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Biomedical subjects

A G Dean

Publications and source records attributed to A G Dean.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1978

Epidemiological evidence for causal relationship between Epstein-Barr virus and Burkitt's lymphoma from Ugandan prospective study.

Results from a prospective sero-epidemiological study initiated in Uganda in 1971 indicate that children with high antibody titres to Epstein-Barr virus structural antigens are at high risk of developing Burkitt's lymphoma. These findings strongly support a causal relationship between the Epstein-Barr virus and Burkitt's lymphoma but suggest that the oncogenic potential of the virus is realised only in exceptional circumstances.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1978

An outbreak of histoplasmosis at an Arkansas courthouse with five cases of probable reinfection.

An outbreak of histoplasmosis occurred at a county courthouse in Arkansas in July, 1975. Fifty cases were identified by symptoms and positive complement fixation (CF) tests and 18 others by the clinical findings alone. Only three positive CF tests (greater than or equal to 1:8) were found in a control group of 55 unexposed persons of the same age. The attack rate for 84 courthouse employees was 52%. Histoplasma capsulatum was isolated from the sputum of two cases, and from bird droppings which had been dumped from the roof of the courthouse two weeks before the epidemic's peak. Window air conditioners apparently helped to distribute infectious particles throughout the building. Nine exposed people had pulmonary calcifications and a negative tuberculin test that were taken as presumptive evidence of previous histoplasmosis. Five (55%) of these became ill. Exposed persons without pulmonary calcifications had an attack rate of 85%. The reinfected cases during convalescence had higher serum CF titers but not larger histoplasmin skin test diameters than the rest of the cases. A microdroplet aerosol of cooking oil was used to simulate air flow patterns during the exposure, and the results agreed with the hypothesized means of infection.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

Elevated immunofluorescence antibody titers to several herpesviruses in Burkitt's lymphoma patients: are high titers unique?

Antibody titers for viral capsid antigens of all four human herpesviruses were measured by immunofluorescence in the sera of 16 Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) PATIENTS, 16 AGE-, SEX-, AND LOCALITY-MATCHED CONTROLS, AND 136 FAMILY MEMBERS FROM THE West Nile District of Uganda. Among family members, titers greater than 1:4 were found in 98% for herpes simplex virus (HSV), 86% for varicella-zoster virus (VZV), 100% FOR CYTOMEGALOVIRUS (CMV), AND 94% FOR Epstein-Barr (EBV). Titers in patients averaged approximately equal to 2 logs (fourfold) higher than those in matched controls for EBV, VZV, and CMV (P EQUALS 0.001); titers for HSV were only slightly higher in cancer patients. The mothers of patients had someuhat higher EBV titers (0.05 smaller than or equal to P SMALLER THAN OR EQUAL TO 0.01) than the mothers of controls, but no other differences between patient and control families were found. By immunofluorescence, a method which apparently has not been used for all four human herpesviruses in BL patients, the patients had elevated antibody titers not only to EBV but also to CMV and VZV. The elevated titers to three of the four human herpesviruses were not due to serologic cross reactions.

Antibodies, Viral↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Epi Info: a general-purpose microcomputer program for public health information systems.

Epi Info is a general-purpose set of computer programs for word processing, database management, statistics, and graphics developed over the past five years at the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization. The programs allow rapid questionnaire construction, data entry, and analysis during epidemic investigation. Both data entry and analysis can be programmed to provide customization and automatic operation for more permanent systems, such as those for disease or injury surveillance. Epi Info is in the public domain and copies may be freely distributed. It requires an IBM-compatible micro-computer with at least 512 kilobytes of memory. Translations into French and Spanish are in progress; a translation kit is available to facilitate translation into other languages.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Minnesota plan for nonsmoking and health: multidisciplinary approach to risk factor control.

In 1981, the Minnesota Department of Health began a long-term program to control risk factors for the major health problems of the State as determined by an expert committee. The methods chosen to initiate programs were social, economic, and epidemiologic background research and a multidisciplinary statewide planning process. Smoking was considered the most important problem. During 1983-84, department staff members analyzed the epidemiology and economics of smoking in Minnesota and reviewed the literature on methods of smoking control. They and a multidisciplinary technical committee prepared a coordinated plan to increase the prevalence of nonsmoking in Minnesota. The 39 recommendations address mass communication and marketing, educational programs in schools, public and private regulation, economic disincentives through taxation, and funding of programs and evaluation of results. The Minnesota Plan for Nonsmoking and Health was released in September 1984. During the first half year, the plan provided material for formation of a coalition of health organizations to promote nonsmoking. In June 1985, the Minnesota Legislature passed the Omnibus Nonsmoking and Disease Prevention Act, which provides $4 million over 2 years for promotion of nonsmoking through education, regulation, and public communications. These intervention activities will be funded by a portion of a 5-cent increase in cigarette excise tax. The foundations have been laid for what may be the most comprehensive statewide nonsmoking program in the United States.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Measuring loss of life, health, and income due to disease and injury: a method for combining morbidity, mortality, and direct medical cost into a single measure of disease impact.

The impact of disease on a population includes illness, death, and medical care cost. Information on all three may be combined in a disease impact scale. The disease impact for a given condition can be defined as the sum of (a) the years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000 population (adjusted to reflect causes of death up to age 100); (b) the person-years of complete disability per 100,000 population, and (c) the direct medical costs in years of average annual personal income per 100,000 population.The sum of (a), (b), and (c)-disease impact in person years per 100,000 population-can be used to compare one disease with another, to estimate the potential effect of programs for risk alteration, and to measure the outcome of planned or accidental changes in society. The data necessary to calculate disease impact are becoming available in many States.In Minnesota, the total disease impact in 1978 was approximately 26,000 person-years per 100,000 population per year. The disease catgories in the International Classification of Diseases, Adapted, Eighth Revision, with the highest disease impact in the State were circulatory diseases (23.7 percent), injury and poisoning (10.9 percent), respiratory system (9.3 percent), neoplasms (9.0 percent); musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (8.8 percent), digestive system diseases (7.5 percent), and nervous system and sense organ diseases (5.8 percent). Circulatory diseases ranked first in morbidity, mortality, and cost, but the rankings for several other categories varied according to the parameter being considered.Use of a disease impact scale such as the one developed in Minnesota avoids dependence on a single parameter such as mortality or cost in making program decisions. In contrast to economic analyses of disease impact, it does not require estimates of discount rates, future rates of inflation, or salaries for homemakers, students, and children. Although the results of present calculations are only approximate, they provide a methodological framework within which correctable deficiencies in data collection methods are readily apparent. The disease impact scale is intended to be a component of a comprehensive disease surveillance system that includes measures of disease impact, the prevalence of risk factors for diseases, and the availability of health resources.

Costs and Cost Analysis↗