[A center in Paris for screening and counselling sickle cell patients and carriers].

Prevention of sickle cell anemia, a severe and painful disease, relies on carrier detection and information, and on prenatal diagnosis with the possibility of medical abortion. Here we report the first results of a medical and welfare program launched in Paris 20 months ago and dedicated to sickle cell carrier screening and information.

Association between plasma total testosterone and cardiovascular risk factors in healthy adult men: The Telecom Study.

The associations between androgens and cardiovascular risk factors in men are controversial. A nested case-control study was used to compare the levels of cardiovascular risk factors in two groups (n = 25 each) of healthy men contrasted by their plasma total testosterone (PTT) concentration, matched by age and ethnic origin. Compared to the men with normal PTT (mean +/- SEM, 19.

Fatty acid proportions in cholesterol esters and risk of premature death from cancer in middle aged French men.

Objective: To assess the association of proportions of fatty acids in cholesterol esters with the risk of premature death from cancer in middle aged men.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Paris, France.

Influence of environmental lead on membrane ion transport in a French urban male population.

Red cell cation transports (Na(+)-K+ pump, Na(+)-K+ cotransport system, Na(+)-Li+ countertransport, and Na+ and K+ passive permeabilities) and blood and hair lead levels were measured in 129 healthy adult Caucasians not occupationally exposed to lead. In agreement with previously reported in vitro results showing a lead-induced Na(+)-K+ ATPase inhibition, Na(+)-K+ pump activity was inversely correlated with hair lead (r = -0.18, P less than 0.

Erythrocyte cation transport systems and plasma lipids in a general male population.

The relationships between five erythrocyte cation transport systems (Na(+)-K+ pump, Na(+)-K+ cotransport, Na(+)-Li+ countertransport and Na+ and K+ passive permeabilities) and plasma lipids (total plasma cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides) were investigated in 129 male adult subjects with no known history of hypertension. Na+ and K+ erythrocyte contents were also considered for their possible relationships with plasma lipids. Na(+)-K+ cotransport and passive Na+ permeability were both significantly correlated with plasma triglycerides.

Blood pressure and erythrocyte Na+ transport systems in a French urban male population.

This paper reports an investigation of blood pressure (taken as a continuous variable) as a function of: erythrocyte Na+ content; Na+,K+ pump; Na+,K+ cotransport and Na+,Li+ countertransport fluxes, and passive cation permeabilities in fresh erythrocytes from 129 French males who were living in an urban area and were not under treatment for any medical condition (after allowing for the effects of age, body mass index, alcohol and tobacco consumption). In contrast with previous findings in a North American population, we were unable to confirm that blood pressure was correlated with erythrocyte Na+ content and Na+,K+-AT-Pase activity. Conversely, the only transport parameter correlated (negatively) with blood pressure was outward Na+,K+ cotransport [r = -0.

Age-related changes in factor VII activation in healthy women.

1. To investigate the age-related changes in factor VII activation in healthy women, a regular factor VII clotting assay (factor VIIc) was carried out simultaneously with a new enzyme immunoassay for the quantification of antigen factor VII (factor VIIag). 2.

Influence of membrane sodium transport upon the relation between blood lead and blood pressure in a general male population.

Five red blood cell cation transport systems (RBCTS), together with blood lead level and blood pressure, were measured in 129 male adult subjects who were not occupationally exposed to lead or subsequent to a course of treatment for hypertension. Blood lead was positively related with systolic blood pressure, and to a lesser degree with diastolic blood pressure. Blood lead was found significantly negatively related to one of the RBCTS, Na+,K+ cotransport, and in addition, Na+,K+ cotransport appeared negatively related to blood pressure.

An epidemiologic appraisal of the associations between the fatty acids esterifying serum cholesterol and some cardiovascular risk factors in middle-aged men.

The relations between the fatty acids of cholesterol esters and some cardiovascular risk factors have been investigated in a sample of 3,348 middle-aged men examined at entry into the Paris Prospective Study 2. The partial associations between the risk factors and the various fatty acids have been evaluated using a special regression method that takes into account the structural dependencies among the percentages of fatty acids. The results show that palmitoleic acid is strongly associated with alcohol consumption and blood pressure and that its association with blood pressure is absent in nondrinkers.

Smoking does not reduce the functional activity of serum alpha-1-proteinase inhibitor. An epidemiologic study of 719 healthy men.

The present study was aimed at testing the hypothesis that smoking, the major risk factor for the development of pulmonary emphysema, impairs the functional activity of alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor (alpha 1-antitrypsin). We used a population of 719 apparently healthy subjects. The serum concentrations of immunoreactive and functionally active alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor were measured by radial immunodiffusion and inhibition of porcine pancreatic elastase, respectively.

Blood cadmium levels in a general male population with special reference to smoking.

Blood-cadmium (Cd-B) level, blood pressure, and several biological parameters in blood were measured in 440 men who were not occupationally exposed to cadmium and who had a detailed smoking history. No significant correlation was found between Cd-B and blood pressure. Among biological parameters, those known to be related to smoking appeared significantly correlated with Cd-B.