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Biomedical subjects

T Begum

Publications and source records attributed to T Begum.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

Usefulness of bone mineral density measurement in menopausal woman: a study of 217 post menopausal women.

Bone mineral densitometry was done in 217 women in their menopausal period using Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) method. All the patients were presented with different post menopausal syndromes. Quantification of bone mineral density were done in proximal femur and lumber spines of all the patients along with plain X-ray of the sites. One hundred and thirty nine patients showed normal bone mineral density in our study. Rest 78 patients showed declination of bone mineral density from mild osteopenia to severe osteoporosis. We conclude that Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry bone mineral measurement is an unique, non-invasive method in detecting bone mass disorder in post-menopausal women with low back pain and should be the first choice of investigation, for the earliest detection of bone loss and thus fracture risk can be reduced by appropriate management.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗

Short-lasting impairment of tactile perception by 0.9Hz-rTMS of the sensorimotor cortex.

To test whether low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of sensorimotor cortex (SM1) has prolonged effects on somatosensory function, eight subjects were given 900 TMS pulses over the left hand SM1 (0.9Hz, 90% of the resting motor threshold) or at sites 3 cm anterior or posterior to it. Tactile threshold of the right hand was increased for a short duration after rTMS over SM1, but two-point discrimination and median nerve SEPs were unaffected after rTMS at any sites.

Adult↗

Unofficial fees in Bangladesh: price, equity and institutional issues.

The widespread collection of unofficial fees at health facilities is a common form of rent-seeking behaviour in Bangladesh. Typically, unofficial fees come in the form of cash payments for the performance of required services, for direct purchase of drugs and medical-surgical requisites, and for service access. Using observational and interview methods, this study explores linkages between official and unofficial fees at three Bangladesh health facility levels; primary care Thana Health Complexes, secondary or district hospitals, and medical college hospitals. The study estimates payment levels for different income classes and different payor types at these facilities, thereby highlighting potential equity, price and institutional questions associated with unofficial fees. Not only does the practice have clear income and equity effects, there also appear to be direct effects upon patient satisfaction, perception of quality, and the ability to pay for health services. The article concludes with a discussion of 'rent capture' processes at Bangladesh facilities and the effect of unofficial fees in six areas of health sector reform: displaced official policies, reduced merit goods production, upward income redistribution, distorted human resource development, growth of facility inefficiency, and obstruction of market reforms.

Bangladesh↗

Serum, breast milk, and infant antibody after maternal immunisation with pneumococcal vaccine.

Pneumococci are a leading cause of severe bacterial disease in infants and children world wide. A possible means of protecting infants in the first few months of life is immunisation of the mother during pregnancy. We prospectively assessed pneumococcal immunisation of pregnant women to determine the amount of pneumococcal antibody transmitted to the infants in serum and milk and the half-life of the passively acquired antibody. Healthy pregnant women in Dhaka, Bangladesh, were randomised to receive pneumococcal or meningococcal vaccine with routine prenatal tetanus immunisation at 30-34 weeks of gestation. Serum and breast milk specimens from the mothers and sera from infants were collected up to 22 weeks of age and assayed for specific serum IgG, IgG1, and IgG2 and for milk IgA antibodies to pneumococcal serotypes 6B and 19F. 55 mothers and 56 infants were followed from birth to five months. Women who received pneumococcal vaccine had geometric mean antibody increases of 2.6 and 3.4 to types 6B and 19F, respectively. The mean infant/maternal antibody ratios were 0.56 and 0.59 (range 0.11-1.46) for these serotypes. Infant cord antibody titres correlated with maternal titres. Infant/maternal IgG ratios correlated with the interval between immunisation and birth and were higher for specific IgG1 than for IgG2. Infants of pneumococcal vaccine recipients had geometric mean antibody concentrations of 6.8 and 7.5 micrograms/mL to serotypes 6B and 19F in cord blood; in cord blood and in all subsequent serum specimens the concentrations were 2-3 fold higher than in control infants. The median half-life of passive antibody was about 35 days; at five months of age 63-71% of infants of pneumococcal vaccine recipients had antibody concentrations greater than 0.15 micrograms/mL. Breast milk IgA antibodies for pneumococcal serotype 19F, but not for type 6B, were significantly higher in vaccine recipients up to five months after delivery. If maternal pneumococcal polysaccharide antibodies do not interfere with active immunisation of the infant with new glycoprotein conjugate pneumococcal vaccines, passive-active immunisation of infants can be a feasible strategy for developing regions.

Adult↗

Impact of acute diarrhoea on parasite loads.

Parasites and diarrhoea are more frequent in poor populations. Parasite prevalence rates in post-diarrhoeal patients of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research (ICDDRB) and in non-diarrhoeal populations of two Dhaka poor socioeconomic communities have been compared to explore if there is any effect of acute diarrhoea on parasite prevalence rates. Stool of a 4% systemic randomly selected sample of diarrhoeal patients and the whole population of two local poor communities have been examined. The results showed that the prevalence of parasites in a post-diarrhoeal population is significantly lower than in a non-diarrhoeal population. These reductions (E. hist. 10.2% vs. 2.03%, G. lamb. 9.7% vs. 3.5%, hookworm 37.4% vs. 4.7% and Ascaris lumbricoides 81% vs. 20.6%) may be attributed mainly to the flushing effect of diarrhoea.

Acute Disease↗

Vibriocidal titre in cholera cases and contacts: its value in assessing endemicity of or susceptibility to cholera.

Vibriocidal antibody titre in excess of 1:40 occurred within two weeks of cholera infection, both in severe hospitalized cases, contact cases and in asymptomatic infected contacts. These levels, considered to be indicative of protection, persisted for six months or longer in more than half of the subjects irrespective of presence and severity of symptoms. Approximately 40% of infected family contacts had similar titres implying recent infection and subsequent protection. The use of antibiotics to treat acute cases, and whether infection was due to antibiotic resistant or sensitive Vibrio cholerae had no effect on the response of vibriocidal titre. Endemicity of cholera was higher than previously observed in Dhaka. Screening populations to obtain positive titre rates permits retrospective assessment of cholera infection and provides an indicator of future susceptibility.

Acute Disease↗

Epidemiological differences between cholera due to multiple antibiotic resistant and multiple antibiotic sensitive Vibrio cholerae infection.

The appearance of cholera caused by multiply antibiotic resistant Vibrio cholerae in Bangladesh provided an opportunity to compare epidemiological features of infection caused by resistant and by sensitive V. cholerae. A prospective study was carried out using 46 families of hospital in-patient cholera cases due to resistant V. cholerae and 11 families of hospital cases due to sensitive V. cholerae and nine cases of cholera due to resistant and six cases due to sensitive V. cholerae detected in the neighbourhoods of hospital patients. All families were visited daily during ten days for cultures of rectal swabs, samples of domestic water and for history of diarrhoea. The results showed no significant difference in secondary infection and case rates in contacts of hospital cholera cases due to resistant and sensitive V. cholerae. However, the secondary infection rate (57%) in contacts of cases due to resistant V. cholerae detected from the neighbourhoods of hospital cases was significantly higher (p less than 0.05), than in the neighbourhood case-contacts (29%) of cases due to sensitive V. cholerae. The mean duration of diarrhoea in untreated resistant V. cholerae cases who were contacts of hospital cases (3.3 days) was significantly longer (p less than 0.05) than that of untreated sensitive V. cholerae (2.2 days). Higher isolation rates of V. cholerae were obtained from water sources used by cholera cases due to resistant V. cholerae, than from sources used by cases due to sensitive V. cholerae, but the differences were not statistically significant (p greater than 0.05). The study suggests that resistant V. cholerae poses an additional threat through a higher secondary infection rate and by causing illnesses of longer duration.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

Changes in the trend of shigellosis in Dhaka: family study on secondary infection, clinical manifestation and sensitivity pattern: 1980.

The incidence of shigellosis and the death rate have increased and the resistance of shigellae to antibiotics has changed in Dhaka during our experiences. In 1980, we investigated the secondary infection and case rates, infection to case ratio, duration of illness, excretion of shigellae and antibiotic sensitivity pattern in 100 families with cases of shigellosis, culturing rectal swabs obtained by home visits for a 10-day period. Standard methods were used for culture and sensitivity tests. The over-all secondary infection rate in contacts was 27.3% and the case rate 10.7%. The rates were higher for Shigella flexneri than for Sh. dysenteriae. When the index cases were nought to four years old the secondary infection and case rates were higher than when index cases were older. Contacts aged nought to four years had highest attack rates. The average duration of excretion of Sh. flexneri was 4.5 and Sh. dysenteriae 2.6 days. Illness was one day longer for Sh. dysenteriae than for Sh. flexneri. Cases of shigellosis in hospital had higher rates of fever and blood in stool than those who were not in-patients. 40% of Sh. dysenteriae and 14% of Sh. flexneri were sensitive to tetracycline, 0 to 5% to streptomycin and 100% to sulphamethoxazole, trimethoprim and gentamicin. Incidence of Sh. flexneri had increased in 1980 but that of Sh. dysenteriae remained the same as in 1973 although Sh. dysenteriae type 1 appeared to be less infective in 1980 than in 1973.

Adolescent↗