Biomedical subjects

A F Bagshawe

Publications and source records attributed to A F Bagshawe.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1990

IgM serum antibodies to phenolic glycolipid-I and clinical leprosy: two years' observation in a community with hyperendemic leprosy.

A village population with hyperendemic leprosy in Papua New Guinea was repeatedly examined for clinical leprosy and for serum IgM antibodies to phenolic glycolipid-I (APGL-I) over 2 years between 1984 and 1986. In 1984, serum APGL-I was elevated in 15% of the subjects without clinical leprosy, and the prevalence of seropositivity was not significantly different in subjects from households with or without leprosy. In 1986, the prevalence of elevated serum APGL-I in leprosy-free subjects had risen to 23%. The incidence of seroconversion from APGL-I negative to APGL-I positive was 9.5% per year (95/1000 person years) in 253 subjects tested in 1984 and 1986. During the same period, 27 of 40 (67%) leprosy-free subjects reverted from positive to negative. The positive seroconversion rate in the community was higher than the incidence of clinical leprosy (11.2/1000 person years) over the same period. However, elevated serum APGL-I was not associated with clinical disease and failed to predict the development of disease over 2 years. The significance of persistent seropositivity found in 14 (5%) leprosy-free subjects is uncertain.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1977

Portal vein thrombosis in adults.

Idiopathic thrombotic occlusion of the extrahepatic portal vein is one of the commonest causes of portal hypertension in adult Blacks. The condition occurs more frequently in men and may be accompanied by evidence of minor functional impairment of the liver. Associated pancytopenia is quantitatively related to the degree of splenomegaly. Assessment of a spectrum of variables of blood coagulation and fibrinolysis, while failing to shed light on the possible pathogenesis, does suggest a rational basis for thrombolytic therapy.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1976

Hepatitis B surface antigenaemia in Kenyans with chronic liver disease.

Fifty Kenyan patients with chronic liver disease or hepatocellular carcinoma were tested for hepatitis B surface antigenaemia by radioimmunoassay. The hepatitis B surface antigen was detected in 77% of the patients with chronic persistent or chronic aggressive hepatitis, or cirrhosis confirmed by liver biopsy, compared with 15% in a control group. All six patients with hepatocellular carcinoma had detectable hepatitis B surface antigen or antibody. 50% of the controls had hepatitis B surface antibody in their plasma detectable by haemagglutination. Auto-immune associated liver disease appeared infrequent. The possibility that the hepatitis B virus is an important cause of cirrhosis in Kenya is discussed.

Cell Membrane↗

PubMed1976

Dysfibrinogenaemia and primary hepato-cellular carcinoma.

The mechanisms of blood coagulation and fibrinolysis have been evaluated in 28 black adult Africans with primary hepato-cellular carcinoma (HCC). A characteristic pattern of abnormalities has been defined. Dysfibrinogenaemia appears to be a useful biological marker for the disease. The reptilase test (RT) is a simple, reliable and sensitive means of detection of this metabolic abnormality. It is suggested that the RT should be used to screen populations at high risk of developing HCC, such as cirrhotics, in conjunction with alpha fetoprotein determinations, which, alone, are inadequate for the purpose. The haemostatic defect may have relevance to the pathogenesis of HCC, and further suggests a potentially useful, additional, therapeutic modality.

Adult↗

PubMed1976

The significance of hepatitis B antigenaemia in symptom-free blood donors in Kenya.

One-hundred and eight blood donors found to have hepatitis B antigenaemia have been examined for evidence of liver disease. In five the liver was enlarged, and in six apparently normal donors there was histological evidence of disease. One or more tests of liver function were abnormal in an additional fifty-three donors without definite evidence of disease. Estimation of serum transaminases was the most reliable test and we recommmend that these be measured in all antigen-positive donors.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1975

Hepatitis Bs antigen and liver cancer: A population based study in Kenya.

Peers and Linsell (1973) demonstrated a significant association between the incidence of primary liver cancer and ingested aflatoxin in a study in the Muranga district of Kenya. A study of hepatitis B antigen in the same district showed no significant differences between the low altitude area, with a relatively high incidence of primary liver cancer, and the high altitude area with a lower incidence of the tumour. Current evidence is more in favour of aflatoxin playing an important role in the aetiology of primary liver cancer but hepatitis B antigen may play an ancillary role.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1975