BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Accurate prediction of prognosis may improve management of patients with idiopathic membranous nephropathy. This study compared the Toronto Risk Score and urinary low-molecular weight proteins. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS: One hundred four patients with biopsy-proven idiopathic membranous nephropathy who presented between 1995 and 2008 with a ...

Preterm labor (PTL) is an important cause of preterm delivery. The trigger initiating the process toward overt labor and parturition is poorly understood and the molecular basis remains an enigma. It recently emerged that the overall occurrence of PTL in pregnant women with congenital heart disease (CHD) is increased. In ...

Prolactin circulates predominantly as a 23-kDa monomer, and a high-molecular-weight form largely consisting of a complex of prolactin and an anti-prolactin IgG autoantibody, called macroprolactin. This cross-reacts with conventional laboratory assays for prolactin. We here describe how quantitative adjustment for this may assist patient management.In a consecutive series of 218 ...

Please cite this paper as: Basude S, Hein C, Curtis S, Clark A, Trinder J. Low-molecular-weight heparin or warfarin for anticoagulation in pregnant women with mechanical heart valves: what are the risks? A retrospective observational study. BJOG 2012; DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-0528.2012.03359.x The management of anticoagulation in pregnant women with mechanical heart ...

Objectives Chlamydia trachomatis is a sexually transmissible infection (STI) that affects significant numbers of men. Research on men's perspectives on chlamydia screening (or testing) has been limited. We conducted a narrative review to examine: (1) what factors encourage or discourage men from attending health services for chlamydia screening, and/or from ...

The impact of cigarette smoking can persist for extended periods following smoking cessation and may involve epigenetic reprogramming. Changes in DNA methylation associated with smoking may help to identify molecular pathways which contribute to the latency between exposure and disease onset.Cross-sectional cohort data from subjects in the International COPD Genetics ...

In recent years, efforts have been made to identify molecular markers as potential screening tools in the early detection of cervical cancer precursors. One-hundred-eighty-two women admitted to the Colposcopy Unit of Tor Vergata University Hospital were enrolled in this study. The inclusion criteria were: i) Pap test with atypical squamous ...

Increasing evidence indicates that tomato lycopene may be an ideal candidate in protecting from cancer risk related to smoking exposure. The carotenoid shows potent redox-properties by which it decreases the reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by smoke and modulates redox-sensitive cell targets, including protein tyrosine phosphatases, protein kinases, MAPKs and ...

An estimated 10-25% of lung cancers worldwide occur in never smokers, i.e. individuals having smoked less than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime. Lung cancer in never smokers (LCINS) is more frequent in women, although large geographic variations are found. Histologically, adenocarcinomas predominate. The mere existence of LCINS suggests that risk ...

García, Ó., Aluja, A., García, L.F., Escorial, S. & Blanch, A. (2012). Zuckerman-Kuhlman-Aluja Personality Questionnaire (ZKA-PQ) and Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory Revised (TCI-R): A comparative study. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. The aim of this study was to compare the psychometric properties (normal distribution values, reliabilities and factor structure) of ...

Diffferences in adipose tissue secretory profile, as measured by adipokine levels, may play a role in race-ethnic disparities in cardiovascular disease (CVD). We examined race-ethnic differences in adipokine levels in a group of mid-life Caucasian, African American (AA), Chinese and Japanese women, after accounting for adiposity. Data on 1876 women ...

Adiponectin - an adipose-tissue-derived protein may provide a molecular link between obesity and colorectal cancer (CRC), but evidence from large prospective studies is limited. In particular, no epidemiological study explored high-molecular-weight (HMW) and non-HMW adiponectin fractions in relation to CRC risk, despite they were hypothesised to have differential biological activities, ...

Studies show that individuals with psychotic illnesses and their families want information about psychosis risks for other relatives. However, deriving accurate numeric probabilities for psychosis risk is challenging, and people have difficulty interpreting probabilistic information, thus some have suggested that clinicians should use risk descriptors, such as "moderate" or "quite ...

BACKGROUNDGiven the current lack of clarity in the published literature, we performed a systematic review of the literature to determine the exact strength of the association between polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and endometrial cancer (EC).METHODSAll published studies on the association between PCOS and EC identified through MEDLINE (1966-April 2011), EMBASE ...

INTRODUCTION: Caesarean section (CS) is a significant risk factor for venous thromboembolism.. Low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) is commonly used for thromboprophylaxis post emergency caesarean delivery. However, no consensus exists regarding LMWH thromboprophylaxis following elective caesarean section. Measures of thrombin formation may indicate the full anticoagulant activity of LMWH in ...

Graphic warning labels and plain cigarette packaging are two initiatives developed to increase quit behaviour among smokers. Although a little is known about how adolescents interpret graphic warning labels, very few studies have examined how plain cigarette packaging would affect adolescents' perceptions of cigarette smoking and smoking behaviour. We explored ...

Background:  Identifying biomarkers for stroke will aid our understanding of its aetiology, provide diagnostic and prognostic indicators for patient selection and stratification, and play a significant role in developing personalised medicine. We undertook the largest systematic review conducted to-date attempting to characterise diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in acute ischaemic and ...

The prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. was investigated in scale quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) farms in Henan Province, China between September 2006 and August 2007. One thousand eight hundred and eighteen fecal samples from 47 quail farms in five areas were collected for the examination of Cryptosporidium oocysts. The overall prevalence ...

Using a sample of individuals undergoing medico-legal evaluations (690 men, 519 women), the present study extended past research on potential gender biases for scores of the Symptom Validity (FBS) scale of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 by examining score- and item-level differences between men and women and determining the extent ...

BACKGROUND: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) is a transcription factor important for adipogenesis and adipocyte differentiation. Data from animal studies suggest that PPARγ may be involved in breast tumorigenesis, but results from epidemiologic studies on the association between PPARγ variation and breast cancer risk have been mixed. Recent data suggest ...

BACKGROUND: Despite the ban on misleading descriptors such as light or mild cigarettes in Europe, there are still widespread misperceptions of the relative harmfulness of different brands of cigarettes among smokers. This study examined the extent to which smokers in three European countries believed that some cigarette brands are less ...

OBJECTIVES:: To evaluate the risk of virologic failure conferred by suboptimal adherence to nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) and minority NNRTI resistance mutations. DESIGN:: Pooled analysis of the risk of virologic failure conferred by minority NNRTI resistance mutations and NNRTI adherence from three studies of treatment-naïve individuals initiating an NNRTI-based ...

Background: Novel approaches in the diagnostics of T. gondii have enabled a detection of the parasite in the amniotic fluid or blood of pregnant women. Objective: The high titres of IgM and IgG antibodies against T. gondii are not always indicative of the presence of this parasite in pregnant women, ...

BACKGROUND:Measuring circulating cardiac troponin using novel sensitive assays has revealed that even minute elevations are associated with increased mortality in patients with coronary artery disease or even in the general population. Less well defined, however, is the incremental value of measuring circulating cardiac troponin I (cTnI) by a sensitive assay ...

BACKGROUND: Men have higher risk of recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE) than women but this sex difference remains unexplained. In addition, whether men and women share same risk factors for recurrent VTE is unclear. METHODS: In a prospective cohort study, 583 patients (234 men and 349 women) aged 18 to 90, ...

Serum 1,3-β-D-Glucan (BG) assay may be helpful as a marker for the diagnosis of Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia (PJP) and invasive fungal infection (IFI). We conducted a systematic review to assess the diagnostic accuracy of this assay. We searched MEDLINE, Web of Science, Cochrane Collaboration databases, Ichushi-Web, reference lists of retrieved ...

OBJECTIVES: We compared the screening performance of conventional Pap cytology and two human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA assays, the original Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2) and an expanded version that tests for 4 additional HPV types (HC2+4; Qiagen Corporation), in the detection of cervical neoplasia among unscreened women in a primary care ...

Sensitive and specific assays for human papillomavirus (HPV) are essential for patient management. In this study, we directly compared the efficacy of the Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2; Qiagen, Valencia, CA) and Cervista assays (Hologic, Madison, WI). Consecutive cervical cytology specimens (n = 601) were tested using HC2, Cervista HR, and ...

The use of high intensity anticoagulation in the prevention of recurrence of arterial thrombosis related to the Antiphospholipid Syndrome (APS) is still controversial. This paper reports a debate that took place at the CORA meeting (Controversies in Rheumatology and Autoimmunity), held in Florence in March 2011. Major points of discussion ...

BACKGROUNDThe sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA) is a valuable tool for prediction of fertility in vivo, with DNA fragmentation index (DFI) of 30% as a clinically useful cut-off level. Previous studies on fertile men have shown a high level of repeatability, with an intra-individual variability in DFI of ∼10%. However, ...

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the plasma levels of factor VIII (FVIII), von Willebrand factor (vWF) and their association in patients with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST). Methods: We prospectively included 25 CVST patients admitted to the university hospital and 53 voluntary subjects as a control ...

In the Gauging Responsiveness With A VerifyNow P2Y12 Assay: Impact on Thrombosis and Safety (GRAVITAS) trial, 6 months of high-dose clopidogrel did not reduce cardiovascular events compared with standard-dose clopidogrel in patients with high on-treatment platelet reactivity (OTR) after percutaneous coronary intervention, defined as OTR ≥230 P2Y12 reaction units according ...

Background: Carriage of CYP2C19*2 and the use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and calcium channel blockers (CCBs) has been associated with diminished efficacy of clopidogrel. However, previous studies only assessed the isolated impact of these risk factors for clopidogrel poor-response. Objectives: To investigate the impact of combined presence of three risk factors ...

Cigarillos (aka little cigars) have been increasing in popularity unlike cigarettes; but relatively little is known about the toxicology of the mainstream smoke (MSS) from such products. Therefore, the objective of this work was to compare the toxicological properties of the MSS (Health Canada Intensive smoking conditions) from a range ...

Background. Clinicians use CA125, a tumor-associated antigen, primarily to monitor epithelial ovarian cancer. However, CA125 lacks the sensitivity and specificity necessary for population-based screening in healthy women. The purpose of this study was to determine if serum concentrations of CA125 differed across the three phases of the menstrual cycle in ...

BACKGROUND: Past investigations regarding the utility of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (cTnI) assays have been focused primarily on the acute coronary syndrome setting. We assessed whether such assays can predict future ischemic cardiovascular events in a stable high-risk population. METHODS: We quantified serum cTnI using an investigational high-sensitivity assay (hs-cTnI ...

INTRODUCTION: Previous studies have shown that plasma levels of haemostatic and inflammatory markers are associated with risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). As haemostatic markers are also acute-phase reactants, it is not clear if their association with CHD is independent of inflammatory markers and established cardiovascular risk factors. MATERIALS AND ...

National guidelines recommend a 21-gene recurrence score (RS) to aid in adjuvant treatment decision in patients with estrogen receptor (ER) -positive, lymph node (LN) -negative early-stage breast cancer (ESBC). This study was performed to assess the economic implication of the assay in community practices from the perspective of a US ...

National guidelines recommend a 21-gene recurrence score (RS) to aid in adjuvant treatment decision in patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, lymph node (LN)-negative early-stage breast cancer (ESBC). This study was performed to assess the economic implication of the assay in community practices from the perspective of a US payer. The ...

BACKGROUND: Stepladder-related injuries at construction sites have increased in recent years. We aimed to quantify the prevalence of stepladder-related fall hazards in general construction and to compare the risks on renovation worksites to new construction build sites. METHODS: Eighteen worksites were visited, resulting in the observation of 771 stepladders. Eight ...

We sought to identify correlates of forced sex perpetration among men and victimization among women in Botswana and Swaziland. We surveyed a 2-stage probability sample of 2074 adults from the 5 districts of Botswana with the highest HIV prevalence rates and all 4 regions of Swaziland. We used multivariable logistic ...

: Much concern has been expressed that feedback of personalized genetic risk information may lead to fatalism, i.e., a lack of perceived control over the risk. This review aimed to assess the strength of evidence for such a view. : Electronic databases were searched to find eligible studies, which comprised ...

The purpose of this study was to compare the kinetic responses associated with ground reaction force measurements to both head-loading and back-loading in a group of Xhosa women. Altogether, 16 women were divided into two groups based on their experience of head-loading. They walked over a force plate in three ...

: Muscle strength seems to be a better indicator of physical limitations than skeletal muscle mass is. The purpose of this study was to investigate, using a new developed clinical tool, the relationship between type I dynapenia and cardiorespiratory functions in postmenopausal women. : Forty-six postmenopausal women were recruited and ...

Explosive-type strength training may alter kinetics and neuromuscular activity during stair ascent in elderly women. This may improve functional ability. Nineteen women (69.7 ± 3.4 yr) were randomly allocated to strength training (TG; twice per wk, 12 wk) or a control group (CG). Stair ascent was assessed at self-chosen (AFV), ...

The purpose of this study was to determine how lower-limb strength in older women affected gait speed, supportive forces, spatial, and temporal aspects of walking gait. Twenty-four women between 65 and 80 yr performed maximal voluntary isometric contractions for the knee extensors (KE), knee flexors (KF), ankle plantarflexors (PF) and ...

OBJECTIVE: To assess the quality of clinical practice guidelines providing recommendations on the frequency of mammography screening in asymptomatic, average-risk women 40-49 years of age. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: We searched the National Guideline Clearinghouse and MEDLINE for guidelines published from 2005 to 2010. Five independent assessors rated the quality ...

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To estimate the safety and efficacy of Essure placement for proximal tubal occlusion in women with hydrosalpinx before in vitro fertilization (IVF). DESIGN: Prospective 2-center clinical study of women with hydrosalpinx who were recruited for off-label unilateral or bilateral placement of Essure before IVF (Canadian Task Force classification ...

The contours of commercial sex in Lao PDR are significantly shaped by forces facilitating the entry of women from one ethnic group, the Khmu, into this service industry niche. Agricultural transitions, development policies, changing gender roles, ethnic hierarchies, snowballing recruitment networks and growing capitalist sensibilities collectively prompt poor Khmu women ...

The observed heritability of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is incompletely explained by known genetic risk factors. Kindred-specific genetic variants that cause IBD may be a source of "missing heritability." Given that they have been previously difficult to identify, we sought to identify high-risk IBD kindreds. We used a large population-based ...