Biomedical subjects

Susan Carr

Publications and source records attributed to Susan Carr.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

The effect of oestrogen on cytokine and antioxidant levels in male to female transsexual patients.

OBJECTIVE: Whilst hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can be beneficial, it can be associated with deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and stroke. As male to female transsexuals take much higher doses of oestrogen than women on HRT, they provide a unique opportunity to study the long-term effects of oestrogen in a group of relatively young individuals who are largely free of established vascular disease. METHODS: Thirty-eight male to female gender patients were enrolled into the study. Of these, 25 were receiving oestrogen treatment and 13 who were not on treatment served as a control group. Serum levels of cholesterol, HDL, triglycerides, Interleukin 6 (IL-6), nitric oxide (NO), glutathione, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were measured in all patients. RESULTS: The results showed that compared to the control group, patients on oestrogen had significantly raised levels of NO (32.1+/-14.3 versus 20.3+/-10.0, P<0.05) and reduced levels of IL-6 (0.75+/-0.6 versus 1.37+/-0.7, P<0.05) and SOD (13.2+/-3.0 versus 24.0+/-10.0, P<0.05). These changes were not accompanied by any significant change in plasma lipid levels. CONCLUSION: It would appear that the very high levels of oestrogen taken by the gender patients produce similar beneficial effects to those seen in women on HRT. However, in this patient group it appears that these changes are independent of changes in cholesterol, triglyceride, and HLD.

Antioxidants↗

PubMed2005

Peer educators--contributing to child accident prevention.

This paper describes the evaluation of an innovative approach to tackling the issue of childhood accident prevention in the home, in a deprived inner city and multi-ethnic community in the north of England. Three local mothers were recruited and trained to take on the role of peer educators. The evaluation design was informed by the theory of change approach that focuses on exploring how and why an initiative works. In order to achieve a diverse exploration of the situation, data was collected using individual and focus group interviews, visit summary forms and accident incidence proforma. The aim of this paper is to describe the qualitative findings and to highlight some of the successes and challenges of this approach in order to provide practice development messages.

Accident Prevention↗

PubMed2004

Opportunistic screening for genital Chlamydia trachomatis infection and partner follow-up in family planning clinics in three Scottish cities.

Three large urban family planning clinics (FPCs) in Scotland participated in a study to examine the implications of opportunistically offering urine testing for genital Chlamydia trachomatis infection and FPC follow-up of positive women and of their male partners. Ninety-eight percent (3029) of women accepted the test. The prevalence of infection was 5.2% and this decreased significantly with age. There was no significant difference in prevalence between centres. Ninety-one percent of positive women intended to inform at least one partner about their infection status. Pretest counselling took about 10 minutes per woman while management (excluding full screening for sexually transmitted infections) of positive women took an additional 10 minutes. Screening in the FPC is acceptable to many women and to some of their male partners. Training and resources for administration and staffing are required if opportunistic screening is to be implemented.

Adult↗