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Biomedical subjects

M Rahman

Publications and source records attributed to M Rahman.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

Factors related to biomedical research productivity in Asian countries.

By and large, biomedical research is not a priority sector in Asian countries due to many factors. Lack of resources and trained manpower are certainly among these factors. We investigated the factors related to biomedical research productivity in Asian countries based on Medline data. The number of biomedical articles published in the indexed journals from each country of Asia and Oceania during 1990-1998 was used as a surrogate of total biomedical research productivity. Multiple regression analysis revealed that low gross national product per capita (p<0.013), insufficient number of physicians (p<0.047), and inadequate public spending on the health sector (p<0.049) were responsible for the meager number of biomedical publications in Asian countries.

Asia↗
PubMed2001

The defibrillation system of basic emergency medical technicians in Japan: a comparison with other systems from a 14-year review of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest reports.

Although seven years have passed after basic emergency medical technician (EMT) defibrillation system was introduced in Japan, the overall survival for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) remains poor. We investigated factors leading to such an unanticipated result in Japan by comparing the data of OHCA in Japan with those in other countries. We obtained population-based OHCA data from three communities in Japan. We also performed a comprehensive literature and manual search to identify reports that included rates for incidence and survival or provided sufficient data for the calculation of these rates of OHCA. Statistical analysis was performed to compare survival and incidence rates between the communities. We identified 36 articles from 16 countries by a comprehensive literature search. There was no significant difference in incidence and survival rates among communities in Japan. Although the incidence rate of collapse-witnessed OHCA with ventricular fibrillation (VF) was much lower in Japan than western countries, the proportions of survival from it were comparable to those. Basic-EMT defibrillation system in Japan has yielded excellent result in terms of the survival of VF cases. However, much lower proportion of VF to all cases is responsible for lower overall rates of survival from OHCA in Japan.

Chi-Square Distribution↗
PubMed2001

Evaluation of tuberculosis control by periodic or routine susceptibility testing in previously treated cases.

SETTING: A national tuberculosis control programme (NTP) disposing of baseline drug resistance rates and using 2EHRZ/6TH in the treatment of new cases. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the extent of drug resistance created by the NTP. DESIGN: Resistance rates in 2EHRZ/6TH failure and relapse cases were compared to baseline, and resistance profiles of repeat isolates were checked. Numbers of observed resistant failures were compared to numbers expected due to pre-existing resistance. Trends of resistance in combined new and previously treated cases were extrapolated. RESULTS: High drug resistance rates were observed. Changes in resistance to streptomycin, the virtual absence of documented acquired resistance and a close match of observed with expected resistant failures all indicated accumulation of primary drug resistance as the main mechanism. Resistance in relapse/failure cases showed a significantly declining trend, and estimated combined drug resistance decreased rapidly. CONCLUSIONS: Drug resistance in previously treated cases seems to consist of passed-on primary rather than true acquired resistance. A one-time survey is thus confusing, but continuous routine testing may constitute the best drug resistance monitoring method. Cases previously treated with short-course chemotherapy may show drug resistance much more frequently than generally assumed, and all should receive a re-treatment regimen. The 2EHRZ/6TH regimen proved very safe under field conditions, causing no 'amplification' towards multidrug resistance and almost no acquired isoniazid resistance. Implementation of this regimen, together with a standardised re-treatment regimen, seemed to rapidly reduce isoniazid as well as multidrug resistance levels, despite the fact that directly observed treatment was not strictly applied.

Antitubercular Agents↗
PubMed2001

Divalent cations in women with PCOS: implications for cardiovascular disease.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients are known to have a high incidence of insulin resistance and glucose intolerance and tend to be at eventual high risk of hypertension, diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. It has been repeatedly shown that a low serum ionized magnesium (Mg2+) and a high ionized calcium to magnesium (Ca2+/Mg2+) ratio is often associated with insulin resistance, cardiovascular problems, diabetes mellitus and hypertension. We were therefore interested in assessing the serum divalent cation profile of PCOS patients compared with that of normal women of similar age. We found significantly lower serum Mg2+ and total magnesium and a significantly higher serum Ca2+/Mg2+ ratio in the PCOS patients compared with the controls. No correlation was found, however, between the serum concentrations of steroid hormones (estrogen, progesterone and testosterone), or any of the cations in the PCOS patients or the controls.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Three case definitions of malaria and their effect on diagnosis, treatment and surveillance in Cox's Bazar district, Bangladesh.

In countries where malaria is endemic, routine blood slide examinations remain the major source of data for the public health surveillance system. This approach has become inadequate, however, as the public health emphasis has changed from surveillance of laboratory-confirmed malaria infections to the early detection and treatment of the disease. As a result, it has been advocated that the information collected about malaria be changed radically and should include the monitoring of morbidity and mortality, clinical practice and quality of care. To improve the early diagnosis and prompt treatment (EDPT) of malaria patients, three malaria case definitions (MCDs) were developed, with treatment and reporting guidelines, and used in all static health facilities of Cox's Bazar district, Bangladesh (population 1.5 million). The three MCDs were: uncomplicated malaria (UM); treatment failure malaria (TFM); and severe malaria (SM). The number of malaria deaths was also reported. This paper reviews the rationale and need for MCDs in malaria control programmes and presents an analysis of the integrated surveillance information collected during the three-year period, 1995-97. The combined analysis of slide-based and clinical data and their related indicators shows that blood slide analysis is no longer used to document fever episodes but to support EDPT, with priority given to SM and TFM patients. Data indicate a decrease in the overall positive predictive value of the three MCDs as malaria prevalence decreases. Hence the data quantify the extent to which the mainly clinical diagnosis of UM leads to over-diagnosis and over-treatment in changing epidemiological conditions. Also the new surveillance data show: a halving in the case fatality rate among SM cases (from 6% to 3.1%) attributable to improved quality of care, and a stable proportion of TFM cases (around 7%) against a defined population denominator. Changes implemented in the EDPT of malaria patients and in the surveillance system were based on existing staff capacity and routine reporting structures.

Bangladesh↗
PubMed2000

Increase of androgen-induced cell death and androgen receptor transactivation by BRCA1 in prostate cancer cells.

Although mutations of the breast cancer susceptibility gene 1 (BRCA1) may play important roles in breast and prostate cancers, the detailed mechanism linking the functions of BRCA1 to these two hormone-related tumors remains to be elucidated. Here, we report that BRCA1 interacts with androgen receptor (AR) and enhances AR target genes, such as p21((WAF1/CIP1)), that may result in the increase of androgen-induced cell death in prostate cancer cells. The BRCA1-enhanced AR transactivation can be further induced synergistically with AR coregulators, such as CBP, ARA55, and ARA70. Together, these data suggest that the BRCA1 may function as an AR coregulator and play positive roles in androgen-induced cell death in prostate cancer cells and other androgen/AR target organs.

Androgens↗
PubMed2000

Interdialytic weight gain, compliance with dialysis regimen, and age are independent predictors of blood pressure in hemodialysis patients.

Hypertension is a common problem in patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis. The purpose of this study is to identify the clinical and demographic factors independently associated with blood pressure in this population. Data collected for the Dialysis Morbidity and Mortality Study Wave 1 by the US Renal Data System were analyzed. The mean predialysis blood pressure for this cohort of 5,369 patients was 149/79 mm Hg. Sixty-three percent of the patients were hypertensive; 27%, 25%, and 11% had stages 1, 2, and 3 hypertension, respectively. Young age, black race, male sex, diabetes as cause of end-stage renal disease, erythropoietin therapy, and smoking were associated with higher blood pressure in the univariate analysis. Patients skipping or shortening one or more dialysis treatments had higher blood pressure. The presence of congestive heart failure and coronary heart disease was associated with lower blood pressure. On multivariate analysis, high interdialytic weight gain, noncompliance with dialysis regimen, and younger age were independent predictors of higher blood pressure. In summary, hypertension is common and poorly controlled in patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis. Greater interdialytic weight gain and noncompliance with dialysis regimen are independently associated with higher blood pressure, and advancing age is associated with lower blood pressure levels in this population. Therapeutic regimens emphasizing reduction of interdialytic weight gain and improved compliance with the dialysis regimen need to be evaluated for improving the management of hypertension. The effect of age and other comorbid conditions, particularly cardiovascular disease, must be considered while studying the relationship between blood pressure and mortality in patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2000

Bidi smoking and health.

Bidi, made of low-grade tobacco, is popular among rural folk and the urban poor, in the South Asian region. The objectives of this study were: (1) to assess the extent of bidi smoking in different countries; (2) to compare its smoke and health hazards with conventional cigarettes and; (3) to recommend preventive measures. English language articles were identified through a MEDLINE computerised search (1966-1998) using the term 'bidi', 'beedi', 'beedie', 'biri' and manually in order to collate all the available information and to present a descriptive epidemiological profile. The prevalence of bidi smoking was found to be 21-56% among men in South Asian countries with very little information available about women. Concentrations of nicotine, tar and other toxic agents in the smoke are higher for bidi than for other cigarettes. Bidi smoking is also considered to cause about 2-3 times greater nicotine and tar inhalation than do conventional cigarettes, due to the poor combustibility of the bidi wrapper and greater puff frequency needed to keep the bidi alight. It has also been shown to have greater odds ratios, although not statistically significant, for various cancerous and chronic conditions in comparison with other cigarettes. Since bidi is hand-rolled, workers employed in bidi factories are at risk of developing cancerous conditions due to exposure to tobacco dust and flakes. We suggest that anti-smoking campaigns should be directed to the bidi smokers of all South Asian countries. Most bidi smokers are illiterate and malnourished which makes them more vulnerable to smoking-related morbidity and mortality. At the same time, measures should be taken to make bidi less harmful and to produce bidi by machine to reduce exposure-related toxicity among bidi production workers.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Association of thromboangiitis obliterans with cigarette and bidi smoking in Bangladesh: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: In addition to cigarettes, bidi, made of unprocessed and low-grade tobacco, is being smoked widely in Bangladesh and in other south Asian countries. The cause-and-effect relationship is established between thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO) and smoking. However, type of smoking material(s) most strongly related to TAO is not yet determined. METHODS: We conducted a hospital-based case-control study in Rajshahi, Bangladesh, to examine the relationship of type of smoking materials (cigarette versus bidi) with TAO on 103 pairs of cases and controls matched by age and sex during the period 1995 to 1996. The inclusion criteria for cases were newly diagnosed TAO and current smoker, while those for controls were current smokers admitted to the hospital due to non-cardiovascular diseases. RESULTS: Among the cases 35.0% and 65.0% were cigarette and bidi smokers, while among the controls 69.9% and 30.1%, respectively. Using logistic regression approach, considering cigarette smoking approximately 10 per day as reference, bidi smoking >20 per day (odds ratio [OR] = 34.76, 95% CI: 6.11-197.67) and 11-20 per day (OR = 7.12, 95% CI: 2.35-21.63) had greater risk of TAO after adjusting confounding factors. Respective OR for bidi smoking approximately 10 per day, cigarette smoking 11-20 per day and cigarette smoking >20 per day, were 2.18 (95% CI: 0.64-7.51), 3.81 (95% CI: 1.37-10.57) and 6.88 (95% CI: 1.87-25.30). CONCLUSION: Within the limits inherent to case-control study, our findings suggest that bidi smoking may well play a more important role in causing TAO than cigarettes. It leads to the speculation that unprocessed and low-grade tobacco used for producing bidi might play a more potent role to initiate TAO than cigarettes.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Prevalence of enterotoxin genes in Aeromonas spp. isolated from children with diarrhea, healthy controls, and the environment.

Aeromonads are causative agents of a number of human infections. Even though aeromonads have been isolated from patients suffering from diarrhea, their etiological role in gastroenteritis is unclear. In spite of a number of virulence factors produced by Aeromonas species, their association with diarrhea has not been clearly linked. Recently, we have characterized a heat-labile cytotonic enterotoxin (Alt), a heat-stable cytotonic enterotoxin (Ast), and a cytotoxic enterotoxin (Act) from a diarrheal isolate of Aeromonas hydrophila. Alt and Ast are novel enterotoxins which are not related to cholera toxin; Act is aerolysin related and has hemolytic, cytotoxic, and enterotoxic activities. We studied the distribution of the alt, ast, and act enterotoxin genes in 115 of 125 aeromonads isolated from 1, 735 children with diarrhea, in all 27 aeromonads isolated from 830 control children (P = 7 x 10(-4) for comparison of rates of isolation of aeromonads from cases versus those from controls), and in 120 randomly selected aeromonads from different components of surface water in Bangladesh. Aeromonas isolates which were positive only for the presence of the alt gene had similar distributions in the three sources; the number of isolates positive only for the presence of the ast gene was significantly higher for the environmental samples than for samples from diarrheal children; and isolates positive only for the presence of the act gene were not found in any of the three sources. Importantly, the number of isolates positive for both the alt and ast genes was significantly higher for diarrheal children than for control children and the environment. Thus, this is the first study to indicate that the products of both the alt and ast genes may synergistically act to induce severe diarrhea. In 26 patients, Aeromonas spp. were isolated as the sole enteropathogen. Analysis of clinical data from 11 of these patients suggested that isolates positive for both the alt and ast genes were associated with watery diarrhea but that isolates positive only for the alt gene were associated with loose stools. Most of the isolates from the three sources could be classified into seven phenospecies and eight hybridization groups. For the first time, Aeromonas eucrenophila was isolated from two children, one with diarrhea and another without diarrhea.

Aeromonas↗
PubMed2000

Etiology of sexually transmitted infections among street-based female sex workers in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

An etiological study of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) was conducted among female sex workers (FSWs) in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Endocervical swab and blood samples from 269 street-based FSWs were examined for Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, and Trichomonas vaginalis as well as for antibodies to Treponema pallidum and herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2). Sociodemographic data and data regarding behavior were also collected. A total of 226 of the 269 FSWs (84%) were positive for the STI pathogens studied. Among the 269 FSWs, 35.5% were positive for N. gonorrhoeae, 25% were positive for C. trachomatis, 45.5% were positive for T. vaginalis, 32.6% were seropositive for T. pallidum, 62.5% were seropositive for HSV-2, and 51% had infections with two or more pathogens.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Do taught courses on community medicine change knowledge status regarding clinical epidemiology and biostatistics in medical students?

This study aimed to explore the changes in medical student's knowledge and attitudes regarding clinical epidemiology and biostatistics (CEB) after community medicine (CM) taught courses. All the 3rd (before CM-taught courses) and 4th year (after CM-taught courses) undergraduate students of Dhaka Medical College, Bangladesh, were given a questionnaire concerning some introductory level problems on CEB and attitudes towards them. Mean knowledge scores were not statistically different between these two groups: 3.70 and 3.85 (out of 9) on clinical epidemiology; 0.20 and 0.18 (out of 4) on biostatistics; and 3.91 and 4.04 as a total (out of 13) among them, respectively. Most of the 3rd and 4th year students agreed that CEB is essential for smooth understanding of clinical medicine and journals, and asserted to include it in CM-taught courses. Since the current CM-curriculum does not offer any improvement of knowledge among them, well-planned taught courses on it should be included as a component of CM.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Control of MRSA.

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Humans↗
PubMed2000

Activation of platelet-activating factor (PAF) receptor stimulates nitric oxide (NO) release via protein kinase C-alpha in HEC-1B human endometrial epithelial cell line.

BACKGROUND: Impairment of the fertility in the platelet-activating factor (PAF) receptor transgenic female mice suggests changes in PAF functions can influence uterine receptivity. We hypothesized that vasodilatory actions of PAF in the uterus was exerted by PAF-mediated nitric oxide (NO) release via activation of isoenzyme-specific protein kinase C (PKC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Inducible and endothelial NOS was shown by Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction RT-PCR in cDNA synthesized from RNA extract of proliferative and secretory endometrium as well endometrial epithelial cell lines HEC-1B. The effect of WEB2170, N(G)-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA) and Ro31-8220 on PAF mediated NO release by HEC-1B cell was determined. PAF induced translocation of PKCalpha in HEC-1B cell and its antagonist effect by Ro 31-8220 was studied by Western immunoblot analysis. PKC isoenzyme regulated by PAF was determined in HEC-1B cell lysate by immunoprecipitation. RESULTS: PAF-evoked a rapid and concentration-dependent biphasic increase in total NO in human HEC-1B endometrial epithelial cell line [as measured by a Sievers NOA 280A NO Chemiluminescent Analyser.] This increase in NO release was attenuated by the PAF receptor antagonist, WEB2170. Inhibition of NO synthesis by N(G)-monomethyl-L-arginine produced marked dose-dependent attenuation of PAF-mediated NO release, indicating nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activation. PAF-mediated NO release was also inhibited by the PKC inhibitor Ro 31-8220 and by the removal of extracellular calcium, suggesting a dependency on PKC and calcium, respectively. RT-PCR analysis showed expression of inducible NOS and endothelial NOS in human endometrium, myometrium and HEC-1B cells. Western immunoblot analysis showed PKCalpha, betaII and iota were the principal isozymes present in the HEC-1B cell line and normal endometrium, suggesting that both HEC-1B cells and normal endometrium have similar PKC isozymes. PAF induced the translocation of both PKCalpha and PKCiota within the time frame of NO release. The translocation of PKCalpha, but not PKCiota, was susceptible to inhibition by Ro 31-8220 that also inhibited PAF-evoked NO release, suggesting that PKCalpha is the principal isozyme involved in this process and that eNOS may be a substrate for PKCalpha. Kinase assays performed using immunoprecipitated PKCalpha showed that PAF (1 nM) activated PKCalpha that was inhibited by co-incubation with Ro31-8220 and Ca(2+)-free medium. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that PAF-stimulated NO release via PKCalpha in epithelial cells might regulate endometrial functions such as implantation and menstruation.

Azepines↗