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Biomedical subjects

B J Freedman

Publications and source records attributed to B J Freedman.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

Persorption of raw starch: a cause of senile dementia?

Intact starch granules in food can pass through the intestinal wall and enter the circulation. They remain intact if they have not been cooked for long enough in the presence of water. Some of these granules embolise arterioles and capillaries. In most organs the collateral circulation suffices for continued function. In the brain, however, neurones may be lost. Over many decades the neuronal loss could be of clinical importance. To test this hypothesis, there is a need to examine brains for the presence of embolised starch granules. Examining tissues polariscopically clearly distinguishes starch granules from other objects of similar appearance.

Animals

Microscopic words.

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Cell Biology

Patterns of response to bronchodilators in asthma.

Twenty-eight asthmatics inhaled an isoprenaline aerosol on several occasions. The dose administered was constant for each subject on each occasion, yet the responses of each subject measured spirometrically differed on most of the separate occasions. The individual response patterns showed the following features. Spontaneous worsening of the asthma was associated with spirometric responses which in some cases increased directly and predictably with the corresponding fall in pre-treatment FEV1. In other cases the increase in response was less regular and in a few it bore no relation whatsoever to the pre-treatment FEV1. In three subjects a response occurred when the pre-treatment FEV1 was greater than the predicted value. There were variations between subjects in the magnitude of increase in spirometric response to inhaled bronchodilator occurring when there was a fall in pre-treatment FEV1. The great majority of subjects never achieved their predicted FEV1 after maximal doses of isoprenaline. The study of individual response patterns is of value in the selection of subjects for comparative trials of different bronchodilator drugs. The present study draws attention to an irreversible component in the reduction of airways calibre that occurs in asthma.

Adolescent

Travellers' diarrhoea: does it occur in the United Kingdom?

Of 485 persons who replied to a questionnaire after attending a European Congress in September 1974, diarrhoea was experienced by 4 of 143 British residents and 2 of 342 visitors to the United Kingdom. This extremely low incidence of travellers' diarrhoea contrasts with the high incidence reported in travellers from countries with cool climates and north European standards of hygiene to countries where these conditions do not hold.

Diarrhea

Marital therapy in prison: one-partner 'couple therapy'.

The intent of this article is, first, to describe some currently available means of strengthening marital and family ties for the incarcerated offender, and to point out the inherent limitations of these processes. Second, we will describe common reactions of inmates to marital crises, especially impending divorce. Third, we will make some comments and recommendations about the conduct of 'marital therapy' when the therapist has access to only one spouse or partner. Inefficient and dysfunctional as such an approach may sound to the therapist accustomed to working with couples 'on the streets,' it is often the only alternative available to the correctional mental health professional when the imprisoned marital partner is in a state of acute pain, with both crisis intervention and follow-up treatment critical.

Communication

Asthma induced by sulphur dioxide, benzoate and tartrazine contained in orange drinks.

Of 272 patients with asthma, thirty (11%) gave a history of exacerbations occurring after ingestion, solutions of orange orange drinks. Fourteen of these were given provocation tests by drinking, on separate occasions of sulphur dioxide, sodium benzoate and tartrazine, which are present in all orange drinks. Eight reacted to sulphur dioxide with a fall in FEV1, four to sodium benzoate and one to tartrazine, and four did not react to any of these agents. Three of the benzoate patients were also sensitive to sulphur dioxide. The sulphur dioxide sensitive patients were predominantly young, with extrinsic asthma. The benzoate sensitive patients were predominantly middle-aged and the proportion with intrinsic asthma was higher. Prior inhalation of sodium cromoglycate by four patients inhibited the reaction to these substances. Sulphur dioxide has not previously been reported to cause exacerbations of asthma when ingested as a food preservative. It is used as a preservative in a wide range of acidic beverages and foods, and should be considered as possibly causal in patients suffering from apparently cryptogenic asthma, and asthma seemingly due to food allergy.

Adult

A dietary free from additives in the management of allergic disease.

Some patients who suffer from asthma, rhinitis or urticaria undergo exacerbation of symptoms following ingestion of foods or beverages containing azo dyes, sulphur dioxide or benzoates, which are used as preservatives. These patients may be mistakenly thought to be suffering from specific food allergies. A dietary is presented which is free from these additives. Drugs and their coatings and capsules may also contain azo dyes and these should be avoided by patients on an additive-free diet. Four cases are reported illustrating recovery, one from asthma and three from chronic urticaria after commencing this diet.

Adult