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Biomedical subjects

W W Richardson

Publications and source records attributed to W W Richardson.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1993

Thinness at birth in a northern industrial town.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether babies in an area of Britain with unusually high perinatal mortality have different patterns of fetal growth to those born elsewhere in the country. DESIGN: Measurement of body size in newborn babies. SETTING: Burnley (perinatal mortality in 1988 15.9/1000 total births) and Salisbury (perinatal mortality 10.8/1000 total births), England. SUBJECTS: Subjects comprised 1544 babies born in Burnley, Pendle, and Rossendale Health District, and 1025 babies born in Salisbury Health District. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Birthweight, length, head, arm and abdominal circumferences, and placental weight were determined. RESULTS: Compared with babies born in Salisbury, Burnley babies had lower mean birthweight (difference 116 g, 95% confidence interval (CI) 77,154), smaller head circumferences (difference 0.3 cm, 95% CI 0.2, 0.4), and were thinner as measured by arm circumference (difference 0.3 cm, 95% CI 0.3, 0.4), abdominal circumference (difference 0.5 cm, 95% CI 0.4, 0.6) and ponderal index (difference 0.8 kg/m3, 95% CI 0.6, 1.0). The ratio of placental weight to birthweight was higher in Burnley (difference 0.6%, 95% CI 0.4, 0.9). These differences were found in boys and girls and did not depend on differences in duration of gestation or on the different ethnic mix of the two districts. Mothers in Burnley were younger, shorter in stature, had had more children, were of lower social class, and more of them smoked during pregnancy than mothers in Salisbury. These differences did not explain the greater thinness of their babies. CONCLUSIONS: Babies born in Burnley, an area with high perinatal mortality, are thin. The reason is unknown. Poor maternal nutrition is suspected because Burnley babies have a higher ratio of placental weight to birthweight. The greater thinness at birth of Burnley babies could have long term consequences, including higher rates of cardiovascular disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Oat cell carcinoma of the esophagus.

A case of oat cell carcinoma of the esophagus is reported. The tumor cells were argyrophilic and electron microscopic examination showed that they contained dense-core granules typical of oat cell carcinoma of the lung and other sites. It is concluded that primary oat cell carcinoma of the esophagus is a recognizable entity derived from argyrophil cells in the esophageal mucosa. The existence of rare esophageal carcinomas with both oat cell and squamoid features is noted and their possible histogenesis is discussed.

Carcinoma, Small Cell↗
PubMed1979

Clinical trial of Debrisan in superficial ulceration.

A total of thirty cases of sacral ana leg uleration, burns, and infected sinuses were treated with Debrisan in glycerine (4/1 v/v), after removal of adherent necrotic tissue surgically. The preparation was effective in cleansing the wound, in most cases reducing the bacterial colonization, and lessening the local inflammation and oedema. Production of healthy granulation tissue resulted and the lesions healed faster than expected. One-third of the lesions failed to respond to treatment, and the reasons for this are discussed. With some patient selection, this preparation proved to be valuable in the treatment of superficial ulcers and surgical wounds, in those lesions with sufficient exudate to enable Debrisan to act.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Acute nephritis in fifty children: clinical and immunological studies.

The main clinical and laboratory findings in a group of 50 children with acute nephritis are described and discussed. All the group had evidence of a streptococcal aetiology. The wide spectrum of presenting complaints, the age distribution and the high incidence among Maori children are noted. The severity of the disease, as indicated by features such as hypertensive crisis, was greater than expected. Fifty per cent of our patients experienced one or more of our defined complications. Encephalopathy was seen in 12% of all patients and severe hypertension in 34%. The striking feature of the laboratory findings was the wide variation in complement changes. No constant patterns emerged which would have implicated either the "classical" or "alternate" pathway for the activation of complement in these patients. An unexpected finding was the relatively high incidence of a transient C3 nephritic factor in post-streptococcal cases. We found also that fibrin degradation products were present in high concentrations in the urine of patients with post-streptococcal nephritis, again an unexpected finding.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1976

Acute nephritis: a local epidemic.

A dramatic increase in the incidence and severity of actue glomerulonephritis in the childhood population of Tauranga is report. The clinical features of the disease and streptococcal aetiology are discussed.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1970

Host resistance and survival in carcinoma of breast: a study of 104 cases of medullary carcinoma in a series of 1,411 cases of breast cancer followed for 20 years.

This paper deals with a special type of mammary carcinoma, generally of high-grade malignancy, which carries a remarkably good prognosis-the so-called "medullary carcinoma of the breast with lymphoid infiltrate." Probably the increased lymphoid tissue seen in these tumours is concerned with cell-mediated and humoral immunological reactions and reflects a strong host-defence mechanism which is responsible for the remarkably high survival rates following radical treatment. Since the evidence for host resistance to malignant disease is based largely on animal data, the opportunity to study a group of patients followed for 20 years, in whom this type of defence reaction appears to exist, is of considerable clinical interest.Among 1,411 cases of breast cancer there were 104 with medullary carcinoma (7.4%), for which the corrected 5- to 20-year survival rates have been calculated. After 20 years 74% of cases with operable medullary tumours were alive, compared with 14% of cases with similar stage non-medullary cancer. In the presence of histologically proved axillary metastases the 20-year survival rate was 61% for medullary cases, compared with only 13% for other types of breast cancer.In 30 cases of medullary cancer in which the axilla was free, the corrected 20-year survival rate was 95% following a combination of radical operation and radiotherapy. No evidence could be found that axillary dissection or postoperative irradiation is harmful to women with operable highly malignant breast cancer in whom a well-marked host resistance is thought to be present. A combination of radical mastectomy and postoperative irradiation appears to be the most effective treatment for such cases. The present grounds for rejecting a radical approach to treatment of breast cancer, based on current immunological considerations, are regarded as being quite inadequate.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed1970

Breast abscess.

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Abscess↗