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Biomedical subjects

P Zeidenberg

Publications and source records attributed to P Zeidenberg.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Alcohol and homicide: a comparison between Erie County, New York, and Los Angeles County, California.

Blood alcohol levels (BALs) were determined for all homicide victims in Erie County, New York, between 1973 and August 1984. These data were compared with similar data for Los Angeles (L.A.) County, California. The overall percentage of victims with blood alcohol levels of 0.01 g% or more was lower in Erie County compared to L.A. County. However, when race and sex were examined as variables in this context, there were interesting differences between the two counties. For instance, there was a higher percentage of Black victims with positive BALS relative to negative BALs in L.A. County, but a higher percentage of White victims with positive BALs relative to negative BALs in Erie County. In Erie County there was a higher percentage of female victims with positive compared to negative BALS, whereas in L.A. County less than half the female victims had positive BALs.

Adolescent↗

Age, alcohol and violent death: a postmortem study.

A detailed examination of the files of the medical examiner's office of Erie County, New York, for 1973-1983 inclusive was conducted with respect to cause of death, age of victim and presence of alcohol in the blood at time of death. In 48.6% of the traffic accidents the victim had been drinking compared with 38.9% miscellaneous accidents (e.g., drowning, falling), 45.2% homicides and 35.4% suicides. Among those aged 15-19, 42.7% of these violent deaths were alcohol related compared with 51.1% of those aged 20-24, 48.6% of those 25-34, 49.1% of those 35-44 and 47.2% of those 45-54. The data indicate that alcohol is involved to a considerable extent in all major categories of violent death for all age cohorts, especially for traffic accident victims aged 35 and under.

Accidents, Traffic↗

Delta 9-tetrahydrocannibinol: acute efects on defensive and primary-process language.

This study examined the effects of delta 9-tetrahydrocannibinol (THC) on defensive, primary-process, and secondary-process language. Four male volunteers provided 5-minute monologues in three conditions: Round 1,placebo; Round 2, 15 mg THC; Round 3, recovery. THC was found to attenuate defensive language behavior (retractors, qualifiers, direct references) and to increase the use of secondary-process (intellectualizing) vocabulary.

Adult↗

Marijuana intoxication by passive inhalation: documentation by detection of urinary metabolites.

During the course of a study on the effects of chronic, heavy marijuana use, a placebo control subject reported dizziness and nausea, showed tachycardia and conjunctivitis, and was found to have urinary cannabinoid metabolites. Staff members observing the marijuana smokers also complained of similar subjective symptoms. The detection of cannabinoids in the urine of this nonsmoker documents the previously anecdotal concept of the "contact high" and has implications for marijuana research and for precautions that may be necessary should marijuana become legal.

Cannabinoids↗

Kif in Morocco.

Chronic cannabis intoxication of a significant fraction of the male population still prevails in Morocco. The preparation used (kif) is a powder made from the dried flower of the female plant. It contains 2 to 3% THC and is smoked mixed with tobacco (1/3 of the mixture). Cultivation of kif is tolerated in an area of 60 square miles in the high Rif mountain of Northern Morocco, where it constitutes the main cash crop of the local farmers. A significant percentage (50%?) of the men in the area also consume kif regularly. This cultivation is spreading to neighboring areas. Moroccan health authorities claim that cannabis intoxication represents a major health hazard. There exist little data correlating chronic usage of kif with pathological states in these areas of large production and consumption. This dearth of information due to lack of local medical personnel could be alleviated by a combined medical and ethnological study.

Agriculture↗

Effects of moderate and high doses of marihuana on thermal pain: a sensory decision theory analysis.

Sixteen habitual marihuana users, selected for their good mental and physical health, were hospitalized for three months in the New York State Psychiatric Institute. During the first month, the subjects were drug free; during the second month, they smoked marihuana cigarettes provided by NIDA (2% THC, 20 mg per cigarette) at the rate of 3 to 12 a day. A modified Hardy-Wolff dolorimeter was used to present 20 thermal stimuli of 30-second duration in a random manner at nine different intensities. Subjects responded from a 14-category scale, and data were analyzed according to sensory decision theory analysis. During the third month, the subjects were again drug free. At the noxious thermal intensities, there was a decrease in the pain report criterion during the first two weeks of smoking. The pain enhancement effect was followed by return to the presmoking pain level during weeks 3 and 4 and in the postsmoking period, indicating that tolerance had developed. There was also an increase in pain discriminability during the four weeks of smoking which extended for one week after smoking. Tolerance developed to the pain report criterion but not to the thermal discriminability. This study suggests that marihuana may have hyperalgesic activity and probably enhances the perception of pain, in moderate smokers. In contrast, heavy smoking had little effect on discriminability and caused an increase in the pain report criterion.

Adolescent↗