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Biomedical subjects

L M Camacho

Publications and source records attributed to L M Camacho.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

Maintenance of HIV risk reduction among injection opioid users: a 12 month posttreatment follow-up.

Study objectives were to examine HIV risk behaviors 12 months following methadone maintenance (MM) treatment termination, and to assess the effects of treatment tenure, cocaine use, and gender on posttreatment HIV risk. Injection and sex risk behaviors were measured at treatment entry and 12 months after leaving treatment among 435 injection opioid users. Multi-way contingency tables for treatment tenure and HIV risk at treatment intake and at 12 month follow-up were analyzed using the GSK weighted least-squares estimation procedure. The effects of treatment tenure, gender, and cocaine use on risk behavior at follow-up, while controlling for intake risk and background variables were tested using a series of multiple logistic regression analyses. Results showed that injection and sex risk behaviors were significantly lower at 12 month follow-up than at treatment entry. Additionally, increased tenure was related to risk reductions, while cocaine use was related to increased risk-taking. Gender was generally unrelated to risk changes. These findings support broader use of MM in helping reduce HIV risks among injection drug users and highlight the need to explore ways to encourage treatment compliance in order to reduce risky practices.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Psychological dysfunction and HIV/AIDS risk behavior.

The relationship between psychological problems and human immunodeficiency virus HIV/AIDS risk-taking behaviors was examined among 834 daily opioid users entering methadone treatment programs. A composite measure of psychological dysfunction was created using depression, anxiety, and hostility scales. This measure was found to be significantly related to needle risk in terms of injecting with used equipment, sharing of drug paraphernalia, and sharing with strangers. Psychological dysfunction was also related to sexual risk taking in terms of number of partners, unprotected sex with other injection drug users, and trading sex. Use of cocaine was significantly related to all measures of injection and sex-related risk taking; use of speedball (heroin and cocaine) was significantly related to use of dirty equipment and sharing of paraphernalia. The implications of study findings for AIDS prevention programming are discussed.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1996

Gender, cocaine and during-treatment HIV risk reduction among injection opioid users in methadone maintenance.

HIV risk behavior was examined in relation to gender and cocaine use among a sample of 327 daily opioid users in methadone maintenance treatment. Women and cocaine users tended to be at higher risk than men and non-users prior to treatment entry. Significant reductions in both injection and sex-related risks occurred from intake to months 3 and 6 of treatment; HIV risks were also reduced among the subsample of clients who continued to inject drugs during treatment. The rate of HIV risk reduction was similar for both cocaine and non-cocaine users, but women had lower rates of risk reduction than men in terms of injecting with used equipment and number of sex partners. Measures of risk behavior at month 6 of treatment showed that women used 'dirty works' more often than men, and cocaine users injected more frequently and had more sex partners than non-cocaine users. Study outcomes highlight the need for specialized interventions targeting women and cocaine-using opioid addicts.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Adynamia episodica hereditaria: what causes the weakness?

The cause of weakness was investigated in a patient with adynamia episodica hereditaria without myotonia. A pattern of exercise and rest produced episodes of hyperkalemic periodic paralysis. In addition, local muscle weakness was induced by forearm cooling. Investigations on isolated intercostal muscle demonstrated that a high potassium concentration in the bathing solution triggered a noninactivating membrane current causing depolarization of the muscle fibers. This current was carried by sodium as it could be inhibited by tetrodotoxin. The abnormal sodium conductance led to an increase of sodium within the fibers. This was demonstrated directly by intracellular recordings. Weakness induced by rest after exercise and cold-induced weakness appeared to have different pathomechanisms. In the cold, the muscle fibers retained a normal resting potential, but their excitability was reduced and their mechanical threshold was increased. These findings also provide evidence that the mechanism of cold-induced weakness in adynamia episodica is distinctly different from the cold-induced weakness that occurs in paramyotonia congenita.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

[Clinical applications of visual evoked potentials for detection of chiasmal and postchiasmal lesions (author's transl)].

Visual evoked potentials (VEP) were recorded in 18 patients with pathologic processes confirmed by computerized tomography in the chiasmal (n = 9) and parietooccipital region (n = 9). Reactions from the right and left hemisphere could be recorded separately in spite of using a simple one-channel apparatus and electrodes only at Oz and Cz. In 17 cases changes of the VEP provided information concerning the localization and extension of the lesion. In chiasmal processes we found a prolongation of monocular latencies, and a delayed or extinguished reaction to half-field stimulation from temporal retinal areas. However, the VEP was often pathologic for half-field stimulation of the nasal hemiretina. Pathologic VEPs were not always accompanied by visual field defects. In contrary to patients with chiasmal processes no pathologic reaction could be found to full-field stimulation in parieto-occipital lesions. Only when the affected hemisphere was stimulated selectively were diminution of amplitudes, prolongation of latencies, or extinguished responses observed. The VEP changes were uniform despite the cause of the lesion (tumor, ischemia). In chiasmal and parieto-occipital processes the VEP supplements computerized tomography by detecting deficits in function. This method appears suitable for monitoring the course of disease before and after neurosurgery.

Brain Diseases↗