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Biomedical subjects

David Hunter

Publications and source records attributed to David Hunter.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Nutrition and physical activity and chronic disease prevention: research strategies and recommendations.

A shortage of credible information exists on practical dietary and physical activity patterns that have potential to reverse the national obesity epidemic and reduce the risk of major cancers and other chronic diseases. Securing such information is a challenging task, and there is considerable diversity of opinion concerning related research designs and priorities. Here, we put forward some perspectives on useful methodology and infrastructure developments for progress in this important area, and we list high-priority research topics in the areas of 1) assessment of nutrient intake and energy expenditure; 2) development of intermediate outcome biomarkers; 3) enhancement of cohort and cross-cultural studies; and 4) criteria for and development of full-scale nutrition and physical activity intervention trials.

Biomarkers↗
PubMed2004

Effect of prenatal vitamin supplementation on lower-genital levels of HIV type 1 and interleukin type 1 beta at 36 weeks of gestation.

Micronutrient status has been associated with shedding of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) in the lower-genital tract in observational studies. We examined the effect of vitamin supplements on genital HIV-1 shedding and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta ), a cytokine marker of vaginal inflammation and promotion of HIV-1 infection. Consenting HIV-1-infected pregnant women were randomized to receive daily supplementation with vitamin A and/or multivitamins B-complex, C, and E with use of a factorial design. Cervicovaginal lavage (CVL) specimens were obtained shortly before delivery. Significantly more women who received vitamin A had detectable levels of HIV-1 in CVL (74.8%), compared with those who did not receive vitamin A (65.1%) (P=.04, by multivariate analysis). Multivitamin B-complex, C, and E had no effect on the risk of viral shedding. Our results raise concern about the use of vitamin A supplements by HIV-1-infected women. Use of prenatal multivitamin supplements (including vitamins B-complex, C, and E) should be continued despite the lack of effect on HIV-1 transmission because of previously reported positive effects on maternal health and pregnancy outcomes.

Ascorbic Acid↗
PubMed2004

Laparoscopic excision of endometriosis: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect on pain and quality of life for women with all stages of endometriosis undergoing laparoscopic surgery compared with placebo surgery. DESIGN: A randomized, blinded, crossover study. SETTING: A tertiary referral unit in a district general hospital. PATIENT(S): Thirty-nine women with histologically proven endometriosis completed the 12-month study. INTERVENTION(S): Women were randomized to receive initially either a diagnostic procedure (the delayed surgical group) or full excisional surgery (the immediate surgery group). After 6 months, repeat laparoscopy was performed, with removal of any pathology present. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): The end points were changes from baseline values of visual analogue pain scores, validated quality-of-life instruments (EQ-5D and SF-12), and sexual activity questionnaire scores. Patients and assessors of outcomes were blinded to the treatment-group assignment. RESULT(S): Significantly more of the 39 women operated on according to protocol reported symptomatic improvement after excisional surgery than after placebo: 16 of 20 (80%) vs. 6 of 19 (32%); chi(2)(1) = 9.3. Other aspects of quality of life were also significantly improved 6 months after excisional surgery but not after placebo. Progression of disease at second surgery was demonstrated for women having only an initial diagnostic procedure in 45% of cases, with disease remaining static in 33% and improving in 22% of cases. Nonresponsiveness to surgery was reported in 20% of cases. CONCLUSION(S): Laparoscopic excision of endometriosis is more effective than placebo at reducing pain and improving quality of life. Surgery is associated with a 30% placebo response rate that is not dependent on severity of disease. Approximately 20% of women do not report an improvement after surgery for endometriosis.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Rapid and sensitive detection of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in bovine milk and feces by a combination of immunomagnetic bead separation-conventional PCR and real-time PCR.

Immunomagnetic bead separation coupled with bead beating and real-time PCR was found to be a very effective procedure for the isolation, separation, and detection of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis from milk and/or fecal samples from cattle and American bison. Samples were spiked with M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis organisms, which bound to immunomagnetic beads and were subsequently lysed by bead beating; then protein and cellular contaminants were removed by phenol-chloroform-isopropanol extraction prior to DNA precipitation. DNA purified by this sequence of procedures was then analyzed by conventional and real-time IS900-based PCR in order to detect M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis in feces and milk. By use of this simple and rapid technique, 10 or fewer M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis organisms were consistently detected in milk (2-ml) and fecal (200-mg) samples, making this sensitive procedure very useful and cost-effective for the diagnosis of clinical and subclinical Johne's disease (paratuberculosis) compared to bacteriological culture, which is constrained by time, labor, and expense under diagnostic laboratory conditions.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Genetic variation at the adiponectin locus and risk of type 2 diabetes in women.

Previous data suggesting that polymorphisms in the adiponectin gene were associated with insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes have been inconsistent. We assessed the relationship between five common haplotype-tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the adiponectin gene (-11365C>G, -4034A>C, -3964A>G, +45T>G, and +276G>T), haplotypes defined by these SNPs, and the risk of type 2 diabetes by conducting a nested case-control study of 642 incident cases of type 2 diabetes and 995 matching control subjects in the Nurses' Health Study. Overall, we did not observe significant differences in genotype or allele frequencies for the five SNPs between the case and control subjects. After adjustment for diabetes risk factors, the -4034 C/C genotype was associated with a reduced risk of diabetes (odds ratio [OR] compared with the A/A genotype = 0.70, 95% CI 0.50-0.99, P = 0.04). In subgroup analyses, the +276 genotype was significantly associated with diabetes risk only among subjects with peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPAR gamma) variant 12Ala allele (OR comparing +276 T alleles with the G/G genotype = 1.69, 1.04-2.75, P = 0.035) or among obese subjects (1.46, 1.03-2.08, P = 0.03). These data suggest a potential interaction between the adiponectin genotype and PPAR gamma genotype or obesity, but these analyses should be considered exploratory and require further investigation in larger studies.

Adiponectin↗
PubMed2004

Is ERP for you?

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Efficiency, Organizational↗
PubMed2003

A different angle.

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Health Promotion↗
PubMed2003

A strabismus susceptibility locus on chromosome 7p.

Strabismus has been known to have a significant genetic component, but the mode of inheritance and the identity of the relevant genes have been enigmatic. This paper reports linkage analysis of nonsyndromic strabismus. The principal results of this study are: (i) the demonstrated feasibility of identifying and recruiting large families in which multiple members have (or had) strabismus; (ii) the linkage in one large family of a presumptive strabismus susceptibility locus to 7p22.1 with a multipoint logarithm of odds score of 4.51 under a model of recessive inheritance; and (iii) the failure to observe significant linkage to 7p in six other multiplex families, consistent with genetic heterogeneity among families. These findings suggest that it will be possible to localize and ultimately identify strabismus susceptibility genes by linkage analysis and mutation screening of candidate genes.

Chromosome Mapping↗
PubMed2003

Turn of the tide.

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Health Policy↗
PubMed2003

Effect of providing vitamin supplements to human immunodeficiency virus-infected, lactating mothers on the child's morbidity and CD4+ cell counts.

A total of 1078 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1-infected women from Tanzania were randomized in a placebo-controlled trial using a factorial design to examine the effects of supplementation with vitamin A (preformed vitamin A and beta carotene) and/or multivitamins (vitamins B, C, and E). Supplements were given during pregnancy and lactation. Children of women in the multivitamin arms had a significantly lower risk of diarrhea than did those in the no-multivitamin arm (P=.03). The mean CD4+ cell count was 151 cells/microL higher among children in the multivitamin arms than among those in the no-multivitamin arm (P=.0006). HIV-positive children experienced a benefit apparently similar to that in HIV-negative children (P=.34, by test for interaction). Maternal receipt of vitamin A significantly reduced the risk that the child would have cough with a rapid respiratory rate, a proxy for pneumonia (P=.03), but receipt of vitamin A had no effect on diarrhea or CD4+ cell count. Provision of multivitamin supplements (including those with vitamins B, C, and E) to HIV-infected, lactating women may be a low-cost intervention to improve their children's health.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

A double-blind randomized trial comparing the Cavaterm and the NovaSure endometrial ablation systems for the treatment of dysfunctional uterine bleeding.

OBJECTIVE: To compare two second-generation endometrial ablation systems in women with dysfunctional uterine bleeding (DUB) who want conservative surgical treatment. DESIGN: A double-blind, randomized trial. SETTING: A minimal access gynecological surgery unit in northeast England. PATIENT(S): Fifty-seven women diagnosed with DUB were recruited, with 55 undergoing surgery and completing 12-month follow-up. INTERVENTION(S): Thirty-seven women underwent a NovaSure endometrial ablation, and 18 had a Cavaterm endometrial ablation. Clinical and quality of life data were collected 6 and 12 months after treatment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Amenorrhea, menstrual change, quality of life, sexual activity, patient satisfaction, and procedure acceptability. RESULT(S): Amenorrhea, hypomenorrhea, eumenorrhea, and menorrhagia rates for the Cavaterm and Novasure groups at 12 months were 2/18 (11%) vs. 16/37 (43%); 11/18 (61%) vs. 10/37 (27%); 5/18 (27%) vs. 6/37 (16%); and 0/18 vs. 5/37 (13%), respectively. At 12 months, 83% and 92% of women were either satisfied or very satisfied in the Cavaterm or Novasure groups, respectively. There were no major complications in either group. CONCLUSION(S): Both the Cavaterm and the Novasure endometrial ablation systems are effective in reducing menstrual loss in women with DUB and achieve high rates of patient satisfaction. The Novasure system achieved a statistically significantly higher rate of amenorrhea in this study.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae and risk of multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Chlamydia pneumoniae (Cpn) has been proposed as a possible etiologic agent for multiple sclerosis (MS), but results of previous studies are conflicting. METHODS: Using a nested case-control design, we examined the association between Cpn infection and MS in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and Nurses' Health Study II (NHS II) cohorts. Among 32,826 women in the NHS and 29,722 women in the NHS II with blood samples, 141 incident cases of definite or probable MS were documented. Each case was matched to two healthy controls on year of birth and NHS cohort. Serum samples were tested for the presence of Cpn-specific immunoglobin G antibodies using microimmunofluorescence. RESULTS: Cpn immunoglobin G seropositivity was positively associated with risk of MS (odds ratio [OR] = 1.7; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.1-2.7). This association did not change after adjusting for age at blood collection, ancestry, latitude of residence at birth, and smoking (OR = 1.9; CI = 1.1-3.1). Seropositivity for Cpn was only moderately associated with risk of relapsing-remitting MS (OR = 1.7; CI = 0.9-3.2), but it was strongly associated with risk of progressive MS (OR = 7.3; CI = 1.4-37.2). Geometric mean titers of Cpn-specific immunoglobin G antibody were similar in women with relapsing-remitting MS as compared with matched controls (44 vs 39), but they were elevated in women with progressive MS (99 vs 40). CONCLUSIONS: These results support a positive association between Cpn infection and progressive MS.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

A randomised controlled trial comparing the Cavaterm endometrial ablation system with the Nd:YAG laser for the treatment of dysfunctional uterine bleeding.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of the Cavaterm thermal balloon endometrial ablation system with the Nd:YAG laser for the treatment of dysfunctional uterine bleeding. DESIGN: Randomised controlled trial. SETTING: Minimal access gynaecological surgery unit in a district general hospital. POPULATION: Seventy-two women with dysfunctional uterine bleeding requesting conservative surgical management of their condition. METHODS: Women with a normal endometrial biopsy and normal uterine cavity were randomly allocated to endometrial ablation by Cavaterm or Nd:YAG laser. Patients completed pre-operative and 6- and 12-month post-operative questionnaires assessing menstrual symptoms, quality of life, sexual activity and procedural satisfaction and acceptability. All patients received a single dose of gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue one month pre-operatively and kept blinded to the procedure performed until after the 6-month assessment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome measure was amenorrhoea rate. Secondary outcomes were effect on blood loss, quality of life, sexual activity, patient satisfaction and procedure acceptability. RESULTS: Seventy-two women were randomised. Amenorrhoea rates at 12 months in the Cavaterm and endometrial laser ablation groups were 29% vs 39% (P = 0.286), with combined amenorrhoea and hypomenorrhoea rates of 73% vs 69%, respectively. At 12 months, repeat surgery rates were higher in the endometrial laser ablation group (15% vs 12%, P = 0.395). Cavaterm was an acceptable procedure and 93% of patients satisfied or very satisfied at 12 months (95% endometrial laser ablation). Both treatments were associated with an increase from baseline in the SF-12 physical score (Cavaterm mean difference -3.9, 95% CI -7.9, 0.2, ns; endometrial laser ablation mean difference -5.1, 95% CI -9.5, -0.7, P = 0.003) and mental health score (Cavaterm mean difference -5.6, 95% CI -9.9, -1.3, P = 0.001; endometrial laser ablation mean difference -5.9, 95% CI -11.7, -0.2, P = 0.04). Patient's own assessment of health (EQ-5D VAS) improved from baseline in both groups (Cavaterm mean difference -7.6, 95% CI -13.9, -1.3, P = 0.02; endometrial laser ablation mean difference -5.4, 95% CI -14.9, 4.2, ns). EQ-5D index scores also improved (Cavaterm mean difference -0.06, 95% CI -0.2, 0.005, ns; endometrial laser ablation mean difference -0.17, 95% CI -0.3, -0.02, P = 0.02). There were no major complications in either group. CONCLUSIONS: The results with the Cavaterm thermal balloon endometrial ablation system are as good as those obtained with the Nd:YAG laser when used for the treatment of dysfunctional uterine bleeding in the short term. It results in a significant reduction in menstrual blood loss, patient satisfaction and improvement in patient quality of life. Larger studies with longer follow up are required to determine its place in the modern treatment of dysfunctional uterine bleeding.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

A novel dendritic cell-induced model of erosive inflammatory arthritis: distinct roles for dendritic cells in T cell activation and induction of local inflammation.

Transferring collagen-pulsed, bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (DCs) into congenic DBA/1 recipient mice produced arthritis in joints adjacent to the site of DC transfer and could be inhibited by treatment with TNF antagonists. Disease was Ag specific, as transfer of control, unpulsed DCs, or DCs pulsed with OVA did not produce arthritis. In contrast to other experimental arthritis models, DC-induced arthritis localized to the site of injection and did not spontaneously generalize to uninvolved joints, despite the demonstration of circulating collagen-reactive T cells. Similarly, transfer of T cells primed by collagen/DCs was not sufficient to produce arthritis in recipient mice. In collagen/DC-primed mice however, disease could be induced in uninvolved joints by local administration of noncollagen-pulsed DCs and this could be reduced through TNF inhibition. Similarly, injection of collagen/DC-primed mice with low-dose TNF also resulted in local induction of arthritis, as did administration of TNF to mice receiving T cells from collagen/DC but not OVA/DC-primed mice. Thus, we have demonstrated for the first time that administration of collagen-pulsed mature DCs is sufficient for the induction of arthritis. Furthermore, this disease process is mediated through both adaptive and innate effects of DCs; first, priming of autoreactive T cells and, second, induction of local inflammation via mediators such as TNF.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Transmission of HIV-1 through breastfeeding among women in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

BACKGROUND: Transmission of HIV-1 through breastfeeding is a major problem, although its timing is not well characterized. METHODS: The authors examined the timing and correlates of HIV-1 transmission through breastfeeding among 1078 HIV-infected pregnant women from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania enrolled in a trial to examine the effect of vitamin A and other vitamin supplements on mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1 and other health outcomes. Cumulative incidence was measured among children of women not randomized to vitamin A (n = 312), given the higher risk of infection observed among those in the vitamin A arm. For analyses of correlates, data from all children not infected by age 6 weeks were used (p = 659). RESULTS: Mean duration of breastfeeding was 20.3 months (SD = 4.4 months; median = 20.5 months). Thirty-seven infections were observed during 4372 child-months of follow-up evaluation, or 10.2 cases per 100 child-years. Infection risk by age 4 months was 3.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.6%-6.1%) and increased to 17.9% (95% CI, 11.2%-24.5%) by age 24 months. In a multivariate proportional hazards model, high maternal viral load (p =.0001), low CD4 cell count (p =.004), and high maternal erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR; p=.004) were significant predictors of transmission of HIV-1 through breastfeeding. Mothers who had breast lesions during pregnancy were 2.00 times more likely to transmit the virus during breastfeeding than mothers without these lesions (95% CI, 1.29-3.08; p=.002). CONCLUSIONS: The rate of breastfeeding transmission of HIV-1 is high, and early weaning is likely to be associated with reduced transmission. Antiretroviral drugs given to HIV-infected mothers are likely to reduce the risk of breastfeeding transmission. In their absence, interventions that enhance immune reconstitution, such as micronutrient supplements, may be beneficial against transmission. Methods to prevent and treat nipple cracks and mastitis may also be important.

Breast Feeding↗