Adult convulsive status epilepticus in the developing country of Honduras.

Epidemiologic data on convulsive status epilepticus (CSE) is needed to develop preventative strategies. Epilepsy is one of the known risk factors for CSE. A systematic review of epidemiologic studies on status epilepticus (SE) completed in the United States and Europe reports that people with epilepsy account for less than 50% of cases of SE in all age groups.

Recent clinical trials of vitamin D3 supplementation and serum calcium levels in humans: Implications for vitamin D-based chemoprevention.

Clinical trials of vitamin D supplementation published from 2000 to 2009 are reviewed, with an emphasis on changes in serum calcium levels. In these trials, vitamin D supplementation often resulted in modest increases in serum calcium levels, but rarely caused hypercalcemia. Although hypercalcemia is considered to be the only toxicity of vitamin D, many prospective studies have demonstrated associations between high normocalcemia (serum calcium levels that are high but fall within the normal reference range) and premature mortality, predominantly from cardiovascular disease.

Perspectives of family physicians on computer-assisted health-risk assessments.

Background: The firsthand experience of physicians using computer-assisted health-risk assessment is salient for designing practical eHealth solutions.

Objective: The aim of this study was to enhance understanding about computer-assisted health-risk assessments from physicians' perspectives after completion of a trial at a Canadian, urban, multi-doctor, hospital-affiliated family practice clinic.

Methods: A qualitative approach of face-to-face, in-depth, semi-structured interviews was used.

Evaluation of a radiation transport modeling method for radioactive bone cement.

Spinal metastases are a common and serious manifestation of cancer, and are often treated with vertebroplasty/kyphoplasty followed by external beam radiation therapy (EBRT). As an alternative, we have introduced radioactive bone cement, i.e.

Notalgia paresthetica associated with cervical spinal stenosis and cervicothoracic disk disease at C4 through C7.

Notalgia paresthetica (NP) is a common refractory, sensory, neuropathic syndrome with the hallmark symptom of localized pruritus of the unilateral infrascapular back. It generally is a chronic noncurable condition with periodic remissions and exacerbations. While the dermatologic syndrome may be multifactorial in etiology, a possible association with underlying cervical spine disease should be evaluated for proper treatment.

Detecting gene-by-smoking interactions in a genome-wide association study of early-onset coronary heart disease using random forests.

Background: Genome-wide association studies are often limited in their ability to attain their full potential due to the sheer volume of information created. We sought to use the random forest algorithm to identify single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that may be involved in gene-by-smoking interactions related to the early-onset of coronary heart disease.

Methods: Using data from the Framingham Heart Study, our analysis used a case-only design in which the outcome of interest was age of onset of early coronary heart disease.

Serum calcium and breast cancer risk in a prospective cohort study.

Calcium has anti-proliferative and pro-differentiation effects on mammary cells in vitro and can inhibit the development of mammary tumors in mice. While there is some epidemiologic evidence for an inverse relation between dietary calcium intake and breast cancer risk, only one previous study has examined serum calcium levels in relation to breast cancer risk. We investigated this relation in a prospective cohort study of 2,762 women, aged 43-86, who were enrolled in the Beaver Dam Eye Study in 1988 and followed for up to 19 years.

Early replication in pulmonary B cells after infection with Marek's disease herpesvirus by the respiratory route.

Abstract Natural infection with Marek's disease virus occurs through the respiratory mucosa after chickens inhale dander shed from infected chickens. The early events in the lung following exposure to the feather and squamous epithelial cell debris containing the viral particles remain unclear. In order to elucidate the virological and immunological consequences of MDV infection for the respiratory tract, chickens were infected by intratracheal administration of infective dander.

The relation of serum parathyroid hormone and serum calcium to serum levels of prostate-specific antigen: a population-based study.

Experimental and clinical data implicate calcium and parathyroid hormone (PTH) in the development of prostate cancer. However, epidemiologic data on the role of these variables in prostate health are sparse. We examined the relationship between serum levels of calcium, PTH, and prostate-specific antigen (PSA), an established marker of prostate growth, in a large, population-based study using multivariate linear regression.

Health materials and strategies for the prevention of immigrants' weight-related problems.

Existing health education materials dealing with healthy eating, active living, and body image were examined by immigrant parents of elementary school children to determine their relevance, cultural competence, and accessibility. A total of 13 immigrant mothers from Sri Lanka and China participated in a series of three focus groups. Study findings indicate that the present health education materials intended to help prevent weight-related problems could be improved to better meet the needs of new immigrant families.

Family and patient predictors of symptomatic status in schizophrenia.

Objective: To test an interactive hypothesis that, in schizophrenia, a combination of patients' and relatives' characteristics at 1-month postdischarge from hospital (Time 1 [T1]) better predicts the level of psychotic symptoms at follow-up (Time 2 [T2]), than do the characteristics of patients or relatives alone.

Methods: Male patients (n = 38) with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, without substance abuse, and in contact with their families, were recruited at the time of hospital discharge. Patients' psychotic symptom levels were monitored every 2 weeks until follow-up, while family measures were administered at T1 and T2.

Computer-assisted screening for intimate partner violence and control: a randomized trial.

Background: Intimate partner violence and control (IPVC) is prevalent and can be a serious health risk to women.

Objective: To assess whether computer-assisted screening can improve detection of women at risk for IPVC in a family practice setting.

Design: Randomized trial.

Association of 25-hydroxyvitamin D with blood pressure in predominantly 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficient Hispanic and African Americans.

Background: Several observational studies have recently suggested an inverse association of circulating levels of vitamin D with blood pressure. These findings have been based mainly on Caucasian populations; whether this association also exists among Hispanic and African Americans has yet to be definitively determined. This study investigates the association of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) with blood pressure in Hispanic and African Americans.

An algorithm for identifying novel targets of transcription factor families: application to hypoxia-inducible factor 1 targets.

Efficient and effective analysis of the growing genomic databases requires the development of adequate computational tools. We introduce a fast method based on the suffix tree data structure for predicting novel targets of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) from huge genome databases. The suffix tree data structure has two powerful applications here: one is to extract unknown patterns from multiple strings/sequences in linear time; the other is to search multiple strings/sequences using multiple patterns in linear time.

A prospective study of total and ionized serum calcium and fatal prostate cancer.

We recently reported a significant positive association in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between high levels of total calcium in serum, measured prospectively, and risk of fatal prostate cancer. To confirm this, we examined associations between total and ionized serum calcium and prostate cancer mortality in an independent cohort, the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Twenty-five prostate cancer deaths occurred over 56,625 person-years of follow-up.

Using the internet to assist smoking prevention and cessation in schools: a randomized, controlled trial.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of a classroom-based, Web-assisted tobacco intervention addressing smoking prevention and cessation with adolescents.

Design: A two-group randomized control trial with 1,402 male and female students in grades 9 through 11 from 14 secondary schools in Toronto, Canada. Participants were randomly assigned to a tailored Web-assisted tobacco intervention or an interactive control condition task conducted during a single classroom session with e-mail follow-up.

Serum calcium and incident and fatal prostate cancer in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

We examined the association between serum calcium levels and the risk for prostate cancer using a prospective cohort, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and the NHANES Epidemiologic Follow-up Study. Eighty-five incident cases of prostate cancer and 25 prostate cancer deaths occurred over 46,188 person-years of follow-up. Serum calcium was determined an average of 9.

Engaging youth in e-health promotion: lessons learned from a decade of TeenNet research.

Since 1995, TeenNet Research (www.teennet.ca) has been a leader in developing strategies for involving youth and adults in co-creating e-health-promotion Web sites and behavior-change programs.

Increased intracranial pressure in a case of pediatric multiple sclerosis.

A 15-year-old girl presented to our emergency department with dizziness, anorexia, nausea, and malaise. Clinical examination and magnetic resonance imaging studies showed characteristic features of multiple sclerosis. Surprisingly, a diagnostic lumbar puncture showed significant intracranial hypertension in addition to numerous oligoclonal bands, elevated immunoglobulin G index and immunoglobulin G/albumin ratio in the cerebrospinal fluid.

Sociodemographic and tumor characteristics associated with pancreatic cancer surgery in the United States.

Background And Objectives: Surgical resection is the only curative treatment for pancreatic cancer. The aim of this project was to compare risk and prognostic factors between pancreatic cancer patients treated with and without surgery.

Methods: Data from 32,318 cases collected from 1988 to 2002 in the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results program were used to evaluate the odds of having surgery for pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Assessing patient attitudes to computerized screening in primary care: psychometric properties of the computerized lifestyle assessment scale.

Background: Computer-based health-risk assessments are electronic surveys which can be completed by patients privately, for example during their waiting time in a clinic, generating a risk report for the clinician and a recommendation sheet for the patient at the point of care. Despite increasing popularity of such computer-based health-risk assessments, patient attitudes toward such tools are rarely evaluated by reliable and valid scales. The lack of psychometric appraisal of appropriate scales is an obstacle to advancing the field.