Biomedical subjects
E Weir
Publications and source records attributed to E Weir.
Raves: a review of the culture, the drugs and the prevention of harm.
Raves are all-night dance parties attended by large numbers of youth, sometimes in excess of 20,000. The rave scene, which is international in scope, is distinguished by clandestine venues, hypnotic electronic music and the liberal use of drugs such as ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate) and ketamine. Several rave-related deaths in Canada in 1999 alerted health authorities, parents and police to the health risks of rave attendance. Family physicians, emergency physicians and pediatricians should have some understanding of raves, the drugs and the health risks so they can effectively counsel and treat patients. The rave culture in Canada and the drugs commonly used at raves are reviewed, and strategies and initiatives for harm reduction are discussed.
Substance abuse: tempering the debate.
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Substance abuse among physicians.
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Indoor moulds and human health.
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Jung at heart: assessing one's suitability for medical training.
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How quickly does CMAJ evaluate submissions?
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Bcl-2 lies downstream of parathyroid hormone-related peptide in a signaling pathway that regulates chondrocyte maturation during skeletal development.
Parathyroid hormone-related peptide (PTHrP) appears to play a major role in skeletal development. Targeted disruption of the PTHrP gene in mice causes skeletal dysplasia with accelerated chondrocyte maturation (Amizuka, N., H. Warshawsky, J.E. Henderson, D. Goltzman, and A.C. Karaplis. 1994. J. Cell Biol. 126:1611-1623; Karaplis, A.C., A. Luz, J. Glowacki, R.T. Bronson, V.L.J. Tybulewicz, H.M. Kronenberg, and R.C. Mulligan. 1994. Genes Dev. 8: 277-289). A constitutively active mutant PTH/PTHrP receptor has been found in Jansen-type human metaphyseal chondrodysplasia, a disease characterized by delayed skeletal maturation (Schipani, E., K. Kruse, and H. Jüppner. 1995. Science (Wash. DC). 268:98-100). The molecular mechanisms by which PTHrP affects this developmental program remain, however, poorly understood. We report here that PTHrP increases the expression of Bcl-2, a protein that controls programmed cell death in several cell types, in growth plate chondrocytes both in vitro and in vivo, leading to delays in their maturation towards hypertrophy and apoptotic cell death. Consequently, overexpression of PTHrP under the control of the collagen II promoter in transgenic mice resulted in marked delays in skeletal development. As anticipated from these results, deletion of the gene encoding Bcl-2 leads to accelerated maturation of chondrocytes and shortening of long bones. Thus, Bcl-2 lies downstream of PTHrP in a pathway that controls chondrocyte maturation and skeletal development.
A summer in India.
An elective in India, during which she provided palliative care for a young girl, taught medical student Erica Weir several lessons about health care that she would never have learned during an elective in Canada.
Duplex ultrasound examination of the acutely painful and swollen leg.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the value of duplex ultrasound examination in establishing diagnosis in acutely swollen and painful lower limbs, and to examine how often the diagnosis of superficial and/or deep venous thrombosis can be made in the symptomatic legs. METHODS: Venous duplex scan examination was performed on 188 extremities of 180 ambulatory outpatients. The examination included testing patency and competency of the deep and superficial veins. The ultrasound study was also extended to finding soft tissue abnormalities. RESULTS: Of the 188 lower limbs venous thrombosis was found on 82 occasions: 29 legs contained deep venous thrombosis only; 23 legs presented with superficial thrombophlebitis as a sole venous pathology; and in 30 cases superficial and deep venous thrombosis coexisted. In those 106 limbs where venous thrombosis was not present the most frequent positive ultrasound findings were incompetent leg veins or soft tissue masses (Baker's cyst and calf haematoma). CONCLUSION: The variety of pathological processes related to the lower limb veins and the extravascular tissue suggest that routine, "detailed" ultrasound scanning would be indicated in all acutely symptomatic legs with a suspected venous disorder. The important diagnostic information so gained provides guidance to the most appropriate treatment strategy.
Rapid induction of mRNAs for liver regeneration factor and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 in primary cultures of rat hepatocytes by hepatocyte growth factor and epidermal growth factor.
Liver regeneration factor belongs to the leucine-zipper family of transcription factors. It was originally cloned and characterized through differential screening of a regenerating rat liver cDNA library. The mRNA for liver regeneration factor-1 is barely detectable in normal rat liver but is dramatically induced after two-thirds hepatectomy, with a peak 1 to 3 hr after surgery. The nature of the signaling molecule(s) for this rapid induction is not known. It has been suggested that the liver regeneration factor-1 protein product, through complex interactions with other transcription factors such as c-Jun and Jun-B, controls expression of genes that are required during the G1 phase of hepatic growth. Hepatocyte growth factor has been shown to be the most potent mitogen for hepatocytes in vitro and in vivo. Plasma levels of hepatocyte growth factor rapidly (within 30 min) increase after loss of hepatic parenchyma induced by partial hepatectomy or carbon tetrachloride treatment. It has been postulated that hepatocyte growth factor plays a crucial role in stimulating the hepatocyte to enter the cell cycle. In this communication, we report that addition of pure hepatocyte growth factor to primary cultures of rat hepatocytes in the absence of serum and insulin results in rapid and transient induction of liver regeneration factor-1 mRNA (more than 20-fold) with a peak of expression 1 hr after treatment. The levels of jun-B and c-fos mRNAs, which are also known to be induced during the early hours of liver regeneration, were also increased after treatment of isolated hepatocytes with hepatocyte growth factor.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Accuracy of municipality-level residence information in the Ontario Cancer Registry: results of a pilot study.
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The effect of allopurinol on the excretion of oxypurines by the chick.
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[Reproduction of the bird Mimus gilvus (Passeriformes: Mimidae) in Maracaibo, Venezuela].
Four pairs of the poorly understood tropical mockingbird Mimus gilvus were captured and color banded at a grassland in Maracaibo, Venezuela in June 1997. Throughout the following 8 months, individuals were observed two days per week for 4 hours each. We recorded courtship behaviour, nest construction, incubation, parental care, territory defense and timing of reproductive cycle. Pairs lived in defined territories defended primarily by the male. Both sexes participated in nest building which began at the start of two rainy seasons: April and October. Between April and June, 80% of nests were parasited by the shiny cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis). No parasitism was recorded in the later nesting season. Consequently, breeding success for the April and October seasons was 20% and 83% respectively. Only the female incubated and the mean clutch size was 2.2 eggs.