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Biomedical subjects

F M Gill

Publications and source records attributed to F M Gill.

35 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Liver dysfunction in Pennsylvania's multitransfused hemophiliacs.

Transaminase values [alanine amino transferase (ALT) and aspartate amino transferase (AST)] and markers for hepatitis B were serially determined in 558 hemophiliacs exposed to blood products. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) persistent for over 12 months was present in 6% of the patients. Antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs) was noted in 90% of the 259 patients treated with factor VIII or IX concentrates but in only 49% of the 43 patients treated with fresh frozen plasma (FFP) or cryoprecipitate. Persistently abnormal transaminase values were noted in 31% of the patients treated with commercial concentrates but in only one (2%) of the patients exposed to cryoprecipitate or FFP. This difference continued even when the two groups of patients were matched for the amount of blood products, up to 50,000 units, which they had received in the study period. In the concentrate-treated patients, no correlation could be found between transaminase values and the number of units of factor VIII or IX they had received during the six years of the study (1973-1978).

Adolescent↗

Hereditary spherocytosis with normal osmotic fragility after incubation. Is the autohemolysis test really obsolete?

Two patients in two families had hereditary spherocytosis but lacked a population of RBCs with increased osmotic fragility after incubation. The diagnosis in each patient was confirmed by the presence of splenomegaly, spherocytosis, reticulocytosis, and abnormal autohemolysis corrected by glucose. Sodium flux studies showed increased sodium permeability of the RBC membrane in one patient and normal permeability in another. Hereditary spherocytosis was also present in three other family members of patient 2. The autohemolysis test is of value in confirming the diagnosis in patients with hereditary spherocytosis and normal incubated osmotic fragility.

Child↗

Comparative studies of Hb Lepore Boston, Hb A2, and Hb A.

Several functional tests were performed to compare Hb A, Hb A2, and Hb Lepore Boston, which has a delta-beta crossover in the region of residues 87 to 116. Oxygen equilibrium curves determined by an automatic apparatus in 0.1 M potassium phosphate buffer, pH 7.0, at 20 degrees showed that the p50 was 5.8 mm Hg for Hb Lepore Boston, in contrast to 8.1 and 10.3 mm Hg for Hb A2 and Hb A, respectively. The n values (Hill coefficinets) of Hb Lepore Boston and Hb A2 were slightly smaller than that of Hb A. The effect of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate and inositolhexophosphate on the p50 of Hb Lepore Boston and Hb A2 was less than that on the p50 of Hb A. The molecular stability to mechanical shaking of Hb Lepore Boston and Hb A2 showed that the oxy forms of Hb Lepore Boston and Hb A2 denatured at a rate 3 times faster than that of Hb A. MetHb Lepore Boston was more unstable than MetHb A2 to mechanical shaking. These results indicate that, although the molecular stability of Hb Lepore Boston is more similar to that of Hb A2 than that of Hb A, the oxygen-binding properties of Hb Lepore differ from both Hb A and Hb A2.

Carboxyhemoglobin↗

Epidermolysis bullosa dystrophica polydysplastica. A case of anesthetic management in oral surgery.

Epidermolysis bullosa dystrophica is a rare disease that affects the skin and mucous membranes. Manifest at birth, it is characterized by poor dentition, esophageal strictures, syndactyly, and severe chronic anemia. Our 12-year-old patient required extensive dental treatment which necessitated overcoming problems of anesthesia as well as developing a technique of management that provided maximum safety and a minimum of discomfort. Transmission electron microscopy of sections of the gingiva revealed possible degenerative collagen fibers and an interrupted basement membrance. Anchoring fibrils normally found in the connective tissue beneath the epithelium were absent.

Anemia↗

Computerized tomography in the management of intracranial bleeding in hemophilia.

Computerized tomography was used to evaluate the severity of six episodes of suspected intracranial bleeding in four patients with hemophilia. In all instances the CT scan rapidly provided information on the extent and location of the intracranial hemorrhage. Results of the initial scan provided a rational basis for therapy, and subsequent scans were a noninvasive means of evaluating the effects of treatment. If available, computerized tomography is a valuable aid in the management of the hemophiliac patient with intracranial bleeding.

Adolescent↗

Red cell calcium leak in congenital hemolytic anemia with extreme microcytosis.

A child with congenital hemolytic anemia, extreme microcytosis and bizarre red cell morphology has been studied. Splenectomy at the age of 21 mo greatly improved the hemolytic anemia, although red cell morphology was unchanged. Aniso- and poikilocytosis were marked on a stained smear, and there were many small hyperchromatic cells of irregular shape. The MCV of 25 cu mu was very low and the MCHC was normal. Osmotic fragility of fresh blood was increased, and postsplenectomy blood showed a fraction of extremely fragile cells. Concentration and fluxes of Na+ and K+ were normal, except K+ efflux, which was stimulated by external Ca2+. Inward Ca2+ movement into the patient's red cells was elevated three- to fourfold above red cells of the same mean age. Red cell Ca2+ concentration was raised 2.5 times normal and most of the Ca2+ was localized in the stroma. Red cell lipid, sialic acid, and ouabain-binding sites, all per milliliter of cells, were increased by 16%-23%, and, since these substances estimate the amount of membrane, it was likely that Ca2+ content per unit of membrane area was at least twice normal. Deformability of the cells, as judged by their filterability was markedly impaired. It was concluded that the red cell membrane was defective, and an increased membrane Ca2+ content was associated with reduced deformability, hemolysis, and distorted red cell morphology in this syndrome.

Anemia, Hemolytic, Congenital↗

Immunosuppressive therapy of Factor VIII inhibitors.

Immunosuppressive therapy was used in seven hemophiliac and three nonhemophiliac patients with factor VIII inhibiors. Permanent disappearance of the inhibitor occurred in three hemophiliac and two nonhemophiliac patients following treatment with cyclophosphamide and factor VIII. Critical factors influencing the response to therapy may include both the titer and duration of the inhibitor and the degree of intervening factor VIII exposure prior to immunosuppressive therapy. Two severe hemophiliacs with low titer inhibitors that disappeared without specific therapy are also reported.

Adolescent↗

Synthesis of globin chains in sickle -thalassemia.

In five patients with sickle beta-thalassemia there was balanced alpha- and beta-globin synthesis in the bone marrow and decreased total beta-chain synthesis relative to that of alpha-chain in the peripheral blood. These findings are similar to those in patients with simple beta-thalassemia trait. Despite a range of hemoglobin concentrations from 6.8 to 12.5 g/100 ml in the patients with sickle thalassemia, there was no evidence of a significant excess of alpha-chains in the red cells of the bone marrow which could contribute to the hemolysis and anemia. In patients heterozygous for beta-thalassemia the capacity to synthesize beta-chain decreases more rapidly than that for alpha-chain. In nonthalassemic subjects the rates of beta- and alpha-chain synthesis decrease equally as the red cell matures. The beta(S)- and beta(A)-chains serve as convenient markers for globin synthesis due to the nonthalassemic and thalassemic alleles in patients with sickle beta-thalassemia. The unbalanced globin synthesis in the peripheral blood of these patients is explained by the decrease in relative synthesis of beta(S)-chain, in comparison with that of alpha-chain. This instability is not present in sickle cell trait. The beta(A)-chain synthesis was only unstable in the two patients who had the most marked anemia. The major mechanism for achieving balanced globin production in the bone marrow in the presence of one thalassemic gene appears to be increased synthesis of beta-chain due to the nonthalassemic allele. In addition, there may be a decrease of total alpha-chain synthesis in some patients.

Adult↗

Free alpha-globin pool in human bone marrow.

A pool of free alpha-globin chains was found in the bone marrow samples from three controls, two patients with beta-thalassemia trait, three with sickle beta-thalassemia, three with hemoglobin (Hb) Lepore trait, one with alphabeta-thalassemia, four with homozygous beta-thalassemia, and one doubly heterozygous for Hb Lepore and beta-thalassemia. The average percentage of newly synthesized alpha-chains found in the free alpha-globin pool was 6.2% in the controls and 33.0% in the patients heterozygous for thalassemia or Hb Lepore. These controls and patients had balanced beta- and alpha-globin synthesis in the bone marrow. In the homozygous patients and in the one patient doubly heterozygous for thalassemia and Hb Lepore, there was a marked deficit of beta-chain synthesis in the bone marrow and also a large pool of newly synthesized free alpha-chains. The function of this pool of free alpha-chains is not known, but it may be involved in the regulation of globin chain synthesis in normal patients and in the compensatory synthesis of beta-chains that occurs in the bone marrow of patients heterozygous for thalassemia or for Hb Lepore.

Alpha-Globulins↗