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Biomedical subjects

M Farr

Publications and source records attributed to M Farr.

71 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1981

Incorporation of 14C-thymidine by cultures of erythrocytes from rheumatoid arthritis patients and normal subjects, suggesting the presence of an L-form.

Cultures of washed erythrocytes from rheumatoid arthritis patients and normal subjects were found to incorporated 14C-thymidine, suggesting the presence of an L-form. The extent of the incorporation by erythrocytes from rheumatoid patients was more variable than that by erythrocytes from normal subjects, and correlated negatively with IgG measurements and white cell counts performed on the patients' bloods, although not with the clinical activity of the patients.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMed1981

Serum calcium levels in rheumatoid arthritis.

Total and corrected (for albumin) serum calcium levels were investigated in a cross-sectional study of 394 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, 4490 healthy subjects, and 2609 inpatients at a district general hospital. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis had lower mean calcium levels than the healthy subject (p less than 0.001), but had similar levels to inpatients at the district general hospital. Thirty-eight inpatients with rheumatoid arthritis at a hospital for rheumatic diseases had lower mean corrected and total calcium levels than all other groups (p less than 0.01). Corrected or total calcium levels higher than 2.60 mmol/l or corrected calcium levels lower than 2.20 mmol/l were uncommon in the patients with rheumatoid arthritis. A longitudinal study of serum calcium levels in 17 patients with rheumatoid arthritis over 6-48 months showed considerable temporal variation in total and corrected calcium levels. Transient hypercalcaemia and hypocalcaemia occurred occasionally, but for most of the time calcium levels were normal. Changes in calcium levels were not related to changes in clinical, haematological, or immunological parameters of disease activity. Mean serum calcium levels are lower in disease than health; this occurs in RA as well as other diseases.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗
PubMed1981

Efficiency of haematological screening tests for detecting disease.

A new "intermediate' reference (normal) range for the erythrocyte sedimentation rate has been compared with published "low' and "high' reference ranges in a study of 354 hospital patients. The "intermediate' range showed superior balance between sensitivity and specificity in the detection of disease-induced plasma protein abnormalities and and gave a test efficiency of 81.9%; this reference range can therefore be recommended for routine use in the diagnostic laboratory. Four other screening tests (whole-blood viscosity, plasma viscosity, zeta sedimentation ratio, and C-reactive protein level) were compared in the same 354 patients. Whole-blood viscosity proved to be unsuitable as a screening test (efficiency 44.8%) but the three other tests showed good balance between sensitivity and specificity and gave a test efficiency of 74.4-79.7%.

Blood Protein Disorders↗
PubMed1977

Investigation of phenylbutazone in synovial fluid.

1. Phenylbutazone was measured in the synovial fluid of 15 patients and found to be present in appreciable amounts which were related to plasma levels. 2. 80% of fluid levels were between 55% and 80% of those in plasma. 3. There was some evidence that in very actively inflamed joints phenylbutazone levels were lower. 4. There was no relationship to plasma or synovial fluid protein levels. 5. Phenylbutazone was found in one patient's synovial fluid three weeks after stopping the drug.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Lysozymuria in diabetes.

A reversible lysozymuria indicative of proximal tubular damage to the kidney was found in three out of five patients with diabetic ketosis, and a persistent lysozymuria was found in many patients with diabetic nephropathy. There was no relation between lysozymuria and the degree of proteinuria, and lysozymuria was not due to urinary tract infection. The degree of lysozymuria could be used to assess the severity of diabetic nephropathy.

Creatinine↗
PubMed1976

Bullous dermatosis of chronic renal failure.

Four of five patients with chronic renal failure developed tense bullae on the backs of their hands and fingers. In one of these patients the bullae were more widespread. In the fifth patient the lesions were limited to the fingers. The clinical picture resembled that of porphyria cutanea tarda, but porphyrin studies were consistently within normal limits. Histological studies showed subepidermal pressure bullae in each patient. In one of the patients immunohistology showed greenish fluorescence at the bases of the dermal papillae.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Assessment of rheumatoid activity based on clinical features and blood and synovial fluid analysis.

Joint inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis has been assessed, and the most useful guides to disease activity were determined by analysis of synovial fluid and blood together with the history of joint disability. The patient's own evaluation of the amount of pain suffered was the most useful clinical assessment. Differential cell count and glucose estimations were the most helpful guides in the synovial fluid, while C-reactive protein in the serum most accurately reflected disease activity. The effects of systemic steroids on these indices were studied, and the differences between seronegative and seropositive patients noted.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Detection by electron microscope of rod-shaped organisms in synovial membrane from a patient with the arthritis of Whipple's disease.

Rod-shaped organisms identical to those present in the jejunal mucosa have been found in the synovial membrane of a patient with Whipple's disease. These probably caused inflammatory changes which sere reflected in an increase of the cellular content and high enzyme levels (acid phosphatase and 5-nucleotidase) of the synovial fluid. Tetracycline was effective in controlling the bowel lesion but only had a temporary effect upon the arthritis. Erythromycin controlled both the bowel lesion and the arthritis.

Arthritis↗
PubMed1975

The influence of drugs and disease activity on biochemical and haematological data in rheumatoid arthritis.

Biochemical and haematological data from 218 patients with rheumatoid arthritis were analysed and compared with data from a reference hospital population. The comparison demonstrated significant differences in several biochemical and haematological tests and that the patterns of change are different between males and females. The data were also analysed by conventional statistical methods and discriminant analysis using a computer to establish which tests were most influenced by the activity of the disease and drug therapy. The results obtained demonstrate marked difference between groups of patients with different disease activity or receiving different drugs. The discriminant analysis also identified those tests which differentiate these groups most effectively.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Inflammation causes a long-term hyperexcitability in the nociceptive sensory neurons of Aplysia.

Nerve injury, tissue damage, and inflammation all cause hyperalgesia. A factor contributing to this increased sensitivity is a long-term (>24 hr) hyperexcitability (LTH) in the sensory neurons that mediate the responses. Using the cluster of nociceptive sensory neurons in Aplysia californica as a model, we are examining how inflammation induces LTH. A general inflammatory response was induced by inserting a gauze pad into the animal Within 4 days, the gauze is enmeshed in an amorphous material that contains hemocytes, which comprise a cellular immune system. Concurrently, LTH appears in both ipsilateral and contralateral sensory neurons. The LTH is manifest as increased action potential discharge to a normalized stimulus. Immunocytochemistry revealed that hemocytes have antigens recognized by antibodies to TGFbeta1, IL-6, and 5HT. When a localized inflammation was elicited on a nerve, hemocytes containing the TGFbeta1 antigen were present near axons within the nerve and those containing the IL-6 were on the surface. Western blots of hemocytes, or of gauze that had induced a foreign body response, contained a 28-kD polypeptide recognized by the anti-TGFbeta1 antibody. Exposure of the nervous system to recombinant human TGFbeta1 elicited increased firing of the nociceptive neurons and a decrease in threshold. The TGFbeta1 also caused an activation of protein kinase C (PKC) in axons but did not affect a kinase that is activated in axons after injury. Our findings, in conjunction with previous results, indicate that a TGFbeta1-homolog can modulate the activity of neurons that respond to noxious stimuli. This system could also contribute to interactions between the immune and nervous systems via regulation of PKC.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Significance of the hydrogen ion concentration in synovial fluid in rheumatoid arthritis.

The hydrogen ion (H+) concentration and pCO2 were measured in the synovial fluid (SF) from the knee joints of 130 patients with arthritis by an acid-base analyser (ABL2 Acid-Base Laboratory), using a simple technique which prevented contact with air. H+ concentration was significantly higher in SF from 60 RA patients (mean 64.4 n mol/l; range 38-142 n mol/l) compared with patients with OA (mean 44 n mol/l; range 29-56 n mol/l), and 40 with other arthritides (mean 52 n mol/l). The H+ concentration in the SF showed a significant association with other variables of local inflammation-platelet, total leucocyte and polymorph counts, 5-nucleotidase, acid phosphatase and IgA levels in the SF and the clinical knee score, but not with the volume of the effusion. A similar relationship between these variables of inflammatory activity and SF pCO2 was also established. A higher SF H+ concentration was also found in systemically active disease, but no difference in SF pH between seropositive and seronegative patients. Whilst the pH of SF approximated to that of the blood in OA, it was significantly lower in the SF in RA. SF pH is a useful marker of local inflammatory activity, and its measurement is simple, reliable and rapid. It is relevant because changes in pH influence many of the processes involved in inflammation and the pH difference between SF and blood influences the transfer of drugs into the joint.

Arthritis↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Locally applied transdermal nitrate patches for the treatment of ischaemic rest pain.

Patients with severe peripheral vascular disease may suffer considerable pain which can be difficult to control with conventional analgesics. We sought to assess the analgesic effect of transdermal nitrate patches in such patients. A prospective trial was performed in 15 patients with ischaemic rest pain due to atherosclerotic peripheral vascular disease. Pain control and oral analgesic requirement were assessed. Fourteen of the 15 had a good or moderate response to the nitrate patches with a subsequent reduction in oral analgesic requirement. The patients with primarily small vessel disease had the greatest improvement in pain control. We conclude that topical nitrates may be used to provide rapid and safe analgesia for patients with ischaemic rest pain.

Administration, Cutaneous↗