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Biomedical subjects

R A Agnew

Publications and source records attributed to R A Agnew.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

John Forbes and Daniel O'Connell: the meeting of a Scottish physician with an Irish nationalist in 1841.

Last year was the 150th anniversary of the failure of the potato crop in Ireland, which initiated the famine years of 1845-9. The consequences for agricultural communities dependent on this source of food for survival were disastrous in terms of mortality and emigration, although it was not the sole cause for the emergency of an Irish "diaspora". Within two years the Irish people suffered a further blow with the death of their parliamentary champion, O'Connell. Daniel O'Connell (1775-1847) was popularly known in Ireland as the "Liberator", as he promoted the cause of Catholic emancipation together with repeal of the Act of Union between Great Britain and Ireland of 1801. He was skilled as a barrister and politician, and remarkable in that he advocated non-violent means to achieve his aims. His family were fairly well-to-do landowners in County Kerry, in the south-west. In contrast, John Forbes came from a humbler background of tenant farmers in the north-east of Scotland. It may be of interest to outline the circumstances leading to his meeting with O'Connell in 1841.

History, 19th Century↗
PubMed1994

Richard Townsend (1800-1843): an underestimated Irish physician?

Richard Townsend, an Irish physician was a contemporary of William Stokes; unlike Stokes, he had studied stethoscopy in Paris under Laënnec. This paper describes his life and medical career and sets out to show that his contributions to the Dublin school of medicine may have been undervalued.

Diagnosis↗
PubMed1990

Exacerbation of isoniazid induced peripheral neuropathy by pyridoxine.

Mycobacterium kansasii was isolated from an area of cavitating pneumonia in a man with rheumatoid arthritis. Standard antituberculosis treatment, including isoniazid 300 mg daily, had to be stopped because of peripheral neuropathy. The patient, a slow acetylator, subjectively deteriorated despite withdrawal of isoniazid and treatment with pyridoxine 150 mg daily. Improvement occurred only after the pyridoxine had also been withdrawn. Pyridoxine may cause peripheral neuropathy and this case illustrates the need for caution in the use of this vitamin in the prevention and treatment of isoniazid induced peripheral neuropathy.

Acetylation↗
PubMed1985

Serial estimation of serum angiotensin converting enzyme activity during and after pregnancy in a woman with sarcoidosis.

Serum angiotensin converting enzyme activities were estimated during pregnancy and the puerperium in a woman with sarcoidosis and a series of normal women. In the patient with sarcoidosis angiotensin converting enzyme activity was raised during pregnancy, particularly at 21 weeks' gestation, yet she remained well with no symptoms to suggest relapse of sarcoidosis. Serum angiotensin converting enzyme activity may not be of value in monitoring sarcoidosis activity during pregnancy.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

A prospective study of respiratory infection in asthmatic patients treated with beclomethasone dipropionate and sodium cromoglycate.

A prospective study of forty adult asthmatic patients attending two chest clinics in the City of Liverpool was undertaken. All patients had reversible airways obstruction and were under treatment with either beclomethasone dipropionate or sodium cromoglycate. Satisfactory symptomatic control was achieved in both groups of patients on a subjective basis, but there was a statistically significant (P less than 0-001) reduction in the number of admissions to hospital in the treatment year compared to the preceding 12 months in the beclomethasone aerosol group. No increased incidence of lower respiratory tract infections or non-specific sore throats was found in either group studied. No cases of clinical oral Candida infection occurred in the beclomethasone aerosol treated patients. It is concluded that beclomethasone dipropionate in aerosol form is not only a safe and effective method for symptomatic control of adult bronchial asthma but is also economically worthwhile as a means of reducing hospital admissions in this vulnerable group of patients.

Adult↗