Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

About: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine is a healthcare organization based out in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Medicine. The organization has 44277 authors who have published 79222 publications receiving 4788882 citations.

DPC4, A Candidate Tumor Suppressor Gene at Human Chromosome 18q21.1

Abstract: About 90 percent of human pancreatic carcinomas show allelic loss at chromosome 18q. To identify candidate tumor suppressor genes on 18q, a panel of pancreatic carcinomas were analyzed for convergent sites of homozygous deletion. Twenty-five of 84 tumors had homozygous deletions at 18q21.1, a site that excludes DCC (a candidate suppressor gene for colorectal cancer) and includes DPC4, a gene similar in sequence to a Drosophila melanogaster gene (Mad) implicated in a transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)-like signaling pathway. Potentially inactivating mutations in DPC4 were identified in six of 27 pancreatic carcinomas that did not have homozygous deletions at 18q21.1. These results identify DPC4 as a candidate tumor suppressor gene whose inactivation may play a role in pancreatic and possibly other human cancers.

Medical error—the third leading cause of death in the US

Abstract: Medical error is not included on death certificates or in rankings of cause of death. Martin Makary and Michael Daniel assess its contribution to mortality and call for better reporting

Prevalence and control of diabetes in Chinese adults.

Abstract: Importance Noncommunicable chronic diseases have become the leading causes of mortality and disease burden worldwide. Objective To investigate the prevalence of diabetes and glycemic control in the Chinese adult population. Design, Setting, and Participants Using a complex, multistage, probability sampling design, we conducted a cross-sectional survey in a nationally representative sample of 98 658 Chinese adults in 2010. Main Outcomes and Measures Plasma glucose and hemoglobin A 1c levels were measured after at least a 10-hour overnight fast among all study participants, and a 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test was conducted among participants without a self-reported history of diagnosed diabetes. Diabetes and prediabetes were defined according to the 2010 American Diabetes Association criteria; whereas, a hemoglobin A 1c level of Results The overall prevalence of diabetes was estimated to be 11.6% (95% CI, 11.3%-11.8%) in the Chinese adult population. The prevalence among men was 12.1% (95% CI, 11.7%-12.5%) and among women was 11.0% (95% CI, 10.7%-11.4%). The prevalence of previously diagnosed diabetes was estimated to be 3.5% (95% CI, 3.4%-3.6%) in the Chinese population: 3.6% (95% CI, 3.4%-3.8%) in men and 3.4% (95% CI, 3.2%-3.5%) in women. The prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes was 8.1% (95% CI, 7.9%-8.3%) in the Chinese population: 8.5% (95% CI, 8.2%-8.8%) in men and 7.7% (95% CI, 7.4%-8.0%) in women. In addition, the prevalence of prediabetes was estimated to be 50.1% (95% CI, 49.7%-50.6%) in Chinese adults: 52.1% (95% CI, 51.5%-52.7%) in men and 48.1% (95% CI, 47.6%-48.7%) in women. The prevalence of diabetes was higher in older age groups, in urban residents, and in persons living in economically developed regions. Among patients with diabetes, only 25.8% (95% CI, 24.9%-26.8%) received treatment for diabetes, and only 39.7% (95% CI, 37.6%-41.8%) of those treated had adequate glycemic control. Conclusions and Relevance The estimated prevalence of diabetes among a representative sample of Chinese adults was 11.6% and the prevalence of prediabetes was 50.1%. Projections based on sample weighting suggest this may represent up to 113.9 million Chinese adults with diabetes and 493.4 million with prediabetes. These findings indicate the importance of diabetes as a public health problem in China.

Opiate Receptor: Demonstration in Nervous Tissue

Abstract: Tritiated naloxone, a powerful opiate antagonist, specifically binds to an opiate receptor of mammalian brain and guinea pig intestine. Competition for the opiate receptor by various opiates and their antagonists closely parallels their pharmacological potency. The opiate receptor is confined to nervous tissue.