Biomedical subjects

R A Low

Publications and source records attributed to R A Low.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1979

The contribution of drinking water lead to maternal blood lead concentrations.

The association between domestic water lead concentrations and blood lead concentrations has been examined in 232 mothers at delivery. The blood lead was found to vary significantly with the cube root of the water lead. This association was stronger for first flush water lead rather than for running water lead. This study emphasises the danger to mothers and to their children of environmental lead over-exposure in areas of soft acid plumbosolvent water.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1979

Prenatal and postnatal maternal leucocyte ascorbic acid concentrations.

Leucocyte ascorbic acid was measured in 79 pregnant women in the 34th to 38th week of gestation and on the first, and third or fifth days post partum. No differences were found for time of year or age of the subjects. There was a significantly lower vitamin C status in social classes IV and V. The leucocyte ascorbic acid concentration fell significantly on the first day post partum and rose again to initial values by the fifth day. In late pregnancy 40 per cent of all subjects had leucocyte ascorbic acid concentrations less than the lower limit of normal (100 nmol/10(8) leucocytes). This rose to 75 per cent on the first day post partum.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1977

Pregnancy and the acute porphyrias.

An analysis is presented of the obstetric histories of 50 women with acute porphyria, comprising 39 with acute intermittent porphyria, 3 with variegate porphyria and 8 with hereditary coporporphyria. Fifty-four per cent of the women with acute intermittent porphyria had an acute attack of porphyria in pregnancy and/or the puerperium. Only one maternal death was recorded. One patient with variegate prophyria and two with hereditary coproporphyria had an attack related to pregnancy. The total fetal wastage was 13 per cent. The babies born to mothers with acute intermittent porphyria, who experienced an acute attack during pregnancy, were smaller than those in which no such attack occurred (P less than 0.001). In 13 non-porphyric primigravidae there was a rise in urinary excretion of delta-aminolaevulinic acid, porphobilinogen and coproporphyrin up to the 28th week of gestation. It is probable that pregnancy has some deleterious effects in acute prophyria but the prognosis of the porphyric pregnancy is much better than the literature suggests.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed1975

Cephradine in urinary tract infections: a double-blind comparison with ampicillin.

A double-blind trial was carried out comparing cephradine and ampicillin in the treatment of urinary tract infections in 42 females attending a hospital Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Results showed that patients did better in the cephradine group than the ampicillin group, both bacteriologically and clinically. The numbers in each group were small, however, and did not reach statistical significance.

Adolescent↗