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Biomedical subjects

N Newton

Publications and source records attributed to N Newton.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Obstacles and opportunities in designing cancer control communication research for farmworkers on the Delmarva Peninsula.

Little is known about the incidence of cancer among farmworker populations or about effective strategies for communicating with farmworkers about cancer prevention. Some studies suggest that farmworkers may have unusually high incidences of skin and cervical cancers. With these two cancers as the focus, a group of interviewers, researchers, and health communication specialists set out to create, implement, and evaluate a cancer control demonstration project geared toward farmworkers. In 1994, a situation analysis was conducted to identify constraints and opportunities for providing farmworkers with cancer control information and services. The situation analysis provided valuable information to aid in developing intervention and evaluation strategies. This paper outlines how and why the situation analysis was conducted and what was learned with regard to the farmworker population on the Delmarva Peninsula. Living conditions and the local availability of cancer control services are described. Obstacles to conducting research and interventions with farmworkers are highlighted. Based on what was learned, recommendations are made for designing cancer control research and intervention for farmworkers.

Agriculture

Recombinant human erythropoietin in the anemia of prematurity: results of a placebo-controlled pilot study.

Experimental and clinical data implicate inadequate erythropoietin production as an important reason that infants acquire this anemia and suggest that recombinant human erythropoietin (r-HuEPO) might be used to treat or prevent it. We therefore randomly assigned 20 small premature infants (birth weight less than or equal to 1250 gm) who were highly likely to require erythrocyte transfusions for anemia of prematurity to receive 6 weeks of treatment with either intravenously administered r-HuEPO (at a dose of 100 units/kg twice each week) or a placebo. Hematologic measurements, transfusion requirements, and growth were followed during therapy and for 6 months thereafter. Treated (EPO) and control babies did not differ with respect to weight, hematocrit, overall mean absolute reticulocyte count, calculated erythrocyte mass, or rate of growth. However, reticulocyte counts increased earlier in patients given r-HuEPO. Six of ten babies in the EPO group, and 8 of 10 assigned to the control group, received at least one erythrocyte transfusion during treatment. For all infants the amount of blood sampled for laboratory tests was strongly predictive of the volume of packed erythrocytes transfused (r = 0.890; p = 0.0001). Of nine infants who had less than 20 ml packed erythrocytes removed for laboratory tests, none of four given r-HuEPO received a transfusion, whereas three of five infants assigned to the placebo group received one. No toxic effects were attributable to r-HuEPO, and no significant changes in leukocyte or platelet counts occurred during treatment. Reticulocyte counts were correlated with simultaneous platelet counts and were inversely related to absolute neutrophil counts in both study groups. We conclude that r-HuEPO administration is safe and feasible at the dose studied. Additional controlled trials utilizing higher doses of r-HuEPO and larger numbers of patients are justified.

Anemia, Neonatal

AIDS peripheral neuropathy.

A young male IV drug abuser with multiple AIDS risk factors and positive HIV serology presented with acute onset of painful urinary retention as a result of a parasympathetic mononeuropathy. Because no other explanation could be found for his illness, despite a careful search for the most likely etiologic agents, the authors propose that his symptom complex may have resulted from infection with the AIDS virus. A review of the current literature relevant to the peripheral neuropathy associated with AIDS is presented.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

Bilateral compressive optic neuropathy secondary to bilateral sphenoethmoidal mucoceles.

We have presented a rare case of bilateral posterior sphenoethmoidal sinus mucoceles with bilateral compressive optic neuropathy. While the duration of compression was variably present over a 10-month period, there were nevertheless significant improvements in visual acuity of the right eye and visual fields bilaterally following extensive optic nerve decompression.

Adult

Guillain-Barré syndrome after vaccination with purified tetanus toxoid.

A 47-year-old patient had Guillain-Barré syndrome after the injection of pure tetanus toxoid. He demonstrated a hypersensitive lymphoblastic transformation to purified tetanus antigen, and typing for disease-associated antigens showed him to be homozygous for HLA-B8. This is the first reported case of nonrelapsing Guillain-Barré syndrome after tetanus toxoid vaccination.

Accidents, Occupational

Frequency and presentation of depressive symptoms in patients with primary degenerative dementia.

The authors examined the frequency and severity of depressive symptoms in elderly patients with presumed primary degenerative dementia and identified the signs and symptoms that provide a reliable basis for diagnosing depression. Forty-four patients and 42 control subjects were interviewed and rated on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression and the Sandoz Clinical Assessment-Geriatric Scale. Nine of the patients demonstrated symptoms suggestive of mild, four of moderate, and five of severe depression. Patients had significantly higher scores than control subjects on items that assess intrapsychic rather than vegetative symptoms of depression. These findings underline the importance of maintaining a high index of suspicion for concomitant depressive symptoms in patients with primary degenerative dementia.

Age Factors

New exchanges.

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Commerce

The ultimate goal?

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Equipment Safety