Biomedical subjects

Barbara Błońska-Fajfrowska

Publications and source records attributed to Barbara Błońska-Fajfrowska.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Short- and medium-term reproducibility of gastric emptying of a solid meal determined by a low dose of 13C-octanoic acid and nondispersive isotope-selective infrared spectrometry.

AIM: To evaluate the reproducibility of a modified 13C breath test-based measurement of solid phase gastric emptying (GE) within the frames of a simple-repeated measure study protocol. METHODS: Twelve healthy subjects (6 females and 6 males, mean age 24.9+/-0.7 years) were recruited to undergo three identical GE examinations. In six subjects the first two examinations were performed 2 d apart, and the third session was carried out at a median interval of 19.5 d (range 18-20 d) from the second one. In another six subjects the first two measurements were taken 20 d apart (median, range: 17-23 d), whereas the third session took place 2 d after the second one. Probes of expiratory air collected before and during six hours after intake of a solid meal (378 kcal) labelled with 75 microL (68 mg) 13C-octanoic acid, were measured for 13CO2 enrichment with the nondispersive isotope-selective infrared spectrometry NDIRS apparatus. RESULTS: Taking coefficients of variation for paired examinations into account, the short-term reproducibility of the GE measurement was slightly but not significantly better than the medium-term one: 7.7% and 11.2% for the lag phase (T-Lag), 7.3% and 10.9% for the gastric half emptying time (T1/2). The least differences in GE parameters detectable at P=0.05 level in the 12 paired examinations were 9.6 and 15.6 min for T-Lag, 11.6 and 19.7 min for T1/2 by a two-day or two to three-week time gap, respectively. CONCLUSION: The low-cost modification of the breath test involving a lower dose of 13C-octanoic acid and NDIRS, renders good short- and medium-term reproducibility, as well as sensitivity of the measurement of gastric emptying of solids.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Feasibility of a breath test with a substrate of natural 13C-abundance and isotope-selective non-dispersive infrared spectrometry: a preliminary study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Isotope-selective non-dispersive infrared spectrometry (NDIRS) is a cheaper alternative to isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). We checked on the efficiency of NDIRS to perform a breath test with naturally (13)C-enriched maize starch. METHODS: Fifty-six healthy volunteers were examined. After a basal fasted sample of their expiratory air was collected, the subjects ate a test breakfast of 50 g (CF50 group, n = 9) or 100 g (CF100 group, n = 47) cornflakes with 175 g yoghurt. For 6 h thereafter, exhaled air was collected every 30 min for the NDIRS measurement of (13)CO(2) concentration. RESULTS: The time-course of the curves of (13)CO(2) concentration resembled those obtained previously with IRMS. A dose-response to the amount of ingested cornflakes was observed--the maximum postprandial net increment in (13)CO(2) was statistically significantly higher in the CF100 than CF50 group: 4.78 +/- 0.13 versus 3.12 +/- 0.17 per thousand (P < 0.001), whereas the time needed to reach the maximum did not differ after the intake of 50 g (233 +/- 13 min) or 100 g (248 +/- 9 min) cornflakes. The 5-h area-under-the-curve of cumulative (13)CO(2) net recovery (AUC(60-360)) was statistically significantly greater after ingestion of 100 g compared to 50 g cornflakes (97.6 +/- 2.2 versus 61.7 +/- 2.2 micromol, P < 0.001) and it also exhibited a stable between-subject variability. CONCLUSION: The obtained proof of technical feasibility of a breath test with the use of naturally (13)C-enriched starch and NDIRS provides background for future research on the clinical usefulness of this method for a non-invasive assessment of the pancreatic exocrine function.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Does body posture affect the parameters of a cutaneous electrogastrogram?

In a study aimed to test the effect of body position on the parameters derived from surface electrogastrograms, 17 healthy volunteers (2M, 15F; median age 22.5 years) attended in random order two examination sessions held on separate days. A 30-min recording of the interdigestive gastric myoelectrical activity (GMA) was followed by a 90-min postprandial recording after intake of a 394 kcal mixed solid-liquid test meal. For the first examination the subject was examined in a recumbent position, whereas for the second examination a sitting position was maintained. The dominant frequency and relative time occupied by normogastria was negligibly affected by the posture of the subject during GMA recording. However, a decrease in the dominant power (DP) of the gastric slow waves was observed during both the interdigestive and the postprandial recording period in a sitting position compared to a recumbent position. Consequently, the fed to fasted state DP ratio remained unaffected by body posture during GMA recording. The results indicate that by carefully observing procedural guidelines, good quality electrogastrograms can be obtained with a sitting subject, enabling the provision of comparable parameters to those achieved from standard examination in a recumbent position.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

[Relationship between sweetness liking, taste sensitivity and sweetening habits in adults].

The present work analyses the relationship between the sweetness liking and the age, gender, sweet taste sensitivity, hedonic response to low concentrations of the saccharose and the habit of sweetening in adults. 161 women and 114 men, aged 18-55, were the subject of this study. All individuals were healthy and non-smoking. In the study the volunteering subjects rated their individual sweetness liking by means of a scaling method with three categories: I like it very much, I like it moderately, I do not like it, and they quantified the amount of sugar they take with their tea or coffee. Also their date of birth, height and body mass were taken into consideration. The sweet taste sensitivity was marked with the use of the method correlating with PN-ISO 3972: 1998 norm, and the hedonic responses were analysed according to the three-point scale: pleasant, unpleasant, neutral. The findings suggest that the interrelation between the age and the sweetness liking in adults exists. No link between the gender, as well as hedonic response to low concentrations of saccharose and the degree of sweetness acceptance in adults was observed. The amount of sugar taken with tea or coffee was different in groups with different sweetness liking, however, the degree of the sweet taste sensitivity is not always a sufficient factor to determine the predicted sugar intake.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

[Changes of drug reimbursement expenses incurred by National Health Fund in Silesian voivodeship in the period of 1999-2004].

The new healthcare financing system that was implemented in 1999 finished the existence of the budgetary financing system and made the switch to insurance system. Since the very beginning of the new system expenses of drug reimbursement constituted a substantial part of healthcare services costs in all regions of Poland. Simultaneously, owing to the lack of possibility to control these costs, reimbursement expense was one of least predictable points of Sickness Funds budgets. Since 1999, in Silesian voivodeship, sales volume of reimbursed drugs increased as well as total financial burden of reimbursement. In the surveyed years an amount of money paid by insurer (sickness funds, National Health Fund) to one pack of reimbursed drug increased. Volume of consumed packs of drugs and real value of reimbursement per voivodeship citizen rose as well. In 2002 and 2003 patients' uncertainty regarding composition of new reimbursement lists promoted increase in drug sales, what in a consequence gave a substantial rise in reimbursement costs.

Drug Prescriptions↗

PubMed2004

Effect of single-dose administration of recombinant interferon-alpha2b on gastric myoelectrical activity in patients with chronic hepatitis C.

BACKGROUND: Upper abdominal complaints during interferon therapy may result from impaired gastric motility and/or evacuatory function. We examined the effect of acute administration of interferon on gastric myoelectrical activity (GMA) with the use of surface electrogastrography. METHODS: The study population comprised 25 patients with chronic hepatitis C. All of them were naive to interferon. On 2 days, after a 25-min basal GMA registration, in group A (5 men, 7 women, aged 44.3 +/- 2.8 years) placebo or 5 million i.u. recombinant interferon alpha-2b (IFNA) was administered s.c. and the GMA was recorded in the interdigestive state for two periods (2 h and 4 h), separated by a 15-min break. In group B (7 men, 6 women, aged 44.7 +/- 3.9 years) placebo or 5 million i.u. IFNA was injected s.c. after the ingestion of a semiliquid test meal of 364 kcal. Subsequently, the postprandial GMA was recorded for two periods (2 h and 4 h), separated by a 15-min break. RESULTS: A typical flu-like syndrome was observed in 91.7% of patients in group A, and in 92.3% of patients in group B, thus providing evidence of the pharmacodynamic efficiency of the IFNA administration. In the fasted state, IFNA brought about a negligible increase in the rhythmicity and power of the gastric slow waves. IFNA did not elicit any statistically significant effect on gastric slow-wave activity postprandially. CONCLUSIONS: Acute administration of interferon does not involve any deterioration of GMA that could be linked to the previously reported upper abdominal symptoms in patients undergoing treatment with this drug.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

[Drug expenditures of pensioners in 1997-2000].

The general purpose of the study, carried out in the group of pensioners was to determine the relation between drug prices, household income and amounts of money spent on drugs in the years 1997-2000. The study was based on representative data gathered from annual household budgets review by Polish Statistical Office and data from pharmaceutical market published in 'Vitamina C++' magazine. The used method combined descriptive, comparative, table-descriptive analysis with graphical analysis. During studied period the real value of expenses on drugs in pensioners' households rose by 39.3% and available income decreased by 5.8%. Increased expenses on drugs caused the rise of the proportion of on spending on drugs in total household expenditure. It rose from 3.9% in 1997 to 5.2% in 2000. Throughout this time period the drug prices increased in real terms: the highest growth (approx. 49%) was noticed in patients' co-payment to reimbursed drugs. Despite rise in spending on drugs, due to the increase in drug retail prices and increasing patients co-payment, pensioners in comparison with 1997, could buy only approx. 93% units of reimbursed drugs in 2000. The possibility of buying drugs within OTC group increased by 18%.

Aged↗