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Biomedical subjects

H Ward

Publications and source records attributed to H Ward.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

Prostitution and risk of HIV: female prostitutes in London.

OBJECTIVE: To measure the prevalence of HIV and to describe established risk factors in female prostitutes. DESIGN: A cross sectional survey. SETTING: A genitourinary medicine clinic, streets, and magistrates' courts in London. SUBJECTS: 280 female prostitutes recruited between April 1989 and August 1991. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Infection with HIV-1, reported risk behaviours, and prevalence of sexually transmitted infections. RESULTS: 228 of the women had HIV tests, and two (0.9% (95% confidence interval 0% to 2.1%)) were infected with HIV-1. Reported use of condoms was high for commercial clients and low for non-paying partners: 98% (251/255) of women used condoms with all clients and 12% (25/207) with non-paying partners for vaginal intercourse. Twenty two women were current or past injecting drug users. Of the 193 women examined for sexually transmitted infections, 27 had an acute infection (gonorrhoea, chlamydia, trichomonas, or primary genital herpes) at the time of interview. Infection was associated with younger age and increasing numbers of non-paying sexual partners, but not with duration of prostitution, numbers of clients, or reports of condom failures. When age and numbers of non-paying partners were analysed by logistic regression they remained significantly associated with sexually transmitted infections. CONCLUSIONS: A large and diverse sample of prostitutes had a low prevalence of infection with HIV and high levels of use of condoms in commercial sex. There was a significant risk of other sexually transmitted infections associated with prostitutes' non-commercial sexual relationships, in which unprotected sex is common. Interventions to reduce the risk of sexually transmitted infections in prostitutes should address both commercial and non-commercial sexual partnerships.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1993

Prostitution and risk of HIV: male partners of female prostitutes.

OBJECTIVE: To describe risk behaviours for infection with HIV in male sexual partners of female prostitutes. DESIGN: A cross sectional study. SETTING: Genitourinary medicine clinic, St Mary's Hospital, London. SUBJECTS: 112 self identified male sexual partners of female prostitutes: 101 who reported commercial sexual relationships only, five who reported non-commercial relationships only, and six who reported both commercial and non-commercial relationships. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Reported risk behaviours for infection with HIV. RESULTS: Of the 40 men who had had previous HIV tests or were tested during the study, two (5%) were infected with HIV. Of the men who would answer the questions, 34/94 reported having sex with other men, 2/105 reported using injected drugs, 8/105 had a history of blood transfusion, 14/108 reported a past history of gonorrhoea, 44/102 reported paying for sex abroad, and 8/92 said that they had also been paid for sex. Of the 55 men who reported paying for vaginal intercourse in the past year, 45 (82%) said that they had always used a condom. In contrast, of the 11 non-paying partners of prostitutes, only two (18%) reported ever using a condom with their partners. CONCLUSIONS: Men who have sex with female prostitutes cannot be assumed to be at risk of infection with HIV only by this route: homosexual contact may place them at greater risk. Despite the heterogeneity among male sexual partners of prostitutes, patterns of use of condoms were uniform when they were considered as a reflection of the type of relationship a man had with a female prostitute rather than a consequence of an individual's level of risk.

Condoms↗
PubMed1992

Unbalanced 13;18 translocation and Williams syndrome.

A 2 1/2 year old girl is reported with a de novo 13;18 unbalanced translocation and the facial features of Williams syndrome, subaortic stenosis, failure to thrive, and developmental delay. This case provides two candidate locations for the underlying molecular pathology of this sporadic syndrome. Williams syndrome is associated with intellectual and growth retardation, infantile feeding problems which may be associated with hypercalcaemia, cardiovascular abnormalities, a friendly, loquacious personality, and a typical facies. The cause is not known and only a few chromosome abnormalities have been reported in patients with the Williams syndrome phenotype. Many papers fail to mention chromosome studies. We report a girl with an unbalanced 13;18 translocation and the Williams syndrome phenotype.

Aortic Valve Stenosis↗
PubMed1992

Mesangial overload in experimental membranous nephropathy.

1. The distribution and amount of ferritin in the glomeruli following intravenous injection of radiolabeled ferritin (125I-ferritin) was studied in 25 normal rats and in 25 rats with membranous nephropathy. The animals used were male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 180-200 g at the beginning of the experiment. Membranous nephropathy was induced by repeated iv injections of 1.0 mg cationic bovine serum albumin during 28 days. 2. At the end of the experiment the animals received 125I-ferritin iv and were sacrificed 2, 6, 12, 24 and 36 h later, and the glomeruli were isolated. 3. Mean (+/- SEM) levels of 125I-ferritin in the glomeruli reported as cpm/mg protein in rats injected with cationic bovine serum albumin were: 731.8 +/- 155.6 after 2 h, 946.4 +/- 268.2 after 6 h, 565.4 +/- 143.5 after 12 h, 251.8 +/- 26.5 after 24 h, and 202 +/- 29.1 after 36 h. Mean (+/- SEM) 125I-ferritin in normal rats were: 2 h: 256.2 +/- 44.6; 6 h: 214.2 +/- 8.78; 12 h: 198.2 +/- 32.2; 24 h: 51.5 +/- 3.57; 36 h: 40.6 +/- 5.48. 125I-ferritin levels in the glomeruli isolated from rats injected with cationic bovine serum albumin were significantly higher than in control rats at 2, 6, 24 and 36 h. 4. The distribution of ferritin in the glomeruli was studied by a direct immunofluorescence technique. Normal and nephrotic rats showed ferritin in the glomerular mesangium only, with similar pattern and intensity. 5. These data show that rats with membranous glomerulonephritis induced by cationic bovine serum albumin presented an increased macromolecule uptake by the glomerular mesangium. However, the mechanism underlying this mesangial overloading is still unknown.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Improved animal production by genetic engineering of ruminal bacteria.

Ruminant production is a major focus of Australian agriculture. The ability of ruminant animals such as sheep and cattle to make productive use of low quality plant materials depends on the activity and efficiency of the anaerobic microbial population that resides in the rumen. Factors that affect ruminant production include the ability of cellulolytic microorganisms to digest plant structural polysaccharides (primarily cellulose and hemicellulose), the capacity of microorganisms to metabolise and detoxify otherwise inhibitory plant products and the efficiency of nitrogen utilisation by ruminal organisms. This review will consider some current Australian research programs aimed at improving ruminant production efficiency by genetic engineering of ruminal bacteria.

Agriculture↗
PubMed1992

Poor prognosis acute myeloid leukaemia treated by matched unrelated donor marrow transplant without preceding total body irradiation.

Two patients with acute myeloid leukaemia, one in relapse after autologous bone marrow transplantation (BMT) (aged 52 years) and the other with primary resistant disease secondary to previously treated malignancy, have received marrow transplants from matched unrelated donors. Cytoreductive conditioning in both cases was with high-dose combination chemotherapy alone. Engraftment was aided by the administration of total lymphoid irradiation together with in vivo antilymphocyte antibody prior to marrow infusion. Both patients survive in complete remission, currently at 12 and 15 months post-BMT respectively. The avoidance of total body irradiation in BMT patients at high risk of early treatment-related mortality may be advantageous.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Endothelium dependent vasodilatation following brief ischaemia and reperfusion in anaesthetised swine.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The aim as to compare the responses of intracoronary infusions of ATP, an endothelium dependent vasodilator, with adenosine following brief ischaemia (10 min) and reperfusion in a model of myocardial stunning. DESIGN: In group 1 (n = 6), coronary blood flow and endocardial (endo) and epicardial (epi) percent segment length shortening were measured in the distribution of the left anterior descending coronary artery before and during maximal intracoronary infusions of either adenosine or ATP (20 micrograms.kg-1.min-1). Measurements were obtained before and after myocardial stunning both at control heart rate and during atrial pacing (150 beats.min-1). In group 2 (n = 6), myocardial blood flows by microspheres and arterial-venous lactate and oxygen differences were determined following the same ischaemia-reperfusion protocol to characterise transmural changes in blood flow and metabolism in this model of stunning. EXPERIMENTAL MATERIAL: The experiments were done on 12 anaesthetised swine, weight 25-39 kg. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: In group 1, baseline endo and epi segment length shortening were 16(SD 3)% and 14(6)% and following reperfusion were reduced to 10(4)% and 8(6)% respectively (p less than 0.05). Prior to stunning, minimal coronary resistances during adenosine and ATP were 0.81(0.40) and 0.76(0.25) mm Hg.min.ml-1 respectively and following reperfusion were 0.86(0.31) (NS) and 0.85(0.23) (NS) mm Hg.min.ml-1 respectively. Infusion of either vasodilator enhanced function by 30% following reperfusion whereas no such effect was observed prior to ischaemia. In group 2, no maldistribution of blood flow was observed following the same ischaemia-reperfusion protocol to account for this vasodilator enhancement in function. Percent lactate extraction values were 29(11)% and 25(14)% at preischaemic control and paced heart rates respectively, and following reperfusion were lowered to 0(12)% without pacing (p less than 0.05) and -1(34)% during pacing (p less than 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Brief ischaemia and reperfusion in swine induces myocardial stunning without altering the vasodilator responses of either ATP, an endothelium dependent vasodilator, or adenosine. Recruitment in postischaemic segment length shortening was observed during infusions of both vasodilators at a time when maldistribution of flow was not observed. Possible mechanisms include either enhanced washout of lactate from the reperfused myocardium or greater utilisation of substrates during higher blood flows.

Adenosine↗