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D Ruffin

Publications and source records attributed to D Ruffin.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

[Suicide in the elderly at home and in retirement homes in France].

BACKGROUND: Suicide in the elderly attracts less attention that in the young. However it is more frequent among the former. The retirement home receives the populations most isolated from their families and those most vulnerable from a psychological and physical point of view. The aim of this research is to provide information concerning suicide in the elderly in France, to specify the means employed and to compare suicide rates at home and in retirement homes METHODS: The statistics utilized are those of population size (censuses) and medical causes of death. With these latter causes a relation cannot be made between place of residence and place where the death by suicide is registered. They therefore underestimate suicide rates which are only considered at the home or retirement home. Consequently different estimations have been made. RESULTS: Suicide rates are higher in the retirement home than at home for both sexes. However, for men, the suicide rates in retirement homes are similar to those recorded for isolated men living at home. On the contrary, for women, the retirement home seems to constitute a specific risk in itself with suicide rates quite distinct from the other situations studied. In the retirement homes, conversely to men, it is the youngest women, (65 to 74 years) who have the highest rates. Hanging is the most prevalent mean of suicide both at home and in the retirement homes. Jumping from a high place is the second mean utilized in the retirement homes where fire arms and consumption of substances are less represented CONCLUSIONS: There are few studies in France concerning suicide in the elderly. Due to the demographic evolution, the number of suicides among the aged may well increase considerably in the years to come.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2001

[The population treated in the general psychiatric sector in 1993 and 1998. Clinical and demographic evolution].

BACKGROUND: The French information system in public psychiatry sectors does not collect morbidity data for the population being treated, estimated as more than a million persons in 1997. Consequently, two surveys were financed by the "Direction Générale de la Santé" and carried out in 1993 and 1998 in order to specify clinical, social and demographic characteristics of the patients. These surveys allowed a follow-up of evolutions according to the pathology and mode of treatment in a context where outpatient treatments are becoming increasingly frequent. METHODS: A census of the patients was made at a given moment, between one and fifteen days according to the mode of treatment. One sector out of two was surveyed, using a systematic selection process. The ICD-10 was used for diagnosis reference. The same methodology was applied in 1993 and 1998. Comparisons were made with the data supplied by the sectors annually and with the data concerning the general population in order to calculate rates per age groups. RESULTS: Between 1993 and 1998, the number of patients increased by +37% in outpatient care, and in part time care, and decreased by -12% in full time care. Rates for patients increased for all age groups in outpatient and part time care, more particularly for the 35 to 49 years old. Conversely, rates decreased in full time care, above all for patients over seventy. In each mode of treatment, the number of patients presenting mood disorders and neurotic disorders increased more than the average, and the proportion of patients with organic mental disorders and mental retardation decreased. Evolutions were different according to the mode of treatment schizophrenia, schizotypal and delusional disorders, and disorders of adult personality and behaviour. CONCLUSIONS: Recourse to outpatient care and part time care increased considerably over five years but evolutions were markedly different from one diagnosis to another. In full time care, the decrease more particularly concerned certain pathologies and age groups. Three phenomena, with possible interactions, could explain the evolutions observed: the population liable to have recourse to psychiatric care is increasing, health policies have changed and care supply has become diversified, and recourse to psychiatric care is now increasingly accepted.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Detection of group C rotavirus in infants with extrahepatic biliary atresia.

The purpose of this retrospective study was to examine liver tissue from patients with cholestatic disease for the presence of group C rotavirus RNA. The reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for genes 5 and 6 was used, and the PCR products were subjected to liquid hybridization with a 32P-labeled probe. A second amplification with nested primers was also used. Samples from 32 subjects (20 with biliary atresia or choledochal cyst and 12 controls) were tested. Ten of 20 biliary atresia patients were positive for group C rotavirus RNA; no controls were positive (P < .003). Three of the positive patients were positive for both genes 5 and 6. Six of the 10 had > 1 sample that was positive. These data suggest a possible relationship between group C rotavirus and extrahepatic biliary atresia in the 10 patients in whom virus RNA was detected.

Autoradiography↗
PubMed1994

Reduction of virus shedding by B. bifidum in experimentally induced MRV infection. Statistical application for ELISA.

The protective effect of a human strain of Bifidobacterium bifidum (B. bifidum) against murine group A rotavirus (MRV) was examined in the intestines of BALB/c infected mice. In experiments designed to determine whether B. bifidum mediated MRV shedding during diarrheal disease, pregnant dams (and their expected litters) were randomly assigned to the following groups: (1) mice infected with MRV alone; (2) B. bifidum-treated + MRV-infected mice; (3) B. bifidum-treated controls; and (4) saline control animals. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of group A rotavirus was used to measure virus protein. The sensitivity of the MRV antigen detector ELISA was determined by serially diluting the rotavirus antigen in test samples. Antigen was detected in dilution ranges of 1:256-1:4096 during the acute phase and 1:16-1:512 in the recovery phase of MRV clinical disease, in the samples tested. Treatment with B. bifidum significantly reduced shedding of MRV antigen (P < 0.009) on days 2-10 postinoculation. The reduction in shedding of virus protein corresponded well with delayed onset of acute diarrhea (P < 0.02). Closer examination of tissue cross sections under electron microscopy revealed that the B. bifidum-ingested strain adhered to the epithelium of the small intestine. These results suggest that priming the intestine with B. bifidum is effective against experimental MRV challenge and confirmed the potential usefulness of this detector ELISA for studying the kinetics of group A rotavirus infection in animals and humans.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Effectiveness of Bifidobacterium bifidum in mediating the clinical course of murine rotavirus diarrhea.

Human Bifidobacterium sp strain bifidum (B. bifidum) was administered to BALB/c lactating mice (n = 58) and their litters (n = 327 pups) to evaluate the ingested strain's adherent properties and ability to inhibit murine rotavirus (MRV) infection. ELISA and anaerobic bacteriologic techniques were used to measure MRV shedding and colonization of Bifidobacterium in the small intestine. At 13-16 d gestation, pregnant dams (and their expected litters) were randomly assigned to one of four experimental groups: 1) normal controls; 2) B. bifidum-treated only; 3) MRV-infected only; and 4) B. bifidum-treated + MRV-infected dams and litters. During the acute phase of diarrhea, 80% of small-intestine cultures in B. bifidum-treated litters were positive for the ingested B. bifidum strain compared with 24% of fecal cultures. Examination of tissue cross sections under electron microscopy revealed the ingested B. bifidum strain survived passage through the upper gastrointestinal tract and adhered to the small-intestine epithelium. After the administration of the high dose of virus, diarrhea developed in all pups, but onset was significantly delayed in B. bifidum-treated + MRV-infected litters compared with litters infected with MRV only (p < 0.02). B. bifidum-treated+MRV-infected pups demonstrated a significant reduction in MRV shedding compared with litters challenged with MRV only at d 2 to 10 after inoculation (p < 0.009). More direct studies are needed to assess mechanisms by which this anaerobe can alter the course of MRV infection at the level of gut epithelium.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1993

Effectiveness of Bifidobacterium bifidum in experimentally induced MRV infection: dietary implications in formulas for newborns.

The protective effect of a human strain of Bifidobacterium bifidum (B. bifidum) against murine Group A rotavirus (MRV) was examined in the intestines of BALB/c infected mice. In experiments designed to determine whether B. bifidum mediated MRV shedding during diarrheal disease, pregnant dams (and their expected litters) were randomly assigned to the following groups: 1. Mice infected with MRV alone; 2. B. bifidum treated + MRV infected mice; 3. B. bifidum treated controls; 4. Saline control animals. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of group A rotavirus was used to measure virus protein. Treatment with B. bifidum significantly reduced shedding of MRV antigen (P < 0.009) days 2-10 post-inoculation. The reduction in shedding of virus protein corresponded well with delayed onset of acute diarrhea (P < 0.02). Closer examination of tissue cross-sections under electron microscopy revealed that the B. bifidum ingested strain adhered to the epithelium of the small intestine. In further experiments, adherent properties of the ingested strain were related to enhancement, although nonsignificant, in immunoglobulin secreting cell responses in Peyer's patch lymphocytes. These results suggest that priming the intestine with B. bifidum is effective against experimental MRV challenge. Closer examination of B. bifidum and related growth factors in suckling neonates on gut physiology and enhancement of local immune responses has potential dietary implications in formulas for newborns.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Self-reported prevalence of asthma symptoms in children in Australia, England, Germany and New Zealand: an international comparison using the ISAAC protocol.

There is a need for a standardized approach to international and regional comparisons of the prevalence and severity of asthma, and for the monitoring of asthma morbidity over time. In 1991, standardized written and video questionnaires were developed and administered in surveys of schoolchildren, aged 12-15 yrs, in five regions in four countries: Adelaide, Australia (n = 1,428); Sydney, Australia (n = 1519); West Sussex, England (n = 2,097); Bochum, Germany (n = 1928); and Wellington, New Zealand (n = 1863). The self-reported prevalence of wheezing during the previous 12 months was similar in West Sussex (29% using the written questionnaire and 30% using the video questionnaire), Wellington (28 and 36%), Adelaide (29 and 37%), and Sydney (30 and 40%), but was lower in Bochum (20 and 27%). The one year prevalence of severe wheezing limiting speech was greater in Wellington (11%), Adelaide (10%) and Sydney (13%), than in West Sussex (7%) and Bochum (6%). The self-reported one year prevalences of frequent attacks, frequent nocturnal wheezing, and doctor diagnosed asthma, were also higher in the Australasian centres than in the European centres. We conclude, that an international comparison of asthma symptom prevalence in childhood, using simple standardized instruments, is feasible. Possible explanations for the differences in reported asthma severity between the Australasian and European centres include differences in exposure to risk factors and differences in the management of asthma.

Adolescent↗