Measurement of cerebral perfusion after zolpidem administration in the baboon model.

A recent report showed that zolpidem (CAS 82626-48-0) can lead to the arousal of a semi-comatosed patient. Zolpidem is clinically used for the treatment of insomnia. It belongs to the imidazopyridine chemical class and is a non benzodiazepine drug.

A comparison of the cost effectiveness of pressure-indicating materials and their ability to detect pressure areas in complete dentures.

Pressure areas on the fitting surfaces of dentures can cause great discomfort and pain to denture wearers if not detected and removed. Pressure-indicating materials are commonly used to detect these areas, and several commercial varieties are available, but these tend to be expensive. The cost effectiveness of these materials has not been investigated, nor has this been linked to their efficacy and ease of use.

Poisoning with Boophane disticha: a forensic case.

Scales from the bulb are traditionally used as wound dressing after circumcision and as general wound dressing. Concoctions of the bulb taken orally cause sedation, analgesia, visual hallucinations, irrational behaviour, coma or death. A man ingested 150 ml of a concoction to see who placed a spell on him.

The first five years of universal hepatitis B vaccination in South Africa: evidence for elimination of HBsAg carriage in under 5-year-olds.

South Africa implemented a vaccine against hepatitis B virus (HBV) into the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) in April 1995. The HBV vaccine is given at 6, 10, and 14 weeks, in parallel with OPV, DTP and Hib vaccines. This study assessed the impact of universal childhood HBV vaccination programme in reducing HBsAg carriage, in the first five years (1995--1999) since its implementation.

Evaluation of thyroid nodules with technetium-99m MIBI and technetium-99m pertechnetate.

Background: Most thyroid centers use fine-needle aspiration (FNA) and technetium-99m pertechnetate for the preoperative assessment of thyroid nodules. This approach is sufficient in most cases other than follicular neoplasm, and follicular carcinoma is more common than papillary carcinoma in developing countries such as in our center. Technetium 99m-methoxyisobutylisonitrile (MIBI) proposed for myocardial perfusion was also found to be taken up by a variety of tumors including thyroid cancer.

Molecular epidemiology of Escherichia coli isolated from young South African children with diarrhoeal diseases.

Molecular techniques were used for studying the epidemiology of diarrhoeal infections due to Escherichia coli in the Gauteng region in South Africa. In total, 151 E. coli strains isolated from stools of patients with diarrhoea and 30 strains isolated from stools of healthy individuals were collected between March 1996 and May 1997.

Opportunistic testing of medically underserved women for cervical cancer in South Africa.

Objective: To determine the yield of opportunistic Pap smears taken in an unscreened and medically underserved population in the Transkei Region of South Africa.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study of 22,160 cervical cytology specimens from an unscreened population attending gynecologic outpatient clinics between January 1990 and December 1996.

Results: The overall prevalence of atypical squamous cells of uncertain significance (ASCUS), low grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL) and high grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) was, respectively, 34.

Evaluation of the use of the solvent dimethyl sulfoxide in chemiluminescent studies.

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is extensively used as solvent in in vitro chemiluminescent studies, to dissolve stimulants, drugs, and luminescent probes. DMSO is also known to scavenge hydroxyl radicals. In this study the effect of DMSO on the superoxide production of the different white blood cells, neutrophils, eosinophils, lymphocytes, and monocytes, after stimulation with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), opsonized zymosan (OZ), and formylmethionylleucylphenylalanine (fMLP), was determined.

A culture-sensitive quantitative food frequency questionnaire used in an African population: 2. Relative validation by 7-day weighted records and biomarkers.

Objective: To determine the relative validity of the culture-sensitive quantitative food frequency questionnaire (QFFQ) developed for the Transition, Health and Urbanisation in South Africa (THUSA) study by 7-day weighed food records, urinary nitrogen excretion and basal metabolic rate (BMR).

Design: A cross-sectional study.

Setting: A community-based study in a population stratified according to level of urbanization.

A culture-sensitive quantitative food frequency questionnaire used in an African population: 1. Development and reproducibility.

Objective: To develop and assess the reproducibility of a quantitative food frequency questionnaire (QFFQ) sensitive to the culture of the African population of the North West Province, South Africa.

Design: A cross-sectional study.

Setting: A community-based field study in a population stratified according to level of urbanization from deep rural to urban upper class.

A combination of statistical methods for the analysis of the relative validation data of the quantitative food frequency questionnaire used in the THUSA study. Transition, Health and Urbanisation in South Africa.

Objective: To apply structural equation modelling (SEM) and estimation of variance components to the relative validation data obtained from the quantitative food frequency questionnaire (QFFQ) used in the Transition, Health and Urbanisation in South Africa (THUSA) study.

Design: A cross-sectional study.

Setting: A community-based field study in an African population conducted during 1996.

Biotechnology and the utilization of biowaste as a resource for bioproduct development.

There is widespread concern that increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the earth's atmosphere will ultimately lead to climate changes. Recognizing the important role that fossil fuels have in the economies and lifestyles of people throughout the world, it is reasonable to ask if the global economy can be powered in ways that might have less impact on the environment because they discharge less carbon dioxide. A way of addressing this sensitive issue could be through the biodevelopment of biowaste as an alternative and renewable energy resource.

The evaluation of function of the flail upper limb classification system: its application to unilateral brachial plexus injuries.

The evaluation of function of the flail upper limb (EFFUL) classification system measures in numerical terms the improvement achieved through hand surgery and hand therapy in patients with peripheral nerve injuries. To research the effectiveness of the EFFUL system a study was conducted that included 103 adult traumatic brachial plexus palsies. The measurement of upper limb function has 2 distinct phases: function without adaptation and function with adaptation.

Public-private partnerships in health care for developing countries: a new paradigm for change.

The shift in traditional corporate philanthropy policy and practices from one of objective giving to strategic investing is discussed along with the positive impact of these changes as realized through a social awareness and the emerging new paradigm of public private partnerships. Examples of corporate support with focus on a case study concerning HIV/AIDS in Africa are presented within the context of lessons learned. These examples illustrate how public and private sectors working together, can maximize the potential philanthropic endeavor.

Calcifying epithelial odontogenic tumor with intracranial extension: report of a case and review of the literature.

The calcifying epithelial odontogenic tumor (CEOT) is a rare benign neoplasm, possibly of stratum intermedium origin and occurring predominantly in the mandible of adults. The treatment varies, depending on its size, location, and histology. A case of an advanced CEOT arising in the maxilla with intracranial extension is reported.

A national database for essential drugs in South Africa.

In the process of drafting standard treatment guidelines for adults and children at hospital level, the Secretariat of the National Essential Drugs List Committee made use of a database designed with technical support from the School of Pharmacy, MEDUNSA. The database links the current 697 drugs on the Essential Drugs List with Standard Treatment Guidelines for over 400 conditions. It served to streamline the inclusion of different drugs and dosage forms in the various guidelines, and provided concise, updated information to other departments involved in drug procurement.

A simple method for measuring severely reduced glomerular filtration rate.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to develop a simpler method to measure severely reduced glomerular filtration rate (GFR) for patients with a GFR below 30 mL/min.

Method: The GFR was measured in 24 patients using both the 51Cr EDTA slope-intercept method (the conventional method) and 99mTc-DTPA with our proposed simpler GFRn method.

Results: The correlation coefficient was 0.

Early development of the tush and the tusk of the African elephant (Loxodonta africana).

This early development was studied from a serial histological sections of eight elephant embryos with masses varying between 1 and 240 g. The tush and the tusk develop from one tooth germ in a deciduous to permanent tooth relation. In order to study the mineralization of the dental organ of the tush and cap and bell stage of the tusk, embryos older than 3-months' gestation (weighing more than 250 g) would be required.

Variations of the posterior interosseous nerve.

The posterior interosseous nerves of 58 cadaver forearms of black South Africans were dissected to study their order of branching. In 43 specimens (74%), the most common order of branching was: extensor carpi radialis brevis; supinator; extensor digitorum; extensor carpi ulnaris; extensor digiti minimi; abductor pollicis longus; extensor pollicis brevis; extensor pollicis longus and extensor indicis. In 15 specimens (26%) different variations of the nerve were observed, some of which are reported for the first time.

Basic resuscitation--knowledge and skills of full-time medical practitioners at public hospitals in northern province.

Objectives: To establish the level of knowledge and skill in basic resuscitation among medical practitioners and to determine the differences in characteristics between those with and those without knowledge and skills.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Public hospitals in Northern Province.

Juvenile ossifying fibroma of the mandible. An 8 year radiological follow-up.

An 8-year follow-up of a juvenile ossifying fibroma in the left mandible of a 4-year-old boy is presented. The case demonstrated initial lack of radiological evidence of demarcation and subsequent eccentric enlargement, selective tooth displacement and a multilocular appearance in areas of active growth. An aneurysmal bone cyst and a decrease in the bone content was present in the excision specimen.

Could treatment of pregnant mares prevent abortions due to equine piroplasmosis?

Treatment of pregnant mares to prevent abortions due to equine piroplasmosis is a novel idea practised empirically at some Thoroughbred studs in South Africa. This paper presents the results of an investigation to ascertain whether imidocarb dipropionate crosses the equine placenta. Three pregnant mares were injected intramuscularly with imidocarb and their foetuses were mechanically aborted at varying time intervals thereafter.

Cryptococcosis in captive cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus): two cases.

Cryptococcus neoformans is a yeast-like organism associated with pulmonary, meningoencephalitic, or systemic disease. This case report documents 2 cases of cryptococcosis with central nervous system involvement in captive cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus). In both cases the predominant post mortal lesions were pulmonary cryptococcomas and extensive meningoencephalomyelitis.