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Biomedical subjects

F Kane

Publications and source records attributed to F Kane.

17 recordsLinked to original sources

Etiology of urethral discharge in West Africa: the role of Mycoplasma genitalium and Trichomonas vaginalis.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the etiological role of pathogens other than Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis in urethral discharge in West African men. METHODS: Urethral swabs were obtained from 659 male patients presenting with urethral discharge in 72 primary health care facilities in seven West African countries, and in 339 controls presenting for complaints unrelated to the genitourinary tract. Polymerase chain reaction analysis was used to detect the presence of N. gonorrhoeae, C. trachomatis, Trichomonas vaginalis, Mycoplasma genitalium, and Ureaplasma urealyticum. FINDINGS: N. gonorrhoeae, T. vaginalis, C. trachomatis, and M. genitalium--but not U. urealyticum--were found more frequently in men with urethral discharge than in asymptomatic controls, being present in 61.9%, 13.8%, 13.4% and 10.0%, respectively, of cases of urethral discharge. Multiple infections were common. Among patients with gonococcal infection, T. vaginalis was as frequent a coinfection as C. trachomatis. M. genitalium, T. vaginalis, and C. trachomatis caused a similar clinical syndrome to that associated with gonococcal infection, but with a less severe urethral discharge. CONCLUSIONS: M. genitalium and T. vaginalis are important etiological agents of urethral discharge in West Africa. The frequent occurrence of multiple infections with any combination of four pathogens strongly supports the syndromic approach. The optimal use of metronidazole in flowcharts for the syndromic management of urethral discharge needs to be explored in therapeutic trials.

Adult↗

[Evaluation of atherogenic risk in homozygous sickle cell disease: study of lipid and apolipoprotein AI and B plasma levels].

The main clinical use of measurements of Apo Al and Apo B is to determine a patient's risk status for the development of ischemic heart disease. Apo B is generally accepted as a contributory cause of coronary artery disease, while Apo Al apparently has a protective effect. The present study reports the plasma change of Apo Al and B in sickle cell anaemic subjects. Immunochemical findings revealed that Apo Al and B levels were found to be lower in sickle cell patients as compared with normal subjects (HbAA). The atherogenicity index given by Apo B/Apo Al remained in the normal range during periods of steady state (0.64 +/- 0.28), while subjects in painful crisis had high index values (0.95 +/- 0.35). Therefore, we concluded that epidemiological studies on a large sample of patients are needed to confirm this relationship between painful crisis and risk of developing coronary artery disease.

Adolescent↗

Migration and AIDS.

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Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Temporary expatriation is related to HIV-1 infection in rural Senegal.

OBJECTIVES: To assess temporary expatriation as a risk factor for HIV infection in a rural area of Senegal and to examine the transmission of HIV from expatriates to their families. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study in identified expatriates and in a representative cluster sample of the general population from the same geographical area in northern Senegal. METHODS: In 1989, a survey (including questionnaire and serological tests for HIV-1 and HIV-2) was conducted in all expatriates currently living in 11 villages in northern Senegal and spouses of all expatriates (present or not) from this area ('expatriate' group, n = 258). In parallel, a cluster sample of 600 adults was drawn from eight villages of the same area, of whom 414 were selected as the control group since they and their spouses had not travelled outside Senegal in the last 10 years. RESULTS: In the 'expatriate' group, sera from 39 subjects were confirmed as HIV-positive by Western blot [17 out of 63 men (27.0%) and 22 out of 195 women (11.3%)]. Of these subjects, 33 were infected by HIV-1, four by HIV-2 and two had a dual HIV-1/2 profile. In contrast, only two subjects (one man and one woman) from the control group were infected by HIV-2 and none by HIV-1. In men, HIV-1 seroprevalence was associated with age < 40 years [odds ratio (OR), 7.4; P = 0.03] and previous sexually transmitted disease (STD) symptoms (OR, 13.5; P = 0.03), whereas the risk factors in women were age < 25 years (OR, 3.7; P = 0.04), being a widow (OR, 30.4; P < 0.01) and presence of sexual activity over the last 2 years (OR, 21.3; P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Penetration of HIV-1 infection in a country where HIV-2 is endemic shows that the HIV-1 epidemic is currently spreading to rural West Africa. Migrant workers appear to play a major role in this epidemic.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Interactions between amygdaloid and hypothalamic self-stimulation: a re-examination.

The function relating bar-pressing rate to the frequency of cathodal pulses was obtained in rats self-stimulating with amygdaloid (AMY) and lateral hypothalamic (LH) electrodes. The maximum self-stimulation (SS) rates in the AMY was found to be very low, compared to the LH. Concurrent stimulation with pairs of AMY-LH pulses did not shift the rate-frequency functional laterally, indicating the absence of summation of the two rewarding effects. In a second experiment, concurrent AMY-LH stimulation (using sub-threshold intensity LH pulses) facilitated bar-pressing for AMY stimulation (it increased the slope of the AMY rate-frequency function) without shifting this function laterally. In a third experiment, subjects were given a choice between a pulse frequency yielding maximal AMY rate and a series of higher pulse frequencies. Subjects consistently preferred the higher frequency values, attesting that the maximum AMY rates were not constrained by a saturating reinforcing effect. In a fourth experiment, subjects were given a choice between AMY stimulation and concurrent AMY-LH stimulation, using low intensity LH pulses. Subjects showed no preference for either stimulation condition, although rates were higher for the latter condition. These findings suggest that the maximum rate for AMY stimulation was constrained by factors interfering with bar-pressing and that the effect of these factors was attenuated by co-activation of the LH. In a fifth experiment, pre-treatment with phenobarbital mimicked the rate-enhancing effect of concurrent AMY-LH stimulation for 2 of the 4 subjects tested. This finding suggests that the LH pulses contributed to attenuate seizure activity accompanying AMY SS. In a final experiment, AMY SS rates were also increased by co-activation of rewarding sites in the rostral MFB but not the dorsal raphe, suggesting an anatomical specificity of this effect.

Amygdala↗

Amygdaloid self-stimulation: a movable electrode mapping study.

The distribution of electrical self-stimulation foci within the amygdala (AMY) was mapped using movable electrodes in rats. Each barpress delivered a 0.4-s train of cathodal rectangular pulses of fixed intensity and duration and variable frequency. The rate-frequency function was recorded for successive dorsoventral sites. Self-stimulation was found throughout the AMY, except in the lateral nucleus. Depending on the site, maximum rates varied from 3 to 37 barpresses/min, whereas threshold frequencies varied from 9.2 to 40 pulses/train; no correlation between these two aspects of self-stimulation was found. Most threshold frequencies lay within the range of 10 to 20 pulses/train, which suggests a relatively homogeneous distribution of rewarding efficacy within the positive areas. The lowest threshold estimates are comparable to those usually obtained for pontine and medial forebrain bundle areas, which suggests that the AMY is an important focus for self-stimulation.

Amygdala↗