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Biomedical subjects

K Dolan

Publications and source records attributed to K Dolan.

49 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Preventing the spread of HIV in injecting drug users--the experience of syringe-exchange schemes in England and Scotland.

In 1987 the UK government launched experimental schemes for distributing injecting equipment to injecting drug users in order to help prevent the spread of Human Immunodeficiency Virus. This paper reports on the first few months of the schemes, and provides some initial evidence of changes in clients' risk behaviours. The schemes have been reasonably successful in attracting clients, but are less successful in retaining them. Schemes have demonstrated that equipment can be distributed to clients on an exchange basis. Schemes have reached new groups of clients, including many without previous or current treatment contact or other help for their drug problems. The baseline assessment of clients found that most had accurate knowledge of the risk of infection from sharing injecting equipment. Most thought that they were at low risk of infection. Syringe sharing in the last four weeks was reported by 36%. A minority engaged in multiple sharing. Most clients were sexually active and many had partners who did not inject drugs. The main reason for attendance was worry about AIDS, and a majority of clients reported that they had already made changes in their injecting practices because of AIDS. Some reported changes in sexual behaviour. A sample of clients followed-up at 2-4 months indicates a reduction in syringe sharing.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1987

Antibodies to the human immunodeficiency virus in needles and syringes used by intravenous drug abusers.

The sharing of needles and syringes by intravenous drug abusers has been recognized as a critical factor in the transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In an attempt to reduce the sharing of needles and syringes among intravenous drug abusers, a pilot sterile needle-and-syringe exchange programme was established in an inner city neighbourhood in Sydney. The contents of exchanged syringes were screened for antibody to HIV by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); reactive and borderline samples were tested further by the Western Blot method. Of a sample of 300 needles-and-syringes that were exchanged, three (1%) needles-and-syringes were confirmed as containing antibody-seropositive blood by both ELISA and Western Blot methods and thus as being potentially infectious. As only 70% of known positive-control syringes were detected in this study, the proportion of potentially infectious needles-and-syringes that was found may have underestimated the proportion of infectious injection equipment that was returned. These findings highlight the importance of the removal of used needles and syringes from circulation in addition to the supply of sterile equipment. This method of monitoring exchanged needles-and-syringes is suggested as a means to evaluate measures that are designed to reduce the transmission of HIV among intravenous drug abusers. The rapid implementation of sterile needle-and-syringe exchange programmes is imperative to stem the spread of HIV infection.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1977

Achondroplasia and hydrocephalus. A computerized tomographic, roentgenographic, and psychometric study.

Nine achondroplastic dwafts were studied with computerized tomography, skull and cervical spine films, and psychometric testing. All had large ventricles that ranged from the top limits of normal to severe hydrocephalus. Three had enlarged cortical sulci. Skull and cervical spine films were typical for achondroplasia, but in addition significant asymmetry of the petrous ridge was noted. Psychometric testing disclosed generally average intelligence quotients which fell below the expected performance level in each case. These findings may be explained on the basis of the abnormal endochondral bone formation found in achondroplasia.

Achondroplasia↗
PubMed1977

Roentgenographic search for avascular necrosis of the head of the femur in alcoholics and normal adults.

Roentgenograms of 1,410 hips from 705 alcoholics were compared with those of 200 hips from 100 controls for changes consistent with non-traumatic (idiopathic) necrosis of the femoral head according to the findings diagnostic of necrosis of bone that were outlined by the Decompression Sickness Panel of the British Medical Research Council. Abnormalities were found in 45.3 per cent of the alcoholics and 49 per cent of the controls. None of the findings showed any statistical difference between the controls and the alcoholics. It was concluded that the roentgenographic findings used were not valid in detecting the early or subtle changes of necrosis of the femoral head and that the changes found in both groups are common and probably non-specific.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Low-dimensional dynamics in sensory biology 2: facial cold receptors of the rat.

We report the results of a search for evidence of unstable periodic orbits in the sensory afferents of the facial cold receptors of the rat. Cold receptors are unique in that they exhibit a diversity of action potential firing patterns as well as pronounced transients in firing rate following rapid temperature changes. These characteristics are the result of an internal oscillator operating at the level of the membrane potential. If such oscillators have three or more degree of freedom, and at least one of which also exhibits a nonlinearity, they are potentially capable of complex activity. By detecting the existence of unstable periodic orbits, we demonstrate low-dimensional dynamical behavior whose characteristics depend on the temperature range, impulse pattern, and temperature transients.

Action Potentials↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Histological and molecular mapping of adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus and gastroesophageal junction: loss of heterozygosity occurs in histologically normal epithelium in the oesophagus and stomach.

Seventy malignant, premalignant and histologically normal biopsies from 7 oesophagogastrectomy specimens of adenocarcinomas of the lower oesophagus and gastroesophageal junction were analysed for loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at 9 known or putative gene loci. LOH was detected in 20 of 27 (74%) malignant biopsies, 4 of 7 (57%) biopsies of dysplasia, 2 of 12 (25%) biopsies of histologically normal oesophagus adjacent to adenocarcinoma, and in 2 of 14 (14%) biopsies of histologically normal stomach adjacent to adenocarcinoma. LOH at the VHL, APC, CDKN2 and DCC tumour suppressor and MSH3 mismatch repair gene loci can be detected in histologically normal tissue and in adjacent adenocarcinoma, and are potential markers of early neoplastic progression.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Surveillance and prevention of hepatitis C in Australian prisons.

Hepatitis C (HCV) prevalence rates in prisons are even higher than HIV prevalence rates. Studies undertaken in the early and mid 1990s in Canadian prisons revealed rates of between 28 and 40 percent, and rates continue to rise. In one federal prison, 33 percent of study participants tested positive in 1998, compared to 27.9 percent in 1995; and at the Burnaby Correctional Centre for Women in British Columbia, over 78 percent of 69 inmates tested for HCV between 1 January 1996 and 8 August 1996 were seropositive. Similar figures are reported from other countries, including Australia. This raises many challenges for prison systems: how best to provide care and treatment to HCV-positive inmates; and how to prevent the further spread of HCV. Most HCV-positive inmates come to prison already infected, but the potential for further spread is high: HCV is much more easily transmitted than HIV, and transmission has been documented in prisons in several countries, including Canada. In Australia, an action plan for the surveillance and prevention of HCV in prisons has been developed as a result of meetings held in 1998 and 1999. We reproduce here the executive summary of the plan.

Australia↗