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Biomedical subjects

L Wannmacher

Publications and source records attributed to L Wannmacher.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

Reliability of environmental, biological and health characteristics of infants from a developing country.

BACKGROUND: Although most epidemiological data are gathered by interviews, few studies ascertain their reliability. This study quantified inter-observer reliability of environmental, biological and health characteristics of underprivileged children, in a southern Brazilian state. METHODS: Five health care professionals who had received extensive standardized interview and observation training interviewed mothers and observed the home environments of a random sample of 102 children. A second interview was conducted by a sixth health professional who had received separate but identical training without the initial interviewer knowing a follow-up interview would be conducted. Data from the two independent interviews and observations were compared for agreement using the kappa statistic. RESULTS: There was excellent agreement (kappa > 0.75) for most of the household characteristics, such as type of walls, ceiling, floor and windows in spite of the diversity of buildings. Presence of the parents, number of people in the house-hold, age of the mother and health assistance were reliable as well. However, information about skin colour of the mother and the number of cracks in the house only reached fair agreement. CONCLUSIONS: These results showed that data gathered by observation and interviews generate accurate information about environmental, biological and health care characteristics. Those based on written information, such as birth date, were highly concordant.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

The status of ethnopharmacology in Brazil.

Brazil is a country of interest to ethnopharmacology because of its great wealth of cultural and biological diversity. This paper describes relevant research activities in the areas of botany, chemistry, basic and clinical pharmacology, and discusses the key factors that shaped ethnopharmacology development in the country. Specific attention is given to analyzing ongoing attempts to include medicinal plant based formulations in the official health care system.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

A simple simulated public speaking test for evaluating anxiolytic drugs.

1. We evaluated the feasibility of using a simulated public speaking (SPS) test to assess the activity of anxiolytic drugs. SPS was achieved by requesting subjects to present a speech to an audiocassette recorder. Thirty volunteers were randomly assigned to one of three groups treated with 10 mg diazepam, 10 mg buspirone or placebo, under double-blind conditions. One h after drug administration, subjective states were measured by the Visual Analogue Mood Scale (VAMS), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and by a Bodily Symptoms Scale (BSS). Heart rate and blood pressure were also recorded. 2. SPS induced both physiological and subjective changes characteristic of anxiety. Moreover, diazepam attenuated experimentally induced increases in excitement (as measured by VAMS) and agitation (as measured by BSS). Therefore, SPS using an audiocassette recorder is sensitive to a prototypical anxiolytic and may thus be a useful test for evaluating putative anxiolytics. 3. No effect was observed with the new anxiolytic drug buspirone. However, the present negative result may be explained by clinical data indicating that patients may experience a longer lag period before the onset of the anxiolytic effect of buspirone.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Effect of sodium intake on blood pressure, serum levels and renal excretion of sodium and potassium in normotensives with and without familial predisposition to hypertension.

1. Seventeen normal volunteers aged 19 to 22 were randomly subjected, in a trial of crossover design, to three distinct regimens of sodium chloride intake: high (16 to 20 g), normal (8 to 12 g) and low (0.5 to 1 g). Each regimen lasted nine days, with determination of blood pressure and heart rate (in the supine position and after sudden rising), body weight, and urinary output of creatinine, sodium and potassium on the third, sixth and ninth days. In addition, plasma levels of creatinine, sodium and potassium were determined on the ninth day so that sodium and potassium clearance and fractional excretion could be calculated. 2. Eleven of the volunteers had a family history of hypertension. Compared to the six without such a history, these subjects showed: 1) higher supine systolic blood pressure on the third day of sodium overload (124.7 +/- 3.0 vs 112.3 +/- 2.9 mmHg, P less than 0.02); 2) higher supine diastolic blood pressure on the third day of sodium overload (76.5 +/- 2.8 vs 64.5 +/- 4.3 mmHg; P less than 0.05); 3) higher supine diastolic blood pressure on the sixth day of sodium overload (73.7 +/- 2.3 vs 63.8 +/- 3.2 mmHg, P less than 0.05); 4) lower supine heart rate on the ninth day of sodium overload (61.0 +/- 3.1 vs 72.7 +/- 4.6, P less than 0.05), and 5) lower plasma potassium on the ninth day of sodium overload (4.10 +/- 0.05 vs 4.28 +/- 0.06 mEq/l, P less than 0.05). 3. These results suggest that normal individuals whose familial history places them at risk for the development of hypertension differ from those not at risk during their adaptation to sodium load by suffering a transient elevation of blood pressure within a few days of the increase in load. The low levels of plasma potassium observed in these volunteers after a period of sodium load may be due to the operation of different renal mechanisms of sodium excretion in this group, leading to increased kaliuresis, and may explain the high vascular reactivity of such individuals.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Diagnosis of systemic hypertension: evidences that current criteria should be revised].

UNLABELLED: It has been recommended to take the average of several blood pressure (BP) determinations with a sphygmomanometer to diagnose hypertension, but there is no agreement on the reading numbers. PURPOSE: Describing the behavior of BP readings taken in three different days to establish the classificatory BP in an outpatient hypertension clinic. METHOD: In the outpatient hypertension clinic of the Clinical Pharmacology Division of the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, we use the mean of six readings taken in three different days to establish the classificatory blood pressure, except for those with very high or low values in the first day. In this report we describe the behavior of BP in 58 patients submitted to this routine. RESULTS: The mean of systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressures decreased from the first to the 6th reading (ANOVA for repeated measurements: F = 4.45, P = 0.001 for SBP and F = 5.54, P < 0.001 for DBP). Afterward, the patients were classified into two groups according their first SBP and DBP reading. The decreasing in both SBP and DBP was confined to those with the first measurement in the upper half of the entire group (ANOVA: F = 8.03; P < 0.0001 for SBP and F = 6.33, P < 0.0001 for DBP). Regression to the mean and some reactiveness in the first day are possible explanations for this. CONCLUSION: These data corroborate that the hypertension diagnosis should not be based in an single blood pressure determination and suggest that the recommendation to diagnose severe hypertension based on high values in the first two readings could misclassify some patients.

Analysis of Variance↗