PubMed HealthSearch

Biomedical subjects

E F Ring

Publications and source records attributed to E F Ring.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

Quantitative thermal imaging.

The association between temperature and disease is centuries old. Clinical thermology was established by Wunderlich, in 1851, who systemically recorded oral temperature with one of the first thermometers capable of reproducible measurement. Thermal imaging is highly developed with contemporary infrared imaging systems having thermal and spatial resolution far in excess of the earlier systems of the 1960s. Real time imaging, together with efficient on-line processing, has greatly improved the ease of use and quality of information. Microwave energy also forms a (smaller) part of the body's natural reactive heat loss. Research into natural microwave detection has shown that 3 GHz and 212 GHz energy can be measured. At the former wavelength a deeper source of thermal energy is measured; the actual depth varies with the characteristics of the superficial tissues, but may be up to several centimetres below the skin. The technology is a long way behind that of infrared systems, but nevertheless microwave thermography has an interesting future.

Female

A combined clinical and immunological assessment of four cyclophosphamide regimes in rheumatoid arthritis.

Four dosage regimes of cyclophosphamide have been compared in patients with late rheumatoid arthritis, in an attempt to separate toxicity from efficacy. Joint inflammation was assessed clinically and objectively by quantitative thermography. Delayed hypersensitivity in vitro was assessed using leucocyte migration inhibition (L.M.T.) to a standard antigen, Streptokinase. There was no significant difference in clinical response or side-effects between a continuous oral regime (1 mg/kg/day) and the same total dose given as an intermittent oral regime. Responders and non-responders were seen in both groups and there was a significant relationship between clinical response and fall in platelet count, suggesting a variable threshold. The same total dose given as an intermittent intravenous regime caused considerable side-effects but these could be avoided by the addition of methylprednisolone. Both intravenous regimes induced a much more rapid fall in the Thermographic Index (T.I.) than the oral regimes. Indeed many patients receiving oral cyclophosphamide showed an increase in joint inflammation in the first three weeks of treatment. Immunological studies demonstrated a corresponding increase in reactivity to Streptokinase over this period. There was a highly significant correlation between changes in L.M.T. and T.I. both early in treatment and, in the oral groups, over a period of six months.

Administration, Oral

A thermographic and clinical comparison of three intra-articular steroid preparations in rheumatoid arthritis.

We have compared three intra-articular steroid preparations in a double blind study on 30 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and bilateral synovitis of the knees. One knee was injected with 1.0 ml of either prednisolone t-butyl acetate, methyl prednisolone acetate, or triamcinolone hexacetonide, and the patients were followed up for 6 weeks with regular clinical and thermographic assessments. Thermographic improvement was seen with all 3 drugs but was greatest initially and longest lasting with triamcinolone. No significant systemic improvement was seen with any drug after a single injection, though all 3 steroid preparations suppressed endogenous cortisol.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid

A thermographic assessment of three intra-articular prednisolone analogues given in rheumatoid synovitis.

1 Three intra-articular prednisolone analogues have been studied in a group of forty-six rheumatoid arthritic subjects. Each compound was tested at 50 mg and 100 mg dose over 3 weeks. 2 The anti-inflammatory effect was assessed by quantitative thermography. Systemic escape of the drug was monitored by plasma prednisolone and cortisol levels. 3 Both the systemic escape from the joint and the duration of effect on injected and uninjected knees were related to drug solubility. 4 Depression of plasma cortisol occurred with all three preparations and was most prolonged with the long-acting preparation. 5 Increasing the dose from 50 mg to 100 mg increased the antiflammatory effect only with the soluble acetate preparation.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid

Therapeutic value of arthroscopy.

Thermography before and after joint irrigation at arthroscopy showed no significant improvement of inflammation in 14 patients. Subjectively, those with chondrocalcinosis did best.

Arthritis

Quantitative thermographic assessment of inositol nicotinate therapy in Raynaud's phenomena.

The basal temperature of the hands has been measured by quantitative thermography in a group of normal controls and rheumatoid patients exhibiting Raynaud's phenomenon. The thermographic index for both the dorsum of the hand and the fingers was significantly lower in the patients with Raynaud's. Oral treatment with inositol nicotinate (Hexopal) was followed by an initial rise in the thermographic index in both areas. After the initial increase the temperature fell again but then rose after two months treatment. At nine months two subjects on continuous therapy had higher indices than the four who had discontinued therapy. It is suggested that long-term treatment with nicotinate acid derivatives may produce improvement in the peripheral circulation by a different mechanism than the transient effect detected by short-term studies.

Adult

Comparison of intra-articular methotrexate with intra-articular triamcinolone hexacetonide by thermography.

A comparison of intra-articular methotrexate and intra-articular triamcinolone hexacetonide was made in 42 arthritic patients with persistent bilateral knee effusions. One knee was injected with either 5 mg methotrexate (two injections of 2.5 mg a week apart) or a single injection of 20 mg triamcinolone. An objective assessment of both knees was made by quantitative thermography at 0,3,7,14 and 21 days. Joints injected with triamcinolone showed a greater fall in thermographic index (T.I) than the joints injected with methotrexate, which showed similar change to the non-injected knee joints in both groups. Four patients received larger doses of methotrexate, up to 20 mg, though the fall in T.I. was still less than the mean fall for triamcinolone injected joints. Peak venous blood levels of methotrexate were reached 1 hour after intra-articular injection, and a sphygmomanometer cuff inflated around the leg above the injected knee for periods of up to 1 hour did not appreciably delay this. Methotrexate had no immediate anti-inflammatory effect, even in psoriatic arthropathy, and did not give the relief of intra-articular steroid.

Adult

Thermography and rheumatic diseases.

The common factor in most of the rheumatic diseases is an arthritis. Radiometry and thermography have been shown to indicate and measure heat resulting from localised inflammation. In rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile arthritis, osteoarthrosis, gout and ankylosing spondylitis abnormal heat distribution has been recorded over affected joints. Experimental evidence has shown that temperature change reflects the inflammatory state of the joint, and that this may be used to measure the effect of therapy by oral, systemic and local drug therapy, and also surgery, i.e. synovectomy.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone

Secretion and localization of cathepsin D in synovial tissues removed from rheumatoid and traumatized joints. An immunohistochemical study.

The proteinase cathepsin D which degrades proteoglycan was never demonstrated in extracellular sites in tissues from patients with traumatized meniscoid cartilage, either before or after culture with an antiserum to human cathepsin D. In contrast, in synovia (but not usually cartilage) from the knees of 6 of 11 rheumatoid patients, extracellular cathepsin D was commonly detected by culturing tissues with an antiserum to this enzyme.

Animals

Heart rate evaluation of axillary and elbow crutches.

The aim of this study was to compare the possible effect on heart rate in patients with a walking disability using 11 different crutch designs. Eighteen patients, over the age of 18 years, who had used crutches for a minimum of 2 weeks before the study were divided into two groups: elbow and axillary crutch users respectively. The former tested six different designs of elbow crutches and the latter five different pairs of axillary crutches. Heart rate was recorded, using a portable digital pulse monitor during a 5-min walk on the level at self-selected velocities. Walking heart rates increased between 28.6 and 58.8% compared with the resting phase. No differences were found in either heart rate or walking speed between elbow crutches. However, a significant difference (p less than 0.001) in heart rate was noted between elbow crutch users who were non-weight bearing on their injured leg compared with those who were partial-weight bearing. The Canadian axillary crutch showed the lowest increase in heart rate at comparable walking speeds compared with other axillary crutches. Prescribers should be aware that the reduced energy requirements of the Canadian crutch would benefit patients with reduced cardiorespiratory function.

Adult