Biomedical subjects
D Merrett
Publications and source records attributed to D Merrett.
Nutrition in pregnancy--a health education problem.
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Alcohol consumption in pregnancy--a health education problem.
The drinking habits, demographic characteristics and knowledge about the effects of drinking during pregnancy of 380 pregnant women in Belfast were investigated. Forty-five per cent of the women were non-drinkers, 39% were occasional drinkers and 16% were regular drinkers. The majority of women knew that alcohol could harm their babies but were unsure of the specific effects. Regular drinkers were more likely than occasional drinkers or non-drinkers to say that harm would only be done if alcohol was taken in excess. The topic of alcohol is rarely discussed at antenatal clinics and cases of fetal alcohol syndrome, an uncommon but preventable condition, are probably being missed as a result. There is a need for more health education for the general public, especially school children, and for increased awareness among health professionals that the problem of alcohol in pregnancy exists and is likely to increase if the trend towards alcohol abuse among the younger members of the population continues.
Treatment of nickel dermatitis with Trientine.
23 nickel-sensitive patients with hand eczema were treated with Trientine 300 mg daily and a placebo in a double-blind, crossover trial. No significant improvement occurred in the hand eczema. A surprising finding was that there was no detectable increase in urinary nickel excretion, in contrast to animal studies.
Alpha, antitrypsin phenotypes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a comparison of phenotyping techniques.
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Gap junction formation and regulation in myometrium.
Myometrial tissues from pregnant rats were examined by electron microscopy for the presence of gap junctions after incubation in vitro with a variety of agents. Gap junctions were present in low frequency or absent prior to incubation in vitro. The junctions were present in control tissues in high frequency after 48 h incubation. The addition of cycloheximide or actinomycin D inhibited the incorporation of [3H]leucine into TCA-precipitable proteins and prevented gap junction formation. A prostacyclin analog (carbacyclin), a thromboxane synthesis inhibitor, and indomethacin also prevented gap junction formation. Oxytocin had no effect on gap junction formation but isoxsuprine decreased their number and increased their size. Isoxsuprine and isoproterenol also produced electron opaque crystals associated with the gap junctions. Dibutyryl cAMP treatment but not monobutyryl cGMP also increased the size of gap junctions. Based upon this and previous studies, we propose at least four sites for regulation of gap junctions and possible control of labor.