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Biomedical subjects

S Mehta

Publications and source records attributed to S Mehta.

At least 577 records · Page 32Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Should we screen for lead poisoning after 36 months of age? Experience in the inner city.

INTRODUCTION: Current lead screening guidelines recommend monitoring lead levels in children under 3 years of age. There are, however, a number of children between the ages of 3 and 6 years who have elevated blood lead levels. Whether these lead elevations are new or chronic has not been examined. OBJECTIVE: To determine the proportion of children with lead levels greater than or equal to 10 microg/dL after their third birthday when all prior testing had been normal. METHODS: Retrospective study based on 39000 venous lead tests obtained between 1993 and 1998. From this group, 2046 children were located who had blood lead levels of less than 10 microg/dL before 36 months and who had a follow-up lead level after 36 months. All lead assays were done by the City of New York laboratories, which had an intrasample variability of 13%. RESULTS: Sixty-six (3.2%) of the 2046 children showed an elevation in blood lead for the first time after their third birthday. The abnormal values ranged from 10 to 25 microg/dL. The majority (72%) of the screen-positive children, however, had lead levels of 10 to 12 microg/dL, and 63.3% of screen-positive children with repeat tests had lead levels that reverted to below 10 microg/dL. CONCLUSIONS: The data indicate that some new cases of lead level elevations did occur after 3 years of age in this 'high-risk' community; however, the current study provides evidence that universal screening for lead poisoning beyond 3 years of age is not warranted in this community as it is not likely to pick up clinically important exposure.

Age Factors↗
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Non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation: a study of carcinogenic and cancer treatment potential.

Non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation (NIEMR), particularly the magnetic field component, has been implicated in the development of human neoplasia. Research suggests that if these fields are part of the carcinogenic pathway, they may act as a promoter or in the progression of established cancer. Active progression of cancer cells by NIEMR negate the possible early detection of clinically silent neoplasms. We have observed the effect of non-ionizing electromagnetic fields on an established breast carcinoma cell line MCF-7, and found no stimulation of growth when exposed to a low-frequency magnetic field. The same magnetic field has been used as an adjuvant to anti-neoplastic chemotherapeutic agents. The results of this study have shown an improvement in the neoplastic cell kill by antineoplastic chemotherapy when coupled with a low frequency magnetic field. Non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation may be involved in the carcinogenic process; however, the answer to this question awaits further studies. We are exploring new methods of cancer treatment using non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Social HMOs and employers: a budding relationship for retiree health care.

SCAN Health Plan, one of four Social HMOs nationwide, has begun enrolling McDonnell Douglas retirees in the Long Beach area, making that employer one of the first in the U.S. to try a SHMO. How a SHMO works--for purchasers, providers and consumers--and the opportunities it offers for cost-effective retiree health care are described by SCAN's CEO and two senior executives.

Aged↗
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Hepatic sickling crisis mimicking recurrent cholangitis.

A 22-year-old man with homozygous sickle cell disease presented with recurrent fever, right upper quadrant pain and jaundice. Liver biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of hepatic sickling crisis; the symptoms responded to hydroxyurea therapy. Hepatic vasocclusive crisis can diagnosed on liver biopsy, and need not be a diagnosis of exclusion.

Adult↗
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A prospective study of seroprevalence of Toxoplasmosis in general population, and in HIV/AIDS patients in Bombay, India.

Two hundred and seventy nine sera (age group 13-50 years) were tested for antitoxoplasma IgG/IgM antibodies by ELISA techniques; the diagnostic titer for positive test is 10 iu/ml or > 1:100. Sera were obtained from (i) 165 (100 men/65 women) healthy adult voluntary blood donors (HIV, HBsAg, VDRL negative); (ii) 89 consecutive HIV/AIDS patients (82 men/7 women); and (iii) 25 patients (HIV negative: 12 men/13 women) treated for cerebral Tuberculoma or Neurocysticercosis during this study from January 1996-June 1997. The overall seroprevalence was 30.9% (51/165) in the immunocompetent adult (group i) 34% (34/100) men and 26.2% (17/65) in women [range: 10-899 iu/ml; (mean: 376.8)]. In HIV infected hosts the seroprevalence [range: 21-340 iu/ml; (mean; 180)] was 67.8% (56/82 men, 04/07 women). The seroprevalence was 20.5% (8/39), 32.8% (22/67), 34.8% (16/46) and 38.4% (5/13) in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th decades respectively in healthy adults. In HIV/AIDS patients, 69% (29/42) in the 3rd and 70.6% (24/34) in 4th decade were seropositive. The risk of cerebral Toxoplasmosis (encephalitis-02, granuloma-24) was 43.3% (26/60, mean 250 iu/ml). The seroprevalence was 28% in group iii (range 12-80 iu/ml, mean 21 iu/ml). Anti-toxo IgM was negative in all. Primary Toxoplasma infection appears to be subclinical and prevalent throughout life. T. gondii has emerged as an important opportunistic infection in HIV/AIDS patients in Bombay. Recrudescence of cerebral toxoplasmosis (CTOX) is observed with low IgG response during mid-late stage of the disease, as seen in our patients (mean IgG 250 iu/ml, CD4+ = 283/cmm (range 43-504 in 5 patients). Primary prophylaxis for CTOX seems rationale and can be targeted to asymptomatic HIV/AIDS population at risk who are seropositive for T. gondii (mean IgG 111.5 iu/ml in our study). The very high predictive value of a negative test for TOX remains the best serological parameter for excluding acute episode of TOX.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
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Political economy of population growth.

Tracing the origin of political economy as a class-science, this paper focuses on the political economy of population growth. Exposing the limitations of Malthusian ideas and their invalidity even for the capitalist economies, it discusses the subsequent revival of the Malthusian model during the period of de-colonization and the misinterpretation of the relationship between population growth and development in the developing and developed countries. Taking India, China, and Japan as some case studies, the paper examines the relationship between birth rate levels and some correlates. It elaborates on the Indian experience, emphasizing the association of population growth with poverty and unemployment and lays bare some of the hidden causes of these phenomena. The authors examine some interstate variations in India and identify constraints and prospects of the existing population policy. The paper proposes outlines of a democratic population policy as an integral part of India's development strategy which should recognize human beings not simply as consumers but also as producers of material values. It pleads for 1) restructuring of property relations; 2) bringing down the mortality rates and raising of the literacy levels, especially among females; and 3) improving nutritional levels, as prerequisites for bringing down birth rates.

Asia↗
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Spatial mobility in India: evolving patterns, emerging issues and implications.

"This study examines the patterns of spatial mobility in India as expressed at the inter-state level for the post-Independence period. Comparing these patterns with those which had been evolving throughout the colonial period the paper probes into the processes of dislocation of people in the context of India's development strategy.... The analysis points out the complex interrelationships with the nature of socio-economic development and suggests alternatives for stemming distress migration from the backward regions."

Asia↗