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Biomedical subjects

W B Matthews

Publications and source records attributed to W B Matthews.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1978

Creutzfeldt--Jakob disease.

The laboratory transmission to animals of an apparently degenerative disease of the nervous system, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), is now well established. Important questions arising from this observation are the possibility of natural transmission or infectivity and the existence of other similarly transmissible diseases. Epidemiological studies have revealed some possible clusters of CJD and also an association with previous craniotomy, but there is no definite evidence of natural infection. A few instances have been reported of experimental CJD in animals following inoculation with material from Alzheimer's disease, but apart from this there is so far no evidence of transmission of any other form of degenerative nervous disease.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Pattern reversal evoked visual potential in the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.

The pattern reversal evoked visual potential (VEP) was recorded in 37 normal subjects and in 186 patients in whom a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) was established or suspected. Taking the upper limit of normal as the mean +2.5 SD (111 ms), prolonged latency was found in 75% of definite cases of MS, 58% of probable cases, and 38% of possible cases. A smaller number of patients without prolonged latency had abnormal asymmetry of latency or low amplitude potentials. In patients with a single acute episode of neurological disease resembling MS the incidence of abnormal VEP was very low. In patients examined within three months of an episode of retrobulbar neuritis (RBN), latency was prolonged in 81% of affected eyes, a similar proportion being found in patients with a more remote history of RBN. The importance of establishing the normal for every laboratory engaged on this investigation is emphasised. Prolonged latency of the VEP is common in established MS but has not yet been shown to be a sensitive diagnostic test of the early case.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

Postural changes in plasma renin activity and responses to vasoactive drugs in a case of Shy-Drager syndrome.

A male aged 47 years with gross autonomic insufficiency as part of the Shy-Drager syndrome is described. He did not sweat normally when warmed, and his circulatory responses to mental arithmetic, the Valsalva manoeuvre, and head-up tilt were abnormal indicating severe sympathetic failure. During head-up tilt there was a rise in plasma renin activity and plasma aldosterone. It is argued that plasma renin activity is not dependent on sympathetic nervous activity and may be mediated by renal baroreceptors. These rises may help sustain the blood pressure in such patients during repeated head-up tilts. Infusions of L-noradrenaline and angiotension produced greater hypertension, and injections of isoprenaline greater hypotension than in controls. Although it is difficult to exclude the possibility that one factor in this may be hypersensitivity of receptors in blood vessel walls, the principal factor is likely to be the absence of those baroreflexes of which the efferent pathways are in the sympathetic nervous system.

Angiotensin II↗
PubMed1976

A blind controlled trial of dextran 40 in the treatment of ischaemic stroke.

A blind controlled trial of dextran 40 in ischaemic stroke is reported. In the treated group mortality in the acute stage in patients with severe strokes was significantly reduced but survivors were severely disabled and six months later no significant benefit could be detected. In less severe strokes no effect of treatment was found. It is concluded that the action of dextran 40 in reducing acute mortality probably lay in preventing or reversing cerebral swelling but no evidence of the expected action in reducing the area of infarction following improved blood flow was found. The importance of extending assessment beyond the two weeks customary in therapeutic trials in stroke is emphasized.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1975

Prognostic factors in stroke.

Prognostic factors in 137 patients with acute ischaemic infarction of the cerebral hemisphere were examined in a prospective study with particular reference to acute mortality, delayed mortality and the ability to regain independent living. Adverse factors in the examination on admission to hospital with regard to all these aspects were found to be a reduction of the level of consciousness to any degree and paralysis of conjugate gaze. A severe hemiplegia and advancing age indicated a bad prognosis for delayed mortality and severe disability in survivors, but did not affect acute mortality. At three weeks after the onset, inability to walk unaided, a useless hand and or urinary incontinence was associated with an increased probability of death in the next few months and of failure to regain independence in the survivors. These adverse factors appeared to correlate with infarction extending beyond the middle cerebral artery territory, severe brain swelling and recent occlusion of the internal carotid artery.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1975

Epidemiology of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in England and Wales.

Some aspects of the epidemiology of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in England and Wales in the decade 1964-73 were studied with the object of detecting evidence of natural transmission of this slow virus encephalopathy. Some geographical clustering and possibility of contact between cases was found.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

Paroxysmal symptoms in multiple sclerosis.

The clinical features of paroxysmal symptoms occurring in 26 patients with multiple sclerosis are reviewed. The findings are considered to provide further support for the concept of lateral spread of axonal excitation within demyelinated plaques.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1973

Cryptogenic drop attacks: an affliction of women.

A drop attack was defined as falling without warning, not apparently due to any malfunction of the legs, not induced by change of posture or movement of the head, and not accompanied by vertigo or other cephalic sensation. All 33 patients attending a neurological clinic with a primary complaint fulfilling these criteria were women, and a further seven examples were found by questioning 200 consecutive patients at a gynaecological clinic. No affected male was found.In all but one patient, falls occurred only when walking. They were not due to wearing high-heeled shoes. The average age at onset was 44.5 years and in younger women onset was often during pregnancy. The accepted causes of drop attacks were not found with certainty in any of these patients. The sex incidence and the circumstances of the falls suggest that the cause may lie in differences between the two sexes in the mechanism of walking rather than in any central disturbance. Drop attacks in women commonly occur as an isolated symptom for many years, and although distressing have no serious prognostic implications.

Accidents↗
PubMed1973

Hereditary quadriceps myopathy.

A familial myopathy affecting a man, his three daughters, and one of his brothers is reported. The quadriceps muscle was predominantly involved, with aching pain as an early feature, and later prominent areas of hypertrophy projecting from patches of atrophy gave the quadriceps a most striking and unusual appearance. Presentation was in adult life, and the course was relatively benign, pelvic girdle and hand muscles becoming involved later. The evidence suggests a hereditary selective muscular dystrophy rather than polymyositis, although a hereditary form of spinal muscular atrophy could not be excluded entirely.

Adult↗