Weaning and supplementation practices in a rural community

Weaning and food supplementation practices were examined in a 12-month prospective study of 200 mother-infant pairs from a rural area of Sewagram, India. Only 2 mothers (1%) began weaning before 4 months of age. Between 4 and 6 months, 76 (38%) mothers initiated weaning; at 6 months, this rate was 61%. Illiterate women and mothers with a primary school education, multiparas, and those living in joint families were most likely to defer weaning until after 6 months. Health education campaigns focused on the importance of exclusive breast feeding for the first 4-6 months, followed by the introduction of semisolid foods, are recommended.     

Oesophageal acid-peptic strictures in the histamine H2 receptor antagonist and proton pump inhibitor era

BACKGROUND AND AIM: We present a survey on the incidence, demography and natural history (re-dilatation rates) of patients with oesophageal acid-peptic stricture seen between 1977 and 1995. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Prospective, cohort observational study. Stricture severity was graded mild, moderate or severe (needing forcible dilatation with bougies). Most were treated with histamine H2 receptor antagonists or proton pump inhibitors, and were followed up by serial check endoscopy. RESULTS: A total of 156 of 7429 (2%) reflux patients had stricture: mild, n=56; moderate, n=25; severe, n=75. The prevalence of reflux disease is rising, paralleled by an increase in the number of patients with stricture; hence the incidence of stricture is unchanged: 1977-1982, 1.8% (18/986); 1983-1989, 2.4% (61/2595); 1990-1995, 2% (77/3848). Demography: mean age 68 years; mean length of reflux history 6.4 years; 15% on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs/aspirin; 18% with Barrett's metaplasia. Mean follow-up: 5.6 years. Outcome: of the 75 with severe stricture, 36 (48%) needed forcible dilatation only once, and 39 more often (13 twice, nine three times), most within 2 years. Only six of these patients need > or = 6 re-dilatations. CONCLUSION: The incidence of stricture is low and remains unchanged, despite the increased prevalence of reflux disease. Most patients have a good prognosis, only half needing further forcible dilatation, mainly within the first 2 years.     

The prognostic and predictive role of 21-gene recurrence scores in hormone receptor-positive early-stage breast cancer

Over the past two decades, gene expression profiling of breast cancer has emerged as an important tool in early-stage breast cancer management. The approach provides important information on underlying biological mechanisms, breast cancer classification, future risk potential of developing recurrent metastatic disease, and provides beneficial clues for adjuvant chemotherapy in hormone receptor (HR) positive breast cancer. Of the commercially available genomic tests for breast cancer, the prognostic and predictive value of 21-gene recurrence score tests have been validated using both retrospective data and prospective clinical trials. In this paper, we reviewed the current evidence on 21-gene expression profiles for HR-positive HER2-negative early-stage breast cancer management. We show that current evidence supports endocrine therapy alone as an appropriate adjuvant systemic therapy for approximately 70% of women with HR-positive, HER2-negative, node-negative breast cancer. Evolving evidence also suggests that 21-gene recurrence scores have predictive values for node-positive breast cancer and that chemotherapy can be avoided in more than half of women with nodes 1 to 3 positive HR-positive breast cancer. Furthermore, retrospective data also supports the predictive role of 21-gene recurrence scores for adjuvant radiation therapy. A prospective trial in this area is ongoing.     

Effects of carp gonadotropin on ovarian maintenance,maturation, and ovulation in hypophysectomized catfish,Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch)

The gonadotropic potency of purified carp gonadotropin (c-GTH) was tested by evaluating ovarian maintenance, maturation, and ovulation during the spawning season in the hypophysectomized gravid catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis. Daily treatment with c-GTH (0.5, 1.0, and 2.5 μg/fish or 10, 20, and 40 ng/g body weight) for 7 days significantly maintained the yolky oocytes in the gravid ovaries. c-GTH also evoked a dose-dependent maturation and ovulation response; catfish injected with 50 or 100 μg (or 0.55 or 1 μg/g body weight) ovulated a large number of ripe eggs. The present data show that c-GTH acts as a potent gonadotropin in the catfish.     

Sodium pentosan polysulfate (PPS), an anti-HIV agent also exhibits synergism with AZT, lymphoproliferative activity, and virus enhancement.

Sodium pentosan polysulfate (PPS), a negatively charged polymer of beta-D-xylopyranose units, was evaluated for its anti-HIV effects in normal human peripheral mononuclear cells (PMNC) and its possible synergism with AZT. In the presence of 25 nM AZT, 2.0 micrograms/ml of PPS reduced HIV-1 replication 110-fold, compared with a 3.9- and 7-fold decrease in the presence of either drug individually. Surprisingly, at low (below 1 microgram/ml) concentrations of either PPS or dextran sulfate, an enhancement of virus production was observed. PPS was nontoxic, had a proliferative effect on uninfected and a protective effect on infected PMNC. Virus enhancement at low concentrations of PPS appeared to be linked to its lymphoproliferative effect. These findings suggest that the use of PPS and others such agents as monotherapy for AIDS might have deleterious effects. However, due to its marked synergism with AZT and its lymphoproliferative activities, PPS might prove to be a useful agent in therapeutic trials of AIDS if used in combination with less than the usual dosage of AZT.