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C Rand

Publications and source records attributed to C Rand.

42 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Isotopic and enzymatic IgE assays in non-allergic subjects.

In order to establish normal values in an adult population for serum IgE concentration, sera were obtained from 446 ambulatory Canadian caucasian subjects with negative allergy histories. A standard isotopic procedure, the Phadebas paper radioimmunosorbent test (PRIST), was compared with the new enzymatic counterpart, the Phadezyme PRIST. By the isotopic method, serum IgE concentrations in women and men were comparable from one age group to another with no age-related trend in the seven age groups examined (15-20, 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, 61-70, above 70). The median and 95th percentile units (U)/ml respectively were 17.5 and 145 for 224 women and 25.5 and 275 for 222 men. Mean values +/- 1 SD for women were 43 +/- 102 and for men, 58 +/- 137. Levels were significantly higher in men as a group. Sera with IgE concentrations above 100 U and a sampling of additional sera were tested for specific IgE antibodies to 13 common allergens by the radioallergosorbent test (RAST). After exclusion of RAST-positive sera, the mean U/ml values +/- 1 SD were 22 +/- 29 for 204 women and 37 +/- 54 for 196 men. Geometric mean U/ml values for these sera were 14.6 for women and 22.3 for men and the median and 95th percentile U/ml respectively for the women were 15 and 66, for the men, 24 and 135. These 95th percentile values are considered the upper limits of normal in this population. The RAST identification of antibodies to allergens to which sensitization was demonstrated provided a potential explanation for serum IgE concentrations above 100 U/ml in less than 30% of the sera in this population with negative allergy histories. The isotopic method and the counterpart enzymatic method (Phadezyme PRIST) were highly comparable; the correlation coefficient (r) for all the sera was +0.93 (P less than 0.001). IgE levels were significantly higher in male smokers than non-smokers by both methods but these differences were not significant in women.

Female↗

Psychological health and factors the court seeks to control in lesbian mother custody trials.

The court has repeatedly ruled that a mother will lose custody of and visitation privileges with her children if she expresses her lesbianism through involvement or cohabitation with a female partner, being affiliated with a lesbian community, or disclosing her lesbianism to her children. Associations between expressions of lesbianism for 25 self-identified lesbian mothers and psychological health as measured by three scales on the California Psychological Inventory and by the Affectometer were therefore examined. Psychological health correlated positively with openness to employer, ex-husband, children, and a lesbian community, and with amount of feminist activism. There was no correlation between psychological health and openness to parents, possibly because of parental rejection.

Adult↗

Obesity and psychoanalysis.

Seventy-two psychoanalysts collected information on 84 obese patients and on a control sample of 63 of their patients of normal weight. Despite the fact that obesity was the chief complaint of only 6% of the obese patients, weight losses at 42 months of psychoanalytic treatment compared favorably with those after traditional medical efforts: 47% of the obese psychoanalytic patients lost more than 9 kg, and 19% lost more than 18 kg. There was also a striking decrease in the percentage of obese patients suffering from body image disparagement--from 44% to 12%, an unexpectedly good result for this chronic and intractable disorder.

Adolescent↗

Nicotine gum use in the first year of the Lung Health Study.

Of 3,923 special intervention participants in the Lung Health Study who were offered nicotine gum to help them quit smoking, 1,080 (28.9%) were using nicotine gum 12 months after entry into the study. This group is comprised of 33.6% sustained nonsmokers, 54.5% intermittent smokers, and 19.2% continuing smokers. The average use of gum at 12 months is 7.3 pieces per day. At 12 months, men were significantly more likely to be nonsmokers than women, but women were significantly more likely to use gum than men. Among the sustained nonsmokers, continuous gum users reported significantly more mild side effects than those who used gum intermittently, although there were no differences in moderate or severe side effects between the two groups. Overall, the rate of observed side effects was small. Factors associated with nicotine dependence were related to the use and amount of gum use at 12 months.

Chewing Gum↗