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Biomedical subjects

R Horton

Publications and source records attributed to R Horton.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Croatia and Bosnia: the imprints of war--I. Consequences.

As Serbia and Kosovo emerge from yet another European war, their people's health and the region's health care, scientific research, and medical education have been seriously damaged and disrupted. There are lessons to be learned from recent Balkan wars, lessons that might help doctors, international relief organisations, and governments to do better than they have done elsewhere during the long reconstruction period that will follow this recent savage conflict. An analysis of the medical legacies of war may also raise issues for doctors worldwide to consider as part of their role in a larger public-health community. For a week in May, 1999, I travelled to Croatia and the Croat-Muslim Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina to meet doctors working in peace but next to war. In the first part of this essay, I briefly survey some of the medical consequences of the Croatian and Bosnian conflicts. In the second part, to be published in the June 26 Issue, I consider plans for and limitations to restoration, and try to identify possible opportunities for prevention of the adverse health effects of war in a newly enlarged Europe.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

The uses of error.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Communication↗
PubMed1999

Effects of pharmacological doses of nandrolone decanoate and progressive resistance training in immunodeficient patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus.

This nonplacebo-controlled, open label, randomized study was conducted to test the hypotheses that pharmacological doses of nandrolone decanoate would increase lean body tissue, muscle mass, and strength in immunodeficient human immunodeficiency virus-infected men, and that these effects would be enhanced with progressive resistance training (PRT). Thirty human immunodeficiency virus-positive men with fewer than 400 CD4 lymphocytes/mm3 were randomly assigned to receive weekly injections of nandrolone alone or in combination with supervised PRT at 80% of the one-repetition maximum three times weekly for 12 weeks. Total body weight increased significantly in both groups (3.2 +/- 2.7 and 4.0 +/- 2.0 kg, respectively; P < 0.001), with increases due primarily to augmentation of lean tissue. Lean body mass determined by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry increased significantly more in the PRT group (3.9 +/- 2.3 vs. 5.2 +/- 5.7 kg, respectively; P = 0.03). Body cell mass by bioelectrical impedance analysis increased significantly (P < 0.001) in both groups (2.6 +/- 1.0 vs. 2.9 +/- 0.8 kg), but to a similar magnitude (P = NS). Significant increases in cross-sectional area by magnetic resonance imaging of total thigh muscles (1538 +/- 767 and 1480 +/- 532 mm2), quadriceps (705 +/- 365 and 717 +/- 288 mm2), and hamstrings (842 +/- 409 and 771 +/- 295 mm2) occurred with both treatment strategies (P < 0.001 for the three muscle areas); these increases were similar in both groups (P = NS). By the one-repetition method, strength increased in both upper and lower body exercises, with gains ranging from 10.3-31% in the nandrolone group and from 14.4-53.0% in the PRT group (P < 0.006 with one exception). Gains in strength were of significantly greater magnitude in the PRT group (P < or = 0.005 for all comparisons), even after correction for lean body mass. Thus, pharmacological doses of nandrolone decanoate yielded significant gains in total weight, lean body mass, body cell mass, muscle size, and strength. The increases in lean body mass and muscular strength were significantly augmented with PRT.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Large-scale sequence comparisons reveal unusually high levels of variation in the HLA-DQB1 locus in the class II region of the human MHC.

Comparison of genomic sequences flanking the HLA-DQB1 locus in the human MHC class II region reveals local sequence variation of up to 10%, which is the highest level of sequence variation found in the human genome so far. The variation is haplotype-specific and extends far beyond the transcriptional unit of the DQB1 gene, suggesting hitch-hiking along with functionally selected alleles as the most likely mechanism. All major insertions/deletions (indels) were found to be of retroviral origin and in the immediate upstream region of DQB1. Possible cis-acting effects of these indels on the transcriptional regulation of DQB1 are discussed.

Ataxin-1↗
PubMed1998

The journal ombudsperson: a step toward scientific press oversight.

In 1994, Doug Altman invited the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors to consider how it might help authors who had complaints about editors. The concern that editors abuse the power and trust invested in them by authors, readers, and publishers had grown with the careful documentation of instances of unambiguous editorial misconduct. One obstacle to their proposal was the logistic complexity of coordinating, at the international level, an appeals procedure through a single body. In an effort to open a wider discussion about editorial accountability, The Lancet established an ombudsperson in July 1996. Clear criteria, based on the UK Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration, were drawn up. Our ombudsman could investigate delays in handling manuscripts and letters; editorial discourtesy; failure to follow stated editorial procedures; failure to take reasonable account of representations by authors and readers; and challenges to the publishing ethics of the journal. Complaints about the substance of editorial decisions were ruled out of the ombudsman's remit. Twenty complaints were recorded in the first 18 months, 11 of which were upheld. The appointment of an ombudsperson should be considered by editors of all scientific journals. Benefits go well beyond immediate complaints, drawing an editor's attention, for example, to the importance of efficient and courteous journal processes. No discernible harm was discovered. A case still remains for wider oversight of the biomedical press.

Ethics↗