Biomedical subjects

Shrikant Bangdiwala

Publications and source records attributed to Shrikant Bangdiwala.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Heterogeneity of daily pulmonary function in response to air pollution among asthmatic children.

Several epidemiological studies have demonstrated the association of short-term exposure to air pollution with transient declines in pulmonary function. Although the magnitudes of declines in pulmonary function found in these studies are relatively small, the effects vary among children. This study examined whether the variation is evidence of biological heterogeneity or due to random variation by analyzing data from a panel study of 83 asthmatic school children exposed to SO2 and PM10 in the Mae Moh district of Thailand. Daily pulmonary function testing was performed on the children for 61 days. General linear mixed models were used to examine and test for the null hypothesis of no variation in the subject-specific slopes of pulmonary functions in response to the air pollutants. The individual daily pulmonary functions measured were FVC, FEV1, PEFR, and FEF(25-75%). These were used as an outcome to compare with air pollutant concentrations as random effects, adjusting for height, gender, time, and temperature. The results indicate evidence of inter-individual variation for subject-specific changes in FVC, FEV1, and PEFR due to the effects of SO2 and PM10 on children. In conclusion, even at low concentrations of daily SO2 and PM10 in the study area, there is evidence of a heterogeneous response to short-term exposure to SO2 and PM10 in children.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Regional brain activation in response to rectal distension in patients with irritable bowel syndrome and the effect of a history of abuse.

Previous studies have demonstrated alterations in brain response to rectal distension in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) compared to controls. Our aim was to compare regional brain activity in response to rectal balloon distension in patients with IBS and healthy controls. We studied six patients with IBS and six healthy controls. Positron emission tomography scans were obtained during rectal balloon distensions. Statistical parametric mapping and region of interest analysis were performed to identify and compare differences in regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) for each distension pressure within and between the groups of interest. In post-hoc analyses, patients with a history of sexual or physical abuse were compared to patients without abuse. In response to rectal distension, controls exhibit a greater increase in anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) activity compared to the IBS group (Z = 3.2, P = 0.001). Thalamic activity was higher in the IBS patients relative to the control group (Z = 3.3, P < 0.001). Increased ACC activity was observed in IBS patients with no history of abuse (Z = 5.2, P < 0.001) similar to controls, whereas no such increased activity was noticed in the abused group. In conclusion, this study replicates previous findings showing alterations in brain response to rectal distension in patients with IBS. The observations on the effect of abuse suggest a possible modulating role of abuse history on this brain response.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Accuracy of three dry-chemistry methods for lipid profiling and risk factor classification.

The purpose of this project was to determine the accuracy in lipids measurement and risk factor classification using Reflotron, Cholestech, and Ektachem DT-60 dry-chemistry analyzers. Plasma and capillary venous blood from fasting subjects (n = 47) were analyzed for total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein (HDL-C), and triglycerides (TG) using these analyzers and a CDC certified laboratory. Accuracy was evaluated by comparing the results of each portable analyzer against the CDC reference method. One-way ANOVAs were performed for TC, HDL-C, and TG between all portable analyzers and the reference method. Chi-square was used for risk classification (2001 NIH Guidelines). Compared to the reference method, the Ektachem and Reflotron provided significantly lower values for TC (p < .05). In addition, the Cholestech and Ektachem values for HDL-C were higher than the CDC (p < .05). The Reflotron and Cholestech provided higher values of TG than the CDC (p < .05). Chi-squares analyses for risk classification were not significant (p > .45) between analyzers. According to these results, the Ektachem and Cholestech analyzers met the current NCEP III guidelines for accuracy in measurement of TC, while only Ektachem met guidelines for TG. All 3 analyzers provided a good overall risk classification; however, values of HDL-C should be only used for screening purposes.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Flexible sigmoidoscopy: the patients' perception.

BACKGROUND: Anxiety, discomfort, and high levels of concern can affect patient attitude toward endoscopic procedures as well as compliance and adherence to current recommendations for the examination. This study evaluated how patients perceive flexible sigmoidoscopy. METHODS: A prospective study was conducted at two sites of 764 patients presenting for GI endoscopy (flexible sigmoidoscopy 175, colonoscopy 384, EGD 205). Before these procedures, patients rated their anticipated (preprocedure) difficulty and degree of concern for each of 30 specific concerns. After the procedure, the patients rated their actual (postprocedure) difficulty. Patients' levels of concerns and difficulty were compared before and after the procedure and among the 3 procedure types. RESULTS: Before the procedure, patients who were to undergo flexible sigmoidoscopy had fewer concerns and lower scores for the severity of the concerns than did patients having colonoscopy or EGD. After the procedure, patients who had flexible sigmoidoscopy rated it as more difficult than patients who had colonoscopy or EGD. Patients who had colonoscopy and EGD graded their actual difficulty as less than their anticipated difficulty. However, patients who had flexible sigmoidoscopy rated the actual difficulty the same as the anticipated difficulty. CONCLUSIONS: Although patients have fewer concerns regarding flexible sigmoidoscopy than for the other endoscopic procedures, after the procedure they rate sigmoidoscopy as more difficult compared with postprocedure ratings by patients who underwent colonoscopy or EGD. This suggests that it may be necessary to change the perception of flexible sigmoidoscopy as being the best tolerated of the endoscopic procedures.

Adolescent↗