Effects of ambient air pollution on symptom severity and medication use in children with asthma.

BACKGROUND: Exposure to air pollutants has been investigated as a possible cause of asthma attacks in children. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the short-term effects of air pollutants on a panel of 133 children with asthma who enrolled in the Childhood Asthma Management Program. METHODS: During screening, the children completed daily diary cards for an average of 58 days to indicate their medication use and asthma severity. We used ordinal logistic regression to compare the odds of a more serious relative to a less serious asthma attack, and we used a Poisson model to analyze medication use. In both analyses we accommodate dependence in the data and different periods of observation for study subjects. RESULTS: Our results indicate that a 10-microg/m3 increase in particulate matter less than or equal to 2.5 microm (PM2.5) lagged 1 day was associated with a 1.20 times increased odds of having a more serious asthma attack [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.05 to 1.37] and a 1.08-fold increase in medication use (95% CI, 1.01 to 1.15). A 10-microg/m3 increase in particulate matter less than or equal to 10 microm (PM10) increased the odds of a more serious asthma attack (odds ratio = 1.12; 95% CI, 1.04 to 1.22) and also increased medication use (relative risk = 1.05; 95% CI, 1.00 to 1.09). CONCLUSIONS: Increases in PM2.5 and PM10 are significantly associated with an increased risk of more severe asthma attacks and medication use in Seattle area children with asthma. We also found associations with carbon monoxide, but we believe that carbon monoxide is a marker for exposure to combustion byproducts.     

IMMUNOREGULATORY EFFECT OF PANAXATRIOL GINSENOSIDE ON IMMUNE FUNCTIONS IN BONE MARROW SUPPRESSED MICE

The effect of Panaxatriol Ginsenoside (PTGS) on Immune functions in bone marrow suppressed mice induced by injection of cyclophosphamide (CY) has been studied. Bone marrow suppressed mice were made by injection of CY (150 mg/kg) parenterally. Subcutaneous injection of PTGS three days earlier partially restored the number and the activity of bone marrow cells, significantly enhanced the production of IL-1, IL- 3 and IL- 6 like substances and promoted the reactivity of murlne spleen cells to Con-A In bone marrow suppressed mice.     

Immunoregulatory effects of phospholipase A2 (PLA2) on the proliferation of human lymphocytes

Extracellular phospholipase A2 (PLA2) is a proinflammatory enzyme found especially in the inflammatory exudate to modulate blood flow to areas of antigen stimulation. In this study we found that PLA2 exerted a biphasic effect on the proliferation of phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-stimulated human mononuclear cells (PHA MNC). At low concentrations range from 0.001 to 1 U/ml, PLA2 enhanced the proliferation of PHA MNC (maximal increase was 37.0 +/- 5.67%). Conversely, at concentrations over 10 U/ml, PLA2 markedly suppressed the PHA-induced MNC proliferation (maximal decrease was 88.86 +/- 2.89%). PLA2 was non-toxic to lymphocytes after three days culture, unless the concentration was higher than 100 U/ml. The membrane polarization of PHA-stimulated lymphocytes was also increased by PLA2 at a low concentration. In addition, PLA2 displayed a similar effect on the proliferation of streptokinase-streptodornase (SK/SD) or allogeneic cell stimulated lymphocytes. The change of lymphocyte proliferation by PLA2, was parallel to the change of percentage of helper T cells. Furthermore--a CD4-rich population was proved more susceptible to PLA2 effect than a CD8-rich population. Para-bromophenacyl bromide (pBPB), an irreversible inhibitor of PLA2, abrogated the biphasic effect of PLA2 on PHA MNC proliferation. These results suggest that PLA2 plays a regulatory role on immune reactions by modulating the percentage of helper T cells.     

冠心病行为模式与心理状态的相关性探讨

目的为探讨Ａ型行为在冠心病（ＣｏｒｏｎａｒｙＨｅａｒｔＤｉｓｅａｓｅ，ＣＨＤ）中的作用及与心理状态的相关性。方法对１１４例ＣＨＤ及３７例非ＣＨＤ应用心理测验方法对照调查。结果发现Ａ型行为的人易患ＣＨＤ。ＣＨＤＡ型行为者在焦虑、抑郁、人际关系、认识、敌对性症状因子分较ＣＨＤ非Ａ型行为者有明显增高。ＣＨＤ非Ａ型行为者也具有一些特有的心理症状。结论ＣＨＤ病人的行为模式与病后的某些心理表现呈正相关。     

白血病患者血浆和外周血白细胞内维生素变化

检测４５例正常人和４４例不同病期白血病血浆和外周血白细胞内维生素Ａ、Ｅ、Ｃ、Ｂ１２和β－胡罗卜素、叶酸浓度。结果表明，初治白血病患者血浆维生素Ａ、β－胡罗卜素降低（Ｐ＜０．０１），未缓期解者血浆β－胡罗卜素和叶酸低于正常（Ｐ＜０．０１和Ｐ＜０．０５）。在初治和未缓解期患者的外周血白细胞内，维生素Ｅ、Ｃ、Ｂ１２和β－胡罗卜素均显著降低（Ｐ＜０．０１～０．００１）。而且，外周血白细胞内维生素代谢异常比血浆更为显著。提示维生素含量变化对于解释病因，预测疗效及估计预后有一定的价值。     

滥用药物与生命质量退化的伦理思考

本文从生命质量的内涵入手,分析了滥用药物的直接和间接、近期和远期的危害,通过论证得出了滥用药物必将引起人类生命质量退化的结论.以期从一个新的认识度唤起人们对滥用药物问题的重视、并由此引出了一些对医学目的以及滥用药物控制措施的思考.     

常见肿瘤患者血清维生素A,E,C水平

本文报告２６０例恶性肿瘤患者血清维生素Ａ、Ｅ、Ｃ水平的测定结果。发现除慢性白血病外，蓁７种恶性肿瘤患者血清维生素Ａ水平平均显著低于健康人（Ｐ＜０．０１）；急性白血，肝癌、食管癌患者血清维生素Ｅ水平显著低于健康人（Ｐ＜０．０５）；急性粒细胞白血病、急性单核细胞白血病、肝癌患者血维生素Ｃ水平显著低于健康人（Ｐ＜０．０１）。本研究工作为维生素Ａ、Ｅ、Ｃ药物在肿瘤临床上的应用提供了参考。