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Biomedical subjects

S Aziz

Publications and source records attributed to S Aziz.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Home environment and peer relations of addicted and nonaddicted university students.

This study was designed to examine the differences between addicted and nonaddicted university students on measures of home environment and peer relations. Participants were 45 addicts and 45 nonaddicts with mean ages of 23 years drawn from three Pakistani universities located in Islamabad, Lahore, and Peshawar. The two groups were matched for age, gender, education, area of residence, and marital status. A booklet containing an Index of Family Relations and a Peer Relations Questionnaire was administered. Results showed that the addicts perceived more stress in their families than the non-addicts did. Family income of the addicts was greater than that of the nonaddicts. Addicts were under greater peer influence and had more deviant and drug-using friends than the nonaddicts.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Are non-specific reactions to tuberculin common?

Three thousand four hundred eighty-five BCG scar negative school children were given tuberculin test. Results showed very little non-specific reactions, suggesting BCG should produce high levels of protection in our population.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Clinical experience with the Wiktor stent in native coronary arteries and coronary bypass grafts.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the results of implantation of Wiktor tantalum wire coronary stents in stenosed or occluded coronary vessels or in saphenous vein bypass grafts. DESIGN: A retrospective analysis of clinical and angiographic data from patients treated with tantalum wire stents implanted by one operator at two centres. PATIENTS: 52 patients undergoing conventional balloon angioplasty had 67 lesions treated by stents after acute or threatened closure of the target vessel, or because the lesions concerned were considered to be at particularly high risk of becoming restenosed, or because the result of primary angioplasty was inadequate. RESULTS: 65 of the 67 lesions were successfully stented although in two cases the first attempt failed and a second stent was then implanted successfully. There were no cases of stent occlusion and no myocardial infarctions in hospital or in the follow up period of 1-20 months. Eight patients had haemorrhagic complications that were minor in 4. One patient later had coronary bypass surgery after failure to stent a lesion. Angiographic follow up at a mean of 6 months after stenting showed restenosis associated with 4 of 47 stents studied. All patients with chest pain had had repeat angiography, and 84% of those without symptoms also agreed to reinvestigation after about 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: The Wiktor tantalum wire stent is an effective means of treating acute complications during angioplasty and seems to offer hope of a significant reduction in the rate of late restenosis in both native coronary vessels and saphenous vein bypass grafts. A prospective comparison of balloon angioplasty and stenting is needed.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

E-selectin expression in human cardiac grafts with cellular rejection.

BACKGROUND: E-selectin expression has recently been documented to occur with lymphocytic infiltration in the skin and synovium. The question of whether E-selectin is expressed in the context of cardiac graft rejection was addressed in this study. METHODS AND RESULTS: One hundred ninety-five human posttransplant cardiac biopsy specimens were immunoreacted with antibodies to E-selectin and VCAM-1, and endothelial expression of both adhesion molecules was recorded as present or absent. Cardiac graft rejection was graded in blinded fashion. The frequency of E-selectin expression was 11% in biopsies without rejection, 36% in mild rejection, and 58% in moderate rejection, a significant correlation (P < .001). VCAM-1 expression was present in 11% of biopsies with no rejection, 37% with mild rejection, and 85% with moderate rejection, corroborating the previously reported strong correlation between VCAM-1 expression and graft rejection (P < .0001). In 71% of specimens, E-selectin expression coincided with VCAM-1 expression. In the remaining 29% of specimens in which E-selectin and VCAM-1 expression were not both present, isolated E-selectin expression was found more frequently in biopsies with early, increasing rejection, whereas isolated VCAM-1 expression was found more frequently in specimens with established moderate rejection and later, resolving rejection. CONCLUSIONS: E-selectin is expressed in cardiac allograft rejection and may play a role in recruitment of lymphocytes into the graft. Rejection trend analysis suggests that E-selectin expression may be prominent early in the course of rejection.

Biopsy↗
PubMed1992

Variation of the hyperacuity gap function with age.

Responses to hyperacuity stimuli are processed in quite a different manner by the central nervous system than many other stimuli such as resolution targets or increment threshold stimuli. With increased attention being paid to visual response in aging individuals, it is important to study how these response paradigms are affected by age. In this analysis, otherwise normal observers 20 to 85 years of age were studied. The hyperacuity gap test was used. As defined, this is a vernier test using a two-point test array. This particular format was chosen because the resultant data are less distorted by image blur, scatter, and astigmatism than other designs we have studied. The gap or feature separation between the two small targets (which were aligned vertically) was increased logarithmically using octave steps and the hyperacuity threshold (setting variance) was measured for each step. No systematic variation of vernier hyperacuity threshold was found with increasing age within the range of ages or gaps tested. This is important because it can serve as a valuable control and reference for other clinical studies of aging.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Diagnosis of pleural effusions.

Sixty patients of pleural effusion with different aetiology are described. Various microbiological and biochemical parameters were done simultaneously in blood and pleural fluid to differentiate tuberculosis and non-tuberculosis effusions. Some biochemical tests were thought to be helpful in differential diagnosis but no single parameter was found diagnostic. Routine investigations of pleural fluid, sputum and pleural biopsy still remain the best method of diagnosis.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗
PubMed1992

Byssinosis in ginning factories of rural Sindh.

Frequency of byssinosis in 276 workers from 5 ginning factories of rural Sindh are described. Twenty-four (9%) had byssinosis, 178 were asymptomatic and the remaining 74 had other respiratory symptoms. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was present both in symptomatic and asymptomatic workers and was equally distributed amongst smokers and non-smokers. A possible involvement of some factors other than cigarette smoking is discussed.

Byssinosis↗
PubMed1991

Recognition, management, and prevention of Clostridium septicum abscess in immunosuppressed patients.

Spontaneous gas gangrene due to Clostridium septicum is a rapidly progressing disease that usually ends in fatal toxemia. We report three cases of asymptomatic C septicum abscesses to document the clinical course of this entity and to establish guidelines for its prevention and treatment. In contrast to previously reported data, C septicum infections can produce abscesses in solid organs, the retroperitoneum, and the extremities. These lesions often occur in patients with cancer, producing liver abscesses without gas formation that may be misinterpreted as metastatic carcinoma. Symptoms may be minimal or nonspecific before fulminant toxemia. Asymptomatic bacteremia should prompt a search for unsuspected cancer and an abscess. Computed tomography is the diagnostic modality of choice. The treatment consists of surgical débridement of necrotic tissue in concert with an appropriate course of antibiotics. We have found recurrences after adequate débridement and short-term antibiotic therapy, suggesting that prolonged and even lifelong prophylactic oral penicillin G potassium may be necessary to prevent further recurrences.

Abscess↗
PubMed1991

Quantification of metamorphopsia using hyperacuity techniques.

We have developed a new technique for quantification of metamorphopsia using a simplified and modified Amsler grid. Furthermore, the technique used is a bisection task, a form of hyperacuity determination. This allows for very fine assessments of metamorphopsia even in the presence of cataracts.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Protein electrophoresis in tuberculosis.

Serum electrophoresis was done in 31 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and 62 age and sex matched controls. Protein values amongst controls were higher than those described by others. In tuberculosis there was significant decrease in total proteins, and albumin with corresponding increase in globulin, mainly due to an increase in gamma globulin fraction. There was no significant increase in alpha-2 levels. Decrease in albumin/alpha-2 ratio was significant in sputum positive cases, but it was due to reduction in albumin rather than increase in alpha-2 globulin. Decrease in albumin/alpha-2 ratio in this study was not diagnostic of tubercular activity.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Molecular characterization and nonradioactive detection of beta-thalassemia in Malaysia.

The spectrum of beta-thalassemia mutations in Malaysia has been determined in 45 beta-thalassemia chromosomes using dot blot hybridization of the polymerase chain reaction amplified DNA and direct DNA sequencing. Eleven different molecular defects, including those previously detected in Chinese, Asian Indians, and American blacks, and a novel frameshift mutation causing beta zero-thalassemia were detected. Since this novel mutation, a T deletion in codon 15 creates a new restriction site for EcoRII enzyme; the mutation could be detected by EcoRII digestion of the appropriate amplified fragment. The results of the present study provide additional information on the molecular heterogeneity of beta-thalassemia in this population. We also demonstrated the nonradioactive detection method of the beta-thalassemia mutation based upon the digoxigenin-labeled oligonucleotide probes.

Base Sequence↗