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Biomedical subjects

M A Ibrahim

Publications and source records attributed to M A Ibrahim.

102 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

Cadmium and lead content of maternal and newborn hair: relationship to parity, birth weight, and hypertension.

Head hair samples were taken from 110 mothers and their newborns at delivery and analyzed for cadmium and lead content. Positive association for cadmium content, but not lead, was found between mothers and newborns. Correlation between the two metals was observed in the babies' hair. Lead levels in the mothers' hair were higher in mothers of parity three or greater than in primiparous mothers. Inverse relationships were found (1) between the cadmium content in babies' hair and their birthweight and (2) between the lead content in mothers' hair and the babies' gestational age. Cadmium levels in babies of hypertensive mothers were 3 times as high as in the hypertensive mothers themselves. A possible change in the permeability of the placenta during pregnancy was postulated.

Adolescent↗

Factors affecting the duration of breastfeeding in a rural population of Saudi Arabia.

A study was conducted to demonstrate factors influencing duration of breastfeeding in Al-Jamoom Western region of Saudi Arabia. Information was obtained on 476 children under the age of three years and their mothers in nine of the villages in this area. A predesigned questionnaire was administered to the mothers to obtain information on age, education, fertility parameters and antenatal care during pregnancy with the index children. Multiple regression analysis was used to analyze the effect of different biological and environmental factors on the duration of breastfeeding. The data showed that over 57% of the mothers breastfed their children for more than a year, and the mean duration of breastfeeding was 14.61 +/- 3.53 months. A considerable proportion of the mothers (42.3%) stopped breastfeeding during the first year. The most common reason for terminating breastfeeding during the first year was insufficient milk (30.9%), and recurrence of pregnancy (27.3%). A minority of the mothers (6.5%) were given advice about breastfeeding by health care professionals (physicians and nurses). Other factors such as the age of the mother, age of the infant when a supplement diet was first introduced, birth order of the child and attendance in an antenatal care clinic had a significant effect on the duration of breastfeeding. It is therefore recommended that Maternal and Child Health services must be strongly reinforced in the Primary Health Care Centers of the Ministry of Health and other health care providers.

Bottle Feeding↗

End-stage renal disease (ESRD) in Saudi Arabia.

Information was collected on patients with End-stage Renal Disease (ESRD) receiving maintenance dialysis in all of the dialysis facilities in Saudi Arabia. Similar information was also collected from the Saudi Arabian government-sponsored patients with ESRD in the United States between December 1985 to March 1986. As of March 31, 1986, 806 Saudi patients were on maintenance hemodialysis and 16 on peritoneal dialysis in hospital-based dialysis facilities in Saudi Arabia. The prevalence rate of ESRD was 139/million at the completion of the study. The rates increased with age and were similar when compared on a regional basis, but were higher in the rural areas for both sexes in all regions except the Southern Region. Here, the prevalence rates for the female urban residents were higher than for female rural residents. Although primary health care services are available in rural areas, a delay was noted in seeking medical care. This was attributed to the possible lack of health education, knowledge of the disease and information on the availability of the health services. Upon completion of this study, it was concluded that a need exists for further research in all aspects to delineate the role of the various factors that affect ESRD in Saudi Arabia, with the universal goal of preventing development of the disease in the population.

Adolescent↗

Effect of zaprinast on nitric oxide levels in serum and aortic tissue.

Nitric oxide (NO), which is synthesized from the guanidino nitrogen of l-arginine by nitric oxide synthase (NOS), plays an important role in many physiological and pathological processes. Most of the effects of NO are mediated by cyclic guanosine 3'5 monophosphate (cGMP), which is synthesized by soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) and degraded by phosphodiesterases (PDEs). Although the NO/cGMP pathway has been extensively studied, remarkably little is known about the regulation of NO release. Furthermore, controversial studies have indicated that intervention of the sGC/cGMP pathway modulates the release of NO. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the hypothesis that drugs that affect the sGC/cGMP pathway may modulate NO release and, if so, is there a correlation between NO levels and blood pressure effect? To this end, we investigated the effects of the PDE 5 inhibitor zaprinast on mean arterial pressure (MAP), nitrite/nitrate levels and cGMP in normotensive male Sprague Dawley rats. The results of the current study indicated that zaprinast dose-dependently increased plasma cGMP levels at 18, 24 and 36 mg/kg and decreased MAP at 24 and 36 mg/kg. However, zaprinast at 18, 24 and 36 mg/kg did not affect NO levels either in serum or aortic tissue. We have concluded that the PDE 5 inhibitor zaprinast has no regulatory effect on NO release in serum and aortic tissue, and NO was not involved in the hypotensive effect of zaprinast.

Animals↗

Hypertension control in a rural southern community: medical care process and dropping out.

As part of the Edgecombe County High Blood Pressure Control Program, we conducted a medical record review within a private group practice to assess the interrelationships between patient characteristics, the process of medical care, and dropping out of care by hypertensive patients. Twenty-one percent of 641 randomly selected hypertensive patients did not have a clinic visit in the year before their record review date. Loss to follow-up varied from 31% for black men to 13% for white women. More intense prior contact with the medical care system was associated with remaining under medical care for all groups by race and sex. Black men were much less likely to have intense contact with the medical care system than the other groups. Physician aggressiveness in the use of drug therapy was associated with a nearly 40% reduction in the risk of being lost to follow-up. These findings suggest that patient characteristics and several factors that reflect the process of medical care are associated with dropping out of medical care by hypertensive patients.

Adult↗

The Edgecombe County High Blood Pressure Control Program: the process of medical care and blood pressure control.

As part of the Edgecombe County High Blood Pressure Control Program, a medical record review was conducted within a multispecialty private group practice in the county. The purposes of the review were to assess the relationship between the process of medical care and blood pressure control and to explore the variation in level and impact of medical care by race and sex. At the end of a three-year period, 41 percent of 628 hypertensive patients from the practice had uncontrolled diastolic blood pressure (DBP), as defined by Hypertension Detection and Follow-up Program criteria. The percentage of uncontrolled hypertensives ranged from 53 percent for black men to 34 percent for white women. Hypertensive patients whose physicians were more aggressive in their use of antihypertensive drug therapy were more likely to be controlled. The effect of the level of physician drug aggressiveness tended to be more pronounced for blacks than for whites. Differences by race in exposure to and efficacy of aggressive drug treatment may influence racial variation in blood pressure control.

Age Factors↗

Presidential cancer.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Attitude to Health↗

Effect of disk maturation on diffusion of low-molecular-weight gadolinium complexes: an experimental study in rabbits.

PURPOSE: To measure the rate of enhancement in immature intervertebral disks in comparison with that of mature disks after intravenous administration of gadolinium-containing contrast media. METHODS: Four rabbits were imaged with MR for 120 minutes after the injection of gadopentetate dimeglumine, gadoteridol, or gadodiamide. Contrast enhancement was measured in the lumbar intervertebral disks on each image. The rate and magnitude of enhancement in the immature and mature disks were compared. RESULTS: Contrast enhancement was detected in intervertebral disks with all three contrast media. Enhancement was significantly greater in immature than in mature animals. CONCLUSION: Greater enhancement in immature disks is consistent with a lower concentration of fixed negative charges in the glycosaminoglycans of the disk.

Animals↗

Supercritical fluid extraction and gas chromatography/ion trap mass spectrometry of pentachloronitrobenzene pesticides in vegetables.

An analytical approach using supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) followed by gas chromatography/ion trap mass spectrometry (GC/ITMS) was developed for the analysis of the fungicide pentachloronitrobenzene and several analogues in vegetables. The method was tested in the analysis of carrots, potatoes, green beans, celery, and radishes fortified with pentachloronitrobenzene, tetrachloronitrobenzene, pentachloroanisole, pentachlorothioanisole, pentachlorobenzene, hexachlorobenzene, and pentachloroaniline. An incurred carrot sample analyzed by the method was shown to contain hexachlorobenzene at 7 +/- 3 ng/g, which agreed with the concentration (8 +/- 4 ng/g) determined using a traditional solvent-based method. The SFE method consisted of the following steps: (1) homogenizing a 50 g vegetable sample and weighing a 3 g subsample; (2) mixing 2 g sorbent (Hydromatrix) with the subsample to absorb moisture and packing a 10 mL extraction vessel; (3) extracting with 40 mL CO2 at 200 atm, 40 degrees C, and a flow rate of 3 mL/min; and (4) collecting the extract on a 1 g alumina basic trap at 25 degrees C and flushing with 8 mL isooctane. Collection of the extract on alumina efficiently removed chlorophyll and other matrix interferences. GC/ITMS in the electron-impact mode confirmed and quantitated the analytes at concentrations as low as 1 ng/g.

Fungicides, Industrial↗