CA : A Cancer Journal for Clinicians

I first read Davidson 30 years ago: at that time it was already in its 5th edition. A brief comparison shows that it then contained about 440,000 words in 1,100 pages: the current edition has compressed 625,000 words into 800 pages. I think I bought it as a student because it was cheap: but also because it seemed to be comprehensive and straightforward, and I have used it as a basis for my medical knowledge ever since. So I miss some of the old pictures of the acute skin rashes such as scarlet fever: in fact infectious disease has been transferred to the back and genetic factors take the first chapters. But careful linguistic comparison will still uncover the old phrases which some of us know by heart-there are minor changes such as 'alarming reactions to intravenous iron are uncommon, but have occasionally been noted', which becomes 'alarming systemic anaphyllactic reactions can occur'. Sir Stanley Davidson made 'no attempt to describe every rare disease or syndrome, but devoted most of the space available to those disorders most commonly encountered in practice'. I have grown up with successive editions, and have gradually come to appreciate the problems of the authors in the compression of knowledge. Having got to know many of them personally as real people rather than as names I can still recommend the book. It is the essential starting point for the study of internal medicine and for many doctors will remain their base reference work. The present editors have kept up-to-date and been prepared to prune the dead wood. There are many competitors in the market, and the publishers must take care with layout and illustration, although Davidson is still the best value for money. I will continue to recommend it to my clinical students: they will need to read it and know it to pass final MB. Postgraduates will need to remember the facts, but also to be able to place them in a broader perspective. The older consultant will still happily read it, and to get to know the authors themselves is really to complete your medical education. Dr John Macleod and his team have successfully kept alive the primary objective 'to provide a rational and easily comprehensible basis for the practice of medicine'. The book is economical in price and compact in size, but still contains the essential truths for the practice of good medicine.

Davidson's Principles and Practice of Medicine

Electrochemical biosensors have been applied in a broad range of clinical applications for pathogen biomarker detection and medical applications and diagnosis due to the sensitivity of electrochemical methods and the bioselectivity of the components. The complexity of clinical conditions with various biofoulants (proteins, cells, polysaccharides and lipids) severely influences the reliability and stability of sensors for direct detection or immersion under changing conditions. Therefore, designing an antifouling sensing platform that can effectively reduce undesired binding to maintain biosensor performance in optimized analysis is necessary. For this purpose, the fundamental mechanisms of fouling materials and commonly used biocompatible antifouling components have been discussed, and the relevant effective modification strategies are introduced in this review. Recent advances in these strategies are demonstrated in examples with analysis of essential modification methods for reliable sensing in non-specific binding solutions or complex biofluids. The challenges and future perspectives of modification strategies for current clinical application are also discussed in this review.

Antifouling strategies in advanced electrochemical sensors and biosensors.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the nutritional status of drug addicts, the prevalence of malnutrition among them and the influence of their drug habit and lifestyle factors on their nutritional indices. The study was conducted among 253 male drug addicts, who sought detoxification at the Central Drug Addiction Treatment Hospital, Dhaka, during the period of June 1998-July 1999. One hundred age-, height- and socioeconomic-matched non-addicted healthy men were recruited by convenience as cohort controls. Results showed that the drug addicts had significantly (P<0.001) lowered BMI, haemoglobin, and serum total protein and albumin levels. Clinical signs of nutrient deficiency were diagnosed in about 74 % of drug addicts. The BMI, biochemical values and nutrient deficiency signs indicated that more than 60 % of drug addicts were suffering from multiple malnutrition. One-way ANOVA demonstrated a significant (P<0.05) negative correlation between drug habit, sexually transmitted diseases and selected nutritional indices, and a positive correlation between education, income and the nutritional indices. A series of multiple regression analyses revealed that education, income and age showed significantly predicted BMI and biochemical indices, and the group (non-drug addicts or drug addicts) had a significant negative effect on these parameters in favour of controls.

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Nutritional status of drug addicts undergoing detoxification: prevalence of malnutrition and influence of illicit drugs and lifestyle.

A WHO manual for the health professional who needs to evaluate the effectiveness of a supplementary feeding program is reviewed. The stated objectives of the books guidelines are: to assist countries receiving food in identifying the presence and/or absence of nutritional changes in selected population groups benefiting from food supplements; and to permit these countries to modify the scope and organization of feeding programs based on such identifying measurements. The text describes how age and body height and weight measurements can be used to estimate nutritional status for infants preschool children and primary school children. Methods for sampling data collection data analysis and interpretations are discussed and helpful examples are given.

Measuring change in nutritional status: guidelines for assessing the nutritional impact of supplementary feeding programmes for vulnerable groups (WHO) [book review].

Sexual life style, drug habit and socio-demographic status of drug addicts in Bangladesh

Background
Use of illicit drugs induces multiple nutrient deficiencies. Drug habit, sexual practice and socioeconomic factors influence the nutrient profile of drug dependent subjects. The literature on this issue is still insufficient. This study has tested the hypothesis that illicit drug use and lifestyle impair mineral status. To test this hypothesis, 253 men multiple drug users of age 18–45 years were recruited to investigate their serum copper, zinc and iron levels. Influence of illicit drugs and their lifestyle on the mineral levels was also examined. The study subjects were drug dependent who had shared needles and had sexual activity with multiple partners. Serum concentrations of the minerals were estimated by atomic absorption flame spectrometry.

/pdf/serum-antioxidant-micromineral-cu-zn-fe-status-of-drug-36of1y7kwx.pdf

Serum antioxidant micromineral (Cu, Zn, Fe) status of drug dependent subjects: Influence of illicit drugs and lifestyle

The aim of this study was to investigate the serum immunoglobulins and white blood cells status of drug addicts and to assess the extent of influence of drug habit and sexual practice on the immune components. The study was conducted among 253 male drug addicts and 100 non-addict controls of aged 18  -  45 years. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was employed to analyse the serum immunoglobulin concentrations. White blood cells profile was estimated by counting 200 cells . Results showed a significant increase (p < 0.03) of serum IgG, IgA and IgM in the drug addicts (6.93 ? 1.53g/l, 2.90 ? 1.13g/l and 1.72 ? 0.73g/l, respectively) compared to those in the cohort controls (6.52 ? 1.05g/l, 2.61 ? 0.83g/l and 1.52 ? 0.59g/l, respectively). A significant (p  = 0.00) decrease of peripheral lymphocytes (51.8 ? 15.2 vs. 71.9 ? 11.5) was noted in the drug addicts. Monocytes (8.3 ? 4.9), neutrophils (128.2 ? 18.9) and eosinophils (11.4 ? 5.8) were found to be increased in the drug addicts against those in the controls (5.2 ? 2.5, 113.2 ? 13.0 and 9.6 ? 5.8, respectively). Multiple drug abuse for longer period had resulted in a significant (p  < 0.05) decrease of serum immunoglobulins and lymphocytes. The longer period of addiction had also made a significant (p  < 0.05) decrease of eosinophils (p  = 0.05) and an increase of monocytes and neutrophils. Sex with multiple sexual partners had shown a significant (p  < 0.01) decrease of serum immunoglobulins and eosinophils.

Serum immunoglobulins and white blood cells status of drug addicts: influence of illicit drugs and sex habit.

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of HIV infection in drug addicts and to address their drug habit, sexual life style and socioeconomic factors. This study was conducted among 505 male drug addicts comprising 250 intravenous drug users (IDUs) and 255 non-IDUs. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to screen HIV antibody in the sera of drug addicts. Seropositivity was confirmed by line immunoassay method. Results showed 3.76% (n =19) HIV-seroprevalence, of which 2.77% (n =14) were IDUs and the rest (0.99%, n =5) were non-IDUs. Amongst the IDUs (n =250) the seroprevalence rate was 5.6% (n =14) and in the non-IDUs (n =255), it was 1.96% (n =5). The seropositive addicts used multiple drugs for long periods of time, the majority of them (63.2%, n =12) started addiction with cannabis but ended up with heroin. Unprotected sex (did not use condom), multiple sexual partnerships and sexually transmitted diseases were common among the seropositives. Prevalence of these behavioural and biol...

Kazi Jahangir Hossain

Papers

Nutritional status of drug addicts undergoing detoxification: prevalence of malnutrition and influence of illicit drugs and lifestyle.

Sexual life style, drug habit and socio-demographic status of drug addicts in Bangladesh

Serum antioxidant micromineral (Cu, Zn, Fe) status of drug dependent subjects: Influence of illicit drugs and lifestyle

Serum immunoglobulins and white blood cells status of drug addicts: influence of illicit drugs and sex habit.

Prevalence of HIV infection in the drug addicts of Bangladesh: drug habit, sexual practice and lifestyle.