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Biomedical subjects

C Drage

Publications and source records attributed to C Drage.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1982

Pulmonary function in identical twins raised apart.

As part of the Minnesota Study of Twins Raised Apart, we measured pulmonary function in 15 pairs of monozygotic twins and one set of monozygotic triplets who were separated at an average age of 3.8 months. Six pairs of twins were concordant for nonsmoking, 3 pairs and the triplets were concordant for cigarette smoking, and 6 pairs were discordant for respiratory problems (5 pairs for smoking, 1 pair for asthma). Thirteen pulmonary function tests were done on each twin; however, only 2 tests of pulmonary function, the FEF25-75% and V75, could separate smokers from nonsmokers to a statistically significant degree. One additional test, the FEV1, was the most sensitive way to separate smoking from nonsmoking twins when only paired data from twin pairs discordant for smoking were used. Intratwin differences between twins of a pair for these three pulmonary function tests were small and virtually identical for both concordant groups, whereas the intratwin differences in the discordant group were large and distinctly different from the concordant groups. These results, together with those of previous studies in identical twins raised together, support the conclusion that genetic factors are important in determining susceptibility to airway obstruction from cigarette smoke.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Acute respiratory failure following severe arsenic poisoning.

A 47-year-old man had an episode of severe respiratory failure after acute intoxication with arsenic. Features of the initial clinical presentation included nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, acute psychosis, diffuse skin rash, and marked pancytopenia. A peripheral neuropathy then developed which resulted in severe weakness of all muscles of the limbs, the shoulder and pelvis girdles, and the trunk. The neuropathy continued to progress despite treatment with dimercaprol (BAL in oil). Five weeks after the initial exposure, the patient was no longer able to maintain adquate ventilation and required mechanical ventilatory support. Improvement in the patient's neuromuscular status permitted successful weaning from the ventilator after one month of mechanical ventilation. Long-term follow-up revealed no further respiratory difficulty and slow improvement in the strength of the peripheral muscles.

Arsenic Poisoning↗