Home About us Contact | |||
Serious Public Health Problem (serious + public_health_problem)
Selected AbstractsAnxiety disorders and risk for suicide attempts: findings from the Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment area follow-up study,DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, Issue 6 2008James M. Bolton M.D. Abstract Our objective was to determine whether the presence of an anxiety disorder was a risk factor for future suicide attempts. Data were drawn from the 13-year follow-up Baltimore Epidemiological Catchment Area survey (n=1,920). Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to determine the association between baseline anxiety disorders (social phobia, simple phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic attacks, or agoraphobia) and subsequent onset suicide attempts. The presence of one or more anxiety disorders at baseline was significantly associated with subsequent onset suicide attempts (adjusted odds ratio 2.20, 95% confidence interval 1.04,4.64) after controlling for sociodemographic variables and all baseline mental disorders assessed in the survey. These findings suggest that anxiety disorders are independent risk factors for suicide attempts, and underscore the importance of anxiety disorders as a serious public health problem. Depression and Anxiety 0:1,5, 2007. Published 2007 Wiley-Liss. [source] Chronic Intermittent Ethanol Exposure During Adolescence Blocks Ethanol-Induced Inhibition of Spontaneously Active Hippocampal Pyramidal NeuronsALCOHOLISM, Issue 1 2006Sayaka Tokunaga Background: Binge alcohol drinking among adolescents has been a serious public health problem. A model of binge alcohol, chronic intermittent ethanol exposure (CIEE), during adolescence significantly attenuates ethanol-induced spatial memory deficits in rats. However, the attenuation was absent following a 12-day ethanol-free period. Since spatial memory is hippocampal dependent, a reduction in ethanol-induced spatial memory impairments may be due to a reduction in the ability of ethanol to inhibit the firing rate of single hippocampal pyramidal neurons following CIEE. Methods: Beginning on postnatal day 30 (P30), male adolescent Sprague-Dawley rats (Harlan) were administered 5.0 g/kg ethanol (n=10, CIEE-treated group) or an equivolume saline (n=10, CISE-treated group) every 48 hours for 20 days. Single hippocampal pyramidal neurons from 5 CIEE-treated rats and 5 CISE-treated rats were recorded on the day following completion of the chronic intermittent exposure procedure (animals now P50). Additionally, neurons from 5 CIEE-treated rats and 5 CISE-treated rats were recorded 12 days after the completion of the chronic intermittent exposure procedure (animals now P62). Results: Ethanol exposure during adolescence completely blocked ethanol-induced inhibition of hippocampal pyramidal neurons in rats that were CIEE exposed. However, the effect of CIEE on hippocampal neurophysiology was time dependent. Specifically, neurons recorded from CIEE-treated rats after a 12-day ethanol-free period had similar maximal inhibition as neurons from CISE-treated animals, although the time to reach inhibition was significantly greater in neurons from CIEE-treated rats. Conclusion: Chronic ethanol exposure during adolescence produces a reduction, or tolerance, to ethanol-induced inhibition of hippocampal pyramidal neural activity. Although the tolerance was greatly reversed after a 12-day ethanol-free period, neurons from CIEE animals inhibited slower than neurons from CISE animals. Since the hippocampus is known to be involved not only in spatial memory, but also in many other types of memory formation, the altered hippocampal functions because of CIEE during adolescence should be taken as a serious warning for society. [source] Vitamin A: Is It a Risk Factor for Osteoporosis and Bone Fracture?NUTRITION REVIEWS, Issue 10 2007Judy D. Ribaya-Mercado ScD Results from observational studies of the association between vitamin A intake or serum concentration and bone mineral density or fracture are mixed. The inconsistencies may be due, in part, to difficulties in obtaining an accurate assessment of vitamin A intake or status. Serum retinol is a poor measure of vitamin A status because it is subject to homeostatic control. Stable-isotope-dilution methodology gives a validated assessment of the total-body and liver vitamin A stores and is recommended in future studies on vitamin A status and osteoporosis. The potential for exacerbating an already serious public health problem with intakes of vitamin A currently considered safe indicates further research into this matter is warranted. [source] The epidemiology of tongue cancer: a review of global incidenceORAL DISEASES, Issue 2 2000SR Moore The tongue (141 ICD-9) is the most common intraoral site for cancer in most countries, however its global epidemiology shows significant geographic variation. This review paper summarises the global incidence of cancer of the tongue using cancer maps and references to recent studies from various locations. Tongue cancer remains a serious health problem in many countries including India (male incidence rates up to 6.5 per 100 000 per annum) and parts of Europe (male incidence rates in France up to 8.0 per 100 000 per annum). It is noted that as with other forms of oral cancer the majority of population-based data for tongue cancer comes from the Western world with a paucity of reliable data from the so-called developing countries. The tongue remains the most common intraoral site for oral cancer worldwide and in a number of countries it is a serious public health problem with significant morbidity and mortality. While the incidence of tongue cancer appears to be stable or falling in some regions of the world, in other areas it is rising, particularly among younger people. [source] Implant Experience with an Implantable Hemodynamic Monitor for the Management of Symptomatic Heart FailurePACING AND CLINICAL ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY, Issue 8 2005DAVID STEINHAUS Introduction: Management of congestive heart failure is a serious public health problem. The use of implantable hemodynamic monitors (IHMs) may assist in this management by providing continuous ambulatory filling pressure status for optimal volume management. Methods and Results: The Chronicle® system includes an implanted monitor, a pressure sensor lead with passive fixation, an external pressure reference (EPR), and data retrieval and viewing components. The tip of the lead is placed near the right ventricular outflow tract to minimize risk of sensor tissue encapsulation. Implant technique and lead placement is similar to that of a permanent pacemaker. After the system had been successfully implanted in 148 patients, the type and frequency of implant-related adverse events were similar to a single-chamber pacemaker implant. R-wave amplitude was 15.2 ± 6.7 mV and the pressure waveform signal was acceptable in all but two patients in whom presence of artifacts required lead repositioning. Implant procedure time was not influenced by experience, remaining constant throughout the study. Conclusion: Based on this evaluation, permanent placement of an IHM in symptomatic heart failure patients is technically feasible. Further investigation is warranted to evaluate the use of the continuous hemodynamic data in management of heart failure patients. [source] The secreted and surface proteomes of the adult stage of the carcinogenic human liver fluke Opisthorchis viverriniPROTEINS: STRUCTURE, FUNCTION AND BIOINFORMATICS, Issue 5 2010Jason Mulvenna Abstract Infection with the human liver fluke, Opisthorchis viverrini, is a serious public health problem in Thailand, Laos and nearby locations in Southeast Asia. Both experimental and epidemiological evidence strongly implicate liver fluke infection in the etiology of one of the liver cancer subtypes, cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). To identify parasite proteins critical for liver fluke survival and the etiology of CCA, OFFGEL electrophoresis and multiple reaction monitoring were employed to characterize 300 parasite proteins from the O. viverrini excretory/secretory products and, utilizing selective labeling and sequential solubilization, from the host-exposed tegument. The excretory/secretory included a complex mixture of proteins that have been associated with cancers, including proteases of different mechanistic classes and orthologues of mammalian growth factors and anti-apoptotic proteins. Also identified was a cysteine protease inhibitor which, in other helminth pathogens, induces nitric oxide production by macrophages, and, hence may contribute to malignant transformation of inflamed cells. More than 160 tegumental proteins were identified using sequential solubilization of isolated teguments, and a subset of these was localized to the surface membrane of the tegument by labeling living flukes with biotin and confirming surface localization with fluorescence microscopy. These included annexins, which are potential immuno-modulators, and orthologues of the schistosomiasis vaccine antigens Sm29 and tetraspanin-2. Novel roles in pathogenesis were suggested for the tegument,host interface since more than ten surface proteins had no homologues in the public databases. The O. viverrini proteins identified here provide an extensive catalogue of novel leads for research on the pathogenesis of opisthorchiasis and the development of novel interventions for this disease and CCA, as well as providing a scaffold for sequencing the genome of this fluke. [source] Structure of ristocetin A in complex with a bacterial cell-wall mimeticACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D, Issue 8 2009Virginie Nahoum Antimicrobial drug resistance is a serious public health problem and the development of new antibiotics has become an important priority. Ristocetin A is a class III glycopeptide antibiotic that is used in the diagnosis of von Willebrand disease and which has served as a lead compound for the development of new antimicrobial therapeutics. The 1.0,Å resolution crystal structure of the complex between ristocetin A and a bacterial cell-wall peptide has been determined. As is observed for most other glycopeptide antibiotics, it is shown that ristocetin A forms a back-to-back dimer containing concave binding pockets that recognize the cell-wall peptide. A comparison of the structure of ristocetin A with those of class I glycopeptide antibiotics such as vancomycin and balhimycin identifies differences in the details of dimerization and ligand binding. The structure of the ligand-binding site reveals a likely explanation for ristocetin A's unique anticooperativity between dimerization and ligand binding. [source] Prevalence and causes of visual impairment in a rural North-east China adult population: a population-based survey in Bin County, HarbinACTA OPHTHALMOLOGICA, Issue 6 2010Wulian Song Acta Ophthalmol. 2010: 88: 669,674 Abstract. Purpose:, To investigate the prevalence and causes of visual impairment in a rural population in north-east China. Methods:, A population-based study was conducted within Bin County, Harbin of north-east China. Low vision and blindness were defined using the World Health Organization categories of visual impairment. The prevalence of visual impairment was estimated, and causes were identified based on best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) as well as presenting visual acuity (VA). Results:, Out of 5764 people, 4956 (86.01%) aged older than 40 participated in the study. The prevalence of visual impairment, low vision and blindness based on presenting VA was 9.6% (BCVA, 6.6%), 7.7% (BCVA, 4.9%) and 1.9% (BCVA, 1.7%), respectively. Taking the presenting VA, cataract (44%) was the most common cause for visual impairment followed by uncorrected refractive error (24%), treatable causes of visual impairment accounted for 68% of the total cases. Cataract (59%) and glaucoma (15%) were leading causes for blindness based on presenting VA. According to BCVA, cataract was the leading cause of visual impairment and blindness (58% and 60%, respectively), followed by glaucoma (17% and 15%, respectively). The prevalence of visual impairment was higher among women than men (p < 0.0001) and increasing with age (p < 0.0001) and decreasing with increasing education level (p = 0.0075). Conclusion:, Visual impairment was a serious public health problem in this rural population, with most of it easily remedied. Results highlighted the need for visual impairment prevention programs to an increasing number of elderly people, with a special emphasis on female and those with little or no education. [source] The economic burden of heart failureCLINICAL CARDIOLOGY, Issue S3 2000J. B. O'Connell M.D. Abstract Heart failure, a major cause of morbidity and mortality among the elderly, is a serious public health problem. As the population ages and the prevalence of heart failure increases, expenditures related to the care of these patients will climb dramatically. As a result, the health care industry must develop strategies to contain this staggering economic burden. Strategies may include adopting approaches for preventing heart failure and implementing new treatment modalities with proven efficacy into large-scale clinical practice. Successful implementation of these strategies will require intensive physician and patient education and development of innovative approaches to fund support services. [source] |