PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

R S Briggs

Publications and source records attributed to R S Briggs.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Differential alterations in striatal acetylcholine function in rats during 12 months' continuous administration of haloperidol, sulpiride, or clozapine.

Rats were treated continuously for 12 months with therapeutically equivalent doses of either haloperidol (1.4-1.6 mg/kg/day), sulpiride (102-109 mg/kg/day), or clozapine (24-27 mg/kg/day). After treatment for 3 and 12 months with haloperidol or clozapine but not sulpiride, striatal acetylcholine levels were increased. Striatal choline acetyltransferase activity was not altered by any drug treatment. Vmax for striatal acetylcholinesterase activity during the course of 12 months' treatment with haloperidol or clozapine, but not with sulpiride, tended to increase; Km was not altered by any drug treatment. Bmax for specific striatal [3H]quinuclidinyl benzilate binding was not altered by haloperidol or sulpiride treatment but was transiently elevated after 6 months of clozapine treatment, thereafter returning to control levels. Kd was not altered by any drug treatment. These findings indicate that alterations in striatal acetylcholine content caused by chronic treatment with some but not all neuroleptics are due to changes in cholinergic neuronal activity rather than neurotransmitter synthesis or destruction. The effects of haloperidol but not those of clozapine may be related to the emergence of functional striatal dopamine receptor supersensitivity. Since haloperidol (which is associated with a high prevalence of tardive dyskinesias) but not clozapine (which is not) had similar effects on striatal cholinergic function, the latter may not be related to the emergence of tardive dyskinesias during chronic therapy.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed1984

Is leucocyte ascorbic acid an unreliable estimate of vitamin C deficiency?

Leucocyte ascorbic acid levels failed to identify six of seven elderly patients shown to be deficient on an oral vitamin C saturation test. Compared to those with a normal saturation test, patients judged deficient had lower levels for triceps skinfold thickness, mean arm muscle circumference and Quetelet's index; there was a significant association with the habit of eating alone, and with a dietary intake of less than 30 mg of ascorbic acid daily (the recommended daily allowance in the U.K.). No significant difference was found in the values for haemoglobin, serum albumin or potassium concentrations between the two groups, and no association shown between a deficient saturation test and smoking, season, sublingual varicosities or an abnormal bleeding time.

Aged↗
PubMed1983

Parathyroid hormone and 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations in sick and normal elderly people.

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and immunoreactive parathyroid hormone concentrations were measured in normal elderly subjects living at home and in sick elderly patients in hospital. Normal old people tended to have high 25-hydroxyvitamin D and low parathyroid hormone concentrations; in the sick elderly this pattern was reversed. The raised serum parathyroid hormone concentrations in the sick elderly were not due to poor renal function and may have been a response to vitamin D deficiency. A high serum parathyroid hormone concentration in an elderly patient must be interpreted in the light of the patient's general health and nutritional state. Caution is needed in diagnosing primary hyperparathyroidism in this age group.

25-Hydroxyvitamin D 2↗
PubMed1983

Virulent Streptococcus pyogenes: outbreak and spread within a geriatric unit.

An outbreak of infection due to Streptococcus pyogenes occurred in a geriatric rehabilitation unit between February and September 1981, affecting 10 patients and two staff. The severity of the illness ranged from asymptomatic throat carriage, through skin and soft-tissue sepsis, to fulminant septicaemia and necrotising fasciitis: two patients died of their infection. Streptococcus pyogenes infection may present in a variety of ways, and may be dangerous. Recently developed serological tests have been found useful in the surveillance of an outbreak. Although Streptococcus pyogenes is sensitive to penicillin and other antibiotics, good ward hygiene is still essential for controlling such an outbreak in an institution.

Aged↗
PubMed1983

The effects of procaine/haematoporphyrin on age-related decline: a double-blind trial.

A randomized, double-blind study of procaine/haematoporphyrin (KH3) has been carried out over two years in a selected population of healthy elderly subjects. The period of study exceeds 500 patient years. The trial population was weighted to contain a larger proportion of subjects aged over 75 years than a standard population; those receiving active KH3 had similar characteristics on entry to those receiving placebo. Over the course of two years, KH3 was shown to be an active substance in that: (a) decrement in the consolidation of new learning was prevented in the treatment group (less than 1.0%, as against 38% in the placebo group); (b) the prevalence of incontinence increased significantly in the placebo group, but not in the active group (P less than 0.05); (c) there was a significant increase in grip strength in the active treatment group (+22%, P less than 0.01 v. placebo); (d) more adverse reactions were observed on treatment with KH3 (P less than 0.005).

Aged↗
PubMed1982

Raised respiratory rate in elderly patients: a valuable physical sign.

Measurements of respiratory rate in 82 long-stay patients aged 67-101 years yielded a normal range of 16-25 breaths a minute. In a prospective study of 60 consecutive acute admissions to a geriatric unit, 19 out of 21 patients diagnosed as lower respiratory tract infections had respiratory rates above the upper limit of normal on the day of diagnosis; the rise in respiratory rate preceded the clinical diagnosis. All eight patients who were diagnosed on admission as having a lower respiratory tract infection had a respiratory rate greater than 26, with a mean of 29.7 breaths a minute. Patients admitted for other conditions-for example, urinary tract infection-rarely had respiratory rates outside the normal range. Accurate measurement of respiratory rate is a valuable diagnostic aid in elderly patients.

Aged↗
PubMed1982

Muscarinic agonist receptor subtypes in aging rat brain.

Whole brain homogenates from rats aged 6 months (young) and 24 months (old) showed a decline with age of the pre-synaptic cholinergic marker, choline acetyltransferase, and also of total specific binding sites for the muscarinic antagonist L(-)quinuclidinyl benzilate (L-QNB). However, neither the proportion nor the inhibition constants of high and low affinity muscarinic agonist binding sites (defined by displacement of L-QNB binding with carbachol) changed with age. These findings may be relevant to the central cholinergic deficit reported to be associated with cognitive impairment in aging man.

Aging↗
PubMed1982

Clinical and urodynamic effects of ephedrine in elderly incontinent patients.

The effect of ephedrine, an adrenergic receptor agonist, was investigated in 24 elderly patients with urinary incontinence associated with unstable detrusor contractions. After 3 weeks of oral ephedrine repeat cystometry showed mean increases of 21 per cent in bladder capacity and of 23 per cent in urethral pressure. Of 21 patients studied 7 became continent and 12 were improved. However, the urodynamic improvement did not reach statistical significance even in the continent group and, thus, the clinical improvement was unlikely to be owing to ephedrine. Therefore, open studies of drug treatment for detrusor instability may be misleading unless clinical and cystometric data are obtained.

Aged↗
PubMed1982

Stroke management of the elderly in Great Britain.

Management of stroke in the elderly has been neglected in the past in Britain, but in recent years interest has taken an encouraging upturn. Obviously, the most satisfactory solution to the problem would be prevention, and epidemiologic research may prove important in this respect. Meanwhile, for those who are stricken, the best British physicians can offer is a careful and thoughtful approach to rehabilitation, carried out by a multidisciplinary team. The effects of rehabilitation need much more study; the main stumbling block to such research is the methodologic problem, to which more attention is now being paid. Each year in Britain, over 100,000 middle-aged and elderly people suffer a stroke, and many are disabled. Community services for these survivors need improvement so that care does not end with hospital discharge.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1981

Tuberculous meningitis in Asian patients.

17 cases of tuberculous meningitis were seen in Leicester hospitals over a 5 year period; 15 of the patients were Asian. Treatment had often been delayed because presentation of the disease was non-specific and the cereobrospinal fluid findings were atypical. The average interval between the onset of symptoms and admission to hospital was 2 weeks (the shortest period was 5 days). Of the 10 patients admitted with disturbance of consciousness 5 died, whereas all 7 who were alert on admission survived. It is essential to exclude tuberculous meningitis in any Asian patient with a persistent febrile illness even if meningism is not evident, since patients who progress to the later stages of the disease often die or are left disabled.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Normal pressure hydrocephalus in the elderly: a treatable cause of dementia?

Although normal pressure hydrocephalus is one of the few remediable causes of dementia, the diagnosis is often not considered in the elderly. Three patients are described who presented to an acute geriatric unit within a six-month period during which normal pressure hydrocephalus was actively sought and treated. Although two made striking initial improvement, the long-term prognosis was poor: complications were frequent, and all three died within two years of operation. This pilot study indicates that normal pressure hydrocephalus may account for a proportion of cases of 'senile' dementia, but that formal controlled studies are required to establish the best means of diagnosis and treatment.

Aged↗
PubMed1980

Improved hypnotic treatment using chlormethiazole and temazepam.

The effects of a single 384 mg oral dose of chlormethiazole were compared with those of 20 mg of temazepam and placebo in healthy old and young women (mean ages 72.9 and 24.7 years respectively). Both drugs were effective hypnotics and had no detectable pharmacological action the next morning. Even four hours after administration performance of a simple psychomotor test was not impaired and sway (measured by an ataxiameter) was not increased in either age group. Pharmacokinetic studies showed that chlormethiazole was rapidly absorbed, distributed, and eliminated by both groups, so that minimal plasma concentrations existed 11 hours after administration. Temazepam, however, was less quickly absorbed and distributed, especially in the young group, and substantial amounts remained in the plasma 11 hours after administration. No unwanted effects occurred after temazepam, but 17 of the 20 subjects suffered from nasal irritation after taking chlormethiazole. Thus hangover effects may be avoided in elderly subjects after they have taken hypnotic drugs, and temazepam and chlormethiazole allow sleep to be interrupted safely.

Adult↗