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Biomedical subjects

H F Chiu

Publications and source records attributed to H F Chiu.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Effects of occupational dust exposure on the respiratory health of Portland cement workers.

The object of this study was to assess the relationship between occupational Portland cement dust exposure and respiratory health. Respiratory symptoms and ventilatory function were studied in a group of 591 male Portland cement workers employed in four cement plants. The prevalence of chronic respiratory symptoms was higher in exposed than in control workers. The exposed group had a significantly lower mean forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume at 1 s (FEV1), and forced expiratory flows after exhalation of 50% and 75% of the vital capacity (FEF50, FEF75) than the control group. The data suggest that occupational exposure to Portland cement dust may lead to higher prevalence of chronic respiratory symptoms and the reduction of ventilatory capacity.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Psychotropic drug prescription in rehabilitation. A survey in Hong Kong.

Rational pharmacotherapy helping chronic psychiatric patients in the difficult process of reintegration into the community is an important prerequisite of successful rehabilitation. Results of a survey conducted at the opening of a rehabilitation facility in Hong Kong revealed a number of illogicalities in prescription patterns. Frequently encountered faulty treatment decisions incompatible with the recommendations of modern literature included polypharmacy, higher than necessary doses of anticholinergic antiparkinsonian agents and giving psychotropic drugs in inconveniently divided doses. With the newly emerging subspecialty of rehabilitation-community psychiatry in Hong Kong, it is expected that large numbers of chronically hospitalized patients will enter rehabilitation programmes. The present survey indicated that it is imperative to pay continued attention to their medication status.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Attempted suicide by Chinese elderly in Hong Kong.

There is little information on attempted suicide in the elderly, especially among Chinese populations. Fifty-five elderly with suicidal attempts seen in a psychiatric unit in Hong Kong over a 2 1/2 year period were studied. The risk of suicidal attempt remained high after age 75 and only declined after 85. In contrast to western societies, self-injury was more common than self-poisoning. About half of the patients suffered from a mood disorder but very few had dementia. At follow-up 1 1/2-4 years after the suicidal attempt, the rate of repetition was 3.6% and the rate of completed suicide was 5.5%.

Age Distribution↗
PubMed1996

Relationship between water hardness and coronary mortality in Taiwan.

A number of studies carried out in other countries have shown the existence of negative correlations between coronary mortality and the hardness of water supplies. Data on water hardness throughout Taiwan have been collected from Taiwan Water Supply Corporation (TWSC) to examine the ecological correlation between deaths from coronary disease (1981-1990) and total hardness in drinking water. Analysis demonstrates a significant negative association between drinking water hardness and coronary mortality. After adjustment for the urbanization index, coronary mortality in municipalities with soft water was estimated to be 9.6% higher than that in municipalities with hard water. The weighted multivariate-adjusted regression coefficient indicated a decrease of 0.053 in standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) for every 100 mg/L increase in total hardness in drinking water after allowing for the urbanization condition.

Calcium Carbonate↗
PubMed1995

Cotard's syndrome in psychogeriatric patients in Hong Kong.

Cotard's syndrome is characterized by the presence of nihilistic delusions. A retrospective case note study of 349 Chinese psychogeriatric patients in Hong Kong showed a prevalence of 0.57% of the syndrome. The two patients identified were both females with major depression. Case vignettes of these patients were presented and the similarity of the clinical features to those described in the Western literature was discussed.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Psychiatric aspects of progressive supranuclear palsy.

Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is characterized by supranuclear ophthalmoplegia mainly affecting vertical gaze, nuchal dystonia in extension, pseudobulbar palsy, and mental changes. The literature on PSP has been neurologically oriented whereas the psychiatric aspects have been relatively neglected. A review of the literature shows that psychiatric disturbance in PSP is common but with no characteristic pattern. Cognitive impairment, nonspecific affective and behavioral disturbances are commonly found, whereas frank psychosis or bipolar disorder are rare. Misdiagnoses with psychiatric disorders are common and a heightened awareness of the condition is necessary for early diagnosis.

Diagnosis, Differential↗
PubMed1995

Delusional jealousy in Chinese elderly psychiatric patients.

Studies on the delusion of jealousy are scanty, especially in the elderly population. This study is a retrospective case note study investigating the prevalence of delusions of jealousy in an elderly psychiatric population in Hong Kong. A total of 349 patients were surveyed and five had delusions of jealousy. This gives an overall prevalence of 1.4%, which shows that delusions of jealousy in the elderly are more common than one would expect. There is a predominance among female patients, and the most common psychiatric diagnosis of these patients is delusional disorder.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

Narcolepsy in Hong Kong Chinese--a preliminary experience.

BACKGROUND: Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder of unknown aetiology. Despite the widely reported strong association with HLA DR2 among different ethnic groups and their varying prevalence rates, there has never been any series of laboratory documented narcolepsy in Chinese. AIMS: To report the preliminary experience with Chinese narcoleptic patients and their HLA typing. METHODS: The records of 342 patients who presented to our sleep laboratory for various sleep problems from 1986 to 1992 were examined. Both clinical and polysomnographic data were analysed. The criteria for a diagnosis of narcolepsy is based on shortened mean sleep latency of less than 5 minutes and presence of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep in two or more of the five 20-minute naps during multiple sleep latency test (MSLT). RESULTS: There were five narcoleptic patients documented resulting in an overall laboratory prevalence of 1.5% or 2.3% of patients presenting with hypersomnia. All patients were HLA DR2 positive. CONCLUSION: There is 100% association with HLA DR2 in Hong Kong Chinese narcoleptic patients. Based on the laboratory prevalence, the prevalence rate of narcolepsy among Hong Kong Chinese population is estimated to be within the range of four in 10,000 to one in 100,000.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

A patient with coexisting narcolepsy and morbid jealousy showing favourable response to fluoxetine.

A 37 year old Chinese man suffered from coexisting narcolepsy and morbid jealousy which were precipitated by head injury 5 years previously. Fluoxetine 20 mg/day reduced his narcoleptic symptoms and morbid jealousy but not his sleepiness. On defaulting treatment, the patient's symptoms and marital problem recurred. A common central serotonin disturbance might be involved in mediating the sleep disorder and associated psychopathology.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1994

Reliability, validity and structure of the Chinese Geriatric Depression Scale in a Hong Kong context: a preliminary report.

Depression is one of the commonest psychiatric illness in the elderly. Screening instruments of depression can greatly facilitate its identification in the community, leading to early recognition and diagnosis. The Geriatric Depression Scale was translated into Chinese and its reliability, validity and factor structure examined in a population of Chinese elderly in Hong Kong. One hundred and thirteen normal and 80 depressed elderly subjects were studied and a cut-off score of 15 on the scale was found to be optimal. The scale's reliability and validity was satisfactory and thus it is a promising instrument for screening geriatric depression in Hong Kong.

Aged↗
PubMed1993

Comparison of the electrophysiologic effects of oral sustained-release and intravenous verapamil in patients with paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia.

The electrophysiologic effects of intravenous verapamil (0.15 mg/kg) and oral sustained-release verapamil (verapamil-SR) (240 mg once daily for 7 days) were studied in 17 patients with paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (SVT). Ten patients had atrioventricular (AV) nodal reentrant tachycardia and 7 had AV reciprocating tachycardia involving an accessory AV pathway. Both preparations significantly prolonged anterograde effective refractory period of the AV node and depressed the retrograde AV nodal conduction system. The sinus cycle length, and atrial and ventricular effective refractory periods were prolonged after oral verapamil-SR. Furthermore, oral verapamil-SR depressed retrograde accessory pathway conduction which was not interfered with by intravenous verapamil. Intravenous verapamil and oral verapamil-SR prevented induction of sustained SVT in 12 of 17 (71%) and 10 of 17 (59%) patients, respectively. Follow-up study with oral verapamil-SR 240 mg once daily in 15 patients for 19 +/- 6 months revealed that among the 8 patients without induction of sustained SVT, 7 have been free of symptomatic arrhythmia; only 1 patient had occasional SVT attacks. For the 7 patients with induction of sustained SVT, 3 patients failed to respond to oral verapamil-SR, 1 patient became symptom free, and the remaining 3 patients had less frequent SVT attacks. Thus, immediate intravenous verapamil testing predicts the electrophysiologic results of oral verapamil-SR therapy, and oral verapamil-SR once daily may be used for long-term prophylaxis of SVT with better patient compliance.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1993

Prevalence of tardive dyskinesia in samples of elderly people in Hong Kong.

The prevalence of dyskinesia was studied in 4 samples of elderly Chinese people in Hong Kong--a psychogeriatric clinic, a mental hospital, a geriatric day hospital and a senior citizen centre. Research Diagnostic Criteria were used to identify cases of tardive dyskinesia. The overall prevalence of spontaneous dyskinesia was 2.4% and tardive dyskinesia was 25.9%. The rate of spontaneous dyskinesia differs across the study samples and is related to nervous system conditions associated with increased age. On the other hand, the rate of dyskinesia associated with antidepressants may not be significantly different from that of spontaneous dyskinesia.

Aged↗
PubMed1993

Idiopathic calcification of the basal ganglia.

Idiopathic calcification of the basal ganglia is a rare disorder characterized by neuropsychiatric abnormalities, a movement disturbance of parkinsonian and/or choreoathetoid type and dense calcification of the basal ganglia. We report a 60 year old patient diagnosed as having delusional disorder and tardive dyskinesia who was subsequently found to be suffering from idiopathic calcification of the basal ganglia.

Basal Ganglia↗
PubMed1993

Evaluation of the anti-inflammatory and liver-protective effects of anoectochilus formosanus, ganoderma lucidum and gynostemma pentaphyllum in rats.

The pharmacological effects of Anoectochilus formosanus, Ganoderma lucidum and Gynostemma pentaphyllum were studied against carrageenan-induced paw edema and CC1(4)-induced hepatotoxicity in rats. The water extracts of G. pentaphyllum and G. lucidum were found to possess significant anti-inflammatory activity against carrageenan induced edema. The administration of Gynostemma pentaphyllum displayed an activity even more potent than indomethacin. In contrast, Anoectochilus formosanus showed a delayed onset of anti-inflammatory activity starting from 4 hrs post carrageenan administration. However, A. formosanus significantly decreased the acute increase in serum GOT and GPT level caused by CC1(4). Histological changes such as necrosis, fatty change, ballooning degeneration, inflammatory infiltration of lymphocytes and Kupffer cells around the central vein were simultaneously improved by the treatment of A. formosanus.

Alanine Transaminase↗
PubMed1993

Clinical and polygraphic characteristics of patients with respiratory dyskinesia.

Respiratory dyskinesia is characterized by irregularity in rate, rhythm and depth of breathing. This study reports on the clinical features of 11 patients with respiratory dyskinesia identified from a mental hospital in Hong Kong, together with the results of the 24-hour polygraphic recording of seven patients. Virtually all patients with respiratory dyskinesia had tardive dyskinesia. However, the condition was missed or misdiagnosed in all cases by the case psychiatrists. The respiratory irregularity persisted for most of the day and only disappeared when patients took a prolonged rest or fell asleep. A standardised clinical examination for respiratory dyskinesia is proposed.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Studies on folk medicine "thang-kau-tin" from Taiwan. (I). The anti-inflammatory and liver-protective effect.

Five species of crude drugs are used as "Thang-kau-tin" on Taiwan market: (1) the stem of Mallotus repandus (Willd.) Muell.-Arg, (2) the stem and root of M. repandus (Willd.) Muell.-Arg, (3) the stem of Bauhinia championii Benth, (4) the stem with hooks of Uncaria hirsuta Haviland and (5) the stem with hooks of U. rhynchophylla Miquel. To clarify the effect of these crude drugs as anti-inflammatory and liver-protective agents, studies were conducted on water extracts of these five crude drugs. The statistical analysis (ANOVA) indicated that the stem of M. repandus showed the best anti-inflammatory activity against the paw edema induced by carrageenan. Nevertheless, the acute increase of GOT and GPT levels caused by CCl4 were markedly decreased by the treatment of M. repandus (stem), B. championii and U. hirsuta as a recipe group. The pathological changes around the central vein including fatty change, ballooning degeneration, cell necrosis, the increase in lymphocytes and Kupffer cells were improved by the treatment with the group of crude drugs as mentioned above.

Alanine Transaminase↗