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Biomedical subjects

B Mensch

Publications and source records attributed to B Mensch.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

A controlled trial of a formalin-inactivated hepatitis A vaccine in healthy children.

BACKGROUND: Although inactivated hepatitis A vaccine is known to be well tolerated and immunogenic in healthy children and adults, its efficacy has yet to be established. METHODS: To evaluate the efficacy of the hepatitis A vaccine in protecting against clinically apparent disease, we conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in an Hasidic Jewish community in upstate New York that has had recurrent outbreaks of hepatitis A. At the beginning of a summer outbreak, 1037 healthy seronegative children 2 to 16 years of age were randomly assigned to receive one intramuscular injection of a highly purified, formalin-inactivated hepatitis A vaccine or placebo. A case was defined by the presence of typical signs and symptoms, a diagnostic increase in IgM antibody to hepatitis A, and a serum concentration of alanine aminotransferase at least twice the upper limit of normal. Cases occurring greater than or equal to 50 days after the injection were included in the evaluation of efficacy. The children were followed for a mean of 103 days. RESULTS: A total of 519 children received vaccine, and 518 received placebo. The vaccine was well tolerated, with no serious adverse reactions. From day 50 after the injection, 25 cases of clinically apparent hepatitis A occurred in the placebo group and none in the vaccine group (P less than 0.001), confirming that the vaccine had 100 percent protective efficacy. Before day 21, seven cases occurred in the vaccine group and three cases in the placebo group. After that time, there were no cases among vaccine recipients and 34 cases among placebo recipients. CONCLUSIONS: The inactivated purified hepatitis A vaccine that we tested is well tolerated, and a single dose is highly protective against clinically apparent hepatitis A.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Drug use as a risk factor for premarital teen pregnancy and abortion in a national sample of young white women.

The relationship between adolescent drug use and premarital teen pregnancy and abortion as a pregnancy outcome among sexually active women is investigated in a sample of white women from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Event history analysis is used to explore whether prior drug use has a unique effect on premarital teen pregnancy, with controls for personality, lifestyle, and biological factors. Logistic regression is used to estimate whether drug use affects the decision to terminate a premarital teen pregnancy. The results show that the risk of premarital teen pregnancy is nearly four times as high for those who have used illicit drugs other than marijuana as for those with no history of any prior substance involvement. Furthermore, illicit drug use increases the likelihood of an abortion by a factor of 5. Policy implications of the findings are discussed.

Abortion, Induced↗
PubMed1987

Single isotopic probe for gastro-esophageal reflux diagnosis in children.

Gastro-esophageal reflux (G.E.R.) in children has been implicated in various recurring respiratory diseases. Several techniques including oesophageal pH testing and scintigraphy have been devised to detect and quantify G.E.R. Limitations have been found for each test: short duration with gamma-camera and restricted acceptability of the pH probe by children. A single isotopic probe was designed for a non-invasive screening test of G.E.R. in infants. This device was checked by comparison with oesophageal scintigraphy using a gamma camera. Only 1 discrepancy was detected in 19 reflux episodes. This method, using a relatively inexpensive detector and data acquisition module, seems to be well accepted by children, and may be associated with a pH probe for GER diagnosis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Comparative assessment of scintillation camera performance.

The performance characteristics of 5 scintillation cameras were compared: Searle 19, Searle 37, Ohio Nuclear, Picker 2C and Toshiba GCA 202. Inherent characteristics including spatial resolution, field uniformity and distortion, energy resolution, count-rate capability and paralyzing time were measured. Extrinsic characteristics such as spatial resolution with emission tests and sensitivity with high resolution, low energy collimators also were measured. The Ohio Nuclear camera gave the best results for most of the parameters studied, followed by Searle 37 PMT, Searle 19 PMT, Picker, and Toshiba. The size of the crystal must also be a criterion for choosing a camera.

Scintillation Counting↗
PubMed1975

[Obstructive pulmonary syndromes in children with alpha 1 antitrypsin deficiency. 3 cases].

During the last six years, the search for a deficiency in alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) was carried out in 106 children aged from 5 months to 14 years, having the obstructive pulmonary syndrome. Nine deficiencies were in this manner detected and phenotyped. These are the observations of three of these children which are reported here. Their age ranged between 4 years and a half for two of them and 8 years for the third one, having asthma. The phenotypes are respectively SS, MZ, and ZZ. Following these observations, the problems brought up by the association in AAT deficiency and the obstructive pulmonary syndrome in children are discussed: clinical symptomatology, interpretation of the basic design, pathogenic signification and possible connections with asthma and therapeutic influence. The functional respiratory disorders noted in these children involved a ventilatory asychronism, an overexpansion, and regional abnormalities of ventilation and perfusion. To answer these still outstanding questions, the need for a systematic prospective study carried out on a wide group of children is emphasized.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

[Early functional disorders in 3 children exhibiting an obstructive syndrome and an alpha 1 antitrypsin deficiency].

The respiratory function is studied in 3 children, two of which 4 years in age, exhibiting a respiratory obstructive syndrome and an alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency. The study of the respiratory function is global and regional. The disorders noted include a ventilatory asynchronism, a distension, regional anomalies of ventilation and perfusion. The ventilatory asynchronism appears to be an early disorder in the course of alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency. These results have to be related with the development of the elastic fibers during the child's growth.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Rethinking postpartum family planning.

This article examines the rationales for commonly advocated postpartum family planning services and challenges the behavioral and biological assumptions on which they are based. An alternative approach to service delivery is suggested. Services should be designed to incorporate breastfeeding and to increase their acceptability to postpartum women.

Attitude to Health↗