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Biomedical subjects

B O'Reilly

Publications and source records attributed to B O'Reilly.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

Ear clicks in palatal tremor caused by activity of the levator veli palatini.

We describe a patient who developed palatal tremor and presented with ear clicks that appeared to originate from activity of the levator veli palatini and not the tensor veli palatini. This was treated with botulinum toxin. We discuss the motor innervation of the palate in the context of our case, our findings in terms of classification, and how the lower cranial nerve nuclei are involved in the etiology of palatal tremor.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Peripheral blood flow in menopausal women who have hot flushes and in those who do not.

OBJECTIVE: To compare blood pressure, heart rate, and peripheral vascular responsiveness in menopausal women who have hot flushes and in those who do not, and to assess the effect on these variables of treating women who have hot flushes with oestriol, a natural oestrogen, given vaginally. DESIGN: An open, non-randomised cohort study of flushing and non-flushing menopausal women. A before and after investigation of the effects of vaginal oestriol treatment on the circulation. SETTING: Referral based endocrinology clinic. PATIENTS: 88 Consecutive menopausal women, 63 complaining of frequent hot flushes and 25 who had not flushed for at least a year. INTERVENTION: Treatment with vaginal oestriol 0.5 mg at night for six weeks in 18 of the women who had hot flushes. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Peripheral blood flow was measured by venous occlusion plethysmography at rest and in response to stressful mental arithmetic and anoxic forearm exercises. Blood flow in the forearm and its variability were significantly higher in flushing than in non-flushing women (4.1 (SD 1.7) and 3.1 (0.9) ml/100 ml tissue/min and 17% and 13% respectively). Blood pressure, heart rate, and blood flow in the hand were, however, similar in the two groups. No difference was found in the peripheral incremental response to either stress or anoxic exercise. Vaginal oestriol significantly lowered forearm blood flow from 4.4 (1.5) to 3.3 (1.1) ml/100 ml tissue/min but dilator responsiveness was unaffected. CONCLUSIONS: The peripheral circulation is different in menopausal women who have hot flushes compared with those who do not, with selective vasodilatation in the forearm. The lowered blood flow in the forearm after vaginal oestriol in flushing women may be relevant to the alleviation of vasomotor symptoms induced by oestrogen treatment.

Administration, Intravaginal↗
PubMed1989

Subarachnoid fat embolism complicating autologous fat grafting following translabyrinthine excision of acoustic neuroma.

A 64-year-old man had complete excision of an acoustic schwannoma via the translabyrinthine route and the mastoid cavity was packed with fat. Post-operatively there were two episodes of aseptic meningitis and CT scanning demonstrated migration of fat into the basal subarachnoid CSF spaces. This unusual complication should be recognized and differentiated from both true infective meningitis and aseptic meningitis from other causes.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1988

Effects of chronic infusion of lipopolysaccharide on food intake and body temperature of the rat.

Unrestrained male Sprague-Dawley rats were infused for seven days with a low (2.45 micrograms/hr) or high (9.81 micrograms/hr) concentration of E. coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Compared to control (saline-infused) rats, food intake in the LPS-infused rats remained depressed for the entire infusion period. Despite this long-term suppression of food intake, fever was observed only during the daytime hours for the first two days of infusion. No significant increase in nighttime body temperature was observed. These data indicate that although tolerance to LPS occurred in rats with regard to its fever-inducing effect, tolerance with respect to its anorexigenic action did not occur.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Further evidence that stress hyperthermia is a fever.

Exposure of rats to an open-field results in a rapid rise in body temperature. Fifty-four percent of this rise in body temperature was blocked by intracerebroventricular administration of the antipyretic drug sodium salicylate. Intraperitoneal administration of indomethacin, a potent blocker of prostaglandin production, also attenuated the stress-induced hyperthermia to the same degree. Based on the data presented in this and an earlier study, we conclude that a major component of the rise in body temperature induced by psychological stress in rats is mediated by prostaglandins released by the central nervous system, and may therefore be a fever.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Effect of oral clonidine on the vascular effects of stressful mental arithmetic in menopausal women.

The effects of 6 weeks of oral clonidine hydrochloride (0.05 mg b.i.d.) on the cardiovascular response to stressful mental arithmetic (SMA) were studied in menopausal women. There was no significant alteration in resting limb blood flow after oral clonidine. The rise in forearm blood flow during SMA was, however, greater and the return to basal levels after SMA slower in women treated with clonidine than in the initial control test. Hand blood flow and pulse rate changes during SMA were unaffected by clonidine. These findings, in keeping with our previous observations of the change in vascular response to exogenous amines after clonidine therapy, are difficult to explain in terms of an influence of the drug on presynaptic alpha-adrenergic activity alone. It is therefore possible that clonidine might affect other mechanisms such as peripheral cholinergic activity.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Effect of oral clonidine on human cardiovascular responsiveness: a possible explanation of the therapeutic action of the drug in menopausal flushing and migraine.

The effect of an alpha-adrenergic agonist, clonidine hydrochloride, on cardiovascular responses to noradrenaline, adrenaline and angiotensin was investigated in menopausal women with hot flushes. The increase in forearm blood flow induced by adrenaline, noradrenaline or angiotensin was significantly less in women treated for at least 6 weeks with clonidine compared with that induced in the women by infusions given before treatment. Pulse rate during the amine infusions was significantly lower after clonidine treatment but constrictor responses in the hand were unchanged. These findings cannot be wholly explained in terms of an action of clonidine confined to adrenergic mechanisms and suggest that the drug may influence peripheral vascular responsiveness. Such an effect could explain the mechanism of the beneficial clinical action of the drug in subjects with menopausal flushing or migraine.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1981

Cardiovascular responses during the menopausal hot flush.

Circulatory responses during spontaneous and stress induced menopausal flushes were measured by a plethysmographic technique. With the onset of symptoms there was an immediate and marked increase in hand blood flow which was sustained over three to four minutes and then fell to control levels over a further three minutes. Forearm and calf flow increased simultaneously through to a lesser extent and regained control levels within four-and-a-half minutes from the onset of symptoms. Mean pulse rate also increased during the flush but fell to control values at a time when limb flow was still elevated. There was no significant change in blood pressure during or after the flush. The peripheral circulatory exchanges are attributed to altered autonomic activity and may in part reflect a disturbance of thermoregulatory control in the menopause of which the flush is but one manifestation.

Blood Pressure↗
PubMed1976

Myocardial infarction in Wegener's granulomatosis.

A case is described of a 28-year-old man who presented with a picture of classical Wegener's granulomatosis; and who, in the absence of fulminating renal or respiratory disease died from myocardial infarction. Other reports of cardiac involvement are discussed and compared with the picture presented by this patient.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Acute epiglottitis in infants and children.

Sixty-one cases of acute epiglottitis at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children, Sydney, from July 1968 to December 1974 are reviewed. The average age of 2.7 years is lower than previously reported. The average time from the initial symptom to arrival at the hospital was 14 hours. The average time from arrival to performance of tracheotomy was two hours. The diagnosis was made when first seen and assessed in 50 of the 61 cases. There were eight respiratory arrests in the Casualty and five of these were successfully resuscitated. We believe that an artificial airway is necessary in most cases, and in this series, tracheotomy was performed, with minimal complications. Particular emphasis is given to diagnosis from the history, and a detailed description is given of physical examination of the oropharynx. Although x-ray examination is usually unnecessary when the diagnosis is in doubt, a plain lateral x-ray may be useful, with due precaution not to increase the respiratory obstruction. We consider that a patient with acute epiglottitis should be transferred immediately to a major pediatric hospital, and that in almost every case an artificial airway should be established.

Acute Disease↗