The lifespan of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) is increasing significantly. The objective of this international pilot study was to study the characteristics of these long-term survivors.
Four centres with large CF clinics from London (UK), Minneapolis (USA), Toronto (Canada) and Verona (Italy) identified 366 patients who had survived 40 years and longer.
At all centres males survived longer than females. There were more pancreatic sufficient patients in Verona (60%) and Toronto (40%) than in London (16%) and Minneapolis (21%). The percentage of DeltaF508 homozygous patients varied between 47% in London and 45% in Minneapolis to only 26% in Toronto and 9% in Verona. Average FEV(1) and BMI values of the surviving population appeared to stabilise after 40 years of age. FEV(1) was on average 12% higher in patients who were pancreatic sufficient (p > 0.0001). There was no difference in survival between the centres. The overall median survival after the age of 40 was 13 years. The estimated annual death rate was approximately 3.4% from the age of 40-60 years.
Significant numbers of patients are now surviving to 40 years or more, and it is hoped that an in-depth study of these patients may identify the factors contributing to longer survival.
In several large epidemiological studies chronic periodontitis has been implicated as an additional risk factor, independent of other risk factors, for the development of ischaemic heart disease. The underlying mechanism is thought to be a localised infection giving rise to an inflammatory host response, and some experimental data agree with this hypothesis. Recently, however, some studies have questioned the post dated relationship between the two diseases. The current case-record study was undertaken to evaluate the prevalence of chronic periodontitis and the severity of such periodontal disease in a heart transplant population, assuming the latter represented a relatively severely compromised cardiovascular patient population. The study demonstrated that 76% of the patients had various degrees of periodontal disease prior to undergoing a heart transplant. Thus, it is possible that a relationship between cardiovascular disease and periodontal disease exists, but further, large intervention studies will be needed to confirm such a conclusion.
Asperger syndrome has so far been the subject of very little systematic empirical inquiry. This paper reviews those few studies in the literature and some data from a new Swedish study which has reported findings pertinent to estimations of Asperger syndrome prevalence. It is concluded that among children with normal intelligence, rates of 10-26 per 10,000 children are minimum figures. Another 0.4 per 10,000 Swedish teenagers showed the combination of Asperger syndrome and mild mental retardation.
State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
Passive air samples were deployed in Ny-Ålesund and London Island (Svalbard, High Arctic) annually for seven years (2011-2018) to investigate concentrations, temporal trends and potential sources of selected persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Nine polychlorinated biphenyls and twelve organochlorine pesticides were detected in all samples, with 3,3'-dichlorobiphenyl (PCB-11) being the prevalent congener. Concentrations of most compounds were declining. The ratio of the a- and ?-isomer of hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) in Arctic air was comparable with that in technical HCH mixtures, but higher than that in the atmosphere of other countries, thereby indicating the impact of historical use as well as the possible photoisomerization of the ?- into the a-isomer. The parent dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) was always less abundant than its degradation products dichlorodiphenylethylene (DDE), indicative of the impact of aged DDT sources in the Arctic atmosphere. However, o,p'-/p,p'-DDT ratios suggest only a minor contribution of dicofol-type DDT. A slightly declining temporal trend of the trans-chlordane/cis-chlordane ratio indicated the impact of secondary sources. The atmospheric distribution of the investigated POPs in the Arctic was mainly attributed to long-range atmospheric transport, whereas the influence of human activities from the scientific research stations was minor.
Specific reading retardation was found to occur in a minimum of 9-9 per cent of ten-year-old 'indigenous' children in one inner London borough. This rate was nearly three times that (3-9 per cent) in Isle of Wight children. There was a comparably higher rate of general reading backwardness in London (19-0 per cent vs 8-3 per cent). Since the same epidemiological methods were followed in the two areas, and since the reading-retarded children had similar psychological characteristics in both cases, it is concluded that there is a real difference between London and the Isle of Wight in the prevalence of reading retardation and of reading backwardness.
