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Biomedical subjects

J D Merrett

Publications and source records attributed to J D Merrett.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

Respiratory symptoms and lung function in a group of solderers.

A total of 1611 women working in a large electronics company were interviewed using a modified version of the Medical Research Council's questionnaire on respiratory symptoms, and their lung function was tested using a Vitalograph dry wedge spirometer. When the prevalence of symptoms was compared using the chi 2 test among four occupational groups--namely, solderers, ex-solderers, non-solderers, and office workers--few significant differences were found. The group of ex-solderers tended to have a greater prevalence of symptoms than the other three groups. Forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) were measured, and when these were compared for smokers, the office workers were found to have a greater mean age adjusted FVC and FEV1 than the three other groups. The pattern was less distinct for non-smokers. When duration of exposure to solder fumes was allowed for, differences in lung function were more suggestive of being related to smoking habit than occupational exposure to solder fumes.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Pre-transplantation immunological monitoring and graft survival in recipients of renal allografts.

Various immunological parameters were measured pre-transplantation in 82 renal transplant recipients. The results were compared with the clinical course of the recipient post-transplantation and with the results of 40 controls. Only one test C3 inactivation products (C3i) was associated with transplant outcome in that 0/30 patients with no rejection episodes had C3i whereas 9/38 patients with rejection episodes, including 3/12 patients whose graft failed, had C3i.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Immunological control of Epstein-Barr virus-transformed lymphocytes in multiple sclerosis.

T-cell control of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-infected autologous lymphocytes was examined in 25 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and in 25 healthy individuals, all seropositive for EBV. By assessing regression of cell transformation, 17 patients and all healthy subjects were scored as "regressors." Eight MS patients proved to be "nonregressors," indicating loss of cytotoxic T-cell control. In this group there was apparently a concurrent fall in the mean titer of antibody to Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen.

Antibodies, Viral↗
PubMed1983

Cardiovascular and biochemical evidence of stress during major surgery associated with different techniques of anaesthesia.

The relative merits of a potent narcotic and a spinal analgesic to affect the stress response to a standard operation have been assessed. Forty-five fit patients scheduled for abdominal hysterectomy were allocated at random to three groups, referred to as standard (i.v. anaesthesia alone), spinal (spinal plus i.v. anaesthesia) and fentanyl (fentanyl plus i.v. anaesthesia) groups. In the doses used, fentanyl produced the most effective attenuation of the cardiovascular, hormonal and metabolic responses to stress, but had the disadvantage of prolonged respiratory depression. Spinal anaesthesia gave only a modified blockade of the response to stress and did not obtund the response to intubation.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Psychotropic drug use in Northern Ireland 1966-80: prescribing trends, inter- and intra-regional comparisons and relationship to demographic and socioeconomic variables.

A study of psychotropic drug prescribing, derived from the computerized pricing data in Northern Ireland from 1966, showed that the use of these drugs reached a peak in 1975, when about 12.5% of the adult population were estimated to have been receiving them, and declined in the following 5 years. Benzodioazepines accounted for three-quarters of all psychotropic drugs prescribed in 1980. Benzodiazepine tranquillizer prescribing was consistently 20-30% higher than in the rest of the United Kingdom, in contrast to hypnotic and antidepressant prescribing which has been consistently lower. The rate of increase in benzodiazepine tranquillizer prescribing was greater than in other European countries, but the level remains lower than in Iceland and Denmark. The influence of a number of demographic and socioeconomic variables was studied in an intra-regional analysis of the 1978 data for the 17 health districts in the province, using multivariate and multiple regression statistics. The prescribing of benzodiazepine hypnotics was almost entirely accounted for by the proportion of elderly (over 65 years) and women aged 45-59 years: neuroleptic prescribing was largely a function of factors associated with rural areas (overcrowding and unemployment) and the proportion of elderly; but neither tranquillizer, antidepressant, barbiturate hypnotic nor psychostimulant prescribing were satisfactorily explained by these variables.

Anti-Anxiety Agents↗
PubMed1982

A matched comparison of four suxamethonium administration techniques in patients with strabismus.

Four methods of administering suxamethonium were composed in patients undergoing surgery for strabismus who were matched for sex, age, weight and height. Pre-treatment with tubocurarine afforded the best control of suxamethonium-induced sequelae. Serum potassium remained within normal limits suggesting that individuals with strabismus behave differently from those free of this defect.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Recovery from intravenous anaesthesia. Comparison of disoprofol with thiopentone and methohexitone.

Using the endpoints of spontaneous opening of eyes, giving date of birth, sitting up unaided and normal pegboard time, recovery from 2 and 3 mg/kg disoprofol was compared with that from 4 and 6 mg/kg thiopentone and 1.5 mg/kg methohexitone in groups each of 10 unpremedicated patients. The study method differentiated between recovery from the two doses of disoprofol and thiopentone at the first two endpoints only. A between-drug comparison showed early recovery was slightly faster with thiopentone than with equivalent doses of the new drug while no differences were detected between the recovery from equivalent doses of methohexitone and thiopentone. The differences found in this study are felt to be of no clinical significance and recovery from anaesthesia with disoprofol would not be expected to be any slower than that from equivalent doses of thiopentone.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Influence of social class on the risk of recurrence of anencephalus and spina bifida.

This study suggests that social class has an effect on the incidence of anencephalus and spina bifida, the malformations being more frequent in the lower socio-economic groups. A family study of 226 patients with a CNS malformation suggests that social class also may be important in determining the recurrence risk of such malformations: there are higher risks in social classes III, IV and V than in social classes I and II.

Anencephaly↗
PubMed1980

Dietary management of maturity-onset diabetes.

Dietary management of maturity-onset diabetes is a basic medical concept. It is difficult to study scientifically because of variable eating habits and the impossibility of rigorous measurement. The non-insulin-requiring diabetic patient is often managed by the family doctor, who may not have access to dietetic assistance, and assessment of the success of simple but careful dietary measures is infrequent. We have taken a special interest in this group of patients, and find that most maturity-onset diabetic patients can be satisfactorily managed on diet only. In a group of 58 such patients there was a significant fall in mean weight and fasting plasma glucose and triglyceride concentrations after six months, which persisted for up to three years. This achievement was chiefly due to those patients who were graded as "good" in their dietary adherence, but less good dieting still achieved weight loss, though plasma glucose and triglyceride concentrations did not fall so low. The clinical dietitian has played a central part in this study.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Evaluation of glycopyrrolate and atropine as adjuncts to reversal of non-depolarizing neuromuscular blocking agents in a "true-to-life" situation.

Glycopyrrolate, a quaternary ammonium anticholinergic compound, and atropine were evaluated in combination with neostigmine for antagonism of non-depolarizing neuromuscular block. A total of 641 patients were investigated in a "true-to-life" situation. The patients receiving glycopyrrolate with neostigmine had smaller changes in heart rate than those who received atropine. This was particularly apparent in patients with cardiovascular disease.

Atropine↗
PubMed1980

Morbidity and mortality in patients with diabetic retinopathy.

Most studies indicate that diabetics have both a higher mortality rate and a higher morbidity rate secondary to generalized vascular occlusive disease than non-diabetic patients of corresponding age and sex. There is also some evidence that diabetics with proliferative retinopathy are more at risk than diabetics without retinopathy. This study was undertaken to determine and compare the morbidity and mortality rates in diabetics with: (a) No retinopathy, (b) Background retinopathy, (c) Proliferative retinopathy. The records and fundus photographs of 800 diabetics were reviewed and the data statistically analysed according to age, sex, presence and type of retinopathy, morbidity, and mortality. The mortality rates were also compared with the normal population life study data.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Comparison of central nervous system malformations in spontaneous absortions in Northern Ireland and south-east England.

A study of 1140 pregnancies ending in spontaneous abortion disclosed a central nervous system (CNS) malformation in 4.9% of all complete conceptuses. Life-table analysis suggested that the incidence of CNS malformations is 16/1000 at the beginning of the eighth week of gestation. It was also estimated that only one-fifth of these infants are born alive, 41% being aborted spontaneously and 38% stillborn. A hypothesis that differences in the incidence of CNS malformations result from area differences in the mortality rate of malformed embryos and fetuses was examined by comparing the findings in Northern Ireland, an area of high incidence, with those in south-east England, an area of low incidence. In Northern Ireland 4.6% of complete conceptuses had a CNS malformation compared with 3.0% in south-east England, but the difference was not statistically significant. There is no evidence that in Northern Ireland a lower mortality rate among malformed fetuses and embryos is responsible for the high incidence of malformation at birth. The geographical variation of CNS malformations in the United Kingdom still awaits explanation.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗