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Biomedical subjects

R F Gledhill

Publications and source records attributed to R F Gledhill.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Treatment of Raynaud's phenomenon with triiodothyronine corrects co-existent autonomic dysfunction: preliminary findings.

Cardiovascular autonomic function was assessed in 9 subjects with Raynaud's phenomenon. The underlying diseases were systemic lupus erythematosus (n = 5), systemic sclerosis (n = 3) and rheumatoid arthritis (n = 1). Five standard non-invasive tests, 3 of heart rate and 2 of blood pressure, were employed. Compared with age and sex matched controls (n = 25), the number of values abnormal was 24 of 45 (53%) overall and between one and 4 (median, 2) individually. Significant differences were present for 3 tests, two of heart rate and one of blood pressure. The subjects were given triiodothyronine, 60 to 80 micrograms per day, for vasospastic attacks. Autonomic function was reassessed between weeks 4 and 9 (9 subjects) and between weeks 12 and 18 (8 subjects) after introduction of triiodothyronine. Test results showed a considerable improvement. At the second reassessment, the number of values abnormal was now 5 of 40 (12.5%) overall and nil (n = 4) or one (n = 4) individually. Significant differences remained for one heart rate test only. Adverse side effects to triiodothyronine occurred in a single subject and were readily controlled. Evidence of somatic neuropathy was present electrophysiologically in all 9 subjects and clinically in 8. Triiodothyronine may have corrected autonomic dysfunction by increasing blood flow to ischaemic peripheral nerves or by acting on the autonomic system more directly. Further study of triiodothyronine in autonomic insufficiency appears merited.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Limb paralysis as a manifestation of Coxsackie B virus infection.

Forty-four African children (25 girls, 19 boys) are described with single or multiple limb paralysis as a manifestation of infection with Coxsackie B virus. Single limb paralysis involved exclusively the lower extremity, with no nervous system involvement elsewhere and a relatively benign prognosis. Multiple limb paralysis occurred either alone or with other neurological deficits. Only two of 15 patients followed up for five months or longer regained premorbid motor status. Seven patients required assisted ventilation, of whom all but one died. Viral infection remains an important cause of acute limb paralysis in this population, and Coxsackie B is the agent often responsible.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Spasms of amputation stumps: a report of 2 cases.

The occurrence of involuntary movements of stumps following amputation is described in two patients. Although recognised for over 100 years, this phenomenon has received little attention in the modern literature. The condition appears to represent a variant within the spectrum of movement disorders induced by injury to the peripheral nervous system.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Magnetic resonance imaging in central pontine myelinolysis.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed in two patients in whom a clinical diagnosis of central pontine myelinolysis (CPM) had been made. MRI showed lesions in the pons in both cases about 2 years after the illness, at a time when the spastic quadriparesis and pseudobulbar palsy had recovered. The persisting abnormal signals in CPM are likely to be due to fibrillary gliosis. Persistence of lesions on MRI means that the diagnosis of CPM may be electively, after the acute illness has resolved.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Systemic lupus erythematosus in black South Africans.

The clinical features, laboratory findings, course of disease and response(s) to therapy of 30 black South Africans with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are described. This is the largest collection of such cases yet assembled in a single study and was noteworthy also for the development in 1 patient of bilateral central retinal artery occlusion and in 5 patients of pulmonary tuberculosis; for the sensitivity of serum gammaglobulin levels as an indicator of disease activity; and for the ineffectiveness of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in 9 of 17 patients with arthritis. It is concluded that SLE is not as uncommon in black South Africans as was believed hitherto.

Adult↗