Abstract The tension between the increasing cost of healthcare provision and the need to provide a quality level of care to a rising number of people is a global phenomenon. A focus on one over the other could result in a rise in adverse patient outcomes, or a health system too costly to be sustainable. Clinical governance is an approach policymakers can use to walk the middle line of creating a healthcare service that meets quality of care standards in a cost-effective manner, as has been d...
Abstract The present study aimed to accelerate and improve accuracy of ɣ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutathione (GSH) quantification. These metabolites, present at low concentrations in the brain, are challenging to detect using MR spectroscopy due to the fact that their resonance frequencies overlap with those of other more abundant metabolites. The advanced spectral editing techniques involving J-difference editing that are required to resolve the overlapping signals of these low concen...
List of abbreviations ......................................................................................................................................... 5 List of figures ................................................................................................................................................... 7 List of tables .................................................................................................................................................... 7 Sum...
ABSTRACT Introduction Paediatric Intensive Care has developed rapidly in recent years with a dramatic increase in survival rates. However, there are increasing concerns regarding the impact that admission to a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) has on both the child and their family. Following discharge from PICU, children may be living with complex medical problems as well as dealing with the psychosocial impact that their illness has had on them and their family. Objectives To describ...
Table of Contents ! Declaration!............................................................................................................................................................!I! ! Acknowledgements!.......................................................................................................................................!III! ! Summary!..........................................................................................................................................
ABSTRACT Variegate porphyria (VP) is the clinical disorder associated with. a deficiency of the haemsynthesising enzyme protoporphyrinogen oxidase of the commonest monogenic inherited disorders in South Africa. The chmcal effects mclu~e p~otocutaneous sensitivity and the development of potentially life-threatening ~cute porp?ync cnses. . . Section 1 of this dissertation examines the molecular basIS for VP m South Africa. It IS shown to be a genetically heterogeneous disorder. The identificat...
ABSTRACT Two-dimensional X-ray imaging is the dominant imaging modality in low-resource countries despite the existence of three-dimensional (3D) imaging modalities. This is because fewer hospitals in low-resource countries can afford the 3D imaging systems as their acquisition and operation costs are higher. However, 3D images are desirable in a range of clinical applications, for example surgical planning. The aim of this research was to develop a tool for 3D approximation of scapula bone f...
Abstract Background: Heart failure (HF) is one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality both in the developed and the developing nations. Acute heart failure (AHF) is a syndrome characterized by hospital admission for heart failure as defined by the presence of acute dyspnea and the presence of heart failure signs by physical examination with at least 2 of the following: rales, edema, elevated JVP, hepatomegaly and ascites. AHF can occur de novo or as worsening of symptoms in...
Abstract The study comprises of two sections; i) a survey to determine the attitude towards fitness training for rugby and the current fitness training habits of elite high school rugby players in their penultimate year at school, ii) a training study on a sample of the same population group, to measure the effect of a 12 week fitness training programme, based on scientific principles, on anthropometric, physiological and performance variables. The training study also measured the efficacy o...
Abstract Prevalence of and risk factors for falls in older people in an urban community in South Africa Sebastiana Zimba Kalula February 2012 Background. Falls are a major cause of disability and mortality in older people. Little is known of the extent and gravity of the problem in South Africa. Methods. A cross-sectional study with a 12-months follow-up was conducted on 837 randomly sampled, ambulant community-dwelling subjects aged ≥ 65 years to determine the prevalence and incidence o...
Abstract The first aim of this dissertation was to monitor both rat and human responses to short-term perturbations in energy balance brought about through food energy restriction and refeeding, exercise training and the cessation of exercise training or surgical lipectomy. The second aim of this dissertation was to identify factors which might explain differences in food energy intake in weight-matched, weight-stable "large and small eaters". The final aim of this dissertation was to identi...
ABSTRACT THESIS TITLE: Studies of the excretion of aluminium by the kidney and the toxic effects of the element on DNA. CANDIDATE: Felix Salvador Emilio Monteagudo, c/o Department of Pharmacology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town. February, 1991. Aluminium is an element of increasing clinical importance. It not only has uses as a medicinal substance but also in recent years it has been shown to be the cause of considerable toxicity, particularly in the setting of chronic renal failure. Dis...
Table of Contents Declaration Acknowledgements Summary Table of Contents Glossary of molecular Biology Terms Abbreviations List of Figures and Tables Chapter 1: Introduction A. BACKGROUND 1.1 Heart Disease: global and local burden B. DEFINITIONS 1.2 Ischemia 1.2.1 Ischemia and Infarction 1.2.2 Ischemic Damage iI 1 4 8 11 13 17 18 18 20 20 21 1.2.3 Reperfusion Injury 22 1.2.4 IschemiaJReperfusion vs Hypoxia/reoxygenation 23 1.3 Preconditioning Stimuli 1.3.1 Ischemic preconditioning 1.3.2 Pharm...
ABSTRACT It is a recognized fact that most well defined population groups have their own typical pattern of inherited disorders. The genetic conditions most commonly found in Greek persons are the thalassaemias, glucose-6-dehydrogenase (G-6-PD) deficiency and, to a lesser extent, certain of the haemoglobinopathies. The clinical and socio-economic consequences of these disorders are significant. In the homozygous state, alpha-thalassaemia is incompatible with life, while thalassaemia major (ho...