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Biomedical subjects

E Ernst

Publications and source records attributed to E Ernst.

At least 397 records · Page 22Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Plasma viscosity and the risk of coronary heart disease: results from the MONICA-Augsburg Cohort Study, 1984 to 1992.

Plasma viscosity is determined by various macromolecules, eg, fibrinogen, immunoglobulins, and lipoproteins. It may therefore reflect several aspects involved in cardiovascular diseases, including the effects of classic risk factors, hemostatic disturbances, and inflammation. We examined the association of plasma viscosity with the incidence of a first major coronary heart disease event (CHD; fatal and nonfatal myocardial infarction and cardiac death; n=50) in 933 men aged 45 to 64 years of the MONICA project of Augsburg, Germany. The incidence rate was 7.23 per 1000 person-years (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.37 to 9.53), and the subjects were followed up for 8 years. All suspected cases of an incident CHD event were classified according to the MONICA protocol. There was a positive and statistically significant unadjusted relationship between plasma viscosity and the incidence of CHD. The relative risk of CHD events associated with a 1-SD increase in plasma viscosity (0.070 mPa x s) was 1.60 (95% CI, 1.25 to 2.03). After adjustment for age, total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, smoking, blood pressure, and body mass index, the relative risk was reduced only moderately (1.42; 95% CI, 1.09 to 1.86). The relative risk of CHD events for men in the highest quintile of the plasma viscosity distribution in comparison with the lowest quintile was 3.31 (95% CI, 1.19 to 9.25) after adjustment for the aforementioned variables. A large proportion of events (40%) occurred among men in the highest quintile. These findings suggest that plasma viscosity may have considerable potential to identify subjects at risk for CHD events.

Blood Viscosity↗
PubMed1998

Exercise for female osteoporosis. A systematic review of randomised clinical trials.

The treatment and prevention of osteoporosis in women represents an unresolved problem. The aim of this systematic review was to determine whether exercise can be useful in this context. Various literature searches identified 21 randomised controlled trials on the subject. These are highly diverse in more than one respect. Collectively, however, the strongly suggest that regular physical exercise can reduce the risk of osteoporosis and delay the physiological decrease of bone mineral density. It is concluded that regular exercise for women of practically all ages is well advised.

Bone Density↗
PubMed1998

Complementary therapies for asthma: what patients use.

Asthma patients are prime candidates to employ complementary medicine (CM) for their conditions, yet little hard data exist on the prevalence of CM use by these patients. This survey was aimed at generating some information on this and related issues. Members of the UK National Asthma Campaign (17,000) were invited to complete a questionnaire and 4741 responded. Only 41% of the respondents had never tried CM. Breathing techniques, homoeopathy, and herbalism were the three most prevalent treatments. The majority of respondents perceived these therapies as moderately useful with only little difference between various treatments. In general, the money spent on CM was modest. It is concluded that CM is frequently used for asthma. Therefore, this area of healthcare would seem to warrant more rigorous investigation.

Asthma↗
PubMed1998

Job strain and time to pregnancy.

OBJECTIVES: The association between fertility and job strain defined as high job demands and low job control has not previously been studied. A follow-up study was conducted with prospective collection of information on job strain among women, achievement of pregnancy, and potential confounding variables. METHODS: A total of 297 Danish couples without previous reproductive experience was followed for a maximum of 6 menstrual cycles from termination of birth control until pregnancy. Job demand and job control were measured by a questionnaire developed by Karasek and his co-workers. RESULTS: The odds ratio and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) for conception per menstrual cycle for women with high job strain was 0.9 (95% CI 0.5-1.5) when compared with that of women in low-strain jobs. Only in secondary analyses restricted to couples with no suspected competitive causes of reduced fertility was a statistically significant reduced odds found for women with high-strain jobs compared with all other jobs. CONCLUSIONS: The main finding of this study did not corroborate a hypothesis of a substantial detrimental effect of job strain on fecundability.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Year of birth and sperm count in 10 Danish occupational studies.

OBJECTIVES: Several reports indicate a secular decline of human sperm counts. It is still not known if these findings are artifacts related to shortcomings in the data and applied methodologies. Even less is known about possible mechanisms, but it has been proposed that potential changes may be related to disruption of the hormonal regulation of testicular development in prenatal life. The objective of this study was to examine whether sperm count was related to year of birth. METHODS: An analysis was made of the sperm count of 1196 men participating in 10 cross-sectional occupational sperm studies in 3 regions of Denmark from 1986 through 1995. RESULTS: The median sperm concentration was 63 million per milliliter for men born in 1937-1949 and 52 million per milliliter for men born in 1970 or later, and the median total sperm was 206 million and 117 million, respectively. The inverse relationship between sperm concentration and year of birth was statistically significant even after adjustment for duration of sexual abstinence, season of the year, and study population. However, bias because of differential participation related to age and fertility or lack of comparability across the populations cannot be ruled out. CONCLUSIONS: The apparent decline of sperm count with increasing year of birth is compatible with the hypothesis of a common risk factor for male reproductive health operating in prenatal life or early childhood, but the evidence is circumstantial. Age-related selection bias is an alternative and perhaps not a less likely explanation.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Towards a risk-benefit evaluation of placebos.

The notion that placebo can, in certain circumstances, represent a valuable and ethical therapeutic intervention has been repeatedly reconsidered in recent years. This article discusses the possibility of submitting placebos to a conventional risk-benefit evaluation. The benefits of placebos are often not clearly defined. Generally speaking, the potential for benefit is considerable. The risks are similarly ill defined. Both direct and indirect risks are conceivable. On balance, the risk-benefit relation for placebo could be favourable. Under certain conditions, the clinical use of placebos might therefore be a realistic option. In the final analysis, however, our knowledge for a conclusive risk-benefit evaluation of placebo is incomplete.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗
PubMed1998

A trial method for assessing the adequacy of acupuncture treatments.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a method for assessing the adequacy of acupuncture techniques used in controlled clinical trials. DATA SOURCES: Searches were performed on MEDLINE, the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, and CISCOM. Six acupuncture experts used a visual analog scale to rate the trials on the adequacy of the information they provided and the adequacy of acupuncture treatment. STUDY SELECTION: Studies were included if they reported (1) a controlled trial in which dry needles were inserted into the skin and the process was described as "acupuncture" by the author(s), and (2) the use of this treatment for any type of back pain in humans. DATA EXTRACTION: Blinded extracts from 15 controlled clinical trials including verbatim descriptions of the subjects, acupuncture technique, control intervention, and outcome measures. DATA SYNTHESIS: Considerable variation was observed in the scores awarded by the acupuncture experts. Overall interrater reliability was low; however, a good correlation was seen among the ratings of 4 assessors. An assessment of adequacy did not depend on whether points were selected by tenderness, whether a choice of points was offered, whether needle sensation was elicited, or how many needles were used. CONCLUSIONS: This method of assessing adequacy grouped 15 controlled clinical trials of acupuncture according to their average scores. The method may not be reliable in other situations because adequacy scores were inconsistent, possibly indicating problems with the scale. Modifications for making the scale more reliable are suggested.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed1997

Ultrastructural localization of zinc ions in the rat prostate: an autometallographic study.

BACKGROUND: The prostate contains high amounts of free zinc ions which are excreted into the seminal fluid. The extra- and intracellular distribution of zinc ions using the highly specific autometallographical (AMG) method is described. METHODS: Prostates from sulfide-perfused rats were excised, and the ZnS crystals were silver-enhanced to sizes detectable by the electron and light microscope. RESULTS: AMGZnS grains were found primarily in the acinic lumen of the lateral lobes. The dorsal lobe stained only faintly, while the ventral lobe was void of grains. At ultrastructural levels, the presence of zinc ions was confined to apical secretory vesicles and lysosome-like structure of the epithelium of mainly the lateral lobes. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest a constant secretion of zinc ions from the epithelial cells into both the acinar lumen and the intercellular canaliculi, and that the zinc enriched secretory cells in the prostate belong to a system of glandular cells that uses zinc ions to aggregate macromolecules to be excreted.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

[Healing practitioner--a German phenomenon. What are the rights and responsibilities of healing practitioners?].

The "Heilpraktiker" is a German phenomenon dating back to the Third Reich. Today, there are between seven and ten thousand practicing "Heilpraktiker" in Germany. The training, skills, responsibilities and rights of this profession do not accord with the law that aims to "avert a danger to the health of the people". In Brussels, harmonization of the area of nonmedically trained practitioners is presently under discussion. However, a speedy solution to the obvious problems is not yet in sight.

Complementary Therapies↗