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Biomedical subjects

H M Adam

Publications and source records attributed to H M Adam.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Incidence of intestinal parasitic disease in an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome day-care center.

In June, 1986, the Bronx Municipal Hospital Center opened an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome day-care center to provide a quality educational experience for children infected with the human immunodeficiency virus. A major concern was the possibility of increasing secondary infections among these immunocompromised children by placing them in a group environment. One particular worry was intestinal parasitic disease, a serious public health problem in day-care centers throughout the United States. To minimize the risk of parasitic infections, scrupulous hygienic and monitoring procedures were instituted at the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome day-care center. This study reports the incidence of intestinal parasitic disease at the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome day-care center during its first 40 months of operation, encompassing 669 child-months of enrollment, with 131 stool specimens examined for ova and parasites. There were 2 cases of parasitic infection: Entamoeba histolytica in an asymptomatic 6-year-old and Giardia intestinalis in a 7-year-old with diarrhea. In neither case was there any secondary spread. None of the 15 children in diapers had a positive specimen, and we found no Cryptosporidium. Our experience suggests that with appropriate precautions human immunodeficiency virus-infected children can participate in a group day-care program without excessive risk for parasitic disease. Strict adherence to hygienic procedures may also decrease the risk of intestinal parasitic disease among healthy children attending day-care centers.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

Anticipatory guidance: a modest intervention in the nursery.

Although the importance of anticipatory guidance in the care of children is well recognized, pediatricians devote only about 10% of the average well child visit to parent education. The reluctance to engage more extensively in preventive interventions may relate to the paucity of evidence that such efforts are effective. This study was designed to test whether a modest anticipatory intervention, easily adaptable to other settings, could favorably influence maternal behavior. Mothers of newborn infants in a municipal hospital were assigned in alternate 2-week periods to an intervention program (n = 49) or a control group (n = 54). The intervention in the nursery consisted of a short group meeting, reinforced by a handout, advocating delayed introduction of solid foods and juices, and the use only of safe pacifiers. The mothers were interviewed at all visits to the general pediatric clinic using a standard format questionnaire. The two groups of mothers were demographically comparable but differed significantly in both the foods they introduced and the pacifiers they used for their babies. As an unexpected benefit, intervention mothers tended to view their babies as healthier than did control mothers. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Adolescent

Concentration of histamine in different parts of the brain and hypophysis of rabbit: effect of treatment with histidine, certain other amino acids and histamine.

1. Estimates have been obtained by biological assay of the histamine concentration in different parts of the rabbit brain and hypophysis.2. Mean values (ng/g) for the brain were: hypothalamus, 660; central grey matter and medial thalamus, 275; tegmental region of mid-brain, the hind-brain and caudate nucleus, 140 to 170; hippocampus and cerebral cortex, 90 to 110; cerebellum (vermis), 60.3. The mean value (ng/g) for the anterior lobe of the hypophysis was 650; for the posterior lobe, 400.4. In conscious rabbits, intravenous infusion of histidine in the dose range 62 to 1,500 mg/kg, raised significantly (P<0.01) the concentration of histamine in all regions of the brain examined, the pattern of distribution remaining unchanged. The largest increases occurred in the mid brain (90 to 320%) and in the hypothalamus (50 to 250%); in these areas the higher doses produced higher concentrations. Elsewhere in the brain the concentration rose in response to the lowest dose of histidine, but was not increased when higher doses were given. Concentrations in the anterior lobe of the hypophysis were unaltered.5. The infusion of histidine, unlike that of amino acid precursors, of the monoamines, produced no obvious disturbance in the animals.6. The rise in brain histamine after dosage with histidine persisted for several hours, depending on the dose; with 500 mg/kg, the rise was virtually unchanged after 16 hours.7. Histamine (5 mg/kg by intravenous infusion) raised the concentration of histamine in the hypophysis but not in the brain.8. After the infusion of DOPA, alpha-methyldopa or 5-hydroxytryptophan, the histamine concentration rose in the mid-brain but not in other parts of the brain.9. These amino acids, when infused singly with histidine, did not interfere with the histidine-induced rise of brain histamine.

5-Hydroxytryptophan