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Biomedical subjects

I White

Publications and source records attributed to I White.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Prevalence and predictors of parasuicide in chronic psychosis. UK700 group.

OBJECTIVE: This study estimates the prevalence of and risk factors for parasuicide in a large community-based sample of patients with chronic psychosis. METHOD: A total of 704 subjects with chronic psychosis were interviewed using a battery of instruments. The 2-year prevalence of parasuicide was estimated and a comparison was made between attempters and nonattempters on a wide range of sociodemographic and clinical variables. RESULTS: The 2-year prevalence of parasuicide was 18.8%. Attempters were significantly more likely to be younger, of white ethnic origin, to have a diagnosis of affective disorder, to be currently depressed, to have experienced more auditory hallucinations and to have received treatment with antipsychotic drugs for a longer period. CONCLUSION: Parasuicide was found to present a considerable clinical problem in this group. Continual risk assessment is essential to reduce this unacceptably high rate.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

The role of prescribing and referral bias in studies of the association between third generation oral contraceptives and increased risk of thromboembolism.

Recently published papers have shown a slightly increased risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE) among users of third generation oral contraceptive pills (OC) as compared with users of second generation OC. The extra risk is small (about twofold) and could be explained possibly by biases introduced into the original case-control studies. This paper examines the possible role of prescribing bias (i.e. that doctors would prescribe third generation OC preferentially to women whom they knew to be at risk of VTE) and referral bias (i.e. that doctors would preferentially refer women on third generation OC to hospital for investigations of symptoms suggestive of VTE). A cross-sectional survey was carried out of 106 physicians, to record their attitude to the prescription of OC in certain risk situations. Each doctor then extracted data on OC prescription from approximately 12 patients under his care. A total of 1192 patients were included. Data collected related to known risk factors to which the patient was prone, and the type of OC that the woman was taking. The results from the doctors' attitudinal survey showed that third generation oral contraceptives seemed to be very popular among doctors in England and that they would prefer to prescribe third generation to second generation oral contraceptives in virtually all risk situations, and also in situations where there was no particular risk of VTE. The results from the patients' survey, however, did not correspond with the attitudinal survey, and there was no evidence of a systematic bias running through this sample of patients, associating third generation OC prescription with particular risk factors. The results from the doctors' attitudinal survey on referral did not show any evidence of potential bias towards referring patients on third generation OC to hospitals. Comparison of this survey with an equivalent survey done in Germany suggests that there may be different factors governing doctors' behaviour in Germany and England, with reference to choice of OC prescription.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1998

Deodorants: a clinical provocation study in fragrance-sensitive individuals.

Deodorants are one of the most marketed types of cosmetics and are frequently reported as a cause of dermatitis, particularly among fragrance-sensitive persons. The aim of this study was to investigate the ability of deodorants, which had previously caused axillary dermatitis in fragrance-mix-sensitive eczema patients, to provoke reactions on repeated open application tests on the upper arm and in the axillae, and to relate the findings to the content of fragrance-mix constituents in those deodorants. 14 eczema patients performed a 7-day use test with 1 or 2 deodorants that had caused a rash within the last 12 months. 2 applications per day were made in the axilla and simultaneously on a 25 cm2 area on the upper arm. A total of 20 deodorants were tested among the 14 patients. Afterwards, the deodorants were subjected to quantitative chemical analysis identifying constituents of the fragrance mix. 12/20 (60%) deodorants elicited eczema on use testing in the axilla. 8/12 deodorants were positive in the axilla on day (D) 7 and 4 both in the axilla and on the upper arm. 2 of the 4 developed a reaction in the axilla before it developed on the upper arm. Chemical analysis revealed that 18/19 deodorants contained between 1 and 6 of the fragrance-mix constituents, on average 3 being found. The mean concentration of fragrance-mix constituents was generally higher in the deodorants causing a positive use test, as compared with those giving a negative reaction, indicating that the differences between the deodorants in terms of elicitation potential were more related to quantitative aspects of allergen content than of a qualitative nature. It is recommended that deodorants are tested in the axilla in the case of a negative use test on the upper arm and a strong clinical suspicion.

Allergens↗
PubMed1998

Differences in urban and rural Britain.

Almost 90 per cent of people in Britain live in urban areas and just over half the population are resident in 66 urban areas with populations of 100,000 or more. These and a wide range of key results from the 1991 Census have been published for all urban areas in Great Britain, updating information that was prepared for the first time after the 1981 Census. This article summarises the socio-demographic characteristics and distributions of urban and rural populations in Great Britain and describes how the distribution of urban population has changed in the decade 1981-91.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Differential loss of heterozygosity in familial, sporadic, and uremic hyperparathyroidism.

Various genetic loci harboring oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, and genes for calcium receptors have been implicated in the development of parathyroid tumors. We have carried out loss of heterozygosity (LOH) studies in chromosomes 1p, 1q, 3q, 6q, 11q, 13q, 15q, and X in a total of 89 benign parathyroid tumors. Of these, 28 were sporadic parathyroid adenomas from patients with no family history of the disease, 41 were secondary parathyroid tumors, 5 were from patients with a history of previous irradiation to the neck, 12 were from patients with a family history of hyperparathyroidism, and 3 were parathyroid tumors related to multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1). In addition, we determined the chromosomal localization of a second putative calcium-sensing receptor, CaS, for inclusion in the LOH studies. Based on analysis of somatic cell hybrids and fluorescent in situ hybridization to metaphase chromsomes, the gene for CaS was mapped to chromosomal region 2q21-q22. The following results were obtained from the LOH studies: (1) out of the 24 tumors that showed LOH, only 4 had more than one chromosomal region involved, (2) in the tumors from uremic patients, LOH of chromosome 3q was detected in a subset of the tumors, (3) LOH of the MEN1 region at 11q13 was the most common abnormality found in both MEN1-related and sporadic parathyroid tumours but was not a feature of the other forms of parathyroid tumors, (4) LOH in 1p and 6q was not as frequent as previously reported, and (5) tumor suppressor genes in 1q and X might have played a role, particularly on the X chromosome, in the case of familial parathyroid adenomas. We therefore conclude that the tumorigenesis of familial, sporadic, and uremic hyperparathyroidism involves different genetic triggers in a non-progressive pattern.

Adenoma↗
PubMed1997

Maternal serum screening for Down's syndrome: a survey of midwives' views.

The lack of consensus regarding the implementation of maternal serum screening, has led to a widespread variation in practice. The importance of the role of midwives within the service has been recognised. All maternity units in the Northern region now have a designated 'co-ordinator' in an attempt to improve service delivery, professional liaison and training. This study was designed to obtain midwives' views about maternal serum screening in principle and to assess whether any changes had occurred since the introduction of co-ordinators. Semi-structured, postal questionnaires were sent to all midwives in one health authority for them to complete and return. Within this authority, one maternity unit offered universal screening whereas the other maintained a selective policy. Responses were obtained from 90 out of 133 (67.7%). There was almost unanimous support for the principle of screening 86 out of 90 (95.5%) and most midwives considered the offer of screening should be an NHS service, independent of age 78 out of 90 (86.7%). Half of the respondents 46 out of 90 (51.2%) reported that the introduction of a co-ordinator had been successful in improving staff education but requests for further training and updating were made by 69 out of 90 (76.6%) despite having had this organized training input: although those midwives who were regularly involved with screening made significantly fewer requests 27 out of 45 (60%). These findings confirmed our previous recommendation that ongoing responsibility for such provision would be required. The results of the study provided a useful contribution towards the review of screening policy undertaken by the health authority, as well as evidence upon which to base further development of the role of the co-ordinators in their support of midwives.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1997

Can dietary interventions change diet and cardiovascular risk factors? A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated the effectiveness of dietary advice in primary prevention of chronic disease. METHODS: A meta-analysis was conducted of 17 randomized controlled trials of dietary behavior interventions of at least 3 months' duration. Results were analyzed as changes in reported dietary fat intakes and biomedical measures (serum cholesterol, urinary sodium, systolic and diastolic blood pressure) in the intervention group minus changes in the control group at 3 to 6 months and 9 to 18 months of follow-up. RESULTS: After 3 to 6 months, mean net changes in each of the five outcomes favored intervention. For dietary fat as a percentage of food energy, the change was -2.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] = -3.9%, -1.1%). Mean net changes over 9 to 18 months were as follows: serum cholesterol, -0.22 (95% CI = -0.39, -0.05) mmol/L; urinary sodium, -45.0 (95% CI = -57.1, -32.8) mmol/24 hours; systolic blood pressure, -1.9 (95% CI = -3.0, 0.8) mm Hg; and diastolic blood pressure, -1.2 (95% CI = -2.6, 0.2) mm Hg. CONCLUSIONS: Individual dietary interventions in primary prevention can achieve modest improvements in diet and cardiovascular disease risk status that are maintained for 9 to 18 months.

Cardiovascular Diseases↗
PubMed1996

Audit of maternal serum screening: strategies to augment counselling in response to women's views.

Women's opinion on the maternal serum screening programme offered at one maternity unit in East Northumberland (1991-1992) was evaluated. The responses from 1,774/2,633 women showed a general acceptance of the test but 722/1,774 (40%) wanted more information and a third, more explanation. Recommendations, which included a 'gold standard' protocol, a video to complement revised patient information literature and a coordinator to facilitate interdisciplinary communication and training with support for midwives, were introduced. The audit cycle was completed by a repeat questionnaire survey of 2,489 women from the postnatal ward (1992-1994) with a 67.3% response. An overall improvement in levels of satisfaction with reduction in, but not eradication of, the need for more information and explanation had occurred. These findings have relevance to the current controversy surrounding the counselling implications of maternal serum screening and have led to the formation of a network of professionals to develop the programme in our region.

Down Syndrome↗
PubMed1995

Chromosomal localization of six human forkhead genes, freac-1 (FKHL5), -3 (FKHL7), -4 (FKHL8), -5 (FKHL9), -6 (FKHL10), and -8 (FKHL12).

The forkhead family of transcription factors has been shown to be involved in the regulation of embryonic development in organisms from Drosophila to humans. Genes encoding forkhead proteins are also emerging as a new class of oncogenes with relevance for human cancer. We have used a combination of fluorescence in situ hybridization and somatic cell hybrids to map the chromosomal localizations of five previously cloned human forkhead genes, freac-1, -3, -4, -5, and -6. (HGMW-approved symbols FKHL5, FKHL7, FKHL8, FKHL9 and FKHL10). We also report the sequence and the chromosomal position of a novel human forkhead gene, freac-8 (FKHL12). The freac genes have been localized to the following positions: freac-1, 16q24; freac-3, 6p25; freac-4, 5q12-q13; freac-5, 9 pericen; freac-6, 5q34, and freac-8, 1p32.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1995

Localization of the human soluble epoxide hydrolase gene (EPHX2) to chromosomal region 8p21-p12.

Epoxide hydrolases have an important function in organisms in that they catalyze the transformation of potentially toxic or carcinogenic epoxides into the corresponding diols. In this study, the chromosomal localization was determined for the human gene encoding soluble epoxide hydrolase. A polymerase chain reaction fragment corresponding to the C-terminal region of the mouse protein was used to isolate a cosmid clone from a human genomic library. By fluorescence in situ hybridization to metaphase chromosomes, the soluble epoxide hydrolase gene was then localized to chromosomal region 8p21-p12.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Work characteristics and psychiatric disorder in civil servants in London.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To describe the association between self reported and externally assessed work characteristics and psychiatric disorder. DESIGN: Analysis of questionnaire data collected from the first phase of the Whitehall II study, a cohort study of an employed population. SETTING: Twenty civil service departments in London. PARTICIPANTS: Altogether 6900 male and 3414 female civil servants aged 35-55 years. MAIN RESULTS: High levels of subjective social support at work, control at work, job variety, and skill use were associated with greater satisfaction and wellbeing and less psychiatric disorder measured by the 30 item general health questionnaire (GHQ). High levels of subjective work pace and conflicting demands were associated with less satisfaction and wellbeing and greater psychiatric disorder. The combined effects of work characteristics were similar to the effects of the work characteristics considered separately, except that for men there was a small interaction between psychological demands and control on the GHQ. There was little overall support for the two factor job strain model. In contrast, objective indices of work were generally not associated with the psychological indices. Findings in men and women were generally comparable and were not significantly influenced by employment grade. CONCLUSIONS: Negative affectivity and a tendency to report negatively about both work and the psychological indices may partly explain the difference in the findings between subjective and objective work characteristics. However, subjective work characteristics were still associated with psychiatric disorder after adjusting for negative affectivity. The potential confounding effects of employment grade did not explain the association between either subjective or objective work characteristics and the psychological indices. While modifications to the work environment may directly reduce certain adverse physical health effects, the influence of work place design and management on psychological wellbeing, satisfaction, and psychiatric disorder may be mediated through subjective perceptions of the work environment.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

A murine replication protein accumulates temporarily in the heterochromatic regions of nuclei prior to initiation of DNA replication.

We have analyzed the expression of the murine P1 gene, the mammalian homologue of the yeast MCM3 protein, during the mitotic cell cycle. The MCM3 protein has previously been shown to be of importance for initiation of DNA replication in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We found that the murine P1 protein was present in the nuclei of mammalian cells throughout interphase of the cell cycle. This is in contrast to the MCM3 protein, which is located in the nuclei of yeast cells only between the M and the S phase of the cell cycle. Detailed analysis of the intranuclear localization of the P1 protein during the cell cycle revealed that it accumulates transiently in the heterochromatic regions towards the end of G1. The accumulation of the P1 protein in the heterochromatic regions prior to activation of DNA replication suggests that the mammalian P1 protein is also of importance for initiation of DNA replication. The MCM2-3.5 proteins have been suggested to represent yeast equivalents of a hypothetical replication licensing factor initially described in Xenopus. Our data support this model and indicate that the murine P1 protein could function as replication licensing factor. The chromosomal localization of the P1 gene was determined by fluorescence in situ hybridization to region 6p12 in human metaphase chromosomes.

3T3 Cells↗
PubMed1995

Trends in higher qualifications, 1971 to 1991.

This article has highlighted just some key features derived from a brief analysis of a small part of the statistics available from the tables on qualified manpower from the last three censuses. There is scope for wider analysis using the data on employment status, occupation and industry.

Adolescent↗