The clinical approach to prevention, cogently documented in the Task Force guidelines, implies the medicalization of prevention. The concentration of resources on those most in need is efficient, the widening of physicians' responsibility is welcome, and the influence on the recipients diffuses into the community. The Task Force report, however, fails to stress the problems and the limitations of this approach. The adverse effects of "labeling" can be serious. They need to be measured and taken into account, and there should be no screening without counseling and long-term care; the latter cannot be guaranteed unless there is a comprehensive general practitioner system. Screening readily generates overmedication, particularly since many physicians lack the skills, the inclination, or the staff to provide expert and continuing health advice. Concern for high-risk individuals should be only one part of a much wider preventive strategy. This is illustrated by the close correlations between the prevalence of high-risk status and the population mean value (0.85 for hypertension vs. mean blood pressure, 0.97 for excess use of alcohol vs. population mean intake). The medical approach, important though it is, must not distract attention from the more fundamental population strategy of prevention.

Attitude to Health↗

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Gender, psychological well-being and somatic cardiovascular risk factors.

The purpose of this study is to determine associations between cardiovascular risk factors and subjective experience of psychological general well-being with special reference to gender related differences. One-hundred fifty white-collar workers in a car manufacturing plant in Sweden participated in a health care screening program. Subjective experience of psychological well-being was significantly correlated with cardiovascular risk factors among both men and women. There were, however, marked differences between the genders. For men, the following specific psychological variables were correlated with different cardiovascular risk factors: estimation of general health and psychological well-being, anxiety, depression, self-control and vitality. For women, more complex significant relationships between the two sets of variables were found. Moreover, the direction of the correlations differed between the genders. For example, men with cardiovascular risk factors, such as increased waist-hip-ratio, age and cholesterol, reported significantly more positive estimation of their self-control and vitality. For women the relation was the opposite with a significantly positive correlation (p=3D0.008) between experience of good health and a low risk factor profile indicating the concordance between physiological and psychological parameters. Possible reasons for these sex differences are discussed.

Adult↗

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Hypertrophy and redistribution of astrocytes in the deafferented dentate gyrus.

The response of the astroglial population of the dentate gyrus molecular layer to removal of that region's primary afferent was investigated using Cajal's gold sublimate method. Deafferentation caused the astrocytes to hypertrophy, an effect which was detectable at 24 hr and maximal at 72-96 hr post-lesion. Following this, the astroglia entered a lengthy period of gradual atrophy. Counts of the astrocytes in the various sublayers of the molecular layer led to the conclusion that these cells migrate into denervated dendritic areas from neighboring, nondeafferented zones.

Animals↗

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Neurobehavioral and sensory irritant effects of controlled exposure to a complex mixture of volatile organic compounds.

Subjective reactions of discomfort, impaired air quality, irritation of mucosal membranes, and impaired memory have been reported in chemically sensitive subjects during exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in new buildings. Sixty-six normal healthy male subjects aged 18-39 were exposed for 2.75 hr to a complex VOC mixture at 0 and 25 mg/m3. Each subject completed control and exposure sessions at one-week intervals in counterbalanced order. Measurements included comfort ratings of eye, nose and throat irritation, symptom questionnaire and computerized behavioral tests. Subjects found the odor of VOCs unpleasantly strong and reported that VOC exposure degraded air quality, increased headache and produced general discomfort. VOC exposure did not affect performance on any behavioral tests.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Temporal hyperacuity in the electric sense of fish.

It has recently become evident that sensory thresholds for certain tasks are lower than those expected from the properties of individual receptors. This perceptual capacity, termed hyperacuity, reveals the impressive information-processing abilities of the central nervous system. Although much is known about spatial hyperacuity, temporal hyperacuity has received little attention. Here we demonstrate that an electric fish, Eigenmannia, can detect modulations in the timing (phase) of an electrical signal at least as small as 400 ns. Such sensitivity exceeds the temporal resolution of individual phase-coding afferents. This hyperacuity results from a nonlinear convergence of parallel afferent inputs to the central nervous system; subthreshold inputs from particular areas of the body surface accumulate to permit the detection of these extremely small temporal modulations.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Gene/longevity association studies at four autosomal loci (REN, THO, PARP, SOD2).

The possibility that four loci (REN, THO, PARP, SOD2) are associated with longevity was explored by comparing the genotypic pools of subjects older than 100 years with those of younger subjects matched for sex and geographic area (northern and southern Italy). The markers (all located within the respective gene) were HUMREN4; HUMTHO1; HUMPARP (gt)845nt; SOD2(C/T)401nt. In order to reduce the number of genotypes, multiallelic polymorphisms were recoded as diallelic according to allele size and frequency patterns (small: S, and large: L, alleles). A significant loss of LL homozygous genotypes was found at the THO locus in male but not in female centenarians with respect to matched controls. On the other hand no significant difference was found between case/control genotypic frequencies at REN, PARP, SOD2 loci. The latter loci therefore do not affect inter-individual variability in life expectancy (at least in terms of qualitative variants associated with the tested markers). However, the data is consistent with an association between the THO locus and longevity.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Correlation of IgA2 serum levels in parent-offspring pairs.

IgA2 serum levels were measured by ELISA in 120 healthy subjects from 40 nuclear families (both parents and one offspring). No sex-associated difference was observed. Moreover, the IgA2 serum levels proved to be significantly correlated in parent-offspring pairs (r = 0.55; P less than 0.001), while there was no significant correlation in mother-father pairs of the same family. The data suggest that the serum level of the IgA2 subclass is genetically controlled.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Post-translational polymorphism of human IgA identified by immunoisoelectrofocusing.

Immunoisoelectrofocusing (IIEF) reveals a microheterogeneity of human serum IgA controlled by an autosomal polymorphic gene, termed S. The microheterogeneity disappears when sialic acid is removed from serum glycoproteins by neuraminidase treatment. It can be postulated, therefore, that S encodes a sialyltransferase which attaches sialic acid at the outer prosthetic chains of IgA.

Humans↗

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Blood pressure and associated factors in a rural Kenyan community.

Blood pressure (BP) and associated factors were determined in 1737 men in a remote Kenyan agricultural community. Systolic BP showed no significant rise with age until after 54 years; diastolic BP showed a small rise with age. Both systolic and diastolic BP correlated with weight independent of age. Systolic and diastolic BP correlated positively with casual urinary sodium/potassium and negatively with potassium/creatinine ratios. Both systolic and diastolic BP correlated significantly with the number of years of education, as did urinary sodium/potassium and sodium/creatinine ratios. Potassium/creatinine ratios were negatively correlated with the number of years of education. Blood pressure and urinary sodium/creatinine ratios were significantly lower in subsistence farmers compared with those in other occupations, and potassium/creatinine ratios were significantly higher. Two pilot studies of Luo tribesmen showed a strong correlation between casual urinary electrolyte ratios and those derived from 24-hour urine samples and a greater variance of sodium excretion between these people than that found within individuals. These results suggest that a relationship between BP and casual urine electrolyte estimations may be identifiable in communities where there is less day-to-day dietary variation. They also suggest that some of the changes in BP associated with urbanization could be mediated by changes in dietary electrolytes.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Epidemiologic methods in diabetic macrovascular disease.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Cardiovascular Diseases↗

PubMedDate not supplied

XbaI-RFLP of the APOB gene in a sample group from southern Italy.

The XbaI Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) of the APOB gene at codon 2488 was investigated in a sample group from Southern Italy (165 subjects), taken from a population characterized by a low average level of cholesterolemia. The X2 allele (presence of XbaI cutting site), that in several groups was found to be associated with increased cholesterolemia, showed in Southern Italians a frequency of 39% which is significantly (P much less than 0.001) lower than that found in the majority of the Caucasoid groups so far tested (50%). However, an analysis of both cholesterol and APOB serum levels performed in a sample of 82 subjects, homogeneous for sex and age did not reveal any significant association between lipidemic parameters and APOB-XbaI genotypes.

Alleles↗