Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to P Drury.
Although segmental bowel necrosis is a recognized complication of pancreatitis, the duodenum is rarely involved. We report a unique case of acute duodenal obstruction characterized by transmural necrosis and intramural duodenal haematoma in a young man with acute alcohol-induced pancreatitis. The patient recovered following pancreaticoduodenectomy.
Evidence that changes in feeding style alter the membrane fatty acid composition of ruminant tissue is presented here by comparing zoo giraffe with the same species from their natural habitat. The membrane changes seen are similar to those used experimentally to make animals susceptible to basic brain protein and encephalomalacia. Similar membrane responses have been noted in cattle. Use of animal protein and increased nitrogen in cattle feeds would lead to a relative deficiency of essential fatty acids in the cell membranes and hence reduced membrane stability. By analogy with crazy chick disease (nutritional encephalomalacia) and experimental encephalomyelitis in rats, the possibility that the changes in animals feeds would have depleted cattle tissue membranes and made them susceptible to BSE is discussed. The assumption being made is that the principle of a requirement of essential fatty acids for neural integrity and immune system function would apply to cattle as well as to other species.
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The food intakes of pregnant women were analysed from two contrasting socio-economic areas in London. There were significant differences in mean calorie and EFA intakes. Analysis of maternal and cord blood essential fatty acids (EFAs) in relation to birth weight, placental weight and head circumference were consistent with the dietary data. To assess the EFA tissue status of the low birth weight babies, the umbilical arteries from 14 separate babies of different birth weights were studied. Surprisingly high levels of the Mead acid (20:3 n-9) were found, with the highest appearing in the artery from the baby with the lowest birth weight. This data may not necessarily imply an EFA deficiency, but at the least it probably indicates a remarkable thirst for long chain n-6 and n-3 fatty acids for fetal brain development.
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Conception does not take place unless there is a certain guaranteed energy reserve in the mother as fat stores. In the well nourished pregnant mother, energy reserves are built up in advance of the fetal growth thurst and part of these are transferred to the fetus to buffer the risks associated with birth and the perinatal period. A significant proportion of the maternal energy reserves act as a guarantee for lactation which imposes the highest dietary energy demand of the life cycle. Again, in the well nourished mother there will be a transfer of energy to the infant which will again buffer the weaning period when the infant changes from the energy dense milk to foods with low energy densities. Malnutrition and undernutrition is not simply the result of poor infant feeding or the events that occur at the time. It is more likely that the case of mortality and morbidity from malnutrition includes a failure during the reproductive process to provide the necessary reserves for fetal energy stores and for the perinatal and weaning periods. That is infant malnutrition stems from the relationship between maternal and infant nutrition. This analysis leads to the proposal that preventive measures need to include maternal nutrition and to increase the level of fat consumption. In developing countries the energy density of the carbohydrate rich diets may be too low to meet the energy demands for early growth and development. This problem will not be solved by simply supplying more of the same kind of food but may require an increase in the energy density of the food. One way by which this can be done is by increasing the fat intake which dramatically increases the energy intake without expanding the volume of food eaten.
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Some yeast mannans increased vascular permeability and caused anaphylaxis-like reactions, fatal in some cases, in nonsensitized CFW mice. In SWR mice deficient in the complement system component C5, anaphylactic shock did not develop after the injection of mannans but was readily induced by goat serum after the mice had been sensitized with Bordetella pertussis and goat serum. The observed biological activity of the yeast mannans appears to depend upon the alpha(1 --> 2) and alpha(1 --> 6) linkages in their main chain. Their relative inactivity in C5-deficient mice and the consumption of whole hemolytic complement after their addition to normal mouse serum suggest that yeast mannans may activate late-acting complement components to produce anaphylatoxin from complement components C5 and C3.
Osteonecrosis is a pathologic condition that affects bones in the lower extremity. Circulatory impairment, forces of weightbearing, and increased intraosseous bone marrow pressure can interact to create this malady. Radiologic identification is paramount to accurate diagnosis. The authors present various examples of this condition in the foot.