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Biomedical subjects

W J Oliver

Publications and source records attributed to W J Oliver.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1988

Further delineation of the G syndrome: a manageable genetic cause of infantile dysphagia.

Three families including five subjects with the G or Opitz-Frias syndrome are added to 23 published cases who had dysphagia; characteristics of the two affected relatives were added to 19 well documented published reports. The data from index cases support the concept of the G syndrome as a constellation of midline defects, which include hypertelorism or telecanthus (89%), oesophageal dysmotility (69%), laryngotracheal clefts (44%), cleft palate or bifid uvula (34%), heart defects (29%), hypospadias (100% of males), renal or ureteral anomalies (42%), and mental retardation (38%). Affected relatives, often identified by hypertelorism, dysphagia, or hypospadias, had a much lower incidence of associated defects and mental retardation. They provide a more rounded but still biased view of a syndrome compatible with normal intelligence and life span. The data do not support a highly characteristic face in the G syndrome, which discriminates it from the phenotypically similar BBB syndrome. The variable expressivity and five cases of male to male transmission observed in 18 families are consistent with autosomal dominant inheritance. Vigilance for the morphological characteristics of G syndrome in patients with dysphagia is underscored by the potential for normal development with appropriate intervention.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1985

The relative bioavailability of paracetamol after rectal administration of suppositories containing a mixture of paracetamol, codeine phosphate and buclizine hydrochloride in healthy volunteers.

'New' and 'old' suppositories (6 months and 30 months since manufacture) containing 800 mg paracetamol, 16 mg codeine phosphate and 12.5 mg buclizine hydrochloride in an identical base were administered to 10 normal volunteers at an interval of 2 weeks. Blood samples were taken at intervals up to 300 minutes after administration for estimation of paracetamol plasma concentrations using high pressure liquid chromatography. Mean peak concentrations were obtained of 4.75 +/- 0.74 mg/ml at 1.75 hours with the new suppositories and of 4.6 +/- 0.67 mg/ml at 2.0 hours with the old suppositories. The difference was not significant. Mean elimination half-life was 4.4 +/- 0.42 hours and 3.73 +/- 0.28 hours, respectively. Again, the difference was not significant, indicating that the absorption characteristics for the suppositories did not appear to deteriorate with ageing for 24 months. Bioavailability data for paracetamol derived from the results were similar to those reported by other workers who studied suppositories containing paracetamol as the only active ingredient. This indicates that the inclusion of codeine phosphate and buclizine hydrochloride in the suppository formulation investigated in the present study did not affect adversely the absorption of paracetamol.

Acetaminophen↗
PubMed1985

Serum aldosterone and protein-binding variables in Yanomama Indians: a no-salt culture as compared to partially acculturated Guaymi Indians.

Yanomama Indians from the jungles of southern Venezuela and northern Brazil excreted 1 +/- 1.5 mEq of Na and 203 +/- 109 mEq of K and had low blood pressure (BP), 102/62 mm Hg). In comparison, Guaymi Indians of Panama excreted 103 +/- 50 mEq of Na and 118 +/- 52 mEq of K and had significantly higher BP (114/75 mm Hg, p less than 0.001). Elucidating the renin-aldosterone axis, total upright serum aldosterone in 34 Yanomama was high (85.6 +/- 78 ng/100 ml). The binding capacities of thermolabile (ABG) and thermostable (ABG-Ts) serum globulins for aldosterone were elevated at 23.8 +/- 6 and 14.9 +/- 2.6%, respectively; consequently, total ABG- plus ABG-Ts- bound aldosterone was as high as 38.6 +/- 6.3%. Plasma renin activity (PRA 10.3 +/- 2.4 ng/ml/h) and urinary aldosterone 18-glucuronide (70.3 +/- 30 micrograms/24 h) in 17 Yanomama were also very high. In contrast, total serum corticosteroids and corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG) binding capacity were normal, suggesting normal ACTH activity. PRA correlated positively with total (r = 0.47, p less than 0.05) and free (r = 0.47, p less than 0.05) serum aldosterone, which in turn showed a negative trend with Na (r = 0.33, NS) excretion. The effect of high dietary K appeared less important to aldosterone stimulation and PRA suppression. ABG-bound aldosterone (r = 0.43, p less than 0.01) as well as ABG-Ts (r = 0.56, p less than 0.05) were negatively correlated with diastolic but not systolic BP. The total ABG- and ABG-Ts-bound fraction correlated with diastolic BP (r = 0.43, p less than 0.05) in contrast to the free fraction (r = 0.08, NS) or total aldosterone (r = -0.09). Apparently, only bound serum aldosterone is important for the maintenance of diastolic BP. High serum aldosterone, with elevated excretion, indicates an increased secretion rate; increased serum protein binding suggests an increased tissular activity and alterations in aldosterone metabolism. In Guaymi Indians both total plasma aldosterone (14.5 +/- 65 ng/100 ml) and urinary aldosterone (8.1 +/- 4.8 micrograms/creatinine excretion) were normal. ABG-binding capacity for aldosterone was moderately elevated (17.8 +/- 4.8) and of ABG-Ts normal (10.2 +/- 1.2) suggesting a nearly normal aldosterone metabolism and regulation. The BP of Guaymi was significantly higher than that of the Yanomama.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal vulvovaginitis: a recurring problem.

Differential diagnosis of purulent vulvovaginitis in prepubertal girls should include infection caused by group A beta-hemolytic streptococci. Cultures should be obtained not only for N. gonorrhoeae but also for respiratory and skin pathogens such as streptococci. While a specific diagnosis of group A streptococcal vulvovaginitis does not exclude child abuse or a vaginal foreign body, the child's symptoms and parental anxiety and concern can usually be rapidly alleviated with oral antibiotics effective against streptococci. Further investigation beyond culturing and treatment with antibiotics can be reserved for cases where history, physical findings, and response to therapy indicate such a need.

Child↗
PubMed1982

Glucose tolerance in two unacculturated Indian tribes of Brazil.

Plasma levels of glucose, insulin, growth hormone, and pancreatic polypeptide in response to a standard oral glucose load were studied in the Yanomama and the Marubo, two relatively unacculturated Amerindian tribes of the Brazilian Amazon. The findings in the two tribes differed significantly from each other and in the degree of deviation from control subjects. The average responses in both tribes differed significantly from those of age- and sex-matched Caucasoid control subjects studied in Ann Arbor, Michigan; however, of the two tribes, the Marubo, the more acculturated group, resembled the controls more closely. Plasma concentrations of glucose and the hormones at three time points (fasting, 1 h, 2 h) were compared by means of a multivariate analysis. When the Marubo were compared with the control subjects, the only highly significant difference was in the plasma glucose concentrations (all three points were higher in the Marubo); however, the Yanomama differed significantly from the control subjects with respect to all four plasma indicators (p less than 0.05). Unlike the Marubo, the Yanomama showed no significant rise in plasma glucose at 1 h and no decrease at 2 h. Neither tribe exhibited the bimodality of the 2 h glucose value characteristic of acculturated Amerindians, such as the Pima, but the samples studied were small.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Hormonal adaptation to the stresses imposed upon sodium balance by pregnancy and lactation in the Yanomama Indians, a culture without salt.

The Yanomama Indians of northern Brazil and southern Venezuela have been identified as a "no-salt" culture. In this study, data were obtained to determine in this population the adjustments of sodium-related hormones to the stresses imposed upon sodium balance by pregnancy and prolonged lactation. Controls against the possibility that findings in the Yanomama were ethnic rather than dietary were provided by similar observations in the Guaymi Indians of Panama, who have free access to salt. Urinary concentrations of sodium were approximately 1 mEq/l in male and female Yanomama, with 24-hour excretion rates in the males averaging 1 mEq, similar to our prior observation. The pregnant Yanomama had exceeding high urinary concentrations of aldosterone. These were associated with higher plasma renin activities and serum aldosterone concentrations than in all other subjects. Although pregnant Guaymi had elevations of serum and urinary aldosterone, these were significantly lower (p < 0.001) than those of the Yanomama. Prolonged lactation in the Yanomama was associated with elevation of plasma renin activity and serum and urinary aldosterone concentration compared with the Guaymi, but were not higher than those in nonlactating Yanomama females. The findings suggest that pregnancy in a salt-poor environment is associated with an exaggerated augmentation of hormonal responses that enhance positive sodium balance.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Genetic studies on the Ticuna, an enigmatic tribe of Central Amazonas.

The Ticuna are an Amerindian tribe of Central Amazonas, a key location in theories of the peopling of eastern South America. The results of typing some 1760 members of the tribe with respect to 37 different genetic systems are reported, as are the results of HLA typings on a subsample of 129 persons. Salient findings include the following. (1) Except for a high frequency of LMs allele and an unusual combination of HLA allele frequencies, there are no notable findings with respect to the commonly studied polymorphic systems. A multivariate treatment of six of the most commonly studied genetic polymorphisms accords the Ticuna an 'average' position among Amerindian tribes. (2) There is much less intervillage heterogenicity than usually encountered in Amerindian tribes; this is attributed to recent high rates of intervillage migration due to religious developments. (3) A thus-far unique polymorphism of ACP1 was identified, the responsible allele having a frequency of 0.111. (4) In proportion to the size of the tribe, there was a relative paucity of 'private' genetic variants, the ACP1 allele being the only one. This discrepancy is attributed to a relatively recent numerical expansion of the tribe; effective population size over the past several thousand years is thought to have been well below what present numbers would suggest. (5) The thesis is again advanced that 'private variants' (alleles not occurring as polymorphisms of wide distribution) are more common in Amerindian than in Caucasian or Japanese populations.

Alleles↗
PubMed1977

Genetic studies of the Macushi and Wapishana Indians. II. Data on 12 genetic polymorphisms of the red cell and serum proteins: gene flor between the tribes.

Blood samples from 509 Macushi (3 villages) and 623 Wapishana (11 villages) of Northern Brasil and Southern Guyana have been analyzed with respect to the phenotype and gene frequencies at the following 12 polymorphic loci: ABO, Kell-Cellano, MNSs, Rh, P, Duffy, Kidd, Diego, Lewis, Group-specific component, and the immunoglobulin allotypes of the Gm and Inv systems. The data suggest that 5-6% of the Wapishana gene pool is derived from non-Indians but only 1-2% of the Macushi. Inter- and intratribal genetic distances between villages are calculated for these data in an effort to understand gene flow between the tribes and to account for the unusual distribution of a newly-discovered genetic polymorphism of erythrocyte esterase A thus far limited to these 2 tribes (Neel et al., 1977). The data are puzzling and consistent with the possibility that both the Carib-speaking Macushi and the Arawak-speaking Wapishana have derived the esterase A allele in question from some third group now extinct or thus far undiscovered. Intertribal genetic distances based on gene frequencies at 6 loci are derived for 20 Amerindian tribes (including these 2); the "central" position of these 2 tribes can in part be explained by the active migration matrix connecting them.

ABO Blood-Group System↗
PubMed1977

Genetic studies of the Macushi and Wapishana Indians. I. Rare genetic variants and a "private polymorphism' of esterase A.

Blood samples from 509 Macushi and 623 Wapishana Amerindians of of Northern Brazil and Southern Guyana have been analyzed with reference to the occurrence of rare variants and genetic polymorphisms of the following 25 systems: (i) Erythrocyte enzymes: acid phosphatase-1, adenosine deaminase, adenylate kinase-k, carbonic anhydrase-1, carbonic anhydrase-2, esterase A1,2,3, esterase D, galactose-1-phosphate uridyltransferase, isocitrate dehydrogenase, lactate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase, nucleoside phosphorylase, peptidase A, peptidase B, phosphoglucomutase 1, phosphoglucomutase 2, phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, phosphohexoseisomerase, triosephosphate isomerase and (ii) Serum proteins: albumin, ceruloplasmin, haptoglobin, hemoglobin A2 and transferrin. Fifteen different rare variants were detected, involving 11 of these systems. In addition, a previously undescribed variant of ESA 1,2,3 which achieves polymorphic proportions in both these tribes is described. Excluding this variant, the frequency of rare variants is 1.1/1000 in 12510 determinations in the Macushi and 4.7/1000 in 15396 determinations in the Wapishana. The ESA 1,2,3 polymorphism was not observed in 382 Makiritare, 232 Yanomama, 146 Piaroa, 404 Cayapo, 190 Kraho and 112 Moro. Irregularities in the intratribal distribution of this polymorphism in the Macushi and Wapishana render a decision as to the tribe of origin impossible at present. Gene frequencies are also given for previously described polymorphisms of 5 systems: haptoglobin, phosphoglucomutase 1, erythrocyte acid phosphatase, esterase D, and galactose-1-phosphate-uridyl-transferase.

Blood Proteins↗
PubMed1977

Widened sutures in childhood meningitis: unrecognized sign of an acute illness.

Disagreement exists over the time for sutural widening to occur with increased intracranial pressure in children. Twenty-four children ranging in age from 2 months to 4 years with acute meningitis had skull films upon admission to C. S. Mott Children's Hospital. Nine of the children had widened sutures on initial skull films. Sutural widening was documented as early as 2 days after onset of meningitis. Occasionally, skull films may help in the diagnosis of meningitis.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1975

Blood pressure, sodium intake, and sodium related hormones in the Yanomamo Indians, a "no-salt" culture.

The Yanomamo Indians are an unacculturated tribe inhabiting the tropical equatorial rain forest of northern Brazil and southern Venezuela who do not use salt in their diet. The group therefore presented an unusual opportunity to study the hormonal regulation of sodium metabolism in a culture with life-long extreme restriction of dietary sodium, with parallel observations on blood pressure. Blood pressures increased from the first to second decade but, in constrast to civilized populations, do not systematically increase during subsequent years of life. In twenty-four hour urine collections on adult male Indians, excretion of sodium averaged only 1 plus or minus 1.5 (SD) mEq. Simultaneous plasma renin activities were elevated and comparable to those of civilized subjects placed for brief periods on 10 mEq sodium diets. Similarly, excretion rates of aldosterone equaled those of acculturated subjects on low sodium diets. The findings suggest that the hormonal adjustments to life-long low sodium intakes are similar to those achieved in acute sodium restriction of civilized man. Parenthetically, these elevated levels of aldosterone and renin were probably the norm for man during much of human evolution and suggest that the values observed in civilized controls are depressed by an excessive salt intake in contemporary diets.

Adult↗
PubMed1971

Characteristics of Escherichia coli serotypes in the yanomama, a primitive indian tribe of South America.

From stool samples of isolated subjects from members of the Yanomama tribe of South America, 432 isolates of Escherichia coli were obtained from 72 individuals. Two hundred and four of these strains were typable with a standard panel of 147 O antisera; included in the above were eight enteropathogenic strains. From the untypable strains, antisera were produced, and 13 serologically distinct O serotypes were identified. These data substantiate the ubiquity of known strains of E. coli as microhabitants of man's internal environment. The finding of 13 new O serotypes suggests that, in efforts to understand the ecosystem of primitive man, the internal milieu must also be investigated.

Ampicillin↗