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Biomedical subjects

A Low

Publications and source records attributed to A Low.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

[Isolated mesenteric fibromatosis].

Isolated mesenteric fibromatosis is a rare form from the group of intraabdominal fibromatoses which often accompany Gardner's syndrome. It consists in a benign proliferation of fibroblasts with infiltration of muscles and fat tissue. It is diagnosed by ultrasound and CT-scans. The treatment of choice is the total surgical extirpation of the tumor. We report about a 19 year old patient with an isolated mesenteric fibromatosis following a normal pregnancy without previous surgical interventions.

Abdominal Neoplasms↗

[Abdominal emergencies in patients with AIDS].

This is a report on five patients suffering from AIDS who underwent emergency abdominal surgery: One patient with gangrenous appendicitis, three with a small bowel perforation and a third with a colonic bleeding. The first outlived the appendectomy by seven month; the second and the third the small bowel resection by eight weeks resp. by 10 weeks. The fourth died four weeks after hemicolectomy and a relaparotomy with colonic resection for profuse bleeding. The fifth died because of infiltration of the heart by a malignant lymphoma. None of the patients developed any complications due to surgery. A review is given on emergencies caused by abdominal diseases which a surgeon must be aware of in patients with AIDS. The palliative character of surgery in these patients is stressed.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗

Behaviour patterns which may predispose to HIV infection or further transmission and possible intervention strategy in the City of Harare. Part II.

The proportion of people with AIDS is increasing rapidly in Zimbabwe. Several strategies have been adopted to check the further spread of the disease. This paper discusses the behaviour patterns which may predispose to HIV infection and possible intervention strategies that may be taken in the City of Harare. Over a third (33.9 pc, n = 1,526) of the married respondents reported that they were living separately from their spouses. There was a high proportion (76.6 pc, n = 564) of single respondents who admitted to engaging in premarital sex. Fifteen pc of total respondents were engaging in casual sex. The proportion of single respondents (31.2 pc) engaging in casual sex was higher than among the married (11.1 pc). More single respondents (10.9 pc) had been paid for sex than the married (4.1 pc) whilst the proportion that had been paid for sex was similar for the single (21.2 pc) and the married (22.9 pc). The median age for starting sex was 17 years (range = three to 26) for the single and 18 years (range = four to 35) for the married respondents. Sixteen pc stated that they had an STD in 1989. Condom usage was low with only 9.2 pc always using a condom. Forty eight pc of the married respondents who have engaged in casual sexual relationships never use condoms. The main source of information on AIDS/HIV was the radio (74 pc). Most parents (66 pc) had not talked about AIDS to their children.

Adolescent↗

Knowledge and attitudes on AIDS relevant for the establishment of community care in the city of Harare.

Part I: Because of the increasing number of people with the HIV infection or AIDS, health resources and facilities are becoming over burdened. Many projects are looking towards involving communities more in caring and supporting those living with HIV/AIDS. In view of this, features of knowledge and attitudes have been drawn out of a main study on knowledge, attitudes and practices on 2 109 respondents in the City of Harare, to demonstrate areas where urgent preparation is needed to facilitate community care. The majority of respondents (96 pc) were aware that AIDS is a sexually transmitted disease. About 70 pc of the respondents thought that there were many people infected with HIV in Zimbabwe. Most of the respondents (83.3 pc) were frightened by the idea of catching AIDS. However, 82 pc would want to know if they are infected with the AIDS virus. About nine pc of the respondents said that they would commit suicide on discovering that they had HIV. Only 10 pc would have another child after becoming infected. A quarter of the respondents would not be supportive of people with AIDS. They stated that they would evict lodgers with AIDS, would avoid either neighbour, coworker or school mate with AIDS. People were generally more willing to look after their own children (76 pc) and less supportive of other relatives (68 pc) who had AIDS. Gender differences are also highlighted.

Adolescent↗

Neurogenic vasodilation in the rat hairy skin measured using a laser Doppler flowmeter.

Intradermal stimulation of the saphenous nerve of anesthetized rats at C-fiber strength elicited stimulus-dependent vasodilator responses in saphenous-innervated hairy skin. A laser Doppler flowmeter (Periflux, Pf1d) was used to measure these neurovascular responses non-invasively. Capsaicin pretreatment significantly attenuated the vasodilator response. Furthermore, intraperitoneal administration of atropine or mepyramine significantly reduced the skin vascular responses. The responses of halothane-anesthetized rats were significantly attenuated when compared with rats anesthetized with pentobarbitone. Results of this study suggest the presence of endothelium-dependent vasodilator peptidergic, cholinergic and histaminergic contributions to electrically-evoked axon reflex vasodilation in the rat hairy skin.

Animals↗

Non-invasive tests of neurovascular function: reduced axon reflex responses in diabetes mellitus of man and streptozotocin-induced diabetes of the rat.

The prevalence of neuropathy and microangiopathy complicating diabetes mellitus led to our development of non-invasive tests of neurovascular function. On the foot dorsum of consenting normal subjects, diabetic patients, normal and streptozotocin-induced (STZ) diabetic rats, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) with 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 pulses at 150 V, 0.75 ms, at 2 Hz, evokes transient cutaneous axon reflex vasodilatation measured by a laser Doppler (Periflux Pfld). This tests the integrity of both the polymodal nociceptor/primary afferent nerves and microvessels in the skin. TENS-evoked axon reflexes are reduced in diabetics (particularly with neuropathy) and progressively in rats 40-100 days after STZ administration. This could be reversed in rats by a single injection of 3 units of soluble insulin at 100 days post STZ. The microvascular endothelium and smooth muscle are tested in man by measuring vasodilatation induced by iontophoretic application of 2 mC acetylcholine (ACh) and 4 mC sodium nitroprusside (NaNP), respectively. Diabetics show reduced ACh-evoked endothelium-dependent vasodilator responses, but the direct smooth muscle (endothelium-independent) responses evoked by NaNP are not reduced. Such functional neurovascular disturbances probably underlie many complications of diabetes mellitus, and the potential for these to be reversible with appropriate therapy can now be examined with such neurovascular tests.

Animals↗

Electrically evoked skin vasodilatation: a quantitative test of nociceptor function in man.

Direct stimulation of intact forearm skin affects adjacent microvascular blood flux. Pulses of current, known to activate C-fibres effectively, were applied over a period of 1-16 seconds at 2 Hz using transcutaneous stimulation. An increase of up to 50% was observed in skin microvascular blood flux. Increased blood flux correlated well with increasingly painful sensations. Some subjects responded to one or two pulses at 2 Hz, 0.5 ms in duration and 150 volts. A response onset latency of 4-15 s, lasting up to 5 minutes, was recorded. At higher frequencies (4-8 Hz) and more pulses (16-32) vasoconstriction was frequently observed before the usual flux increase. After administration of local anaesthesia (2% ligocaine) the resting skin blood flux increased, but electrical stimulation still produced vasodilatation. The local cutaneous flare response to electrical stimulation was abolished or greatly reduced by capsaicin pretreatment. Excitation of small intracutanous forearm nerve C-fibres produces increased microvascular blood flux which is dependent on local release of vasodilator substances. Thus the neurogenic flare (axon reflex) may have a physiological role in regulating skin blood flow, and nociceptor function may be measured by applying the aforementioned transcutaneous electrical stimulation.

Axons↗

Some studies of maternal and infant lead exposure in Glasgow.

In two studies in the city of Glasgow, 236 mothers and their newly born infants and 117 mothers and their 6-weeks old children's environmental lead exposure were examined. In both studies blood lead concentrations were found to correlate significantly with the cube root of the domestic water lead concentrations. In the first study, multiple regression analyses of maternal blood lead and cord blood lead concentrations on other variables showed a significant negative correlation with gestational age. It was also noted that there was an annual fluctuation in maternal blood lead concentration with highest values in the autumn. In the second study, similar relationships were found. Although there was no association between blood lead and sex, age, place of birth or feeding method, as in the previous study, a significant association between social class and blood lead was found. This could be explained on the basis of the significant correlation between water lead and social class. In those mothers who breast fed, breast milk lead concentrations were found to correlate significantly with blood lead concentrations where breast milk lead was around one tenth of blood lead concentration. These studies emphasise the importance of water lead in the economy of environmental lead exposure to mothers and their unborn and newly born infants.

Adolescent↗