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Biomedical subjects

N E Bharucha

Publications and source records attributed to N E Bharucha.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Case-control study of completed ischemic stroke in the Parsis of Bombay: a population-based study.

All eligible adult cases of completed ischemic stroke (N = 112) derived from a prevalence survey of the Parsi community in Bombay, India, served as the basis of a case-control study of risk factors. The stroke morbidity rate in this group was similar to that reported for North America. A control subject free of stroke was selected randomly from the same population and matched to each case by age and sex. Information was obtained on various risk factors. Hypertension, both by history (odds ratio = 10.8) and by examination (odds ratio = 2.1), had a statistically significant association with stroke (p less than 0.01). This is one of the first community-based case-control studies of stroke in a large developing country.

Adult↗

Prevalence of multiple sclerosis in the Parsis of Bombay.

We carried out a door-to-door-survey to screen a community of 14,010 people (Parsis living in colonies in Bombay, India) for possible neurologic diseases, and used defined diagnostic criteria to evaluate people who tested positive on the screening survey. There were three clinically definite cases of multiple sclerosis (21/100,000). This is the first prevalence survey for multiple sclerosis in a large developing country.

Humans↗

Machado-Joseph-Azorean disease in India.

Machado-Joseph-Azorean (MJA) disease is an autosomal-dominant multisystem motor degeneration (with cerebellar ataxia as an important manifestation) that is seen mainly in people of Portuguese descent. Recently, a family in Japan with probable MJA disease has been described. We describe a family with clinical features similar to those of MJA disease; these are the first cases to be described in India. Further pathologic study is necessary to confirm the diagnosis in our cases. Meanwhile, further search for such cases in India should yield interesting genetic clues to the disease.

Adult↗

Patterns of mortality from types of dementia in the United States, 1971 and 1973-1978.

In the first analysis of US mortality data for different types of dementia, we searched all death certificates for the years 1971 and 1973 through 1978 for the diagnosis of senile and presenile dementia and for senility. The age-adjusted mortality rates for both types of dementia were higher for deaths with these conditions than due to them. Other diseases were listed as the underlying cause of death in most patients who died with dementia. Mortality rates were generally higher in men for both types of dementia; higher for whites for senile and presenile dementia, but higher for nonwhites for senility. Between 1971 and 1978, there was an increase in the age-adjusted mortality rates for senile and presenile dementia and a decline for senility. Age-specific mortality rates for both types of dementia increased exponentially with age, with no evidence of bimodality.

Adult↗

Conditions associated with Alzheimer's disease at death: case-control study.

To determine which conditions may be associated with reduced survival in patients with Alzheimer's disease, we studied all death certificates in the United States for 1978 on which senile and presenile dementia (ICDA 290, N = 7,195) was mentioned. Each case was compared with two control deaths. Differences in the frequency of listing on the death certificates for the following conditions reached statistical significance: infections, trauma, nutritional deficiency, chronic ulcer of skin, foreign body in pharynx, cataract, glaucoma, blindness, deafness, Parkinson's disease, and epilepsy. There seem to be many preventable and treatable disorders in patients with senile and presenile dementia.

Aged↗

A case-control study of twin pairs discordant for Parkinson's disease: a search for environmental risk factors.

A previous study of twins with Parkinson's disease (PD) revealed low concordance, suggesting that genetic factors play a minor role in the etiology of PD. To identify possible environmental determinants of PD while maximally controlling for hereditary factors, 31 monozygotic twin pairs discordant for PD were interviewed by telephone. Information about possible risk factors was obtained from systematic and uniform interviews with cases and controls. The only statistically significant result was less cigarette smoking by PD patients (p less than 0.05). Thirteen dizygotic discordant twin pairs were evaluated with the same techniques, but there were no statistically significant differences between affected and unaffected twins.

Female↗

Primary malignant nervous system neoplasms. Birth cohort effect in the elderly.

Current data indicate that mortality for primary malignant nervous system neoplasms (NSNs) provides a fairly accurate index of incidence. Average annual age- and sex-specific death rates among whites for primary malignant NSNs in the 48 contiguous United States from 1940 through 1975 showed a marked cohort effect among the elderly of either sex. For white men aged 60 through 64 years, mortality increased steadily from 5.3 per 100,000 per year for those born in 1880 to 16.1 per 100,000 per year for the 1910 cohort. No definite cohort effect was seen in the young. The increase in mortality could be due to better diagnosis and more complete case ascertainment for deaths due to primary malignant NSNs, but further studies are required to distinguish a real from an artifactual increase in mortality.

Age Factors↗

Subarachnoid and intracerebral hemorrhage: natural history, prognosis, and precursive factors in the Framingham Study.

No uniformly accepted hypothesis explains the genesis and rupture of intracranial aneurysms. We followed 5,184 men and women prospectively for 26 years; 36 cases of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) accounted for 62% of all intracranial hemorrhages. Blood pressure before SAH was higher in these patients than in controls. Definite hypertension (greater than or equal to 160 mm Hg and/or greater than or equal to 95 mm Hg) at entry to the study or at closest exam before SAH was more frequent than in controls. Cigarette smoking, particularly heavy smoking, was also more frequent among cases.

Adult↗

Geographic distribution of motor neuron disease and correlation with possible etiologic factors.

Average annual age-adjusted motor neuron disease (MND) mortality rates were mapped for the first time at the county level in the continental United States. Although the great majority of the rates did not differ significantly from the US average, the highest mortality rates were generally found west of the Mississippi and the lowest rates east of the Mississippi. MND mortality was associated with rural farming and socioeconomic status but not with urbanization, physician-population ratios, lead or mercury exposure, or mortality rates of five kinds of cancer.

Female↗

Geographic distribution of anencephaly in the United States.

The distribution of anencephaly mortality rates was calculated by county for the continental United States. The average annual anencephaly mortality rate for all races and both sexes, based on 1968-1978 data for the population under 5 years of age, was 5.1 per 100,000 per year. The average annual anencephaly death risk for 1970-1975 was 25.4 per 100,000 live births per year. The distribution of anencephaly mortality was confirmed by comparing maps of mortality data and annual death risk for the period 1970-1975.

Anencephaly↗

Chronic focal polymyositis in the adult.

Four patients with chronic focal polymyositis are described. Treatment with steroids appeared to halt clinical progression. The clinical features in all four cases were so strikingly similar as to constitute a syndrome which can be mistaken for muscular dystrophy or spinal muscular atrophy unless investigated fully.

Aged↗

Prevalence of epilepsy in the Parsi community of Bombay.

A door-to-door survey was carried out to screen a community of 14,010 people (Parsis living in colonies in Bombay, India) for possible neurologic diseases. High school graduates, social workers, and medical students administered a screening questionnaire that in a pilot survey had a sensitivity of 100% for identifying persons with epilepsy. Neurologists used defined diagnostic criteria to evaluate individuals positive on the screening survey. Sixty-six persons (43 males, 23 females) suffered from epilepsy (4.7 cases/1,000). Of those, 50 (34 males, 16 females) had active epilepsy (3.6 cases/1,000). The age-specific prevalence ratios remained fairly constant for each age group except for a small peak in the group aged 20-39 years for all epilepsy cases combined. Age-adjusted prevalence ratios were higher for males. The most common seizure type was partial (36 cases). The most frequently associated conditions were cerebral palsy and mental retardation. The majority of individuals were receiving medication as of prevalence day (47 cases).

Adolescent↗

Duration of atrial fibrillation and imminence of stroke: the Framingham study.

The role of Atrial Fibrillation (AF) as a precursor of stroke was examined in the Framingham cohort based on 30 years of follow-up during which time 501 strokes occurred. There were 59 persons who sustained stroke in association with AF excluding those with rheumatic heart disease. AF increased the risk of stroke five-fold and the excess risk was found to be independent of the frequently associated cardiac failure and coronary heart disease. The contribution of AF to stroke risk was also at least as powerful as that of the other cardiovascular precursors. Stroke associated with AF was not only independent and substantial but also imminent. There was a distinct clustering of stroke events at the time of onset of the AF. Thirty day case-fatality rates were no different in those with strokes accompanied by AF than not at 17% versus 19% respectively. Recurrences in those with AF were only slightly more frequent, 25% versus 20%, a difference that was not statistically significant. Stroke recurrence in the first 6 months following initial stroke was more than twice as common (47% versus 20%) in the AF group.

Adult↗