PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

R W Smithells

Publications and source records attributed to R W Smithells.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1978

Teratogenicity testing in humans: a method demonstrating safety of bendectin.

We investigated the incidence of birth defects in the offspring of women who took Bendectin during pregnancy. Copies of all prescriptions issued for Bendectin in two Cities, Leeds and Liverpool, over periods of 12 and 14 months, respectively, were scanned and a record initiated for each patient. Birth notifications were later searched for matching with indexed patients. Births were traced for 2,298 patients and the incidence of major defects compared with those in the relevant populations. We found no evidence to suggest that Bendectin is teratogenic in humans.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
PubMed1978

Leucocyte ascorbic acid and pregnancy.

1. Leucocyte ascorbic acid concentrations have been measured in 1147 females during early pregnancy and in smaller numbers of women before conception, throughout pregnancy and at 6 months post partum. 2. The leucocyte concentration in the 1st trimester was found to be affected by season, social class and smoking. Selecting individuals by extremes of social class, season and smoking produced two small populations with almost separate ascorbic acid distributions and mean concentrations of 21.7 and 45.1 microgram/10(8) leucocytes. 3. Early pregnancy had little effect on leucocyte ascorbic acid concentrations but values decreased in the second trimester. However, this was associated with a leucocytosis so that the total leucocyte ascorbic acid content of blood was unchanged. 4. Low ascorbic acid concentrations during the 1st trimester were not associated with subsequent spontaneous abortions, still-births or neonatal deaths, but there was an increased frequency of low values in women who gave birth to infants smaller than 3250 g. 5. The adequacy of ascorbic acid reserves in early pregnancy is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Maternal nutrition in early pregnancy.

1. Mean daily nutrient intakes of 195 women in the first trimester of pregnancy were assessed by weighed dietary records. 2. In comparsion with recommended intakes for non-pregnant women aged 18-55 years (Department of Health and Social Security, 1969), more than two-thirds of the subjects were having insufficient energy, iron and cholecalciferol. Unsatisfactory intakes of other nutrients were not uncommon. In relation to recommended intakes for the second trimester (Department of Health and Social Security, 1969), all mothers were having insufficient cholecalciferol and more than 80% of mothers had unsatisfactory intakes of energy and Fe. 3. Intakes appreciably lower than those recommended were associated with the following factors: social classes III, IV and V; maternal age under 20 years; smoking ten or more cigarettes daily; vomiting on more than 3 d/week.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Poliomyelitis-like illness after acute asthma.

Two children had pain in one arm, followed by weakness and wasting, after an acute exacerbation of bronchial asthma. Similar cases in which a poliomyelitis-like illness was associated with acute asthma have been reported, but the relationship between the two remains conjectural.

Arm↗
PubMed1976

Parity of women contracting rubella in pregnancy. Implications with respect to rubella vaccination.

Data from the National Congenital Rubella Surveillance Programme showed that 44% of children with congenital rubella reported to the programme were born to primiparae. This high proportion is thought to be due to the fact that there was a two-fold increase in the rate of abortion for rubella in pregnancy for women with two or more children. This higher incidence of congenital rubella in firstborns emphasises the need for rubella vaccination prior to a woman's first pregnancy.

Abortion, Therapeutic↗
PubMed1976

Vitamin deficiencies and neural tube defects.

Serum folate, red cell folate, white blood cell vitamin C, riboflavin saturation index, and serum vitamin A were determined during the first trimester of pregnancy in over 900 cases. For each of these there was a social classes I + II showed the highest levels which differed significantly from other classes, except for serum folate. In 6 mothers who gave birth to infants with neural tube defects, first trimester serum folate, red cell folate, white blood cell vitamin C, and riboflavin values were lower than in controls. In spite of small numbers the differences were significant for red cell folate (P less than 0-001) and white blood cell vitamin C (P less than 0-05). These findings are compatible with the hypothesis that nutritional deficiencies are significant in the causation of congenital defects of the neural tube in man.

Adult↗