Teaching disability and rehabilitation to medical students. Steering Group on Medical Education and Disability.

A survey of UK medical schools was undertaken to determine the teaching that was being offered on disability and rehabilitation. In general, teaching on this topic appeared fragmented and inadequate but a number of interesting innovations were identified. These included: a drama workshop run by a group whose members mainly have learning disabilities at St George's Medical School, student-directed learning at the University of Dundee and structured teaching programmes at the Universities of Leeds and Edinburgh.

Associations of urinary albumin excretion rate with vascular disease in europid nondiabetic subjects.

Microalbuminuria and its association with vascular disease has previously been reported in nondiabetic individuals. The aims of this study were to determine whether there is a cross-sectional relationship between urinary albumin excretion rate and cardiovascular disease in nondiabetic subjects and to investigate hereditary predisposition to microalbuminuria by studying offspring of the main study population. Europid patients, aged 40-70 years, were randomly selected from a large inner-city general practice; there was a 62.

Implementing findings of research.

There are unacceptable delays in the implementation of many findings of research. This results in suboptimal care for patients. A number of approaches may be effective in speeding up implementation, including evidence based guidelines, the influence of opinion leaders, and computer based decision support systems.

The involvement of general practitioners in the care of patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection: current practice and future implications.

The objective was to determine the current use of their general practitioner (GP) by patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and whether such patients would be interested in having 'shared care' between a specialist HIV clinic and their GP. A questionnaire was administered to 203 HIV-positive men attending the HIV outpatient clinic of a central London teaching hospital. The main outcome measures were patient characteristics, numbers of patients registered with a GP, numbers of patients with a GP aware of their diagnosis, contacts with the GP in the last year and level of interest and shared care.

Assessment of elderly people in general practice. 4. Depression, functional ability and contact with services.

The aim of this study was to look at the interrelationship between depression, physical disability and contact with services. In a random sample of 239 people aged 75 years and over from nine general practices in north London, depression (as measured by a shortened version of the comprehensive assessment and referral evaluation schedule) was found to be significantly associated with being a woman, and inability to perform a number of activities of daily living. Consumption of three or more prescribed medicines, a home visit by the general practitioner in the previous three months and contact with health visitors and home helps were all significantly more likely among depressed patients.

Accuracy of diagnosis of psychosis on general practice computer system.

Objectives: To determine the accuracy of diagnoses of schizophrenia and non-affective psychosis entered by general practitioners on a computer system. To compare recording of clinical events on computer with written records.

Design: Examination of case notes of all patients with a computer diagnosis of psychosis.

Essential fatty acids, plasma cholesterol, and fat-soluble vitamins in subjects with age-related maculopathy and matched control subjects.

A matched-control study of plasma retinol, alpha-tocopherol, carotenoid, and cholesterol concentrations and the polyunsaturated fatty acid content of plasma and erythrocyte phospholipids was undertaken in 65 elderly patients with age-related maculopathy and 65 control subjects matched for age and sex. Despite the high statistical power of the study and large variations between subjects in the variables under consideration, no significant differences were noted between patients and control subjects. However, several statistically significant differences were noted between male and female subjects independent of their classification with maculopathy or as controls and age: plasma cholesterol, total phospholipids, alpha-tocopherol, and beta-cryptoxanthin concentrations were higher in females than in males.

Health care in Brazil.

Brazil has great geopolitical importance because of its size, environmental resources, and potential economic power. The organisation of its health care system reflects the schisms within Brazilian society. High technology private care is available to the rich and inadequate public care to the poor.

Screen detected high blood pressure under 40: a general practice population followed up for 21 years.

Objective: To assess hypertension detected under 40 in a general practice population.

Design: Prospective case-control study.

Setting And Subjects: Former coal mining community in south Wales.

Microalbuminuria: associations with height and sex in non-diabetic subjects.

Objectives: To study the association(s) between microalbuminuria and cardiovascular risk factors in non-diabetic subjects.

Design: Patients aged 40-75 years were randomly selected from a general practice list and invited to participate.

Setting: Health centre in inner city London.

The role of free fatty acids in regulating the tissue availability and synthesis of sex steroids.

Sex steroids and dietary fat intake have been implicated in the growth of breast tumours. We have previously shown that the plasma free oestradiol fraction is increased in women with breast cancer and that the addition of free fatty acids (FFA) to plasma can increase the free oestradiol fraction in vitro. In the present study we have examined the distribution of oestradiol and testosterone in serum obtained from European women (EW) and Asian (Gujarati) women (GW) living in north-west London.

Are elderly people living alone an at risk group?

Objective: To test the hypothesis that elderly people living alone are an at risk group with a high level of morbidity that makes high demands on health and social services.

Design: Secondary analysis of data from a community survey of 239 people aged 75 and over, identified from general practitioners' age-sex registers.

Setting: Nine practices in the London boroughs of Brent and Islington.

Synthesis of diacylglycerol analogues as potential second-messenger antagonists and inhibitors of protein kinase C.

A series of analogues of diacylglycerol has been prepared and tested as inhibitors of protein kinase C (PKC). The diketone analogues, 10-hydroxymethyl-8,13-eicosanedione (24), 10-acetoxymethyl-8,13-eicosanedione (25), and 10-methoxymethyl-8,13-eicosanedione (26) each inhibited PKC activated by 2-O-acetyl-1-O-oleoylglycerol. Compound 24 was the most effective inhibitor of the growth of MR4 and HT29 cells in culture, and 26 was more effective than 24 against HL60 cells.

One-step immunoaffinity purification of complex I subunits from beef heart mitochondria.

Polypeptides of beef heart mitochondrial complex I were isolated from 15 mg of solubilized beef heart mitochondria using antibodies immobilized on an agarose chromatography column. The preparation was examined by SDS electrophoresis and Western blotting using affinity-purified antibodies to complex I and compared to beef heart complex I purified according to the conventional method of Hatefi and Rieske. There was a high degree of homology between the two preparations as judged by SDS-polyacrylamide electrophoresis and by immunoblotting with seven affinity-purified antibodies to various complex I subunits.

Visual problems in the elderly population and implications for services.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of visual disability and common eye disease among elderly people in inner London.

Design: Cross sectional random sample survey.

Setting: Inner London health centre.