Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to D K Mason.
This article briefly describes some of the many and varied contributions which William Hunter made to medical and dental science in the eighteenth century. His work provided the foundations from which anatomy became one of the cornerstones of modern medicine. Hunter's teaching methods are still influential today and his specimen collection is one of the most comprehensive in existence.
In late November 1988 large numbers of thoroughbred horses in training in Hong Kong developed a transient pyrexia with, in some cases, the clinical signs of viral respiratory disease. Serial blood samples for haematological examination were taken from 10 of the horses which were stabled in six different blocks. They had developed a high temperature within three days of each other and subsequently seroconverted to equine herpes virus 1 (EHV1). The absolute monocyte count was more than 0.5 x 10(9)/litre in all 10 within the first five days, and nine of them had a high neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio on the first day, which then decreased and reversed within four or five days. Five of the horses had a high plasma viscosity, and a large difference between the viscosity of plasma and serum which in three of them returned to normal within 10 days. In the two and a half months after the initial infection six of nine of the horses, including the five which had a large difference between the viscosity of plasma and serum, developed visible mucopus by endoscopic examination. These haematological and endoscopic changes can be used to detect horses in the acute stages of EHV1 infection and monitor the progress of the disease, before it can be confirmed by isolation of the virus and, or, serology.
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A retrospective study of 108 patients was carried out to investigate the possible relationship between infection of the mouth with Candida albicans and blood levels of iron, folic acid and vitamin B12. The patients were separated into two groups--those with hyperplastic and those with atrophic candidal lesions--and compared with separate control groups. Twenty-one patients had chronic hyperplastic candidosis and seven were iron deficient. Comparison with an age- and sex-matched control group showed the differences to be significant only at the p less than 0.1 level. Seven of the patients with hyperplastic lesions had folic acid deficiency and the difference between patients and controls was statistically significant (less than 0.05). However, no significant differences in iron or folic acid deficiency were noted between 87 patients with atrophic candidosis and 65 conttrols, and vitamin B12 deficiency was not statistically significant for either the hyperplastic or the atrophic group. It is concluded that deficiency of iron, folic acid or vitamin B12 alone does not promote growth of Candida albicans on the oral mucous membrane but that in some susceptible individuals, iron or folic deficiency may facilitate epithelial invasion by hyphae of Candida albicans.
Haematological and biochemical values were determined in 2 groups of flat-race horses, which were trained on the same track in Hong Kong. The first group comprised 217 horses (435 blood samples) from various training strings. The second group, 66 horses (309 blood samples) were from one string kept under similar managemental conditions, but given salts by stomach tube 8 hours before blood sampling. Both groups were sub-divided to show the efs, thus confirming work by other authors. The lower haematological values in the group of horses given salts were discussed and the effect of water retention as a possible explanation was considered.
A series of 130 consecutive outpatients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis were screened at the oral medicine department, Glasgow Dental Hospital, for deficienciesin vitamin b12, folic acid, and iron. In 23 patients (17.7%) such deficiencies werefound; five were deficient in vitamin B12, seven in folic acid, and 15 in iron. Four had more than one deficiency. Out of 130 controls matched for age and sex 11 (8.5%) were found to have deficiencies. The 23 deficient patients with recurrent aphthaewere treated with specific replacement therapy, and all 130 patients were followed up for at least one year. Of the 23 patients on replacement therapy 15 showed complete remission of ulceration and eight definite improvement. Of the 107 patientswith no deficiency receiving local symptomatic treatment only 33 had a remission or wereimproved. This difference was significant (P less than 0.001). Most patients withproved vitamin B12 or folic acid deficiency improved rapidly on replacement therapy;those with iron deficiency showed a less dramatic response. The 23 deficient patientswere further investigated to determine the cause of their deficiencies and detect the presence of any associated conditions. Four were found to have Addisonian perniciousanaemia. Seven had a malabsorption syndrome, which in five proved to be a gluten-induced enteropathy. In addition, there were single patients with idiopathic proctocolitis, diverticular disease of the colon, regional enterocolitis, and adenocarcinoma of thecaecum. We suggest that the high incidence of deficiencies found in this series andthe good response to replacement therapy shows the need for haematological screening of such patients.
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