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Biomedical subjects

D Slone

Publications and source records attributed to D Slone.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Comparison of the aflatoxin B1-8,9-epoxide conjugating activities of two bacterially expressed alpha class glutathione S-transferase isozymes from mouse and rat.

The complementary DNAs of rat glutathione S-transferase (GST, EC 2.5.1.18) Yc1 and of mouse Yc were expressed from a prokaryotic expression vector in E. coli. The purified proteins were analyzed for their activity toward aflatoxin B1-8,9-epoxide (AFBO), the reactive intermediate of the fungal mycotoxin aflatoxin B1 (AFB). The mouse Yc isozyme had about 50-fold higher conjugating activity toward AFBO than the rat Yc1 isozyme (144 nmol/mg/min versus 3.3 nmol/mg/min). The rat Yc1 isozyme had specific activities toward 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene, cumene hydroperoxide and ethacrynic acid of 10.7, 0.98 and 0.92 mumol/mg/min, respectively, whereas the mouse Yc isozyme had specific activities of 5.7, 2.1 and 0.1 mumol/mg/min for these substrates, respectively. These data provide further support for the hypothesis that the constitutive presence of the alpha class GST Yc isozyme in mouse liver protects mice from the hepatocarcinogenic effects of aflatoxin B1.

Aflatoxin B1↗
PubMed1983

Risk factors for breast cancer.

Since 1976, data were collected to evaluate risk factors for breast cancer in a hospital-based case-control study of 1185 women with breast cancer and 3227 controls. The risk of breast cancer increased with increasing age at first birth; this effect was not accounted for by parity. An early age at first birth appeared to reduce the risk relative to no pregnancy, whereas a late age at first birth was associated with a higher risk than not having a full-term pregnancy. High parity was associated with a reduction in the risk that was independent of that of age at first birth: for parity greater than or equal to 5, compared with parity 1-2, the relative risk estimate was 0.7 (95% confidence interval, 0.5-1.0). Late age at menarche was associated with a lower risk among premenopausal women but not among postmenopausal women. The relative risk decreased with increasing obesity among premenopausal women. Among postmenopausal women, the risk was higher among those who were obese, but there was no evidence of a trend with increasing body mass index. Risk did not vary materially according to history of abortion when gravidity was controlled. Risk was lower among postmenopausal women than among premenopausal women of the same age and increased with increasing age at menopause; bilateral oophorectomy reduced the risk more than hysterectomy alone. A positive history of benign breast disease, a positive family history of breast cancer, Jewish religion, and 12 or more years of education were each independently associated with an increased risk of breast cancer.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Epithelial ovarian cancer and combination oral contraceptives.

The risk of epithelial ovarian cancer in relation to the use of combination oral contraceptives was evaluated in a case-control study of women younger than 60 years. Combination oral contraceptives were used by 35 (26%) of 136 cases and 187 (35%) of 539 controls. The relative risk estimate for combination oral contraceptive use was 0.6 (95% confidence interval, 0.4 to 0.9). The reduction in risk appeared to persist for as long as ten years after use had ceased and to be greater for longer durations of use, but these results were not statistically significant. The findings were not explained by parity or by other identified potential confounding factors. The results suggest that the use of combination oral contraceptives protects against epithelial ovarian cancer.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Birth defects and vaginal spermicides.

In a cohort study of 50, 282 pregnancies recruited between 1958 and 1965, there were 462 gravidae who used nonmercurial spermicides (mostly nonoxynol-9 (95% confidence limits, 0.6 to 1.6). There were also 889 women who used phenylmercuric acetate (no longer available as a spermicide); the corresponding rate ratio was 0.9 (0.6 to 1.3). Limb reduction deformities, neoplasms, Down's syndrome, and hypospadias did not occur in excess in children exposed to spermicides.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
PubMed1982

Risks to children from computed tomographic scan premedication.

We observed serious adverse reactions after premedication for computed tomographic (CT) head scans and therefore determined rates and risk factors for such reactions among 106 hospitalized children monitored by an intensive drug surveillance program. Reactions occurred in 13 patients (13%), including four cases of life-threatening cardiorespiratory depression or arrest after narcotic premedication. Other reactions included CNS depression, behavior changes, voiding problems, and vomiting. The risk of reaction was elevated in subjects who received high doses of a premedication drug (relative risk, 5.2) and in those who received four or more premedication (relative risk, 3.7). All life-threatening reactions occurred among infants younger than 3 months, and two of these followed medication with only morphine sulfate, in the recommended dose. Risks of adverse reactions from premedication should be considered by physicians who order CT scans for hospitalized children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Diazepam and the risk of breast cancer.

The relation of breast cancer to diazepam use was evaluated in a case-control study of 1236 women with breast cancer and 728 control subjects with other malignancies. Compared to women who never used diazepam, the relative risk for women who used the drug at least 4 days per week for at least 6 months was estimated to be 0.9, with 95% confidence limits of 0.5 and 1.6. There was no apparent association for recent use, or for use in the distant past, although confidence intervals were fairly wide in these categories. The results were not explained by various potential confounding factors, including the major risk factors for breast cancer. The findings suggest that regular diazepam use does not increase the risk of breast cancer relative to other cancers.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Breast cancer and alcoholic-beverage consumption.

The relation between breast cancer and alcoholic-beverage consumption was evaluated in a case-control study of 1152 women with breast cancer and two groups of control women-519 with endometrial or ovarian cancer, and 2702 with non-malignant disorders. The relative-risk estimate of breast cancer, with allowance for all potential distorting factors, for women who had ever drunk alcoholic beverages relative to those who had never drunk was 1.4 (95% confidence interval, 1.0-2.0) when the comparison group was the group with endometrial or ovarian cancer and 1.9 (1.5-2.4) when the controls who had non-malignant disorders were the comparison group. The association was evident for beer, wine, and spirits. The association was not explained by any of the major known risk factors for breast cancer, but we had no information on dietary factors. The findings support the hypothesis that alcohol consumption, or related dietary factors, increases the risk of breast cancer.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Acetaminophen and aspirin. Prescription, use, and accidental ingestion among children.

Among 3,587 hospitalized children monitored by the Pediatric Drug Surveillance Program between 1974 and 1979, acetaminophen was prescribed for 32% and aspirin for 3%. In the three months before admission, 23% reported use of either drug. In both inpatient and preadmission settings, acetaminophen use increased between 1975 and 1977 and decreased subsequently. Aspirin prescriptions were consistent over the entire study period among inpatients, but preadmission use decreased substantially. The Massachusetts Poison Information Center observed a 36% increase in calls concerning aspirin from 1976 to 1977 and 1977 to 1978, similar to the increase in all calls, but acetaminophen calls increased by 87%. Long-standing concerns about the toxic effects of aspirin, coupled with recent concerns about hepatotoxic effects of acetaminophen in overdose, may be leading physicians and parents to decrease the use of both drugs for the treatment of fever.

Acetaminophen↗
PubMed1982

Aspirin and myocardial infarction in young women.

To assess whether aspirin reduces the risk of a first myocardial infarction (MI) in young women, we evaluated data from a case-control study among women less than 50 years of age without a prior MI: 48 of 551 cases of MI and 67 of 896 hospital controls had taken aspirin regularly for at least 12 weeks immediately before admission. The relative risk estimate was 0.8 upon allowance for confounding factors but it was not statistically significant (95 per cent confidence interval, 0.5-1.4). These data alone do not provide evidence of protection by aspirin against a first infarction in young women.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Patterns of preadmission medication use among hospitalized children.

To determine patterns of medication use prior to hospital admission, we reviewed records of 3,487 infants and children monitored by the Pediatric Drug Surveillance Program. Subjects were admitted to selected monitored wards at the Children's Hospital Medical Center and Brigham and Women's Hospital between 1974 and 1979. The median number of drugs taken in the three months prior to admission was 3.5; 220 children (6%) reported taking no preadmission drugs, and 351 (10%) reported taking ten or more drugs. Preadmission drug use was highest in patients with cancer and children with chronic diseases (such as cystic fibrosis), and use was also high among infants transferred to a referral neonatal ICU. The most common preadmission medications for selected discharge diagnoses and indications are presented. In addition, review of the data revealed changes in the use of specific drugs (chloramphenicol, ampicillin, amoxicillin, Dimetapp, and cimetidine) over the study period. These data suggest that there is substantial use of medications by pediatric patients prior to hospital admission and that the nature of such drug use changes over time.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Risk of myocardial infarction in relation to current and discontinued use of oral contraceptives.

In a hospital-based case-control study, we evaluated the rate of myocardial infarction in relation to discontinued as well as current use of oral contraceptives. We compared 556 women with infarction, 25 to 49 years old, with 2036 age-matched control subjects. For current users, the rate-ratio estimate was 3.5 (95 per cent confidence limits, 2.2 to 5.5). For past users 40 to 49 years of age, the magnitude of the rate ratio was related to the duration of use: for total durations of past use of less than five years, five to nine years, and 10 or more years, respectively, the rate-ratio estimates (with 95 per cent confidence limits) were 1.0 (0.8 and 1.4), 1.6 (1.1 and 2.5), and 2.5 (1.5 and 4.1). This trend was statistically significant (P less than 0.01). The findings suggest that an effect on the risk of myocardial infarction persists after the discontinuation of long-term use of oral contraceptives.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Birth defects related to bendectin use in pregnancy. I. Oral clefts and cardiac defects.

The risk of birth defects previously associated with Bendectin use in early pregnancy were evaluated in a case-control study of malformed infants whose mothers were interviewed in three regional centers; 98 infants with isolated cleft palate (CP), 221 with cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL +/- CP), and 122 with selected heart defects (HD) were compared with 970 other malformed infants who served as controls. Relative risk estimates (with their 95% confidence limits) for first-trimester exposure to Bendectin were as follows: CP, 0.9 (0.5 to 1.5); CL +/- CP, 0.6 (0.4 to 0.8); and HD, 1.0 (0.6 to 1.6). Allowance for a large number of potentially confounding factors did not materially influence the risk estimates. These findings suggest that early in utero exposure to Bendectin does not appreciably increase the risk of oral clefts or selected cardiac defects.

Antiemetics↗
PubMed1981

Case-control studies on the acute effects of coffee upon the risk of myocardial infarction: problems in the selection of a hospital control series.

In the course of evaluating the acute effect of caffeine-containing coffee on the risk of myocardial infarction (MI) among women 30-49 years of age, this study noted appreciable differences in coffee consumption among hospital patients admitted for illnesses not known to be related to coffee use. Among these potential controls, the coffee consumption of patients who had been compelled to hospital by conditions having an acute onset, such as fractures ("acute condition controls") was compared with that of patients admitted for chronic disorders ("chronic condition controls"). The proportion of drinkers of caffeine-containing coffee among 980 acute condition controls (65%) was significantly greater than that among 5835 chronic condition controls (58%) (p less than 0.01); by contrast, the proportion of drinkers of decaffeinated coffee was significantly greater among chronic condition controls (22%) than among acute condition controls (18%) (p less than 0.01). With regard to caffeine-containing coffee, other findings were that the frequency of drinking decreased with increasing contact with medical care in the year before admission; that patients who changed their consumption after discharge tended to give up coffee; and that the proportion of drinkers was greater among women in the community than among the hospital patients. These results suggest that relatively long-standing illness influences against drinking caffeine-containing coffee among women 30-49 years of age. They also suggest that there is an opportunity for overestimation of the relative risk of MI among coffee drinkers in hospital-based studies that use chronic condition controls.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1981

Alcoholic beverages and myocardial infarction in young women.

Moderate alcohol consumption has been associated with a reduction in the risk of myocardial infarction (MI) in men. To evaluate this relation in young women, we studied 513 patients with first infarctions and 918 hospital controls, all of whom were less than 50 years of age. The estimated relative risk of MI for current drinkers, after allowance for potential confounding factors, was 0.7 (95 per cent confidence interval. 0.5 - 1.0), and the apparent reduction in risk was strongest for women drank wine. There was no evidence of an effect among ex-drinkers.

Adult↗