Subject(s)
Musculoskeletal Diseases/therapy , Referral and Consultation/standards , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , England , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Outpatient Clinics, Hospital/organization & administration , Practice Guidelines as Topic , State Medicine/organization & administrationABSTRACT
Plasma concentrations of [met]enkephalin (ME) and beta-endorphin (beta E) were measured in samples obtained immediately before and after physiotherapeutic exercises for patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), osteoarthritis (OA), or knee injuries. Correlations were sought between opioid peptide concentrations or changes therein, and nature, severity and duration of disease, age, severity of pain reported and pain threshold. No correlation was found with any of the pain parameters. However, there was a possible relationship between age or duration of disease and changes in ME concentrations.
Subject(s)
Arthritis/therapy , Endorphins/blood , Enkephalin, Methionine/blood , Exercise Therapy , Pain Management , Adult , Aged , Arthritis/blood , Chronic Disease , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Pain/blood , beta-EndorphinABSTRACT
The serum uric acid level of 30 patients with a rupture of the Achilles tendon was compared with that of 30 healthy control subjects matched for age and sex. In patients with a ruptured Achilles tendon the serum uric acid level was significantly higher than in the control subjects. This finding was not dependent on sex or race. It is possible that hyperuricaemia is a contributing factor in rupture of the Achilles tendon and warrants further study. It is suggested that this finding might be related to an adverse effect on the tendon's nutrition.
Subject(s)
Achilles Tendon/injuries , Uric Acid/blood , Adult , Europe/ethnology , Female , Humans , Male , New Zealand , Polynesia/ethnology , Rupture, SpontaneousABSTRACT
The tape-measure is frequently used by the medical profession to assess muscle function following injury. It is assumed that increasing limb girth is reflected by increasing muscle power and strength; but this assumption is empirical and may not in practice be justified. The relationship between thigh circumference and muscle strength and power, measured as the torque produced on an isokinetic dynamometer, was assessed in 64 subjects--24 non-injured sportsmen and 40 injured sportsmen. The correlation between the torque produced at the knee by the knee extensors and flexors and the thigh circumference at three levels was not significant in either group. Comparison of the injured with the non-injured limb also failed to show any correlation. By contrast, in eight subjects, repeated measurements over a six to eight month period showed a significant relationship between change in thigh circumference and change in quadriceps power. It is concluded that a single measurement of circumference at the same point in both thighs of a subject with unilateral injury should not be used as an assessment of muscle function. Serial measurements, however, at the 4 and 10 cm levels may be of value as an index of quadriceps power. Reasons for this are discussed.
Subject(s)
Muscles/physiology , Thigh/physiology , Adolescent , Adult , Humans , Knee/physiology , Knee Injuries , Male , Muscle ContractionABSTRACT
A new cytochemical technique, sensitive to altered lysosomal membrane permeability of blood neutrophils, has been evaluated as a screening test for bacterial infection. This technique, for the lysosomal enzymes acid phosphatase and chloroacetate esterase, was compared with the neutrophil alkaline phosphatase and nitroblue tetrazolium tests. The mean score for each method was significantly higher in infected patients than in normal controls. There was, however, considerable overlap of individual scores between infected patients and ill, but uninfected, patients. This overlap limits the diagnostic value of existing cytochemical screening methods.
Subject(s)
Bacterial Infections/blood , Neutrophils/enzymology , Acid Phosphatase/blood , Alkaline Phosphatase/blood , Esterases/blood , Humans , Lysosomes/enzymology , Nitroblue Tetrazolium/metabolismABSTRACT
A case is reported in which a leiomyoma of the jejunum was diagnosed by mesenteric angiography after two negative barium meal examinations. The tumour was resected and recovery was uneventful.
Subject(s)
Intestinal Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Intestine, Small , Leiomyoma/diagnostic imaging , Mesenteric Arteries/diagnostic imaging , Adult , Female , Humans , Intestinal Neoplasms/surgery , Leiomyoma/surgery , RadiographyABSTRACT
In decerebrate unanaesthetised cats the cardiovascular effects of raising the pressure in a blind sac preparation of a carotid sinus on one side were examined at rest and during sustained contractions of hind-limb muscles. During a tetanic contraction the absolute value of the blood pressure and heart-rate components of the baroreceptor reflex response were not significantly changed from those at rest. The curve relating heart-rate and mean blood pressure, during carotid sinus distension, was similar at rest and when the muscles of the hind-limb were contracting tetanically, although each value of heart-rate was greater, suggesting a resetting of the baroreceptor reflex. By contrast, in the same experiments, suppression of the baroreceptor reflex changes in heart-rate and blood pressure could be demonstrated during the increases of blood pressure and heart-rate elicited by the afferent discharge from muscles during sustained contraction are buffered to some extent by the baroreceptors, though their inhibitoru effect is incomplete under these conditions.
