PubMed · 11063536
The source did not provide an abstract. Follow the original record for more information.
Explore connections, maps & timelines
2000. Tips about having surgery.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11063536/
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.
KEEP EXPLORING
Cataract prevalence increases with age. As the world's population ages, cataract-induced visual dysfunction and blindness is on the increase. This is a significant global problem. The challenges are to prevent or delay cataract formation, and treat that which does occur. Genetic and environmental factors contribute to cataract formation. However, reducing ocular exposure to UV-B radiation and stopping smoking are the only interventions that can reduce factors that affect the risk of cataract. The cure for cataract is surgery, but this is not equally available to all, and the surgery which is available does not produce equal outcomes. Readily available surgical services capable of delivering good vision rehabilitation must be acceptable and accessible to all in need, no matter what their circumstances. To establish and sustain these services requires comprehensive strategies that go beyond a narrow focus on surgical technique. There must be changes in government priorities, population education, and an integrated approach to surgical and management training. This approach must include supply of start-up capital equipment, establishment of surgical audit, resupply of consumables, and cost-recovery mechanisms. Considerable innovation is required. Nowhere is this more evident than in the pursuit of secure funding for ongoing services.
CYP1A1 is involved in the metabolism of benzopyrene, a suspected lung carcinogen; it is therefore conceivable that genetically determined variations in its activity modify individual susceptibility to lung cancer. The role of the CYP1A1 MspI polymorphism in lung cancer has been widely studied but has not been fully clarified. We have included 2,451 cases and 3,358 controls in a pooled analysis of 22 case-control studies on CYP1A1 and lung cancer risk. We found a clear association between the CYP1A1 homozygous MspI restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and lung cancer risk in Caucasians (age- and gender-adjusted odds ratio = 2.36; 95% confidence interval 1.16-4.81); other associations were weaker or not statistically significant. The association with the homozygous variant was equally strong for squamous cell carcinomas and adenocarcinomas among Caucasians. We analyzed the risk by duration of smoking: for Caucasian subjects with the MspI RFLP combined variants (homozygotes plus heterozygotes), the increase in the risk of lung cancer was steeper than among the individuals with the homozygous reference allele. Our analysis suggests that Caucasians with homozygous variant CYP1A1 polymorphism have a higher risk of lung cancer. The data were more consistent among Caucasians, with a strong association between the homozygous variant in both squamous cell carcinomas and adenocarcinomas, and a stronger association in men than in women. The analyses were more inconsistent and failed to reach statistical significance in Asians. This observation might be due to design specificities or unknown effect modifiers in the Asian studies.
Minor physical anomalies (MPAs) occur more frequently in a range of developmental disorders. They are also more frequent in schizophrenia supporting a neurodevelopmental aetiology of the illness. Contemporary MPA scales are yet to be validated for the effects of age. It is hypothesised that the effects of ageing may be confounding when these scales are applied to an elderly population. The distribution of MPAs in a normal elderly population was compared with younger subjects. Fifty subjects over the age of 60, and 50 subjects below the age of 60, with no known major mental illness, were evaluated. MPAs were assessed using a modified Lane scale [Psychol. Med. 27 (1997) 1155]. Elderly subjects showed an excess of absent trichions due to alopecia (p=0.004) short and broad palates (p=0.01) and greater ear protrusion (p=0.004) relative to young subjects. The differences reported are probably due to hair loss, edentulousness and growth of the auriculocephalic angle with age. These findings question the validity of studies of MPAs in schizophrenia that do not control for age.