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Biomedical subjects

G Lévy

Publications and source records attributed to G Lévy.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

An exploratory study on cultural variations in oral health attitudes, behaviour and values of freshman (first-year) dental students.

OBJECTIVE: To identify similarities and differences in oral health attitudes, behaviour and values among freshman dental students. DESIGN: Cross-cultural survey of dental students. SETTING: 18 cultural areas. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: 904 first-year dental students completed the Hiroshima University-Dental Behavioural Inventory (HU-DBI) translated into their own languages. Individual areas were clustered by similarity in responses to the questions. RESULTS: The first group displayed an 'occidental-culture orientation' with the exception of Brazil (Cluster 1 comprised: Australia, United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium and Brazil, Cluster 2: Germany, Italy, Finland and France). The second group displayed an 'oriental-cultural orientation' with the exception of Greece and Israel (Cluster 3 comprised: China and Indonesia, and Cluster 4: Japan, Korea, Israel, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand and Greece). Australia and United Kingdom were the countries that were most alike. Ireland was the 'neighbour' to these countries. Greece and Malaysia had similar patterns of oral health behaviour although geographic conditions are very different. Although it was considered that in Hong Kong, occidental nations have affected the development of education, it remained in the oriental-culture group. Comparison with the data from the occidentals indicates that a higher percentage of the orientals put off going to the dentist until they have toothache (p < 0.001). Only a small proportion of the occidentals (8%) reported a perception of inevitability in having false teeth, whereas 33% of the orientals held this fatalistic belief (p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Grouping the countries into key cultural orientations and international clusters yielded plausible results, using the HU-DBI.

Asia↗
PubMed2005

Incidence of viral markers and evaluation of the estimated risk in the Swiss blood donor population from 1996 to 2003.

Among the well known transfusion-associated risks, the transmission of pathogenic viruses is regarded as one of the most serious. Over the past two decades, a series of overlapping safety procedures have been successively implemented to minimise this risk. It is now generally considered that the risk of transmitting viral infections via blood products is very low in developed countries. The present study analyses the incidence of the key infectious diseases HIV, hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) between 1996 and 2003 from 99% of voluntary repeat blood donors visiting the blood transfusion service of the Swiss Red Cross. Furthermore the estimated risk of these viral markers was calculated. From 1996 to 2003 the incidence rate for HCV decreased continuously, whereas no significant decrease in the incidence rate of HIV and HBV was observed. From 2001 to 2003, the last calculated period, the residual risk was estimated to be 1 in 1,900,000 for HIV, 1 in 2,200,0000 for HCV and 1 in 115,000 for HBV, respectively. This agrees with international studies, which have been shown that the estimated residual risk for HBV between 1996 and 2003 is higher than that of HCV and HIV.

Blood Donors↗
PubMed2001

Superficial architecture of the jaw-closing muscles of the cat (Felis catus): the temporo-masseteric complex.

The muscle fiber fascicles of the temporo-masseter complex of the cat were minutely dissected. Some heads were embedded in paraffin while others were put into methyl-methacrylate resin and sections were made. The results of this anatomical study demonstrate that this complex consists of the masseter muscle, the temporal muscle and two well individualized transitional fascicles: the maxillomandibularis and zygomato-comandibularis muscles. The masseter and temporal muscles are composed of individualized compartments in which the orientation and aponeuroses of the fibers of which they are composed differ with regard to the centric occlusion plane. The masseter muscle consists of a superficial fascicle made up of two layers, an intermediate fascicle, and a deep fascicle composed of two layers. The temporal muscle consists of one anterior orbital part and one posterior temporal part. This structure is in accordance with the mammalian archetype described by Gaspard and Saban. These findings should lead towards a homology-based nomenclature founded on comparative anatomy studies of mammalian species. Such a classification would permit the comparison of results obtained from physiological and histochemical studies of these complex muscle fibers when they are published by different researchers.

Aging↗
PubMed2001

Evaluation of the quality of care for severe obstetrical haemorrhage in three French regions.

OBJECTIVE: To determine what factors related to health services in France might explain substandard care of severe morbidity due to obstetric haemorrhage. DESIGN: Retrospective questionnaire survey. SETTING: Three administrative regions of France. POPULATION: All women who were pregnant or had recently given birth during the year before the survey. METHODS: A European survey (MOMS-B) defined severe haemorrhages as blood loss > or = 1500mL. A specific questionnaire was added in France to analyse the quality of care of these haemorrhages. The survey was carried out in three different administrative regions: Champagne-Ardenne, the Centre and Lorraine. An expert committee was appointed and began by establishing a framework for qualitative assessment. One hundred and sixty-five cases of severe haemorrhage were reviewed and classified into one of three levels of care: appropriate, inadequate or mixed. Inadequate care and 'mixed' care were both considered substandard. The 165 cases were coded and then studied with uni- and multivariate analysis (logistic regression with SAS and SPSS software). RESULTS: Of the 165 cases identified, 51% (85/165) were vaginal, 19% (31/165) operative vaginal, and 30% (49/165) caesarean. The leading cause of haemorrhage was uterine atony. Overall, 62% of the cases received appropriate care, 24% received totally inadequate care and 14% mixed care. After adjustment for sociodemographic factors, antenatal care and organisational aspects, the lack of a 24-hour on-site anaesthetist at the hospital and a low volume of deliveries (<500 births per year) were the factors associated with substandard care. CONCLUSION: Organisational features are so important that application of good clinical practices for safer motherhood reinforce the need for new organisation of obstetric services. For the first time, the presence of an anaesthetist is shown to have a measurable effect on the quality of care for women giving birth. These results need to be confirmed by others.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Evaluation of the ability of thermal and electrical tests to register pulp vitality.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the ability of thermal and electrical tests to register pulp vitality. Sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value and positive predictive value were calculated by comparing the test results with a "gold standard". The thermal tests studied were a cold test (ethyl chloride) and a heat test (hot gutta-percha). For the electrical test, the Analytic Technology Pulp Tester was used. The examined teeth were 59 teeth with unknown pulpal status in need of endodontic treatment and 16 intact teeth, all with radiographically normal periapical bone structures. In total 46 teeth with vital pulps and 29 teeth with necrotic pulps were tested. This gave a disease prevalence of 39%. The gold standard was established by direct pulp inspection of the 59 teeth in need of endodontic treatment. In the 16 intact teeth the pulp was judged as vital. The number of true positive (TP), false positive (FP), true negative (TN) and false negative (FN) test results was calculated for each method as compared to the gold standard. Based on this, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were calculated for each method. The sensitivity was 0.83 for the cold test, 0.86 for the heat test and 0.72 for the electrical test. The specificity was 0.93 for the cold test, 0.41 for the heat test and 0.93 for the electrical test. The positive predictive value was 0.89 for the cold test, 0.48 for the heat test and 0.88 for the electrical test, and the negative predictive value was 0.90 for the cold test, 0.83 for the heat test and 0.84 for the electrical test. This indicated that the probability of a non-sensitive reaction representing a necrotic pulp was 89% with the cold test, 48% with the heat test and 88% with the electrical test. It also indicated that the probability of a sensitive reaction representing a vital pulp was 90% with the cold test, 83% with the heat test and 84% with the electrical test.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

[Substance P in the primary sensory neurons innervating the dental pulp in the guinea pig].

Primary sensory trigeminal neurons supplying the dental pulp of incisors in guinea pigs were labelled by retrograde axonal transport. Using an autometallographic intensification procedure, 48 h after injection of wheat germ agglutinin/colloidal gold in the pulp, gold particles were detected in the cytoplasm of the neurons as black granulations. A morphometric study showed a bimodal repartition of the labelled neurons of the ganglion. By submitting ganglion slices to an anti-substance P immunserum revealed by immunocytochemistry, it could be observed that, among the neurons supplying the dental pulp of incisors, the majority of the largest were substance P immunopositive while the smallest were substance P immunonegative. These observations suggest that there could be at least two different populations of nerve fibres supplying the guinea pig incisor dental pulp. Substance P negative neurons could express different neurotransmitters.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Feasibility of and interest in laparoscopic assessment in recurrent urinary stress incontinence after Burch procedure performed by laparotomy.

BACKGROUND: The Burch colposuspension, performed by laparotomy or laparoscopy, remains one of the most popular operations for the treatment of genuine stress incontinence. The average failure rate is 10% in patients followed up for 5 years or more in the literature. The etiology of the failure is difficult to assess by clinical or urodynamic investigations; the failure may be due to weak sutures on the Cooper's ligaments or on the vagina, to excessive or insufficient elevation of the cervical neck, or to an incompetent urethral sphincter. METHODS: The authors performed five preperitoneal laparoscopies for recurrent urinary stress incontinence in women after a colposuspension performed by laparotomy in order to determine the etiology of the recurrence (between 1992 and 1995 at the Department of Gynecology of the University Hospital of Caen, France). RESULTS: Laparoscopic preperitoneal access was possible in all patients. No laparotomy had to be performed. One small bladder injury occurred during the dissection. It was sutured by laparoscopy. There were no postoperative complications. In one patient, both of the sutures had escaped. In two other patients both sutures were found in place, but urodynamics showed a decrease in closure pressure. In two other patients, complaining of dysuria (painful voiding and acute bladder distension) associated with urinary leakage, only the colposuspension on one side had failed, involving a lateral torsion of the bladder neck. CONCLUSION: Preperitoneal laparoscopy is feasible after a laparotomic colposuspension and gives a very interesting etiologic contribution to the recurrence of incontinence. It helps to choose the most appropriate procedure to treat these recurrent incontinent patients: a new colposuspension if the previous one has failed anatomically and a sling operation if it hasn't and if the sphincter is incompetent.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

The autosomal recessive isolated deafness, DFNB2, and the Usher 1B syndrome are allelic defects of the myosin-VIIA gene.

Hereditary non-syndromic profound deafness affects about 1 in 2000 children prior to language acquisition. In 80% of the cases, the mode of transmission is autosomal recessive. The number of genes involved in these recessive forms of isolated deafness (DFNB genes) has been estimated to between 30 and 100. So far, ten DFNB genes have been mapped to human chromosomes, one of which has been isolated. By linkage analysis of a single family whose members were affected with profound deafness, some of them presenting with vestibular dysfunction, DFNB2 has been mapped to chromosome 11q13 (ref. 3). The gene responsible for a form of Usher syndrome type I, USH1B, has been assigned to the same chromosomal region. Usher syndrome associates profound congenital deafness and vestibular dysfunction with retinitis pigmentosa. In the homologous murine region are located the shaker-1 mutations responsible for deafness and vestibular dysfunction. It has been demonstrated that the murine shaker-1 and human USH1B phenotypes result from mutations in the gene encoding myosin-VIIA. Based on mapping data as well as on the similarities between the phenotypes of DFNB2-affected patients and shaker-1 mouse mutants, we have proposed that a defective myosin-VIIA may also be responsible for DFNB2 (ref. 1). Sequence analysis of each of the coding exons of the myosin-VIIA gene (MYO7A) was thus undertaken in the DFNB2-affected family. In the last nucleotide of exon 15, a G to A transition was detected, a type of mutation that is known to decrease the efficiency of splicing. Accordingly, this result shows that different mutations in MYO7A result in either an isolated or a syndromic form of deafness.

Alleles↗
PubMed1997

Myosin VIIA gene: heterogeneity of the mutations responsible for Usher syndrome type IB.

Usher syndrome is recognized as the most frequent cause of hereditary deaf-blindness. Usher syndrome type I (USH1), the most severe form of the disease, is characterized by profound congenital sensorineural deafness, constant vestibular dysfunction, and retinitis pigmentosa of prepubertal onset. This form is genetically heterogeneous and five loci (USH1A-E) have been mapped thusfar. However, only the gene responsible for USH1 B (which accounts for approximately 75% of USH1 cases) has been characterized. It encodes a long-tailed unconventional myosin, myosin VIIA, with a predicted 2215 amino acid sequence. Primers covering the complete myosin VIIA coding sequence as well as the 3' non coding sequence were designed, allowing direct sequence analysis of each of the 48 coding exons and flanking splice sites in seven patients affected by USH1. Four novel mutations were thereby identified. The possibility should now be considered of a sequence-based prenatal diagnosis in some of the families affected by this very severe form of Usher syndrome.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1997

A French dental school programme appraisal by alumni of 5-9 years standing.

The objective of this study was to analyse the perception of the practical value of their training experience for 4 groups of alumni graduated between 1986 and 1989 at the Faculty of Odontology, University Paris 5. The 240 participants (45% response rate) perceived their training to have been adequate with respect to procedural activities. On the other hand, the graduates expressed a desire for more emphasis in emergencies, interpersonal relationship, office management and such clinical topics as fixed prosthodontics, surgery and periodontics. Surveys aimed at alumni may be useful for the evaluation of programme results and to determine which items should be added or deleted according to either health criteria or the conditions of dental practice.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1995

Laparoscopic preperitoneal colposuspension for stress incontinence in women. Technique and results of 37 procedures.

We present an original laparoscopic technique for treatment of stress urinary incontinence in women equivalent to the classical open approach described by Burch. This technique is particularly interesting because a wide pneumoretzius allows adequate access without being hindered by intestinal loops or the free border of the bladder. Suspension is achieved with nonabsorbable mesh bands stapled to the vagina and Cooper's ligaments. Seventy nine operations were performed at the Department of Gynecology of the University Hospital of Caen, France, between 1992 and 1995. The cure rate of the first 37 procedures (with a 18-42-month-long follow-up) is 86%. Of the patients, 22% had low closure pressure and 19% had an unstable bladder. No laparotomy had to be performed.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

[Evaluation, by flow cytometry, of activated platelet levels after coronarography and intraluminal angioplasty].

Coronarography and intraluminal angioplasty induce platelet activation. In this study, activated platelets were evaluated by measuring platelet-bound fibrinogen using a polyclonal fluorescent antibody in flow cytometry on whole blood. For normal subjects, the percentage of platelets binding fibrinogen was low (16.67%) and reached 81.0% in response to ADP. The percentages of platelets binding fibrinogen were evaluated 24 hours before and after coronarography. During intracoronary angioplasty, blood was collected from the catheter before and after the dilation and aspirin bolus (1 g). In both groups, the percentages of activated platelets were lower compared with those of the control group (respectively 3.96% and 5.59% versus 16.67%) following aggregation inhibitor, anticoagulant and calcium inhibitor therapies. Twenty-four hours after coronarography, platelet activation was noted (9.71% versus 3.96%). During angioplasty no significant activation was observed immediately after dilation (6.54% versus 5.59%). In both groups before the intervention, ADP stimulation was still responsible for platelet activation but to a lesser extent than in the control group (60.42% and 66.31% versus 81.0%). After coronarography, the platelet response to ADP was identical to that in the control group (81.01% versus 81.0%). Immediately after dilation, this activation was not observed in patients with an angioplasty. This study shows that platelet activation occurs 24 hours after coronarography, whereas after dilation and an aggregation inhibitor bolus this activation is not observed during angioplasty.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗