are discussed in relation to the hypothesis that parasite-induced IgE may prevent the development of atopic illness.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1970

Measurement of electrical potentials of the human rectum and pelvic colon in normal and aldosterone-treated patients.

A method is described which allows rapid measurement of the electrical potential difference across colonic mucosal epithelium to be carried out during routine sigmoidoscopy. The potential differences measured had a mean value of 25 mV (range 4 to 51 mV) in 27 subjects with normal bowel. Six hours after two intravenous injections of 0.5 mg aldosterone the potential difference had risen to 60 mV (range 37 to 101 mV). The time course of responses studied after a single injection of aldosterone showed that the potential allowance rose within four hours and had fallen again after 18 hours. Urinary sodium concentrations and sodium/potassium ratios fell after aldosterone injections, the time course of the changes being similar to that of the potential differences of the colon. Sodium concentration of stool fluid also fell. The concentration of chloride in the stool fluid was consistent with a passive distribution of chloride according to the electrochemical gradient, but that of potassium was considerably greater than expected from a passive distribution, suggesting that potassium is actively secreted into the lumen of the colon.

Aldosterone↗
PubMed1968

Osteoporosis of lumbar vertebrae and calcification of abdominal aorta in women living in Durban.

To try to establish whether mechanical stress and muscular activity in earlier life influence the incidence and severity of spinal osteoporosis in old age lateral x-ray films of the lumbar vertebrae were obtained from three matched groups, each of 100 women 50 to 90 years old. Group A was of rural Bantu accustomed to carrying heavy loads on their heads. Group B was of urban Bantu, mainly in domestic service. Group C was of women of European origin.Severe osteoporosis occurred in three cases from group A, two from group B, and 14 from group C. Lesser degrees of osteoporosis could not be assessed precisely enough for inclusion in these figures. Evenly biconcave vertebral bodies, strongly suggestive of osteomalacia, were seen in 10 from group A, five from group B, and one from group C. In many Bantu subjects the fifth lumbar vertebra appeared flattened though of good radiodensity and with no marked changes in the other vertebrae. Twenty-eight of these were from group A, 16 from group B, and none from group C.About a third of each group showed severe degenerative changes in the spine; another third showed milder changes. More cases of spondylolisthesis occurred in the Bantu groups than in the white group. Severe calcification in the abdominal aorta was noted in 24 women in group C. Mild signs occurred in 35 further women from group C, in six from group B, and in only one from group A.

Aged↗