bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Heart failure as an inflammatory condition: potential role for androgens as immune modulators
Authors: Pugh Peter J. , Jones Richard D. , Jones T. Hugh , Channer Kevin S. 
Published: December 2002

AbstractHeart failure has traditionally been considered a disease of the myocardium, with symptoms arising from altered haemodynamics. However, it is now recognised that, in addition to marked neuroendocrine disturbance, there is perturbation of cytokine expression in patients with heart failure, resulting in an inflammatory imbalance. This not only influences symptoms, but also plays a central role in the underlying pathophysiological processes of heart failure, leading to disease progression and poorer prognosis. Recognition of the influence of cytokines, in particular tumour necrosis factor, has opened a new avenue for potential therapies for heart failure. Current approaches involve immunomodulation, aimed at suppressing tumour necrosis factor. We suggest that androgens may potentially offer a superior therapeutic strategy by their well‐recognised non‐specific immunosuppressive and anti‐inflammatory effects. Studies of cell lines, human mononuclear cells and animals in vivo have demonstrated the ‘anti‐cytokine’ actions of androgens, and we have found a similar action in whole blood from patients with heart failure. These effects, along with the anabolic action of these agents, make androgens an attractive potential option for treatment of patients with heart failure.
Angiotensin II type 2 receptor gene polymorphism and cardiovascular phenotypes: the GLAECO and GLAOLD studies
Authors: Herrmann Stefan‐Martin , Nicaud Viviane , Schmidt‐Petersen Klaus , Pfeifer Jacqueline , Erdmann Jeanette , McDonagh Theresa , Dargie Henry J. , Paul Martin , Regitz‐Zagrosek Vera 
Published: December 2002

AbstractBackground:The angiotensin II type 2 (AT2) receptor is thought to play a role in cardiovascular disorders such as neointima formation after vascular injury, cardiac hypertrophy and myocardial infarction (MI). Recently, the biallelic polymorphism G+1675A in intron 1 of the AT2 receptor gene has been associated with left ventricular posterior, septal and relative wall thickness, as well as left ventricular mass index in young hypertensive males.Methods:To investigate its potential role in left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and other cardiovascular traits, 1968 individuals from two population samples (the Glasgow Heart Scan, GLAECO and Glasgow Heart Scan Old, GLAOLD studies) with echocardiographically and electrocardiographically assessed phenotypes, were genotyped for G+1675A using allele‐specific oligonucleotide hybridization. Both studies had a similar design, only the age‐ranges differed, being 25–74 years in the GLAECO study and 55–74 years in the GLAOLD study, so that internal consistency of results could also be assessed. Since the AT2 gene is located on the X chromosome, males and females were analysed separately.Results:The +1675A allele frequency was 0.49 and 0.51, in the GLAECO and GLAOLD studies, respectively. In both studies, the genotype frequencies were similar in hypertensive and non‐hypertensive individuals. In the GLAOLD study, in females with episodes of coronary ischemia and MI, the AT2 +1675A allele was more common than in females with no episode (86.5% vs. 73.5%, respectively; P<0.007). This effect was not observed in males. In the same study, AT2 +1675A allele carriers were more common in males with LVH, than in those without LVH (60.3% vs. 46.0%, respectively; P=0.047). This result was unchanged after exclusion of subjects taking antihypertensive drugs (including ACE inhibitors) (64.4% vs. 47.4%, P=0.038). However, in the GLAECO study, these results could not be replicated, even when subjects >55 years of age were considered separately.Conclusions:Our study gives rise to a potential implication of the AT2 G+1675A polymorphism in LVH and coronary ischemia subgroups. Since these results were not consistent in both studies, but are partially in agreement with two independent investigations, further efforts should be made to elucidate the specific nature of these genotype/phenotype interactions.
Acute haemodynamic effects of oestrogen administration in male patients with chronic heart failure
Authors: Adamopoulos Stamatis , Leftheriotis Dionyssios , Sbarouni Eftihia , Karavolias George , Kremastinos Dimitrios Th 
Published: December 2002

AbstractBackground:Although there are many studies concerning the effects of long‐term oestrogen administration on systemic haemodynamics in postmenopausal women, the effects of oestrogen in patients with chronic heart failure are not defined.Aim:The goal of this study was to evaluate the acute haemodynamic effects of oestrogen in male patients with chronic heart failure.Methods and results:We studied 15 men with advanced heart failure (NYHA II–IV, EF<35=). A Swan–Ganz thermodilution catheter was advanced in their pulmonary artery and central haemodynamics were assessed at baseline, after placebo administration, and following 0.625 and 1.25 mg of oestrogen infusion. Simultaneously, all patients underwent limb plethysmography. Analysis of variance with repeated measures was used to compare the sequential measurements. Following oestrogen administration, right atrial, pulmonary artery and pulmonary capillary wedge pressures, as well as systemic, pulmonary and forearm vascular resistance were decreased; cardiac output, cardiac index, stroke volume, stroke volume index, stroke work index and forearm blood flow were increased.Conclusions:In male patients with chronic heart failure, acute oestrogen administration improves the indices of cardiac systolic performance and decreases pulmonary and systemic vascular resistance. These findings imply a beneficial effect of oestrogen in selected patients with chronic heart failure.
Lipid-lowering agents and the risk of hip fracture in a Medicaid population
Authors: Ray W A , Daugherty J R , Griffin M R 
Published: December 2002

Context:Three recent nested case-control studies conducted in automated databases suggest that users of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins) have a risk of hip and other osteoporotic fractures half that of non-users of any lipid-lowering drug. However, this comparison may be biased by unmeasured factors associated with treated hyperlipidemias.Objective:To compare the risk of hip fracture among users of statins and other lipid-lowering agents, which is less susceptible to bias than the comparisons performed in the previous studies.Design and setting:Retrospective cohort study conducted in the Tennessee Medicaid program between 1 January 1989 through 31 December 1998.Subjects:New users of all lipid-lowering drugs and randomly selected non-user controls who at baseline were at least 50 years of age and did not have life threatening illness, nursing home residence, or diagnosed dementia or osteoporosis. There were 12 506 persons with new use of statins, 4798 with new use of other lipid lowering drugs, and 17 280 non-user controls.Main outcome measure:Fracture of the proximal femur (hip), excluding pathological fractures or those resulting from severe trauma.Results:During 66 690 person years of follow up, there were 186 hip fractures (2.8 per 1000). Relative to non-users, the adjusted incidence rate ratios (95% confidence interval) were 0.62 (0.45 to 0.85) for statin users and 0.44 (0.26 to 0.95) for other lipid-lowering drugs. When compared directly with the other drugs, the adjusted incidence rate ratio for statins was 1.42 (0.83–2.43).Conclusion:These data provide evidence that the previously observed protective effect of statins may be explained by unmeasured confounding factors.
Population based study of hospitalised fall related injuries in older people
Authors: Peel N M , Kassulke D J , McClure R J 
Published: December 2002

Objective:This study aimed to identify the distribution of fall related injury in older people hospitalised for acute treatment of injury, in order to direct priorities for prevention.Setting:A follow up study was conducted in the Brisbane Metropolitan Region of Australia during 1998.Methods:Medical records of patients aged 65 years and over hospitalised with a fall related injury were reviewed. Demographic and injury data were analysed and injury rates calculated using census data as the denominator for the population at risk.Results:From age 65, hospitalised fall related injury rates increased exponentially for both males and females, with age adjusted incidence rates twice as high in women than men. Fractures accounted for 89% of admissions, with over half being to the hip. Males were significantly more likely than females to have fractured their skull, face, or ribs (p<0.01). While females were significantly more likely than males to have fractured their upper or lower limbs (p<0.01), the difference between proportions of males and females fracturing their hip was not significant. Males were more likely than females (p<0.01) to have fall related head injuries (13% of admissions). Compared with hip fractures, head injuries contributed significantly to the burden of injury in terms of severity, need for intensive care, and excess mortality.Conclusions:The frequency and impact of hip fractures warrants continued emphasis in falls program interventions for both males and females to prevent this injury. However, interventions that go beyond measures to slow and protect against bone loss are also needed to prevent fall related head injuries.
Child passenger safety: potential impact of the Washington State booster seat law on childcare centers
Authors: Chang B A , Ebel B E , Rivara F P 
Published: December 2002

Objectives:To examine factors associated with compliance and with perceived readiness for the new Washington State booster seat law, and to identify perceived barriers to compliance among licensed childcare centers.Design/methods:Surveys were mailed to a random sample of 550 licensed childcare centers in Washington State, approximately nine months before the law was to go into effect.Results:Only 18% of centers reported being compliant with the law at the time of the survey. Factors associated with current compliance included awareness and knowledge of the law, and being comfortable asking staff and parents to use booster seats. A lack of center-owned booster seats was associated with a lower likelihood of compliance. Only 43% of centers had already started preparing for the law, and only 48% believed they would definitely be ready in time.Conclusion:This study suggests that Washington State childcare centers need support and assistance to increase their knowledge of booster seats and reduce the financial costs of compliance.
Effectiveness of Ford’s belt reminder system in increasing seat belt use
Authors: Williams A F , Wells J K , Farmer C M 
Published: December 2002

Objectives:The study investigated the effectiveness in increasing seat belt use of Ford’s belt reminder system, a supplementary system that provides intermittent flashing lights and chimes for five minutes if drivers are not belted.Methods:Seat belt use of drivers in relatively new cars with and without the reminder system was unobtrusively observed as vehicles were brought to dealerships for service.Results:Overall use rates were estimated at 71% for drivers in vehicles without the reminder system and 76% for drivers in vehicles with belt reminders (p<0.01).Conclusions:Seat belt use is relatively low in the United States. The present study showed that vehicle based reminder systems can be at least modestly effective in increasing belt use, which may encourage further development of such systems.
Fatal occupational electrocutions in the United States
Authors: Taylor A J , McGwin G , Valent F , Rue L W 
Published: December 2002

Introduction:The highest proportions of fatal occupational electrocutions have occurred among those employed in the electrical trades and in the construction and manufacturing industries.Methods:Data from 1992 through 1999 were obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.Results:Occupational electrocution deaths occurred almost entirely among males, with the highest rates among those aged 20–34 and among whites and American Indians. They were highest during the summer months, in the South, and in establishments employing 10 or fewer workers. The highest rates occurred in the construction, mining, and agriculture, forestry, and fishing industries and among trades associated with these industries.Conclusions:Electrocution continues to be a significant cause of occupational death. Workers need to be provided with safety training and employers, particularly smaller employers, persuaded of the need for safety training.
Identification and characteristics of victims of violence identified by emergency physicians, triage nurses, and the police: Figure 1
Authors: Howe A , Crilly M 
Published: December 2002

Objectives:The objectives of the study were threefold—to evaluate the identification and characteristics of victims of assault who attend an accident and emergency (A&E) department; to compare the total number of assaults recorded in the A&E department with the number recorded by the police; and to assess a system for collecting the location and method of assault.Setting:The A&E department of Chorley and South Ribble Hospital Trust, Lancashire, England.Methods:A three month prospective study was performed. Victims of violence recorded on computer by doctors at discharge were compared with those identified at initial nurse triage. A comparison of police data with the A&E data relating to Chorley residents was performed. Additional information on the method and location of assault was also collected.Results:During the period 305 (2.6%) of the patients attending A&E were identified as having been assaulted. Of the 305 individuals, 236 (77%) were identified by a doctor while 173 (57%) such patients were identified by a triage nurse. A&E identified twice the number of assaults involving Chorley residents as the police. Both men and women were most likely to have been injured on the street (44% and 37% respectively), although a greater proportion of women were injured at home (24%) than men (10%). The majority of injuries were sustained by blows from fists, feet, and heads (73%).Conclusions:A&E doctors identify significantly more patients as the victims of violence than do nurses at triage. Using A&E data identifies assaulted individuals not identified by the police. Computer systems can be used in A&E to provide a more complete picture of the occurrence of violence in the community.
Implementation of a system of surveillance of childhood injuries involved in a Safe Community program: the example of Boulogne-Billancourt (France)
Authors: Sznajder M , Chevallier B , Yacoubovitch J , Aegerter P , Auvert B 
Published: December 2002

Objectives:To provide precise information about child injuries, intended to promote preventive actions, in keeping with the general pattern of a Safe Community program implemented in Boulogne-Billancourt (France) since 1997.Methods:Information about children under 16 injured in the city of Boulogne-Billancourt and its surroundings, are extracted in a database.Discussion:The Boulogne-Billancourt database is the first permanent and specific childhood injury surveillance system in France integrated in a “Safe Community”. It may constitute an “alarm system” by allowing rapid implementation of preventive action. The final evaluation of the collected data will be performed at the end of the program (after five years).
Association of seat belt use with death: a comparison of estimates based on data from police and estimates based on data from trained crash investigators
Authors: Cummings P 
Published: December 2002

Objective:Estimates of any protective effect of seat belts could be exaggerated if some crash survivors falsely claimed to police that they were belted in order to avoid a fine. The aim of this study was to determine whether estimates of seat belt effectiveness differed when based on belt use as recorded by the police and belt use determined by trained crash investigators.Design:Matched cohort study.Setting:United States.Subjects:Adult driver-passenger pairs in the same vehicle with at least one death (n=1689) sampled from crashes during 1988–2000; data from the National Accident Sampling System Crashworthiness Data System.Main outcome measure:Risk ratio for death among belted occupants compared with those not belted.Results:Trained investigators determined post-crash seat belt use by vehicle inspections for 92% of the occupants, confidential interviews with survivors for 5%, and medical or autopsy reports for 3%. Using this information, the adjusted risk ratio for belted persons was 0.36 (95% confidence interval 0.29 to 0.46). The risk ratio was also 0.36 using police reported belt use for the same crashes.Conclusions:Estimates of seat belt effects based upon police data were not substantially different from estimates which used data obtained by trained crash investigators who were not police officers. These results were from vehicles in which at least one front seat occupant died; these findings may not apply to estimates which use data from crashes without a death.
Apparently unrelated cytogenetic abnormalities among 462 probands referred for the detection of del(22q) by FISH
Authors: Smith Arabella , St. Heaps Luke , Robson Lisa 
Published: December 2002

AbstractLaboratory‐based reports of the cytogenetic abnormalities detected during the course of testing for deletion del(22q) are scant. We report our findings from the testing with FISH of 462 patients suspected to have del(22q) between 1994 and 2000. Of these, 447 had a normal karyotype. An apparently unrelated cytogenetic abnormality was detected in 15 (3.2%). Two of these abnormalities involved reciprocal translocation with chromosome 22q and one of these showed del(22q) with FISH. The other abnormalities included sex chromosome aneuploidies and unbalanced rearrangements of various chromosomal segments. There was no commonality among these abnormalities and no correlation with other reported cases. Among those with a normal karyotype, an unexpected deletion of the control arylsulphatase A (ARSA) probe was found, providing a definite frequency of 1/262 for ARSA deletions among patients suspected to have del(22q). Of the 462 referrals, 48 (10%) had one or more additional diagnoses, and in this group, 4 (8%) had del(22q) and 2 (4%) had an apparently unrelated cytogenetic abnormality. The data highlight the importance of initial cytogenetic analysis in patients suspected of del(22q) and negates the use of interphase FISH screening by itself for del(22q). The finding of 3.2% unrelated cytogenetic abnormalities is noteworthy. FISH should be used in any structural rearrangement to ascertain if the relevant locus is deleted or not. The continued reporting of patients diagnosed with del(22q) found to have an unrelated cytogenetic abnormality will expand the phenotypic spectrum and possible gene mapping may refine phenotypic specificity. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Multiple exostoses, mental retardation, hypertrichosis, and brain abnormalities in a boy with a de novo 8q24 submicroscopic interstitial deletion
Authors: Wuyts Wim , Roland Dominique , Lüdecke Hermann‐Josef , Wauters Jan , Foulon Martine , Van Hul Wim , Maldergem Lionel Van 
Published: December 2002

AbstractMultiple exostoses represent a genetically heterogeneous disorder that may occur isolated or as part of a complex contiguous gene syndrome such as Langer‐Giedion syndrome on chromosome 8 and the proximal 11p deletion syndrome on chromosome 11. Here we describe a boy with multiple exostoses, hypertrichosis, mental retardation, and epilepsy due to a de novo deletion on chromosome 8q24. Molecular analysis revealed that the deletion interval overlaps with the Langer‐Giedion syndrome and involves the EXT1 gene and additional genes located distal to EXT1, but probably not encompassing the TRPS1 gene located proximal to EXT1. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Perinatal risk factors for schizophrenia: Diagnostic specificity and relationships with maternal psychopathology
Authors: Verdoux Hélène , Sutter Anne‐Laure 
Published: December 2002

AbstractAlthough a growing body of evidence supports the hypothesis that exposure to obstetric complications (OCs) increases the vulnerability for schizophrenia, some questions remain unanswered regarding the diagnostic specificity and the etiological significance of this association. Associations with a history of OCs have been reported for other severe psychiatric disorders, such as autism, anorexia nervosa, or psychotic affective disorder. Thus, OCs may increase in a relatively non‐specific way the vulnerability for a range of severe mental disorders, the expression of this vulnerability depending on the interaction between OCs and other risk factors, such as the genetic liability for specific psychiatric disorder, or exposure to later environmental risk factors. The causal pathway between OCs, maternal psychopathology, and psychotic outcome in the offspring is not fully elucidated. The directions of the associations are often bi‐directional, and the mediating variables, if any, are not clearly identified. OCs may have a direct negative impact on fetal brain development, may be on the causal pathway between prepartum maternal depression/exposure to stress and increased risk of schizophrenia, or may indirectly increase the risk of child's later psychiatric disorder by acting as risk factors for maternal postpartum depression. The links and possible interactions between somatic perinatal risk factors and maternal psychopathology in the association with offspring's increased vulnerability for psychosis have to be further explored. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The New York high risk project to the Hillside recognition and prevention (RAP) program
Authors: Cornblatt Barbara A. 
Published: December 2002

AbstractThe sudden interest in initiating treatment before the onset of psychosis (i.e., during the prodromal stage of schizophrenia) has failed to integrate the earlier work on prediction generated by more traditional high‐risk studies. Genetic high‐risk research has most typically focused on the long‐term, prospective study of children of parents with schizophrenia. In this paper, it will be argued that high‐risk research can make at least two major contributions to prevention programs. First, previous findings can guide identification of risk factors and provide clues about causality, thus highlighting which pre‐morbid deficits should be treatment targets. For example, as discussed here, data from the New York High Risk Project points to impaired attention as a highly promising candidate risk factor, with a possible causal association with later‐emerging social deficits. Second, the high‐risk approach can provide a framework for establishing the predictive validity of prodromal clinical indicators and for understanding the nature of the schizophrenia prodrome. Preliminary findings from the Hillside Recognition and Prevention (RAP) program, integrating high‐risk methodology with an early intervention strategy, indicate that the prodrome is a developmentally complex phase of schizophrenia. In particular, a cluster of early features—including cognitive, academic, and social impairments, along with odd/disorganized behaviors—appear to anticipate positive symptoms and may constitute a core risk profile. Preliminary RAP treatment findings also suggest that medications other than anti‐psychotics may be effective for treating early prodromal symptoms, challenging the widely held hypothesis that anti‐psychotics should always be the first line preventive treatment. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.