Kidney biopsy-based management of maintenance immunosuppression is safe and may ameliorate flare rate in lupus nephritis.

The optimal duration of maintenance immunosuppressive therapy for patients with lupus nephritis who have achieved clinical remission has not been established. Furthermore, clinical and histologic remissions are often discordant. We postulated that continuing therapy for patients with persistent histologic activity on kidney biopsies done during maintenance and discontinuing therapy only for patients without histologic activity would minimize subsequent lupus nephritis flares.

Substance use among American Indian youth in an Eastern city.

This study represents one of the first efforts to examine substance use among American Indian (AI) youth in an Eastern city. As part of a school-based study in metropolitan Columbus, Ohio, 596 self-identified AI youth (grades 6-12) completed surveys describing their use of alcohol, cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, marijuana and inhalants. Net of gender, grade and family structure, AI youth were more likely than their white peers to regularly use most substances while overall prevalence resembled estimates from studies of urban AI youth in the Western United States.

A measure of nicotine dependence for smokeless tobacco users.

The objective of the present study was to examine the properties of a modification of the Fagerström Test of Nicotine Dependence in a large sample of smokeless tobacco (ST) users. The subjects for this study included 256 males who were recruited for a tobacco cessation intervention that involved a visit with a dentist and advice to quit smoking during the exam. At baseline, the modified dependence scale was administered to the participants and a saliva sample was collected to measure cotinine.

Randomized trial of an intervention to improve mammography utilization among a triracial rural population of women.

Introduction: Mammography is underused by certain groups of women, in particular poor and minority women. We developed a lay health advisor (LHA) intervention based on behavioral theories and tested whether it improved mammography attendance in Robeson County, NC, a rural, low-income, triracial (white, Native American, African American) population.

Methods: A total of 851 women who had not had a mammogram within the past year were randomly assigned to the LHA intervention (n = 433) or to a comparison arm (n = 418) during 1998-2002.

Are physicians asking about tobacco use and assisting with cessation? Results from the 2001-2004 national ambulatory medical care survey (NAMCS).

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine if providers asked patients about tobacco and assisted tobacco users with cessation.

Methods: The data source is the 2001-2004 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, which is an annual survey of outpatient visits. The prevalence of "asking" about tobacco use, providing "assistance" with tobacco cessation, and prescription of pharmacotherapy for cessation were estimated.

The dose-response relationship of adolescent religious activity and substance use: variation across demographic groups.

This article addresses two inconsistent findings in the literature on adolescent religious activity (RA) and substance use: whether a dose-response relationship characterizes the association of these variables, and whether the association varies by grade, gender, ethnicity, family structure, school type, and type of substance. Multinomial logistic regression analyses of a large, diverse data set of high school students in metropolitan Columbus, Ohio ( n = 33,007), found marked differences in alcohol, marijuana, and cigarette use among youths who never, occasionally, or regularly participated in RA. Weekly RA was consistently associated with less substance use, yet occasional RA sometimes was associated with greater use.

High school students' misuse of over-the-counter drugs: a population-based study in an urban county.

A survey of high school students (n = 39,345) found 4.7% occasionally misuse over-the-counter drugs (i.e.

Psychological distress and cardiovascular disease: results from the 2002 National Health Interview Survey.

Aims: The objective of this study was to examine the burden of psychological distress among individuals with different forms of heart disease in a large representative sample of adults.

Methods And Results: Data were obtained from the 2002 National Health Interview Survey, which is a large annual survey of the US non-institutionalized civilian population. Psychological distress was assessed with a standardized questionnaire (K6) and heart disease diagnoses were based on self-report.

Drug selling among high school students: related risk behaviors and psychosocial characteristics.

Purpose: To identify risk behaviors and psychosocial characteristics associated with high school students' selling drugs.

Methods: In 2000, an anonymous standardized survey assessed substance use, drug selling and related risk factors (e.g.

Parental mental health, childhood psychiatric disorders, and asthma attacks in island Puerto Rican youth.

Objective: Previous research documents an association of poor parental mental health with asthma in children. This study aims to determine whether the associations between parental mental health problems and childhood asthma attacks persist after controlling for childhood anxiety and depression and other confounding factors.

Design/methods: A community household sample of youth ages 4 to 17 years and their primary caregivers from the US Commonwealth of Puerto Rico was studied to determine the associations between parental mental health and childhood asthma attacks.

Religious activity and risk behavior among African American adolescents: concurrent and developmental effects.

This study examines how religious activity is associated with risk behaviors, concurrently and developmentally among urban African American adolescents. Seven hundred and five African American youths were interviewed annually during high school. Retention rates for the study exceeded 90%.

Comorbidity of asthma and anxiety and depression in Puerto Rican children.

Studies have reported that childhood asthma is associated with internalizing disorders, but most of these studies have used global measures of depressive and anxiety symptoms. The Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children was administered to a group of 1891 youth ages 4 to 17 and their caregivers in Puerto Rico to determine DSM-IV symptoms and diagnoses. Asthma diagnosis and having had an asthma attack were assessed by parental report.

Prevalence of ROPS--equipped tractors and farm/farmer characteristics.

Data were collected on tractor safety status and the prevalence of ROPS as part of the Ohio Farm Family Health and Hazard Surveillance Program (FFHHSP) "walk-around" hazard assessments of cash grain farms in central Ohio. Principal operator (PO) characteristics thought a priori to have a possible association with ROPS utilization included age, education, percent time spent farming, total years in agriculture, and previous training in occupational injury prevention. Farm characteristics of interest were farm size, acres of cropland in use, sales value during the past 12 months, and current number of farm workers.

College students' early cessation from episodic heavy drinking: prevalence and correlates.

The author surveyed 788 undergraduates at a large public university (overall response rate 54%) to (1) estimate the proportion of college students who cease engaging in a pattern of episodic heavy drinking (EHD) and (2) identify individual and contextual factors associated with early cessation. He used a staging algorithm to classify respondents into 4 stages of EHD cessation. Of the 60% who had engaged in EHD, 64% continued to drink heavily with no intention of stopping, 12% continued to drink heavily but were thinking about stopping, 14% had ceased temporarily, and 9% had ceased permanently.

Episodic and persistent gun-carrying among urban African-American adolescents.

Purpose: To examine whether similar risk factors influenced episodic and persistent gun-carrying among urban African-American adolescents.

Methods: The sample consisted of 705 African-American youths (48.9% male; mean age at baseline = 14.

The status of tobacco cessation research for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Objectives: The purpose of this case study was to describe the status of tobacco cessation research among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Methods: The author conducted a review of the literature and reviewed studies that he was familiar with.

Findings: Tobacco cessation research for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders has been very scant.

Etiology and chemoprevention of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the human esophagus has a multifactorial etiology involving several environmental and/or genetic factors. Current modalities of therapy for this disease offer poor survival and cure rates. Although a number of approaches could be undertaken to reduce the occurrence of esophageal SCC, including changes in lifestyle and improved nutrition, such approaches are not easily implemented.

Effects of dietary N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)retinamide on N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine metabolism and esophageal tumorigenesis in the Fischer 344 rat.

Background: 9-cis-Retinoic acid (9-cis-RA) and N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)retinamide (4-HPR) are effective chemopreventive agents against epithelial tumors in the oral cavity, breast, and prostate. We tested the inhibitory activity of these retinoids against N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine (NMBA)-induced tumorigenesis in the rat esophagus.

Methods: Male Fischer 344 rats were randomly assigned to receive diets either lacking or containing 9-cis-RA or 4-HPR for 1 week before tumor initiation with NMBA and then for the duration of the study.

Inhibition of N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine-induced tumorigenesis in the rat esophagus by dietary freeze-dried strawberries.

In the present study, we examined the ability of dietary freeze-dried strawberries to inhibit N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine (NMBA)-induced tumorigenesis in the rat esophagus. Initially, we conducted a bioassay to determine the effects of dietary freeze-dried strawberries on esophageal tumor development. Two weeks prior to NMBA treatment, animals were placed on a control diet or diets containing 5 and 10% freeze-dried strawberries.

Investigation of the enhancement of N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine-induced esophageal tumorigenesis by 6-phenylhexyl isothiocyanate.

Previous studies in our laboratory have shown that 6-phenylhexyl isothiocyanate (PHITC), enhances N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine (NMBA)-induced esophageal tumorigenesis in F344 rats while the shorter chain analogs, phenylethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC), and 3-phenylpropyl isothiocyanate (PPITC), inhibit NMBA-induced esophageal tumorigenesis. To test the hypothesis that PHITC influences the promotional stage of esophageal tumorigenesis, groups of 22-27 rats were dosed with vehicle or NMBA three times a week for 5 week, and fed a modified AIN-76A diet containing PHITC at concentrations of 0.0, 1.

Sulindac sulfone induced regression of rectal polyps in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis.

Sulindac sulfone (Exisulind), a metabolite of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, sulindac, was evalauted for its effects on the development of rectal polyps in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis. Three cohorts of 6 patients each were given doses of 200, 300, or 400 mg Exisulind twice daily. Hepatotoxicity, shown by elevation in blood transaminase levels, was the dose-limiting toxicity and occurred at the 400 mg bid dose.

Isothiocyanates and freeze-dried strawberries as inhibitors of esophageal cancer.

A group of arylalkyl isothiocyanates were tested for their abilities to inhibit tumorigenicity and DNA methylation induced by the esophageal-specific carcinogen, N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine (NMBA) in the F344 rat esophagus. Phenylpropyl isothiocyanate (PPITC) was more potent than either phenylethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) or benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC). Phenylbutyl isothiocyanate (PBITC), however, had a lesser inhibitory effect on esophageal tumorigenesis, and phenylhexyl isothiocyanate (PHITC) actually enhanced esophageal tumorigenesis.

Metabolism of N-nitrosobenzylmethylamine by human cytochrome P-450 enzymes.

N-Nitrosobenzylmethylamine (NBzMA) is a potent esophageal carcinogen in rodents, and has been found as a dietary contaminant in certain areas of China where esophageal cancer is endemic. To determine which cytochrome P-450 enzymes in humans are primarily responsible for NBzMA metabolism, microsomes from lymphoblastoid cell lines expressing a panel of human cytochrome P-450s (CYP1A1, CYP1A2, CYP2A6, CYP2B6, CYP2D6, CYP2E1, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, and CYP3A4) and a panel of 10 different human liver microsomal preparations were examined for their abilities to metabolize [3H]NBzMA. In addition, the ability of human liver microsomes to form various NBzMA metabolites was correlated with the abilities of these preparations to metabolize coumarin, ethoxyresorufin, chlorzoxazone, 7-ethoxy-4-trifluoromethylcoumarin, S-mephenytoin, and nifedipine.

Inhibition of N'-nitrosonornicotine-induced esophageal tumorigenesis by 3-phenylpropyl isothiocyanate.

The ability of dietary isothiocyanates to inhibit the esophageal metabolism of N'-nitrosonornicotine (NNN) was examined in F344 rats. Following feeding of benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC), phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC), 3-phenylpropyl isothiocyanate (PPITC), 4-phenylbutyl isothiocyanate (PBITC) or 6-phenylhexyl isothiocyanate for 2 weeks, rats were killed and the esophagi were incubated in vitro with [5-3H]NNN. While dietary BITC, PEITC and PBITC all decreased NNN metabolism, dietary PPITC had the greatest effect, yielding inhibition ranging from 55 to 91% of the control production of various NNN metabolites.

Inhibition of NNK-induced lung tumorigenesis by modulators of NNK activation.

NNK, a tobacco-specific nitrosamine, is a potent lung carcinogen in A/J mice. One possible mechanism of reducing NNK-induced lung tumorigenesis is decreased delivery of NNK to lung as a result of enhanced hepatic CYP activity. Pretreatment with 13C, a known CYP inducer, results in inhibition of tumor multiplicity, decreased DNA adducts in lung, and increased DNA adducts in liver, due to induction of hepatic activation of NNK.