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Biomedical subjects

W A Liston

Publications and source records attributed to W A Liston.

66 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1981

The indicence of severe pre-eclampsia amongst mothers and mothers-in-law of pre-eclamptics and controls.

In order to distinguish between a maternal, fetal or maternal and fetal genetic predisposition towards severe pre-eclampsia, the first pregnancies of 158 mothers and 160 mothers-in-law of pre-eclamptic women and of matched controls were analysed. Fourteen per cent of mothers of pre-eclamptics were found to have had severe pre-eclampsia, confirming previous suggestions that the condition "runs in families', in contrast to only a 3% incidence amongst mothers of controls. The incidence in mothers-in-law of both pre-eclamptics and controls was 4%, in full agreement with a maternal genotype hypothesis and suggesting that the fetal genotype plays, at most, only a minor role in the aetiology of severe pre-eclampsia. The data are in agreement with the hypothesis that a single recessive gene acting in the mother could be responsible for severe pre-eclampsia, but multifactorial inheritance is not ruled out. Mild pre-eclampsia showed no such familial tendency, indicating that the mild and severe forms of pre-eclampsia may represent separate pathological entities.

Female↗
PubMed1979

Genetic control of severe pre-eclampsia.

A genetic analysis has been made of published and new data on the familial occurrence of severe pre-eclampsia in primigravid women. This has shown that the condition may be largely a Mendelian recessive one. Bcause the condition occurs only in pregnancy, and because susceptible women cannot otherwise be identified, it is difficult to decide whether the genotype of the parent or of the offspring carried in utero leads to the condition. Data on the incidence of severe pre-eclampsia in the relatives of women who have suffered eclampsia support the maternal genotype hypothesis, while similar data, in which the index cases were women who had had severe pre-eclampsia, are more compatible with the fetal genotype hypothesis. Data on the incidence of the condition in blood relatives of index cases compared to the incidence in their corresponding in-laws are now required. Such a comparison would allow a choice to be made between the two hypotheses if one or the other were correct, or would assess the contribution of each if a genotype X genotype interaction were involved. Recurrent severe pre-eclampsia seems to have the same genetic basis as the more common primigravid type. However, mild, that is non-proteinuric, pre-eclampsia usually seems to be inherited independently of the severe form.

Female↗
PubMed1975

Comparison between laparoscopic sterilization and tubal ligation.

During 1970-3, 1910 laparoscopic sterilizations and 531 tubal ligations were performed in Aberdeen. Common complications occurred with 61 (3.2%) and 99 (18.6%) of the operations respectively, but the pregnancy rate was much higher (2.2%) after laparoscopic sterilization.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

A review of 700 hysterotomies.

We studied 700 hysterotomies carried out in Aberdeen between 1968 and 1972. The morbidity and mortality indicate that the operation is now outdated as a method of terminating pregnancy. A study of referral practice showed that there were many unneccessary delays.

Abortion, Induced↗
PubMed1974

Dangers of oxytocin-induced labour to fetuses.

A retrospective survey of 658 consecutive deliveries in Aberdeen Maternity Hospital in 1970 showed that fetal distress, low Apgar score at five minutes, and special nursery admission were all common in patients receiving oxytocin infusion. Many patients receiving such infusions also had very frequent contractions when compared with others. Though the populations in each group were not standard, the clinical criteria were crude, and the survey was retrospective there are resonable grounds to believe that the present enthusiasm for oxytocin has perhaps led us in clinical practice to underestimate and forget the dangers of oxytocin to the fetus. Careful monitoring of the fetus of the mother receiving oxytocin is essential.

Amnion↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Immune profile of women experiencing recurrent spontaneous abortions of unknown aetiology.

Immunological and immunogenetic investigations are described in a group of 28 women with a history of unexplained recurrent (greater than or equal to 3 consecutive) spontaneous abortions (RSA). Compared with female blood donor controls, recurrent aborters had significantly elevated mean serum complement C4 (p less than 0.05), but not C3, levels. Immunoglobulin levels and T4:T8 ratios showed a similar distribution to the controls. Mixed lymphocyte reactivities to partners' lymphocytes were low in some of the patients, but hyporesponsiveness correlated well with husband-wife HLA-DR compatibility. No individual HLA specificity was significantly increased in the RSA patients, but the combination A3, B7, DR2 was common (p less than 0.02), and general HLA antigen sharing with partners was significantly increased (p less than 0.004) relative to obstetrically normal couples. RSA women who shared two or more HLA antigens with spouses had higher mean serum immunoglobulin concentrations, which for IgM reached statistical significance (p less than 0.05).

Abortion, Habitual↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Mannan-binding protein in human umbilical cord blood.

Mannan binding protein (MBP) may be important for host defence particularly in infancy. MBP concentration was measured in 237 umbilical cord blood samples from singleton pregnancies and compared to those of 352 blood donors. Both data sets yielded a bimodal frequency distribution, consisting of a log-normal peak and a long tail of lower values. The range (0-23 U/ml) and median (7.2 U/ml) of cord blood values were significantly lower than those of blood donors (range 0-43 U/ml; median 8.3 U/ml). MBP was also measured in the cord blood samples of 8 pairs of twin siblings. Discordant values in two pairs of twins suggest that cord blood MBP is derived from the fetoplacental unit and not from the maternal circulation by transplacental passage.

Adult↗