{"title":"Cloning, clones and clonal disease.","authors":"L Luzzatto","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In the past, cloning has been familiar to plant breeders because many plants can be easily reproduced in this way, bypassing the lengthy process of cross-fertilisation. Recently, the concept of cloning has become popular in human biology and medicine on two accounts. First, individual genes can be cloned from the enormous complexity of the DNA that makes up the human genetic material. It is expected that, within a few years, all the estimated 100,000 human genes will be isolated by this approach. This should make it possible to identify all the genes that determine the individual characteristics of human beings, including those responsible for causing human diseases or for making people more or less susceptible to pick up diseases from the environment. Cloned genes made into pharmaceutical products are already in use for treating a variety of diseases, from hormonal deficiencies to certain types of anaemia.</p>","PeriodicalId":76057,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of London","volume":"34 5","pages":"461-3"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2000-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/79/7d/jrcollphyslond146954-0053.PMC9665500.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"21902960","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The prospects for specialist registrars.","authors":"N Dudley","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":76057,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of London","volume":"34 5","pages":"500-1"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2000-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/38/49/jrcollphyslond146954-0092.PMC9665526.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"21902967","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Physician, govern thyself?","authors":"O Segal","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":76057,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of London","volume":"34 5","pages":"492-3"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2000-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/2f/8f/jrcollphyslond146954-0084.PMC9665501.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"21902968","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Presentation and clinical features of severe sepsis.","authors":"J Green, W A Lynn","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":76057,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of London","volume":"34 5","pages":"418-23"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2000-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/23/44/jrcollphyslond146954-0010.PMC9665517.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"21903076","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M J Smith, P Cherian, G S Raju, B F Dawson, S Mahon, K D Bardhan
{"title":"Bile acid malabsorption in persistent diarrhoea.","authors":"M J Smith, P Cherian, G S Raju, B F Dawson, S Mahon, K D Bardhan","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Unlabelled: </strong>We have investigated bile acid malabsorption (BAM), and its response to treatment, in patients seen in this district general hospital with chronic continuous or recurrent diarrhoea.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Seven-day retention of 75-SeHCAT was measured (normal: > 10%).</p><p><strong>Treatment: </strong>Patients were initially given conventional therapy (prednisolone +/- ASA drugs in Crohn's disease, and antidiarrhoeals in the others). If this therapy failed, bile acid sequestrants (BAS) were prescribed. The definition of successful response was based on the patient's perception of sustained improvement.</p><p><strong>Patients: </strong>The 304 patients were categorised as follows: Group 1: Crohn's disease patients with ileal resection, in clinical remission (n = 37). Group 2: Crohn's disease, unoperated and in clinical remission (n = 44). Group 3: vagotomy and pyloroplasty, with/without cholecystectomy (n = 26). Group 4: diarrhoea predominant 'irritable bowel syndrome' (IBS) (n = 197).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>BAM was found in 97% (36/37), 54% (24/44) and 58% (15/26) of patients in groups 1, 2 and 3 respectively. One third (65/197) of patients with IBS had BAM. The outcome of treatment was available in 96 patients with BAM: of the patients with ileal resection 32% responded to antidiarrhoeals, 60% to BAS. Of the unoperated Crohn's patients 55% responded to disease-specific therapy, 40% to BAS. Of the gastric surgery patients 18% responded to conventional treatment, 64% to BAS. Of the IBS patients 15% of responded to conventional therapy, 70% to BAS.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This observational study indicates that BAM is common in patients with chronic diarrhoea, and is frequently found in IBS. The results of open treatment suggest that, where antidiarrhoeal drugs fail in such patients, BAS are often effective.</p>","PeriodicalId":76057,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of London","volume":"34 5","pages":"448-51"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2000-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/76/42/jrcollphyslond146954-0040.PMC9665518.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"21903081","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Over-the-counter medicines and the elderly.","authors":"N L Barnett, M J Denham, S A Francis","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Sales of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines are rising, and will continue to rise as more products are reclassified from prescription-only status to OTC medicines (either pharmacy-only or general sales list). Patients and doctors often omit discussion of OTC medicines when giving or taking a medication history. This has serious potential for identifying adverse drug reactions and drug-drug interactions, which are more common in older people. Therefore, medication histories should include documentation of any OTC medicines taken.</p>","PeriodicalId":76057,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of London","volume":"34 5","pages":"445-6"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2000-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/c0/1a/jrcollphyslond146954-0037.PMC9665493.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"21903083","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Current concepts in viral hepatitis.","authors":"J M Hoare, D M Forton","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":76057,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of London","volume":"34 5","pages":"481-4"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2000-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/43/11/jrcollphyslond146954-0073.PMC9665502.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"21902966","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The prospects for specialist registrars.","authors":"A S Mcintyre","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":76057,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of London","volume":"34 5","pages":"501"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2000-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/d9/f3/jrcollphyslond146954-0093a.PMC9665495.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"21902970","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"What is muscular dystrophy? Forty years of progressive ignorance.","authors":"V Dubowitz","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This lecture traces recent advances in knowledge of the muscular dystrophies, as well as their increasing complexity. They are described through the eyes of the author from his first exposure to and complete ignorance of the disease in the late 1950s, through the advent of modern techniques, to the molecular genetic revolution, with the recognition of individual genes and proteins for disorders within the muscular dystrophy umbrella. There initially seemed to be a logical sequence of linked membrane proteins from dystrophin in Duchenne and Becker dystrophy, through the dystrophin-associated glycoproteins (sarcoglycans) in some of the limb girdle muscular dystrophies (LGMD), to the extracellular matrix protein merosin (alpha-2 laminin) in congenital muscular dystrophy (CMD). The first spoke in the wheel came with the discovery of a calcium activated protease enzyme, calpain 3, in one form of LGMD, and subsequently another novel non-membrane protein, dysferlin, in another. There are currently at least eight distinct genetic forms of LGMD alone, and another eight separate genetic entities in the CMD group. This has highlighted our ignorance of the pathogenesis of the muscular dystrophies in relation to a diverse array of protein deficiencies. To compound things further, the X-linked and dominant forms of Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy have recently been linked to emerin and lamin A/C, respectively, two proteins of the nuclear membrane, opening up yet another new ballpark of discovery.</p>","PeriodicalId":76057,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of London","volume":"34 5","pages":"464-8"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2000-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/0f/9e/jrcollphyslond146954-0056.PMC9665519.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"21902963","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Bellmanism: the distortion of reason.","authors":"C L Berry","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Single-issue compound or class related anxieties about chemical exposures are often the focus of concern for groups that seek to affect the regulatory process itself or the regulatory status of compounds that have passed through it. A characteristic of these groups is an imperfect understanding and use of science, in particular in the evaluation of data. Studies which have been discredited are cited repeatedly and the role of confounding factors is not generally acknowledged. The regulation of medicines, devices, pesticides and some household chemicals depends on the use of a methodology that follows strict protocols. This involves testing in many systems including mammals, other vertebrates, invertebrates, soil macrobiota or ground water, as examples, with often well-defined schemes of interpretation which facilitate extrapolation between species. A complex risk evaluation will then be made for different groups (by age, sex, or occupation, say) or targets (patients, farmers, consumers and vulnerable non-human species). Focusing on an effect in a single group may suggest interventions which will be damaging for others.</p>","PeriodicalId":76057,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of London","volume":"34 5","pages":"486-91"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2000-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/00/8f/jrcollphyslond146954-0078.PMC9665508.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"21902969","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}