Child health. Paediatric home care team.
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Child Health Services↗
Biomedical subjects
M Hill
Publications and source records attributed to M Hill.
The significance of noninvasive blood flow studies in the diabetic patient contemplating elective foot surgery.
A retrospective study was undertaken to determine the importance of performing noninvasive blood flow studies on the diabetic patient population prior to undergoing elective foot surgery. Thirty diabetic patients, contemplating elective foot surgery, underwent noninvasive blood flow studies. Eighty-seven percent of these patients, with ankle/brachial indices greater than 0.6, successfully healed after surgery was performed.
Adult↗
Probucol improves antioxidant activity and modulates development of diabetic cardiomyopathy.
To examine the role of free radicals in diabetic cardiomyopathy, myocardial antioxidants as well as lipid peroxide content were examined in rats made diabetic with a single injection of streptozotocin (65 mg/kg i.v). At 4 wk, the left ventricular peak systolic (LVSP) as well as aortic pressures were depressed in the diabetic group. Hearts from diabetic animals showed about a 100% increase in thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), indicating increased lipid peroxidation. This was accompanied by about a 50% decrease in superoxide dismutase (SOD) and 60% decrease in glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) enzyme activities. Catalase activity in these hearts showed a small but significant increase. Treatment with probucol (10 mg/kg i.p., on alternate days), a known lipid-lowering drug with strong antioxidant properties, was initiated 1 d after the induction of diabetes and was continued for 4 wk. In probucol-treated diabetic animals, LVSP was not different from controls. Probucol treatment caused a small but significant improvement in serum insulin and decrease in glucose levels as well as increased myocardial SOD, GSHPx, and catalase activities with a concomitant decrease in TBARS in the diabetic animals. These data provide evidence that diabetic cardiomyopathy is associated with an antioxidant deficit, and a better cardiac function due to treatment with probucol may be related to the improved insulin levels as well as maintenance of the antioxidant status of the heart.
Animals↗
Quantitative detection of hepatitis C virus RNA in patients undergoing hemodialysis.
The purpose of the current study was to detect quantitatively hepatitis C virus (HCV)-RNA among patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis. Study subjects were 88 patients on hemodialysis at the Miami Veterans Administration Medical Center and the REN Dialysis Unit at the University of Miami School of Medicine. There were 66 men and 22 women, mean age 52 years (range, 22-87 years), and mean duration of dialysis was 2.8 years (range 0.2-12.5 years). Seventy-three percent had a history of blood transfusion. Anti-HCV was determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), confirmed by four antigen strip immunoblot assay (RIBA 2.0 SIA). HCV-RNA was quantitated directly in human sera using a branched DNA (bDNA) signal amplification assay. Twenty-seven of 88 (31%) patient samples were found to be anti-HCV reactive by ELISA. Twenty-two of 27 were confirmed reactive, 2 were indeterminate, and 3 were nonreactive by RIBA HCV. Eighteen of 22 (82%) reactive by RIBA 2.0 HVC were found to have detectable (> 3.5 X 10(5) Eq/ml) HCV-RNA levels (mean [&/- SD], 43.3 +/- 35.4 X 10(5) Eq/ml; range 4.9-123.3). No additional cases were identified with reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using 5' untranslated region "nested" primers. HCV-RNA was not detected in four RIBA HCV 2.0 reactive, the two intermediate, or the 64 patient samples nonreactive for anti-HCV. The two epitopes most commonly associated with HCV-RNA were c22-3 and c33c. Sixteen of 18 (89%) patients with detectable levels of HCV-RNA had normal alanine aminotransferase (ALT). Three patients with the highest levels of HCV-RNA were infected with the human immunodeficiency virus. The authors conclude that HCV-RNA by bDNA assay is a sensitive, specific, and simple test that can be used in association with antibody assays and a PCR-based assay to study the prevalence and management of HCV infection in the dialysis setting.
Adult↗
Advances in home therapy for gingivitis--revolution or evolution?
The daily use of toothpaste offers the opportunity for additional therapeutic benefits beyond caries control. The dental professional must be prepared to assist patients in making informed choices about these products to maximize their benefits as a supplement to mechanical oral hygiene. Dentifrices containing chemotherapeutic agents that are successful in controlling gingivitis, when combined with mechanical therapy, have the potential to improve oral health. However, the published clinical studies on some of these products do not always present a consistent picture with regard to absolute or relative efficacy. In this article, the clinical studies on dentifrices containing sodium bicarbonate/hydrogen peroxide, chlorhexidine, triclosan, and stannous fluoride are reviewed. In addition, suggestions for the analysis of these types of studies by practitioners are presented. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the dental professional to provide monitoring and guidance to assist patients in making informed decisions about oral health care product use.
Clinical Trials as Topic↗