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Biomedical subjects

M C Thompson

Publications and source records attributed to M C Thompson.

33 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Perinatal mortality in the Cape Province, 1989-1991.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the number of deliveries, the low-birth-weight rate and the perinatal mortality rate at provincial and province-aided hospitals and clinics in each planning region of the Cape Province. DESIGN: A record of the number of deliveries, low-birth-weight infants, stillbirths and early neonatal deaths in provincial and province-aided hospitals and clinics in each planning region of the Cape Province between 1 January 1989 and 31 December 1991. SETTING: All provincial and province-aided hospitals and clinics in the Cape Province. PARTICIPANTS: Hospital and clinic staff of all provincial and province-aided hospitals and clinics in the Cape Province. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURED: Number of deliveries, low-birth-weight infants, stillbirths and early neonatal deaths in each planning region of the Cape Province. RESULTS: A total of 373,768 births were recorded during the 3-year period with a low-birth-weight rate of 14.7%, a stillbirth rate of 17.9 per 1,000 and an early neonatal mortality rate of 9.1 per 1,000. All rates differed widely between regions. The regions with the highest perinatal mortality rates were in the northern and eastern Cape. CONCLUSION: The perinatal demographics of most regions in the Cape Province are typical of a developing country. Regions which have been identified as having the highest low-birth-weight, stillbirth and early neonatal mortality rates are in greatest need of improved perinatal health care.

Demography↗
PubMed1994

Is glutamate-induced reduction in growth hormone-releasing hormone a neuroendocrine model of aging in the rat?

Decreases in serum growth hormone (GH) associated with aging may be a result of age-related degenerative changes in neurons of the hypothalamus resulting in a decrease of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH). This study tests the utility of glutamate-induced hypothalamic neuronal degeneration in the rat as a neuroendocrine model of aging. Sprague-Dawley female rats received three 4-mg/g monosodium glutamate (MSG) subcutaneous injections during the first 5 days following birth. Animals were anesthetized at 60 days of age and challenged with GHRH. Blood samples were assayed for GH. Serum GH levels following GHRH challenge in the MSG-treated group rose more slowly and to a lower peak than in controls (P < 0.05). There was no difference in total GH release over the 1-hr interval following challenge. MSG-treatment of animals resulted in lower gross body (P < 0.05) and kidney (P < 0.05) weights with no difference in ovary or adrenal weights. There were also no differences in pituitary GH or total protein content between the groups. Analysis of femurs in the MSG animals revealed both a lower bone strength (P < 0.05) and maximum mid-shaft diameter (P < 0.05), but no difference in length, mineral/matrix ratio, or tissue density. Our data suggest that the degree of neuroendocrine disruption resulting from neonatal MSG administration mimics in part systemic changes commonly observed in aged animals. Hence, definite similarities exist between MSG treatment and the documented aging-related changes in hypothalamic GHRH content and GH regulation in the rat.

Aging↗
PubMed1991

Priorities for provision of health care services for children in the Cape Province.

Geographical areas in the Cape Province are ranked by their need for resources for child health care as determined by several proxy indicators of child health. Low birthweight and perinatal mortality rates for 1989, infant and age-specific childhood death rates, as well as death rates for tuberculosis, gastroenteritis and measles for 1985 are used as indicators of need. The ten magisterial districts having the highest priority for resources are, in decreasing order of need: De Aar, Colesberg, Uitenhage, Sterkstroom, Gordonia, Prince Albert, Philipstown, Victoria West, Kirkwood and Richmond. Limitations in the data are: wide, unquantifiable confidence limits, non-independence of different indicators, lack of timeliness, and incomplete statistics. Despite these problems with the data there are several reasons for employing them. Firstly, the quality of the data is only likely to be improved if they are actually used, and, secondly, there is no alternative. Areas identified as high priority need investigation in situ because corrective action is required for either the data collection system, or child health. Recommendations for improvements in resource management in child health care are: regionalisation of a unitary health care service, more timely data collection in geographically standardised regions, introduction of management objectives, and resource allocation guided by health status indicators.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1990

Anaesthesia in the field. Spontaneous ventilation--a new technique.

In recent years the British Army has used the Triservice Anaesthetic Apparatus in the field. Trichloroethylene is no longer manufactured in the United Kingdom and halothane is not recommended for closely repeated anaesthetics. A method based on existing equipment is described for patients breathing spontaneously. A background infusion of ketamine, midazolam and alfentanil supplements the inhalation of isoflurane in oxygen-enriched air.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

The effects of age, dietary restriction, exercise and maternity on the abundance and volume of adipocytes in twelve adipose depots of adult guinea-pigs.

1. The mean adipocyte volume and cellularity of adipose tissue in twelve anatomically defined depots were measured in 190 virgin and reproductive guinea-pigs aged 6 months to 2 years, maintained on five different regimens of diet and exercise. 2. The total adipocyte complement was constant up to the age of about 10 months and increased by 65-70% during the 2nd year of life. At constant percentage body-weight as fat, age-related accumulation of adipocytes was accompanied by reduction in average adipocyte volume. A period of high percentage body-weight as fat was not a necessary antecedent to age-related accumulation of adipocytes, and the effect was not observed in specimens that exercised regularly. 3. In guinea-pigs over 13 months old, changes in adipose tissue cellularity made a major contribution to total fatness. The mean volume of samples of adipocytes was a satisfactory indicator of fatness only in younger specimens in which adipose tissue cellularity was not changing. 4. The lean body mass and the total adipocyte complement were lower in guinea-pigs on the sedentary, restricted-diet regimen, whether the regimen began at the age of 19 weeks or 31 weeks, but the depots studied were not equally affected. Both moderate and strenuous exercise on an ad lib. diet caused a reduction in the percentage body-weight as fat in males but not in females. The total adipocyte complement and lean body mass were unchanged, although the males became almost as thin following exercise as those on the restricted-diet regimen. 5. Among guinea-pigs under 400 d old, there were no significant differences between males and virgin females in the site-specific volume of adipocytes relative to the size of those in other depots of the same specimen; there was only one significant difference in this index between the older and the younger specimens. The diet and exercise regimens modified the site-specific adipocyte volume relative to those in other depots; adipocytes under the trapezius muscle of the neck (UMN), at the interscapular depot (HUMP) and those in the depots anterior to the forelimb became relatively smaller following exercise, while those in the popliteal fat mass were relatively larger. Adipocytes in the UMN and HUMP also became more numerous relative to those in the other depots following both moderate and strenuous exercise. Those in the groin site, the intra-abdominal depots and the intermuscular depots became relatively smaller following dietary restriction without exercise.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1984

Ketamine and military anaesthesia. The effect of heavy papaveretum premedication and Althesin induction on the incidence of emergence phenomena.

An anaesthetic technique suitable for military field anaesthesia was sought which would attenuate the psychic side effects of ketamine. Heavy premedication with 30 mg of papaveretum and induction of anaesthesia with Althesin were evaluated. A combination of the two lowered the incidence of side effects, but they still occurred frequently enough to pose problems. Ketamine sequelae are considered incompatible with the battlefield environment.

Adult↗