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Biomedical subjects

K Ahmed

Publications and source records attributed to K Ahmed.

At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Proto-chemotherapy in advanced head and neck cancer.

Induction (proto) chemotherapy consisting of 3 courses of cisplatin and 120-hour 5-fluorouracil infusion was administered to 88 patients who had locally advanced, previously untreated head and neck cancer. The majority (81%) of these patients were classified as stage IV, and 17% had second primary carcinomas of the upper aerodigestive tract. An overall response rate of 94% was observed, with a 54% incidence of complete clinical response. The toxicity of the chemotherapy was judged acceptable, and no life-threatening or fatal drug-related side effects occurred. Twenty-four percent of the patients failed to comply with recommended standard treatment. In patients achieving a complete clinical response, 47% refused recommended surgery. Any response less than a complete clinical response to induction chemotherapy was not associated with any survival advantage. We conclude that future research efforts should be directed toward the identification of chemotherapeutic regimins that maximize the incidence of complete clinical response. In addition, any large-scale chemotherapy trial in patients with resectable disease should avoid the use of an induction sequence to minimize compliance problems with standard treatment.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Studies of prostatic cytosol protein kinases of the aging ACI rat.

Changes in prostatic cytosolic cyclic AMP (cAMP)-dependent and independent protein kinases associated with aging in ACI rats were determined. A decrease in prostatic weight and tissue protein content (but not DNA) with age was noted. The cytosolic cAMP-dependent protein kinase was present predominantly as the type II isozyme. Total content of this enzyme per prostate declined by 37% in 12-month-old rats but remained relatively stable thereafter. However, the activity ratio (+cAMP/-cAMP) increased with aging, indicating an elevation in the amount of the holoenzyme or a decrease in the amount of the free catalytic subunit. Concomitantly the specific activity (activity/unit protein in the cytosol) of this enzyme was found to be increased; this is most likely due to the loss of bulk proteins in the cytosol, and may indicate a slower loss of this enzyme protein in relation to other cytosolic proteins. By comparison, the cAMP-independent protein kinase demonstrated a marked and progressive decline in amount as well as in specific activity with aging, e.g. 80-90% decline at 12 months of age. The above changes in these enzymes did not appear to be due to low circulating androgen in the animals, since they were not reversed on administration of 3.0 mg of testosterone propionate per rat daily for four consecutive days. It is therefore suggested that the above-described changes in prostatic cytosolic protein kinases are primarily associated with cellular senescence in this organ.

Aging↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Entrapment neuropathy of the infrapatellar branch of the saphenous nerve.

This paper describes a syndrome of entrapment of the infrapatellar branch of the saphenous nerve attributable to its anatomical relationship to the sartorius muscle and justifies its identification as a distinct entity. Surgery was performed on four knees in three patients for localized pain and tenderness. The infrapatellar nerve was found entrapped behind the sartorius tendon against the prominent edge of the medial femoral condyle and sharply angulated while passing around the sartorius in two knees. Entrapment during passage of the nerve through a slit in the musculotendinous portion of the sartorius was observed in the others. All patients had complete relief of symptoms after translocation of the nerve away from the site of entrapment. The characteristic findings demonstrate the need to be aware of the possibility of entrapment of the infrapatellar branch of the saphenous nerve when evaluating patients with pain on the medial aspect of the knee.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Arrest and detention in international travelers.

BACKGROUND: Our objective was to examine the characteristics of international travelers from Canada who have been arrested or detained while abroad, and to review the health implications of incarceration. METHOD: An EpiInfo 6 program was created to analyse all of the Consular reports received in 1995 via the Secure Integrated Global Network (SIGNET) which provides communications and computerization services to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Canada. The Consular Management and Operations System was designed to support the delivery of consular services by the Department, and to link Headquarters in Ottawa with missions in other countries through case management files, including a "Prisoners" file. Information obtained included personal demographics (age, gender), date, country, and reason for arrest or detention, and outcome of judicial process. RESULTS: There were 1, 086 arrest or detention reports received from Consular services via SIGNET in 1995. Males outnumbered females 5.6:1. Most individuals arrested were young: 57.5% were less than 40 years, and 79% were less than 50 years. Drug related charges were cited in 33.1% of all cases, with 52.8% of arrested females charged with drug related offenses. The documented conviction rate was 96%. The majority of detained Canadian travelers were held in countries within the Americas (791 cases - 69.2%), with 642 (59.1%) being detained in the USA. CONCLUSIONS: Arrest and detention is an unusual occurrence for international travelers but relative youth, male gender, and female drug couriers were identifiable risk characteristics. Public awareness campaigns can be targeted to specific population demographics, but all international travelers need to be counseled on the consequences of transgressing laws in foreign countries.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Death and dying abroad: the Canadian experience.

BACKGROUND: The objective was to examine the characteristics of international travelers from Canada, who have died while abroad, and to review the health protection and promotion strategies for prevention of adverse health outcomes associated with travel, which may have prevented these deaths. METHOD: An EpiInfo 6 program was created to analyse all of the Consular reports received in 1995 via the Secure Integrated Global Network, which provides communications and computerization services to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Canada. The Consular Management and Operations System was designed to support the delivery of consular services by the Department, and to link Headquarters in Ottawa with missions in other countries, through case management files, including a "Death Abroad" file. The type of data collected included personal demographics (age, gender), date, country, and cause of death. RESULTS: In 1995, consular services received 309 reports of Canadians dying abroad. Two hundred and twenty deaths were males (71.2%), and 69 were females (22.3%). The average age (56 years) and median age (43 years) were similar for males and females (age range 0.3-86 years). Recorded causes of death were: natural (62.1%), accidents (24.9%), murder (7.8%), and suicide (5.2%). Cardiovascular disease and trauma were the two most commonly specified causes of death. CONCLUSIONS: At least 36% of the deaths occurring in Canadian travelers would be considered preventable. Pretravel medical interventions for travelers with known preexisting medical problems, may have prevented many more deaths. International travelers need to be aware of the health risks associated with travel. Access to appropriate health risk assessment, prior to exposure, in many cases, would have prevented death abroad.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Community-acquired pneumonia in Ugandan adults: short-term parenteral ampicillin therapy for bacterial pneumonia.

A hospital-based prospective study of 99 patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) was carried out in Kampala, Uganda. We evaluated microbiological etiologies, clinical features and effectiveness of short-term parenteral ampicillin followed by oral amoxicillin for these patients in relation to HIV-status. We demonstrated a very high prevalence (75%) of HIV-1 infection. No significant difference was observed with respect to age, gender, prior antibiotic usage, symptoms, laboratory data or bacterial etiology between HIV-1-infected and HIV-uninfected CAP patients. Most strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae (n = 19) and Haemophilus influenzae (n = 8) isolated from HIV-1-infected patients were penicillin-resistant (95%) and beta-lactamase producing (75%) strains, respectively. A high percentage of good clinical response was found in both HIV-1-infected (81%) and HIV-uninfected (86%) among 39 patients with CAP due to a defined bacterial pathogen. These data support the use of short-term parenteral ampicillin for patients with bacterial CAP irrespective of HIV-status.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The Miswak as an aid in oral hygiene.

The Miswak is chewing stick used throughout the Middle East. In this article for FDI World, Drs. John Hardie and Khaled Ahmed, both practitioners in Saudi Arabia, review the literature on its mechanical cleansing action and the chemicals within its fibres which may be more effective in promoting oral health. They speculate that, since the plaque removing properties of the miswak and conventional toothbrush are similar, the beneficial effects of the toothbrush may also depend less upon the mechanical efficiency of its bristles and more upon the chemical constituents of the toothpaste.

Dental Devices, Home Care↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Comparative study of positron emission tomography and quantitative digital radiography (QDR) in detecting effects of aging and diet on bone metabolism of guinea pig.

The purpose of this study was to compare positron emission tomography and quantitative digital radiography (QDR) in detecting the effects of aging and diet on bone metabolism. Bone imaging of guinea pigs was performed with fluorine-18 fluoride ions using a high-resolution animal PET system to analyze bone metabolism quantitatively in different age groups of guinea pigs, young (8 weeks), adult (36 weeks), and aged groups (96 weeks), and also in a dietary manipulation group (low calcium and low vitamin D3 diet for 1, 2, and 3 weeks). A three-compartment kinetic model was applied for the analysis of bone metabolism to evaluate the rate constant (K, K1-K4). There was a significant difference in K-constant between the young and other groups. The K-constant was higher (0.100+/-0.005 ml/min/ml) in the young group than in adults (0.028+/-0.001 ml/min/ml) (p < 0.001) and the aged group (0.047+/-0.020 ml/min/ml). This high value of the K-constant in the young group indicates high turnover in bone metabolism, but there was no significant difference between the adult and aged groups. Bone mineral density (BMD) was lower in the young group (0.15+/-0.026 g/cm2) than in the adult (0.230+/-0.021 g/cm2) (p < 0.001) and aged groups (0.26+/-0.03 g/cm2). There was no significant difference in BMD between the adult and aged groups. Although there was no difference in BMD between the control and dietary manipulation groups, PET study revealed a significant difference in K-constant between them (0.028+/-0.001 vs. 0.090+/-0.009 ml/min/ ml) (p < 0.001). The quantitative skeletal dynamic PET study with 18F fluoride ions was more sensitive and superior in the early detection of metabolic disorders in bone disease than QDR.

Aging↗