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Results for “Concordance factor”

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PubMed1979

[Control of oral anticoagulation: comparison between Quick and colorimetric factor X determination in 107 patients].

Since monitoring of oral anticoagulation (OA) by prothrombin time (PT) is a source of standardization difficulties, the authors have tested another approach. 107 patients under long term OA were monitored by both PT and a colorimetric factor X assay (in vitro activation of factor X with RVV and assessment of amidolytic activity towards S-2222). The PT values were between 10 and 34% (therapeutic range 15--25%), and factor X levels were between 10 and 44% (therapeutic range 16--24%). The correlation between the two methods was highly significant (r = 0.65, p less than 0.001). In 68% of the patients the two tests gave the same information (55 subjects were adequately, 16 insufficiently and 2 over-anticoagulated). For a slightly broader therapeutic range (PT 15--30%, corresponding to 16--28% factor X) concordant information was obtained in 82% of the patients. During stable OA, PT and factor X assay gave very similar information. An advantage of the latter method is the possibility of automation, while a disadvantage is its insensitivity to factor VII.

Administration, Oral↗

PubMed2004

The health of Australian veterans of the 1991 Gulf War: factor analysis of self-reported symptoms.

BACKGROUND: A recent report showed that Australian veterans of the 1991 Gulf War displayed a greater prevalence of a multitude of self-reported symptoms than a randomly sampled comparison group of military personnel who were eligible for deployment but were not deployed to the Gulf. AIMS: To investigate whether the pattern, rather than frequency, of symptom reporting in these Australian Gulf War veterans differed from that of the comparison group personnel. METHODS: Factor analysis was used to determine whether the co-occurrence of 62 symptoms in 1322 male Gulf War veterans can be explained by a number of underlying dimensions, called factors. The methodology was also applied to 1459 male comparison group subjects and the factor solutions of the two groups were compared. RESULTS: For the Gulf War veterans, a three factor solution displayed replicability and construct validity. The three factors were labelled as psycho-physiological distress, somatic distress, and arthro-neuromuscular distress, and were broadly similar to those described in previous studies of Gulf War veterans. A concordant three factor solution was also found for the comparison group subjects, with strong convergence of the factor loadings and factor scores across the two groups being displayed. CONCLUSION: Results did not display evidence of a unique pattern of self-reported symptoms among Gulf War veterans. Results also indicated that the differences between the groups lie in the degrees of expression of the three underlying factors, consistent with the well documented evidence of increased self-reported symptom prevalence in Gulf War veterans.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

The factor VIII/von Willebrand factor ratio discriminates between reduced synthesis and increased clearance of von Willebrand factor.

It is often stated that a decrease in Von Willebrand factor (VWF), the carrier protein of factor VIII, results in a concordant change in factor VIII. Clinical data suggest that this is not always the case and we hypothesized that the ratio between factor VIII and VWF depends on the genetic defect that causes the VWF deficiency. We have analyzed the ratio between plasma factor VIII and VWF in several subtypes of Von Willebrand Disease and we show that the ratio is increased when VWF synthesis is reduced, but that the ratio remains one when VWF clearance is increased. These observations could be of clinical importance as an increased factor VIII/VWF ratio in combination with a borderline VWF level may indicate the presence of a true genetic defect, possibly a VWF null allele.

Alleles↗

PubMed2004

Familial concordance of thyroid and other head and neck tumors in an irradiated cohort: analysis of contributing factors.

Relatively little is known about variations in susceptibility to the effects of radiation in the general population. We have been studying 4296 individuals exposed as children to head and neck radiation. The present study was designed to evaluate the pattern of thyroid, parathyroid, salivary, and neural tumors in irradiated siblings for evidence of heritable susceptibility factors. We also wanted to determine whether the characteristics of thyroid cancers were influenced by familial factors. The following criteria were met by 251 sibling pairs: both irradiated, both with follow-up (average, 44.3 +/- 9.4 yr; range, 9.4-59.5 yr), and both with organ-dose estimates. For each sibling pair we derived a quantitative score, taking into account the length of follow-up and known risk factors, for their concordance and used the sum of these scores to characterize the population. Whether we used thyroid cancer or all thyroid nodules as an end point, the degree of concordance did not exceed what could be explained by the length of follow-up and known risk factors. For thyroid cancer, neither the presenting characteristics nor their rates of recurrence were influenced by their concordance status. In summary, we were unable to identify familial factors that modify the strong effects of radiation exposure. There is no reason to alter the evaluation or treatment of thyroid cancer in an irradiated patient based on whether another member of the family has radiation-related tumors.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Concordance rates and modifiable risk factors for lower urinary tract symptoms in twins.

INTRODUCTION: Lower urinary tract symptoms, which are common in older men, are thought to be determined genetically and by modifiable environmental risk factors. We examined the contribution of these 2 etiologic components in a cohort of U.S. twins. METHODS: In 1998, a questionnaire that assessed lower urinary tract symptoms, weight, height, alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and physical activity was sent out to members of the National Academy of Science-National Research Council Twins Registry. We analyzed 1,723 complete twin pairs with information on lower urinary tract symptoms and zygosity and who did not have a previous diagnosis of prostate cancer. We calculated concordance rates of categories of the International Prostate Symptom Score in monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins. Generalized estimating equations were used to calculate the odds ratio of having high-moderate/severe lower urinary tract symptoms. RESULTS: Concordance rates were higher in MZ than in DZ twins with concordance rate ratios of 2.2 and 6.9 depending on the specificity of definition of symptoms. Genetic factors contributed 72% to the risk of high-moderate/severe lower urinary tract symptoms. Taking into account correlated individuals, we observed high odds of lower urinary tract symptoms in obese men compared with lean men (odds ratio = 1.91; 95% confidence interval = 1.16-3.15 comparing first versus fourth quartile). Cigarette smoking was not associated with lower urinary tract symptoms, but alcohol consumption was positively associated. Men who were more physically active tended to have lower odds of lower urinary tract symptoms compared with less active men (0.62; 0.36-1.08). CONCLUSION: The findings indicate a strong genetic component of lower urinary tract symptoms, but also support previous studies that modifiable environmental risk factors are associated with this condition.

Aged↗

PubMed1995

Relationships between morphometric and mitochondrial DNA differentiation in laboratory strains of musk shrews (Suncus murinus).

Morphometric differentiation among six strains of musk shrews (Suncus murinus) originating in Bangladesh (BAN), Sri Lanka (SRI), and four Japanese areas, Nagasaki (NAG), Okinawa Island (OKI), Tokunoshima Island (TKU), and Taramajima Island (TR), was examined by use of skull and external measurements. These data were compared with mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) differentiation previously reported. Significant sexual dimorphism was observed in all morphometric characters of the six strains, except for two characters in the TR strain. The six strains were clearly grouped by principal component analysis into three body-size types: large BAN shrews, intermediate SRI shrews, and small Japanese shrews. By canonical discriminant analysis, the NAG strain was further distinct from the other three Japanese strains despite their apparent similarities in external morphology, and was characterized by having the most unusual shape in the six strains. No individuals were misclassified as to their geographic origin for both sexes of the six strains. The morphometric differentiation pattern based on only the first canonical variate, extracting an overall size factor, was concordant with the mtDNA differentiation pattern (rss = 0.944, P < 0.001 in males and rss = 0.930, P < 0.001 in females). In contrast, the morphometric differentiation pattern estimated from the second to the fifth canonical variates, representing shape factors, was apparently discordant with the mtDNA differentiation pattern (rss = 0.467, P > 0.05 in both sexes). It was previously reported that a partial premating reproductive isolation mechanism is caused by the difference in body size between mating pairs. Thus, body size may be a factor useful for understanding the mechanisms of population differentiation in this species.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Antiapoptotic role of growth factors in the myelodysplastic syndromes: concordance between in vitro and in vivo observations.

PURPOSE: Erythroid apoptosis in low-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) maybe mediated via mitochondrial release of cytochrome c and subsequent caspase activation. In the present study, we compared the in vitro and in vivo effects of proerythroid treatment with erythropoietin + granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) on myelodysplastic erythropoiesis regarding apoptosis and preferential growth of clones with cytogenetic abnormalities. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We enrolled 15 refractory anemia (RA) and 11 refractory anemia with ringed sideroblasts (RARS), including 5q- aberration, monosomy 7, and trisomy 8, before initiation of treatment and followed nine patients after successful treatment. The effects of G-CSF and erythropoietin were assessed. The expression of G-CSF receptor (G-CSFR) was explored during erythroid maturation. The relative growth of erythroid progenitors with cytogenetic aberrations in presence of erythropoietin was investigated. RESULTS: Significant redistribution of cytochrome c was seen before treatment at all stages of erythroid differentiation. This release was blocked by G-CSF during the whole culture period and by erythropoietin during the latter phase. Both freshly isolated glycophorin A+ bone marrow cells and intermediate erythroblasts during cultivation retained their expression of G-CSFR. Cytochrome c release and caspase activation were significantly less pronounced in progenitors obtained from successfully treated nonanemic patients and showed no further response to G-CSF in vitro. Moreover, erythropoietin significantly promoted growth of cytogenetically normal cells from 5q- patients, whereas no such effect was observed on erythroblasts from monosomy 7 or trisomy 8 patients. CONCLUSION: We conclude that growth factors such as erythropoietin and G-CSF can act both via inhibition of apoptosis of myelodysplastic erythroid precursors and via selection of cytogenetically normal progenitors.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

Epidemiologic and microbiologic correlates of Chlamydia trachomatis infection in sexual partnerships.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the frequency of Chlamydia trachomatis genital infection within sexual partnerships using highly sensitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and to identify the variables that might modify transmission. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study of sexual partnerships comparing in vitro culture and PCR amplification for C trachomatis. SETTING: Two outpatient sexually transmitted disease clinics. PARTICIPANTS: Four hundred ninety-four people in sexual partnerships attending sexually transmitted disease clinics. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Genital infection with C trachomatis. METHODS: DNA sequencing was performed to examine specific genotypes within and between partnerships. Cross-sectional analysis was performed to determine characteristics associated with concordance or discordance of infection with partnerships. RESULTS: Cultures were positive for C trachomatis in 8.5% of males and 12.9% of females (P=.03). Using PCR, more infections were identified both in males (14.2%) and in females (15.8%), and the difference in infection rates analyzed by sex was no longer significant. In 20.4% of 494 couples, at least 1 partner had PCR results positive for C trachomatis, with a concordant infection rate of 10.7%, significantly higher than the 5.5% concordant infection rate demonstrable by culture (P<.01). Male-female and female-male transmission frequencies were equal (68%). The nucleotide sequences of the major outer membrane protein gene products were identical and unique for each of 15 culture-negative, PCR-positive concordant partnerships. In concordant infections, factors associated with infection in female partners were age less than 20 years, more than 1 partner in the past 6 months, and cervical ectopy greater than 25%. CONCLUSIONS: Using PCR, the frequency of chlamydia transmission by infected males and females was nearly identical. The high rate of concordant infection, high frequency of infection among asymptomatic individuals, and high frequency of transmission regardless of sex underscore the importance of routine screening for chlamydia in both males and females, along with provision of treatment to all sexual partners of chlamydia-infected individuals.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Patient-provider racial and ethnic concordance and parent reports of the primary care experiences of children.

PURPOSE: Studies among adults suggest that patient-provider racial concordance is associated with higher satisfaction and partnership with physicians. It remains unknown whether similar findings are true for children. This study examines the association of race/ethnicity concordance with parent reports of children's primary care experiences. METHODS: We completed telephone interviews with a random, cross-sectional sample of 413 parents of elementary school children, aged 5 to 12 years, enrolled in a single large school district serving 3 cities in San Bernardino, Calif. Parents reported on their children's primary care experiences, and the responses were compared between children in race concordant and discordant patient-provider relationships. RESULTS: We assessed parent reports of 6 structure and process features of primary care: first-contact care (accessibility, utilization), longitudinality (strength of affiliation, interpersonal relationship), and comprehensiveness (services offered, received). Before and after controlling for demographics, socioeconomic status, and health system factors, race/ethnicity concordance was not associated with children's primary care experiences. Minority parents generally reported poorer experiences than whites in several domains of primary care, but the only significant effect of race/ethnicity concordance was slightly better primary care utilization for whites in concordant relationships, which did not hold after adjustment. CONCLUSION: In contrast with studies among adults, patient-provider race/ethnicity concordance was not associated with parent reports of primary care experiences in our sample of children. It is possible that provider biases or patient expectations that contribute to disparities in care for adults are attenuated in relationships involving children.

Black or African American↗

PubMed1999

Integrated approaches to management of hypertension: promoting treatment acceptance.

Overwhelming trial evidence indicates that the treatment of hypertension is beneficial, but in practice, less than 50% of treated hypertensive subjects have blood pressure well controlled. The success of treatment relies on acceptance by the patient. Treatment acceptance may be affected by the efficacy and tolerability of drug therapy, its effects on quality of life, and other important but less well-recognized influences such as the expectations and preconceived ideas of the physician and the patient. This report briefly reviews the factors affecting patient concordance with antihypertensive treatment and the role these factors play in the development of an integrated treatment plan. Nonconcordance with drug therapy is common: Only one third of patients always take treatment, one third take it sometimes, and one third never take their prescribed medication. With poor concordance, control of blood pressure and the consequent benefits are less likely to be realized. The factors that influence concordance are ill understood. Although drug side effects and convenience of dosing regimens are contributors, the attitudes of patients, physicians, and their interactions are likely to be of considerable importance. Concordance may be improved by involving the patient in the treatment plan, setting explicit targets, following a clear treatment plan, motivating the patient to comply with treatment, paying attention to the concerns and particular needs of the individual patient, and by ensuring frequent contacts between patients and health care professions. Successful integrated approaches to the management of hypertension must address all the factors that affect treatment acceptance.

Antihypertensive Agents↗

PubMed1977

A Danish twin study of manic-depressive disorders.

The existence of a nation-wide twin register and central psychiatric register has made possible a catamnestic investigation of an unselected and representative sample of twins with manic-depressive disorders. From a total population of 11,288 same-sexed twin pairs born 1870-1920 in Denmark 126 probands from 110 pairs were ascertained. Among the co-twins of 69 monozygotic probands there were found 46 with manic-depressive disorders, and a further 14 had presented other psychoses or marked affective personality disorders or had committed suicide, yielding a proband rate of strict concordance, C1 = 0-67 and of broad, partial concordance, C2 = 0-87. The corresponding direct pairwise concordance rates were 32/55 = 0-58 and 46/55 = 0-84 respectively. For the dizygotic twins the proband concordance rate of C1 was 11/54 = 0-20 and of C2 20/54 = 0-37, and the direct pairwise rates were 9/52 = 0-17 and 18/52 = 0-35 respectively. The differences between the pairwise rates for the monozygotic and dizgotic twins are significant (P less than 0-001 at X2 analysis). This finding is in accordance with previous twin studies of manic-depressive disorders and confirms the evidence of a strong genetic factor. The concordance with respect to unipolar and bipolar forms was not in contradiction to recent evidence of a genetic difference between the bipolar and unipolar form, the latter probably related to the female sex.

Aged↗

PubMed1999

Cleft of the lip and palate in twins.

BACKGROUND: Cleft lip and palate is one of the most common congenital anomalies in Taiwan. Its etiology remains unknown for the majority of the patients. The study of twins is a classic method for evaluating the relative roles of genetic and environmental factors in the formation of the anomaly. METHODS: In this study, 37 pairs of twins and one set of triplets with cleft lip and palate were evaluated. Clinical data were collected for zygosity determination and analysis of etiologic factors. The concordance rate and heritability index were assessed. RESULTS: The results showed that the concordance rate was 26% for all twins and 57% among the monozygotic pairs, which is higher than those rates for the Caucasian population. The heritability index was 53%, higher than the other reports as well. The influence of the environment could not be ruled out. CONCLUSION: The results confirm a strong genetic role in the etiology of clefts in our patients. Environmental factors were acting as well. The findings in this study support the multifactorial threshold model in the development of cleft lip and palate.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Racial and economic demographics of couples seeking infertility treatment.

OBJECTIVE: We characterized new infertility patients on the basis of race and economic factors. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective chart review was performed of all patients seeking infertility evaluation from 1998 to 1999 at two infertility centers in Cincinnati, Ohio. Patients were categorized by race (white, black, or other). Statistics were analyzed by chi2 and logistic regression. RESULTS: Of 756 patients, 85.2% were white, 10.2% were black, and 4.4% were other. Infertility diagnoses were placed into the following 7 categories: ovarian, salpingitis, surgical sterilization, male factor, endometriosis, unexplained, and other. Black women had significantly more salpingitis than did nonblack women (P <.001) regardless of insurance status. However, surgical sterilization was more prevalent in patients without insurance regardless of race (P <.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings are consistent with previous studies showing that black women have more risk factors for salpingitis. Surgical sterilization risk factors were concordant with those of the National Center for Health Statistics.

Black or African American↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[The concordance and discordance of cardiovascular risk factors in a group of twin children].

The cross-sectional study of epidemiological screening type has permitted to evaluate some cardiovascular risk factors in two groups of monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins born between 1975-1990, in the town of Iaşi. In the 89 MZ pairs and 112 DZ pairs, certain constitutional and behavioural cardiovascular risk factors have presented values of prevalence with statistical signification (p < 0.05) in terms of their age, sex, the urbanisation time and the educational level of their parents. In risk factors existence or absence to both of the twins have put into evidence, to the MZ, most enhanced values of concordance as regards: overweight (66.6%), excessive consumption of salt (56.9%), food with atherogenic risk (50.9%). The concordance values have been less in DZ compared to MZ concerning all the risk factors excepting compartmental type A (77.7%). By analysing the concordance variants, an preponderant influence of the environment has been noted in the studied MZ and heredity and environment influence in DZ. By measuring the arterial blood pressure values at the twins and the twins parents, a prevalence of the essential arterial hypertension is noticed to both of the twins, 6.2% in MZ pairs and 6.9% in DZ ones.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1992

The family profile: a new self-report instrument for family assessment.

The Family Profile is a new self-report family assessment instrument that is grounded in family theory and designed following a construct validation approach to instrument design that integrated theoretical concepts with test construction and empirical analysis. Development consisted of three component phases: rational theoretical design, empirical structural analysis, and psychometric validation. The first theoretical design phase resulted in a 231-item instrument with 13 construct scales. Structural analysis data were collected from a pilot sample of 160 patients selected from 6 family practice clinics in urban, suburban, and rural locations. After revision based on item and scale analysis, a 129-item instrument was administered to a random sample of 876 patients from family practices throughout Minnesota. Responses were analyzed for item- and scale-distribution characteristics, item-scale and scale-scale correlations, correlation with social desirability, factor analysis to confirm or disconfirm the existence of the theoretical dimensions, internal consistency reliability, and test-retest reliability. This analysis reduced the instrument to 90 items from all 13 postulated constructs that cluster into 6 main factors--Family Concordance, Family Discordance, Marital Strength, Active Involvement, Religiosity, and Parental Leadership. The Family Profile is also temporally stable and free from social desirability bias. Validation (construct and criterion) and normative data studies of various populations are in progress.

Family↗

PubMed1991

Positional cloning and characterization of a paired box- and homeobox-containing gene from the aniridia region.

Based on the map location of the aniridia (AN) locus in human chromosomal band 11p13, we have cloned a candidate AN cDNA (D11S812E) that is completely or partially deleted in two patients with AN. The less than 70 kb smallest region of overlap between the two deletions encompasses the 3' coding region of the cDNA. This cDNA, which spans over 50 kb of genomic DNA, detects a 2.7 kb message specifically within all tissues affected in AN. The predicted polypeptide product possesses a paired domain, a homeodomain, and a serine/threonine-rich carboxy-terminal domain, structural motifs characteristic of certain transcription factors. The concordance between expression and pathology, map location, structure, and predicted function argues that the cDNA corresponds to the AN gene.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2002

Opposing effects of pituitary leukemia inhibitory factor and SOCS-3 on the ACTH axis response to inflammation.

We have shown that leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) and suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS)-3 are expressed in the hypothalamus and pituitary and that LIF induces proopiomelanocortin (POMC) and ACTH, whereas SOCS-3 abrogates corticotroph POMC gene transcription and ACTH secretion. Here, we determined the role of pituitary LIF and SOCS-3 in regulating hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis inflammatory responses. Murine pituitary LIF expression was induced up to eightfold after intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide or tumor necrosis factor-alpha, concordant with elevated plasma levels of ACTH and corticosterone. In LIF knockout (LIFKO) mice, induction of both ACTH and corticosterone were attenuated. LIF deletion was associated with elevated (P < 0.05) levels of pituitary TNF-alpha, interleukin (IL)-1beta, and IL-6 mRNA and cytokine-inducible pituitary SOCS-3 expression. Abrogation of the HPA axis stress response and higher pituitary levels of proinflammatory cytokines observed in LIFKO mice resulted in a stronger inflammatory process, as evidenced by elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate and increased serum amyloid A levels (P < 0.05). The results indicate that, although LIF induces ACTH, SOCS-3 acts to counterregulate the HPA axis response to inflammation.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed1997

Chromosomal assignment of six muscle-specific genes in cattle.

Six genes expressed in skeletal or smooth muscle were assigned to bovine chromosomes using rodent, human or bovine cDNA probes. Myogenic determination factor (MYOD1) was 100% concordant with Bos taurus chromosome (BTA) 15, and myogenin (MYOG) was 95% concordant with BTA 16. Smooth muscle caldesmon (CALD1) and the skeletal muscle chloride channel gene (CLCN1) were 100% concordant with BTA 4. Myogenic factor 5 (MYF5) was 90% concordant with BTA 5; this assignment was confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridization of a bovine genomic MYF5 probe to BTA 5 band 13 and the homologous band on river buffalo 4q. In some metaphases, specific hybridization signals were also observed on BTA 15 band 23, and the equivalent river buffalo homologue, with the MYF5 genomic probe. Because MYOD1 and MYF5 share both nucleotide and functional homology and because MYOD1 was mapped in somatic cell hybrids to BTA 15, we suggest that MYOD1 may be located at BTA 15 band 23. Herculin/myogenic factor 6 (MYF6) was assigned indirectly to BTA 5 by the hybridization of MYF5 and MYF6 probes to the same HindIII fragment in bovine genomic DNA. The assignment of MYF6 to BTA 5 is consistent with the tandem arrangement of MYF5 and MYF6 in human, mouse and chicken, where these tightly linked genes are separated by < 6.5 kb of DNA.

Animals↗