Clinical Trial Service Unit

About: Clinical Trial Service Unit is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Stroke. The organization has 428 authors who have published 1387 publications receiving 181920 citations.

Mortality in relation to smoking: 50 years’ observations on male British doctors

Abstract: Objective: To compare the hazards of cigarette smoking in men who formed their habits at different periods, and the extent of the reduction in risk when cigarette smoking is stopped at different ages. Design: Prospective study that has continued from 1951 to 2001. Setting: United Kingdom. Participants: 34 439 male British doctors. Information about their smoking habits was obtained in 1951, and periodically thereafter; cause specific mortality was monitored for 50 years. Main …

Low Doses of Ionizing Radiation and Circulatory Diseases: A Systematic Review of the Published Epidemiological Evidence

Abstract: McGale, P. and Darby, S. C. Low Doses of Ionizing Radiation and Circulatory Diseases: A Systematic Review of the Published Epidemiological Evidence. Radiat. Res. 163, 247– 257 (2005). Recent analyses of mortality among atomic bomb survivors have suggested a linear dose–response relationship between ionizing radiation and diseases of the circulatory system for exposures in the range 0–4 Sv. If confirmed, this has substantial implications. We have therefore reviewed the published literature to see if other epidemiological data support this finding. Other studies allowing a comparison of the rates of circulatory disease in individuals drawn from the same population but exposed to ionizing radiation at different levels within the range 0–5 Gy or 0–5 Sv were identified through systematic literature searches. Twenty-six studies were identified. In some, disease rates among those exposed at different levels may have differed for reasons unrelated to radiation exposure, while many had low power to detect...

13q deletion anatomy and disease progression in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Abstract: Historically, genes targeted by recurrent chromosomal deletions have been identified within the smallest genomic region shared in all patients, the minimally deleted region (MDR). However, deletions this small do not occur in all patients and are a simplification of the impact larger heterogeneous deletions have during carcinogenesis. We use the example of 13q14 deletions in chronic lymphocytic leukemia to show that genes outside MDRs are associated with disease progression. Genomic profiling of 224 patients identified 205 copy number alterations on chromosome 13 in 132 cases. Deletions including DLEU2 were heterogeneous (845 Kb–96.2 Mb) and identified two breakpoint cluster regions within short interspersed nuclear elements proximal to DLEU2 and within long interspersed nuclear elements/L1 repeats distal to GUCY1B2. After defining a deletion class on the basis of size and location, we show that (a) at diagnosis, larger deletions (class II) were associated with a significantly increased risk of disease progression (odds ratio=12.3; P=0.005), (b) in progressive patients, class II deletions were enriched (P=0.02) and (c) this association was independent of IgVH mutational status, ZAP70 expression and ATM/TP53 deletion. Deletion of a 1 Mb gene cluster (48.2–49.2 Mb), including SETDB2, PHF11 and RCBTB1, was significantly associated (P<0.01) with disease progression. Here, we show that the deletion of genes outside MDRs can influence clinical outcome.

The joint effects of apolipoprotein B, apolipoprotein A1, LDL cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol on risk: 3510 cases of acute myocardial infarction and 9805 controls.

Abstract: Aims Plasma levels of apolipoprotein B (apoB), the main surface protein on LDL particles, and LDL-C, the amount of cholesterol in those particles, are closely correlated and, considered separately, are positive risk factors. Plasma levels of apolipoprotein A1, the main surface protein on HDL particles, and HDL-C, the amount of cholesterol in those particles, are also closely correlated with each other and, considered separately, are negative risk factors. The interdependence of these four risk factors is unclear. Methods and results Case–control study among 3510 acute myocardial infarction patients (without prior vascular disease, diabetes, or statin use) in UK hospitals and 9805 controls. Relative risks (age, sex, smoking, and obesity-adjusted) were more strongly related to apoB than to LDL-C and, given apoB, more strongly negatively related to apoA1 than to HDL-C. The ratio apoB/apoA1 was uncorrelated with time since symptom onset in cases, was reproducible in samples collected a few years apart in controls (correlation 0.81), and encapsulated almost all the predictive power of these four measurements. Its effect was continuous, substantial throughout the UK normal range [relative risk, top vs. bottom decile of this ratio, 7.3 (95% CI 5.8–9.2)] and varied little with age. The ratio apoB/apoA1 was substantially more informative about risk ( χ 12 = 550) than were commonly used measures such as LDL-C/HDL-C, total/HDL cholesterol, non-HDL cholesterol, and total cholesterol ( χ 12 = 407, 334, 204, and 105, respectively). Given apoB and apoA1, the relationship with risk of LDL-C was reversed, and this reversal was strengthened by appropriate allowance for random measurement errors in two correlated variables. Given usual apoB, lower LDL-C (consistent with smaller LDL particles) was associated with higher risk ( P < 0.0001). During the first 8 h after symptom onset HDL-C increased by about 10%, precluding reliable assessment of the joint relationship of apoA1 and pre-onset HDL-C with risk in such retrospective case–control studies. Conclusion Apolipoprotein ratios are more informative about risk than lipid fractions are. This suggests that, among lipoprotein particles of a particular type (LDL or HDL), some smaller and larger subtypes differ in their effects on risk. Direct measurements of even more specific subtypes of lipoprotein particles may be even more informative about risk.