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Biomedical subjects

A O Varma

Publications and source records attributed to A O Varma.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Breast cancer risk and oral contraceptive use: results from a large case-control study.

The association between oral contraceptive use and breast cancer risk was examined using data from a case-control study of breast cancer in Long Island, New York. Cases were defined as female residents of Nassau and Suffolk Counties between the ages of 20 and 79, diagnosed with breast cancer between January 1, 1984 and December 31, 1986. Age- and county-matched controls were selected from driver's license files. Among all women under age 70 at diagnosis, there was no association between oral contraceptive use and breast cancer; there was, however, a positive association in the subgroup ages 20-49 (adjusted odds ratio = 1.68, 95% CI: 1.16-2.42). Risk increased with increasing duration of use, but did not differ between women who first used oral contraceptives before the first pregnancy and those who first used them later, or between women who first used oral contraceptives before age 25 and those who first used them at a later age. Risk also appeared to increase with number of years of use before the first pregnancy or before age 25, although numbers were small. History of benign breast disease did not influence risk. The association of breast cancer risk with oral contraceptive use appeared stronger in women from Suffolk County than Nassau County.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Longitudinal study of the caries susceptibility of occlusal and proximal surfaces of first permanent molars.

Ten- to 13-year-old children were examined annually for three years to determine the caries activity in the proximal and occlusal surfaces of first permanent molars. Almost every tooth with an unsound (carious or filled) proximal surface also had an unsound occlusal surface. Caries scores in proximal surfaces remained relatively constant and low. The percentage of teeth with occlusal caries or fillings increased throughout the study, even though the teeth had been erupted for seven to ten years by the end of the study. Within the age range studied, the time that teeth were in the mouth had little effect on the vulnerability of occlusal surfaces to caries attack.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Radiographic measures of hyperinflation in clinical emphysema. Discrimination of patients from controls and relationship to physiologic and mechanical lung function.

In a retrospective study we investigated the accuracy of radiographic measurements of hyperinflation in distinguishing a sample of patients with a clinical diagnosis of pulmonary emphysema (n = 44) from a sample of age- and sex-matched control subjects (n = 39). The relationship of the hyperinflation parameters to pulmonary function test results (PFTs) and arterial blood gas measurements (ABGs) in the emphysema patients was also examined. The radiographic measurements were diaphragmatic angle of depression, lung height, lung width, heart size, diaphragm level, radiographic total lung capacity (TLC), and size of the retrosternal air space. By discriminant function analysis, the best contributors to the function were lung height and diaphragmatic angle of depression, followed by radiographic TLC and heart size. The derived classification rule had a diagnostic accuracy of 88 percent. The radiographic measures, largely independent of one another, showed moderate correlations with percentage PFTs, ABGs, portable percentage spirometric studies, height, and weight. High correlations were found between several of the radiographic measurements and the PFTs that represent actual static lung volumes. The correlation between radiographically measured TLC and PFT TLC measured by the helium dilution technique was .90.

Female↗
PubMed1987

Tumor-associated antigens in bilateral breast cancer.

The purpose of our present study is to determine whether monoclonal antibodies can define an antigenic phenotype which expresses itself in a concordant fashion in synchronous bilateral breast cancer. The monoclonal antibodies DF.3 and B72.3 were reacted (ABC immunoperoxidase) with formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections of bilateral synchronous breast cancers from 19 patients. MAb DF.3 demonstrated a P less than .01 correlation of right-sided vs left-sided reactivity. This suggested that MAb DF.3 could be used as a biologic marker for synchronous bilateral breast cancer. We hypothesized that the majority of clinically asynchronous breast cancers are really biologically synchronous. We used the immunoperoxidase technique in a similar fashion on bilateral metachronous tumors in 17 patients. DF.3 antigen expression correlated (right to left side) at P less than .01 value. This data, supported by previous information, suggests that the term "metachronous" breast cancer is a clinically arbitrary definition but that biologically most "metachronous" cancers may well be synchronous.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMed1979

Immunologic and coagulation disorders in chlorpromazine-treated patients.

The prevalence of immunologic and coagulation disorders in 75 schizophrenic patients treated with chlorpromazine or other antipsychotic drugs was evaluated. Four groups were studied: Group A, chlorpromazine treatment for more than 2 1/2 years; Group B, chlorpromazine and other antipsychotic drug treatment for more than 2 1/2 years; Group C, chlorpromazine treatment for less than 2 1/2 years; Group D, no chlorpromazine, but other antipsychotic drug treatment. Significant elevation of serum IgM and prolongation of partial thromboplastin time were noted in patients who had long-term chlorpromazine treatment. The latter was caused by a circulating inhibitor resembling that seen with systemic lupus erythematosus. There was a significant correlation between the IgM level versus chlorpromazine dose or duration of treatment and the partial thromboplastin time versus chlorpromazine dose or duration of treatment. In Groups A and B, 63% had a positive antinuclear antibody test (greater than or equal to 1:80), 40% had antibodies to native DNA, and 58% had antibodies to nucleoprotein. These antibodies were negative in the other groups. The percentages of T lymphocytes were below normal in 13 of 41 patients treated with chlopromazine. Twenty of 42 patients in Groups A and B, and none of 28 in Groups C and D had splenomegaly. This study indicates that most patients on long-term chlorpromazine treatment develop one or more immunologic abnormalities.

Adult↗