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Biomedical subjects

D J Jenkins

Publications and source records attributed to D J Jenkins.

283 records · Page 16Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Echinococcus granulosus in wildlife in and around the Kosciuszko National Park, south-eastern Australia.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the distribution of Echinococcus granulosus in wild dogs and foxes and hydatidosis in wildlife coexisting with foxes and wild dogs in and around Kosciuszko National Park. DESIGN: Prospective and ad hoc surveys by necropsy of definitive and intermediate hosts. PROCEDURE: Wild dogs and foxes were trapped at one location in the Kosciuszko National Park and at 7 locations around the periphery of the Park. Feral pigs, macropodid marsupials, wombats, and feral goats were collected at some of the same locations. The animals were humanely killed, their small intestines removed in the field, the contents collected, preserved and examined microscopically. All internal organs of intermediate hosts were examined for hydatid cysts. Unidentified lesions were examined histologically. RESULTS: Echinococcus granulosus tapeworms were found in wild dogs from all locations. Prevalence ranged up to 100% with worm burdens up to 300,000 worms. Prevalence in foxes ranged up to 50% in animals recovered from 5 locations. The worm burdens were usually less than 50 E. granulosus per fox. Hydatid cysts were found in all macropodid species. Prevalence (69%) and cyst fertility (100%) were highest in swamp wallabies (Wallabia bicolour). Prevalence of cysts in feral pigs ranged up to 49%. Less than 22% of the cysts were fertile. No cysts were found in any of the wombats or feral goats. CONCLUSION: Echinococcus granulosus occurs commonly in wildlife in and around the Kosciuszko National Park. High numbers of fertile cysts in swamp wallabies, a favoured dietary item for wild dogs in this region, suggests swamp wallabies are pivotal in maintaining transmission. Physical contact with wild dogs and foxes or accidental contact with wild canid faeces is a public health risk.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Detection of Echinococcus granulosus coproantigens in faeces from naturally infected rural domestic dogs in south eastern Australia.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the occurrence of Echinococcus granulosus in rural domestic dogs in farming areas around Yass, New South Wales, and Mansfield and Whitfield, Victoria. DESIGN: Faeces were collected per-rectally from farm dogs voluntarily presented by their owners in four farming districts in New South Wales and two in Victoria. PROCEDURE: Faeces were collected in the field, an extract prepared from each sample and E granulosus coproantigens detected in an ELISA. Farmers were also questioned about their dog feeding and worming practices. RESULTS: Echinococcus granulosus coproantigens were detected in 99 of 344 dogs (29%) from 95 farms in south eastern New South Wales and 38 of 217 dogs (17.5%) from 43 farms in Victoria. Cross-reactions between E granulosus coproantigen trapping antibody and coproantigens in faeces from dogs monospecifically infected with other species of intestinal helminthes (Taenia ovis, T hydatigena, T pisiformis, Spirometra ericacei, Dipylidium caninum, hookworm, Toxocara canis, Trichuris vulpis) were not evident. Dietary and worming data revealed many owners fed raw meat and occasionally offal from domestic livestock and wildlife to their dogs and few owners wormed their dogs frequently enough to preclude the chance of patent E granulosus being present in their dogs. CONCLUSION: Echinococcus granulosus occurs commonly in rural dogs in south eastern Australia and an education program promoting the public health importance of responsible management of rural dogs is urgently needed.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Guar crispbread in the diabetic diet.

Nine diabetic patients who were receiving various treatments supplemented their normal home diets (two patients) or metabolic ward diets (seven patients) with guar crispbread for five days. Their mean urinary glucose excretion fell significantly by 38% during the last two days. A significant fall in fasting blood glucose concentration of 1.1 +/- 0.4 mmol/1 (19.8 +/- 7.2 mg/100 ml) was seen only in those who took guar after the control period. Over eight weeks' treatment insulin dosage was reduced by 21% in five patients, and home testing showed that glycosuria was reduced by 68% in six patients. Guar crispbread is likely to be a useful adjunct to diabetic treatment irrespective of the type of treatment or insulin dosage used.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effect of acarbose on the 24-hour blood glucose profile and pattern of carbohydrate absorption.

Acarbose (Bay g 5421) is a powerful alpha-glucoside hydrolase inhibitor of potential value in the treatment of diabetes and hypoglycemic dumping syndrome after gastric surgery. The extent of its use may be limited by symptoms produced by carbohydrate malabsorption. To minimize these, the action of low doses of acarbose on 24-h blood glucose profiles and hydrogen evolution have been studied on four ambulant volunteers on control diets, after exclusion of sucrose and also after addition of guar in an attempt to enhance the therapeutic effect. Replacement of dietary sucrose by starch abolished significant hydrogen evolution in the morning after low doses of acarbose but did not reduce its effectiveness in decreasing the mean three-meal blood glucose area by 41% (P less than 0.002). Addition of hydrated guar to this diet reduced the mean three-meal glucose area after acarbose further by 72% (P less than 0.001) but increased hydrogen evolution. The results suggest that acarbose will be both effective and acceptable given at low dose when the dietary carbohydrate is starch.

Acarbose↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Lente carbohydrate: a newer approach to the dietary management of diabetes.

The dietary fiber hypothesis has stimulated interest in the possibility that the glycemic response to carbohydrate foods may be reduced by modifying gastrointestinal events to produce sustained-release or "lente" carbohydrate. Associated with this interest, a new branch of pharmacology has been developed involving the use of purified fiber preparations and enzyme inhibitors. These measures, together with the selection of diets containing foods that naturally release their carbohydrate products of digestion slowly, may contribute a useful facet to diabetic management in the future.

Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Glycemic response to wheat products: reduced response to pasta but no effect of fiber.

The blood glucose response to feeding 50-g carbohydrate portions of white and wholemeal bread and white spaghetti was studied in a group of nine diabetic subjects. Blood glucose rises after white and wholemeal bread were identical, but the response after spaghetti was markedly reduced. These results emphasize that food form rather than fiber may be important in determining the glycemic response and that pasta may be a useful source of carbohydrate in the diabetic diet.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Prediction of the relative blood glucose response of mixed meals using the white bread glycemic index.

Unexpected plasma glucose responses to different mixed meals fed to normal and diabetic volunteers have recently been reported. We have therefore examined in normal volunteers the effect of mixing carbohydrate foods of different glycemic indices (GIs) without the addition of fat and protein. The observed GI of the mixed meal was within 2% of the expected value. In studies in the literature where fat and protein were added to mixed meals, the observed blood glucose responses also related significantly to the meal GIs calculated from the individual foods. Addition of fat and protein in the quantities used did not obscure this relationship. Studies to determine sources of error in comparing glycemic responses showed that type II diabetic patients displayed the least within-individual variation, and type I diabetic patients the most. Expression of results as the GI rather than as absolute glycemic response areas reduced by 50% the between-subject variation. The mean GI values of rice tested in type I and type II patients were similar (82 +/- 22 compared with 74 +/- 19) and the reproducibility 22 mo later in the same group of subjects was excellent (81 +/- 15 compared with 83 +/- 15). However, the lack of precise GI values for all foods fed in the test meals indicates a need for GI values to be derived for a wider range of individual foodstuffs. The GI approach to classifying foods according to physiologic effect may play a useful role in planning meals and diets in which specific blood glucose profiles are required.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Glycemic response to pasta: effect of surface area, degree of cooking, and protein enrichment.

To see whether food form, the degree of cooking, or protein enrichment affected the glycemic response to pasta, we gave test-meal breakfasts to 13 diabetic patients. Macaroni had a significantly greater glycemic index (GI) (68 +/- 8) than spaghetti (45 +/- 6, P less than .01); the GI of star pastina was intermediate (54 +/- 6). The GI of spaghetti was not significantly affected by cooking for 5 or 15 min (45 +/- 6 and 46 +/- 5, respectively), or by protein enrichment (38 +/- 4). The GI of spaghetti was similar in 11 non-insulin-dependent and 6 insulin-dependent diabetic patients (49 +/- 7 compared with 57 +/- 8). We conclude that different types of pasta may produce different glycemic responses but that these are not necessarily related to differences in cooking or surface area.

Blood Glucose↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The role of foxes Vulpes vulpes in the epidemiology of Echinococcus granulosus in urban environments.

OBJECTIVE: To survey the prevalence of intestinal worms, particularly Echinococcus granulosus, in foxes in Canberra. DESIGN: The locations of foxes seen in Canberra during this study were recorded. Foxes and macropod marsupials killed on the roads of Canberra were collected and examined for the presence of intestinal helminths and hydatid cysts respectively. METHOD: The intestinal contents of the foxes were washed through a fine sieve and examined microscopically. All helminths recovered were collected and identified. All the internal organs of the macropods were examined for any cystic lesions. RESULTS: Forty-five foxes and 44 macropods were examined. Echinococcus granulosus was found in three of the foxes (7%). Hydatid cysts were not found in the internal organs of any of the macropods examined. CONCLUSIONS: Echinococcus granulosus is present in the urban fox population of Canberra. This hitherto unreported aspect of the epidemiology of E. granulosus in Australia could be a potential public health risk to urban populations.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Comparative effects of couscous and pasta on glycemia in normal subjects and type I diabetics].

8 healthy subjects have eaten in the morning, after an overnight fast, in two separated occasions and in a randomised order 50 gr of CHO as pasta or couscous. Blood glucose after pasta ingestion was lower at 30 mn (p less than 0.05) at 45 mn (p less than 0.01) and at 60 mn (p less than 0.05). Area under the curve after pasta was significantly reduced (p less than 0.01). In a second time 6 IDDM patients have eaten in a randomised order a meal made of pasta with tomato sauce (P = 11%, F = 30%, G = 59%) or couscous with vegetables and sauce (P = 10%, F = 37%, G = 53%). Blood glucose after the pasta was lower than couscous at 90 mn (p less than 0.05) the area under the curve after the pasta ingestion was reduced of 38% but did'nt reach significance. In conclusion couscous has a higher glycemic effect than pasta although it has a similar composition. This phenomenon is still observed when the cereal products are mixed with other foods and ingested by IDDM patients.

Blood Glucose↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Response of individual serum free fatty acids to oral and intravenous glucose: relation to adipose tissue composition.

The rate of oral glucose delivery determines whether serum total free fatty acids remain low (glucose sipping over 210 min) or rebound 120-180 min after initial suppression (via glucose bolus), but the response of individual serum free fatty acids to glucose ingestion is largely unknown. In this study, we measured the changes over 240 min in the levels of individual serum free and esterified fatty acids after bolus or sipped glucose ingestion and determined the extent to which the changes are related to abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue composition. In eight healthy volunteers, 74% of the prolonged suppression of total serum free fatty acids resulting from sipping 50 g glucose over 210 min was caused by a decrease in free linoleic and oleic acids, whereas 92% of the rebound in total free fatty acids 240 min after consuming 50 g of glucose as a bolus was caused by increases in free oleic and linoleic acids. Two hundred forty minutes after the oral glucose, slower intravenous clearance of 5 g glucose was directly correlated to higher total serum free fatty acids and free stearic acid and higher oleic but lower linoleic acid in adipose tissue. We conclude that the net response of serum free fatty acids to an oral glucose load is mediated primarily by oleic and linoleic acids in a manner largely unrelated to adipose tissue composition.

Abdomen↗