The potential of saponin from Jamaica's Blighia sapida (ackee) as a substitute for sodium lauryl sulphate in toothpaste.

Discovering novel means of protection from harmful substances in toothpaste is essential due to its mass production, and frequent exposure to its ingredients by consumers. This method of safeguarding through discovery demonstrates toothpaste safety, which is at risk of being stifled by other commercial priorities. Among the ingredients in toothpaste that cause adverse effects is sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS).

Associations of whole-blood fatty acids and dietary intakes with prostate cancer in Jamaica.

Objective: To investigate the association of whole-blood fatty acids and reported intakes of fats with risk of prostate cancer (PCa).

Design: Case-control study of 209 men 40-80 years old with newly diagnosed, histologically confirmed prostate cancer and 226 cancer-free men attending the same urology clinics. Whole-blood fatty acid composition (mol%) was measured by gas chromatography and diet assessed by food frequency questionnaire.

Public and private health care utilization differences between socioeconomic strata in Jamaica.

Objective: To assess trends in the use of private and public health care services among Jamaicans over a 15-year period (1991-2007).

Design And Methods: Statistics on the use of health care services were taken from the Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions (JSLC) for the 15-year period 1993 to 2007. Use of hospital services were represented in income quintiles and compared for private and public facilities.

Body size and risk of prostate cancer in Jamaican men.

We investigated the associations between body size and risk of prostate cancer in a hospital-based case-control study in Jamaica. Height, weight, waist, and hip circumference were measured at enrollment, and data collected on medical and lifestyle factors for newly diagnosed cases (n = 243) and controls (n = 275). Compared with men in the normal range of waist-hip ratio (WHR), men with WHR > or =0.

Teaching medical students in their last leg of the undergraduate journey.

This short biographical piece provides a brief description of the experience of a medical teacher at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica. It traces his initial response to being chosen as a teacher and shows movement from self-doubt to assertive thinking about the role of the teacher. The development of the teacher, though buttressed by a formal training intervention, is couched within a sensitive understanding of the whole student.