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Biomedical subjects

M J Ashley

Publications and source records attributed to M J Ashley.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1976

Chemoprophylaxis in inactive tuberculosis: long-term evaluation of a Canadian trial.

A trial of chemoprophylaxis to prevent reactivation of tuberculosis in persons with inactive disease who had never had adequate chemotherapy was conducted in Canada in the mid-1960s. Preventive drug treatment consisted of either isoniazid (INH) alone or INH plus para-aminosalicylic acid (PAS), for a maximum of 18 months. Long-term evaluation in 1974 of 1571 treated patients and 834 control patients demonstrated clearly the substantial and sustained value of adequate chemoprophylaxis in reducing the risk of reactivation. Among those who took INH alone for 6 months or more the annual reactivation rate was 1.2 per 1000 persons, while among those who took INH plus PAS the rate was 0.38/1000. These rates were, respectively, 70 and 90% less than the average rate in the controls, 3.9/1000. Among those who underwent chemoprophylaxis for less than 6 months the annual reactivation rate was 3.7/1000, similar to that in the controls. Cost-benefit analysis showed chemoprophylaxis to be economically sound. Despite the recent increasing application of this preventive measure, there are still many persons living in Canada who could benefit substantially from a course of chemoprophylaxis.

Aminosalicylic Acids↗
PubMed1976

The value of amoebic serology in an area of low endemicity.

One hundred sera from army patients who had had amoebiasis in the past and 113 sera from coloured immigrants attending a venereal diseases clinic were examined by four serological techniques. The indirect haemagglutination and the latex agglutination tests showed almost complete correlation; they are useful epidemiological tools but too sensitive and the antibodies on which they depend are too persistent for clinical use. The indirect fluorescent antibody test is a good clinical screening test, and in an area of low endemicity the gel diffusion precipitin test shows a close correlation with clinical disease.

Amebiasis↗
PubMed1976

Social class and morbidity in clinically treated alcoholics.

The lifetime physical disease profiles of 122 lower and 724 middle class non-skid row alcoholics admitted to an inpatient treatment facility were compared to further clarify the significance of social class as a determinant of morbidity in alcoholics. The overall severity of physical disease and the frequency of all recorded lifetime illness diagnoses were greater in the lower than in the middle class. The former experienced more trauma, genitourinary disorders, venereal disease and malnutrition, as well as small excesses of respiratory and nervous system disorders. There were no class differences in the lifetime frequencies of liver and biliary tract, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, endocrine and metabolic, integumentary, locomotor and haemopoietic disorders, or in the incidences of a number of disease entities including acute brain syndromes and chronic brain damage. The drinking patterns of the classes were similar, but the average duration of hazardous drinking was longer and the average current consumption was greater in the lower class. There were no class differences, however, in the average duration of hazardous drinking before the first occurrence of certain diseases. The referral sources of the classes were significantly different. Possible explanations for the differences between the findings of this and earlier studies are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Skid row alcoholism. A distinct sociomedical entity.

The physical-disease charcteristics of 125 skid row and 736 non-skid row male alcoholics were compared in detail to determine whether skid row alcoholism is characterized by a distinct medical, as well as a social, profile. Trauma, tuberculosis, venereal disease, and malnutrition were more common in the skid row alcoholics. Epilepsy, peripheral neuritis, acute brain syndromes, chronic brain disease, and lifetime recordings of all nervous system illnesses also occurred more frequently in the skid row group, as did gastritis, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, ulcer surgery, and postgastrectomy syndrome. Fatty liver, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, cardiomyopathy, and cardiovascular illnesses of all kinds, however, were less common. The skid row medical profile is, in part, the product of a unique sociologic environment. Thus, skid row alcoholism may be viewed as a distinct sociomedical entity.

Adult↗
PubMed1969

In Canada: a trial of chemoprophylaxis in inactive tuberculosis.

One thousand five hundred and thirty-six patients with inactive tuberculosis were given a course of preventive treatment consisting of either INH alone or INH and PAS while 840 similar patients served as a control group. Discontinuation of the treatment was frequent and was usually caused by development of complaints which the patients ascribed to the drugs they were taking.The annual reactivation rate among controls was 4.9 per 1000. During the period of taking drugs the treated group suffered a reactivation rate of 0.7 per 1000 and those who had taken the medication for at least six months suffered a subsequent annual reactivation rate of 1.3 per 1000. The rate for those who discontinued treatment in the first six months was 5.1 per 1000. There were no reactivations in patients who took INH and PAS for over six months. Bacilli from two of the patients with reactivations who were treated for a prolonged period with INH alone showed resistance to this drug.Chemoprophylaxis of inactive cases is a potent weapon in tuberculosis control; however, it requires thorough motivation and supervision.

Aminosalicylic Acids↗