Vrs Singh, S. Soman, I. Dialsingh, S. Maharaj, S. Mayers
{"title":"The Use of Phase Contrast Microscopy to Identify Bacteriuria and Hence Predict Cultures Indicative of Urinary Tract Infections","authors":"Vrs Singh, S. Soman, I. Dialsingh, S. Maharaj, S. Mayers","doi":"10.7727/WIMJ.2017.101","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7727/WIMJ.2017.101","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49366,"journal":{"name":"West Indian Medical Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2017-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42584345","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Hydroalcoholic Extract from PROSOPIS Fracta Leaves Protects against Liver Injury Elicited by High-Fat Diet in Rats","authors":"Hajinezhad","doi":"10.7727/wimj.2016.507","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7727/wimj.2016.507","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49366,"journal":{"name":"West Indian Medical Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2017-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44410359","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"When Mathematics and Medicine Unite - A Review of the Use of Deterministic Compartmental Models in Epidemiology","authors":"J. Sooknanan, D. Comissiong, T. Seemungal","doi":"10.7727/WIMJ.2017.088","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7727/WIMJ.2017.088","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49366,"journal":{"name":"West Indian Medical Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2017-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43123591","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The land and seed traditional theory of health","authors":"J. Jainarinesingh","doi":"10.7727/WIMJ.2013.159","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7727/WIMJ.2013.159","url":null,"abstract":"The 'land and seed' theory hinges on the principles and practice of Ayurvedic medicine which postulates that, \"if you are strong enough, cancer does not stand a chance\". The theory expounds that the human body is the 'land' and all the cancercausing pathogens are the 'seed.' \u0000 \u0000The theory further expands that if a seed is strong and the land is infertile, but the environment is supportive to cancer, the disease might probably stand a chance of attacking the body. An easy and accessible defence is to minimize your environmental risks eg do not smoke, avoid situations of second-hand smoke and maintain a healthy lifestyle to ward off the ravages of cancer. \u0000 \u0000A worse-case scenario would be where the seed is good – the risks of cancer are high with perhaps free radicals – the land is rich and fertile ie you do not have effective immunity to disease, and the environment supports the prevalence of disease. This may become a reality if you reside on top of a toxic waste dump in which case you run a high risk of being affected by pathogens. Fortunately, Ayurveda presents a remedy or a prescription that assists in creating 'infertile land' ie a body that is so strong that it will not support the invasion of cancer (1).","PeriodicalId":49366,"journal":{"name":"West Indian Medical Journal","volume":"63 1","pages":"88-89"},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2017-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48515609","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Factors Associated with Physical Activity in Jamaicans with Cardiovascular Disease","authors":"G. Nelson, C. Gordon","doi":"10.7727/WIMJ.2017.112","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7727/WIMJ.2017.112","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49366,"journal":{"name":"West Indian Medical Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2017-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46613946","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Does Intraoperative Dexmedetomidine Attenuate Postoperative Inflammatory Response in the Adult Surgical Patients with General Anaesthesia? A Meta-analysis of Randomized Control Trials Studies","authors":"W-Q Sun, Q. Zhou, Ai-Guo Zhou, H. Mo","doi":"10.7727/wimjopen.2017.002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7727/wimjopen.2017.002","url":null,"abstract":"Objective: The study was done to investigate the postoperative anti-inflammatory effects of dexmedetomidine (DEX) in various surgical procedures. Methods: A search of randomized placebo-controlled trials for intra-operative DEX use in adults was conducted. The primary outcome was postoperative concentrations of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α); secondary outcomes were: intraand post-operative hypotension and bradycardia. Results: A total of seven randomized controlled trials involving 424 patients with different types of surgeries were analysed. The pooled standardized mean difference (SMDs) were -0.33 (95% CI:-0.41, -0.25, p < 0.001) and -0.22 (95% CI:-0.35, -0.09, p = 0.001) for TNFα, -51.02 (95% CI:-52.83, -49.21, p < 0.001) and -19.67 (95% CI:-21.15, -18.19, p < 0.001) for IL-6 at the end of surgery and the first day after surgery, respectively. Conclusion: This meta-analysis showed that intra-operative DEX reduces postoperative concentrations of IL-6 and TNF-α at the end of surgery and the first day after surgery. Future studies should further explore the anti-inflammatory effects of DEX in detail.","PeriodicalId":49366,"journal":{"name":"West Indian Medical Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2017-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44834800","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A \"Believe It or Not\" Episode of Medical Conquests by the Indigenous Peoples of South America and the African Descendants Domiciled Mainly in Tobago","authors":"J. Jainarinesingh","doi":"10.7727/WIMJ.2013.097","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7727/WIMJ.2013.097","url":null,"abstract":"Except for the professional work conducted by a few adventurous anthropologists such as Roth (1970) and Johannes (1963), little is actually known about the great impact that the Warao of north eastern Venezuela and the Guajiro of Zulia State near to Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela, have made on both allopathic and traditional medicine in the modern world. \u0000 \u0000During my undergraduate years at the University of the West Indies in St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago, I ventured out to Venezuela in search of 'food' for my 'hungry' Caribbean Studies paper. Years later, during my postgraduate years in the United States of America (USA), I found similar 'food' to whet the appetite of my research paper on the incidence and management of diabetes mellitus among the Guajiro Indians and I discovered that in spite of the geographical and topographical differences in the physical locations of these two ethnic groups, there still exist remarkable similarities in their food intake, lifestyle, traditional beliefs, family ties and customs. \u0000 \u0000In my sojourns through relatively remote parts of Venezuela and during the course of my social interludes with these great people, I discovered that they were almost totally non-dependent on modern medical personnel and modern medicine within their immediate environment. The Warao, also known as the 'Boat people', survive on the fauna of the tributaries of the vast Orinoco River and the flora of the dense jungle that yield fresh vegetation and other foods that are loaded with a myriad of botanical and nutritional cures.","PeriodicalId":49366,"journal":{"name":"West Indian Medical Journal","volume":"63 1","pages":"92-93"},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2017-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49533577","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
R. Ghasemikhah, M. Shahdoust, H. Sarmadian, M. Rezaei, B. Ghorbanzadeh, A. Gorji, M. Zare-Bidaki
{"title":"Echinococcosis in Livestock Slaughtered in Arak Industrial Abattoir in Central Iran During 2006 to 2012","authors":"R. Ghasemikhah, M. Shahdoust, H. Sarmadian, M. Rezaei, B. Ghorbanzadeh, A. Gorji, M. Zare-Bidaki","doi":"10.7727/WIMJ.2015.153","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7727/WIMJ.2015.153","url":null,"abstract":"Echinococcosis in Livestock Slaughtered in Arak Industrial Abattoir in Central Iran During 2006 to 2012. \u0000Ghasemikhah R1, Shahdoust M2, Sarmadian H3, Rezaei M4, Ghorbanzadeh B1, Gorji A5, Zare-Bidaki M6. \u0000Author information \u0000• 1Department of Parasitology and mycology, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran. \u0000• 2Department of Biostatistics and epidemiology, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran. \u0000• 3Department of Infectious Diseases, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran. \u0000• 4Department of Food Safety and Hygiene, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. \u0000• 5Veterinary directorate general of Markazi province, Arak, Iran. \u0000• 6Immunology of Infectious Diseases Research Center, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran, e-mail: m.zare@rums.ac.ir. \u0000Abstract \u0000Objective: \u0000Echinococcosis or hydatid cyst in humans and livestock is resulted from the larval stage of dog tapeworm, Echinococcus granulosus. Although Iran is considered as an endemic focus of echinococcosis in the world, however, the status of three well-known aspects of the infection, ie canids, livestock and humans populations, is not still completely elucidated in Arak city, the capital of the Markazi province. This study aimed to elucidate the livestock infection in the region. \u0000Methods: \u0000In this descriptive cross-sectional study, after necessary coordination with the provincial administration of Iranian Veterinary Organization, totally 860 171 livestock slaughtered in industrial slaughterhouse of Arak city, including 364 682 sheep, 117 495 cattle and 377 994 goats were investigated during 2006 to 2012. The collected data were statistically analysed using SPSS software. \u0000Results: \u0000The average prevalence of liver and lung infection in studied livestock was 1.94% and 3.24%, respectively. Sheep and goats have the highest and lowest prevalence of both liver and lung infection, respectively. Prevalence of hydatid cyst in goats and sheep, not cattle, in various years of the study period showed a statistically significant difference. \u0000Conclusion: \u0000Our results revealed a lower infection rate of hydatid cysts in the livestock of this region compared to the country average and many other Iranian provinces. Moreover, the study may imply an active local transmission cycle of echinococcosis.","PeriodicalId":49366,"journal":{"name":"West Indian Medical Journal","volume":"2 1","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2017-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49476905","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
D. Oshi, W. Abel, Tana F. Ricketts-Roomes, C. Agu, Sarah N. Oshi, Joy Harrison, K. Smith, U. Atkinson, P. Clarke, P. Whitehorne-Smith, K. Ukwaja
{"title":"Associations between Family Structure, Parental Monitoring and Marijuana Use among Adolescents in Jamaica: Findings from Nationally Representative Data","authors":"D. Oshi, W. Abel, Tana F. Ricketts-Roomes, C. Agu, Sarah N. Oshi, Joy Harrison, K. Smith, U. Atkinson, P. Clarke, P. Whitehorne-Smith, K. Ukwaja","doi":"10.7727/WIMJ.2017.212","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7727/WIMJ.2017.212","url":null,"abstract":"Objective: Marijuana misuse by adolescents is a social and public mental health problem in Jamaica and globally. Research has suggested that family structure is one of the factors that influences adolescents’ consumption of marijuana. This study was undertaken to determine if family structure and parental monitoring had any association with marijuana use among adolescents in Jamaica. Methods: Data from a nationally representative sample collected in Jamaica’s National Secondary School Survey 2013 were analysed. The study sample consisted of 3365 grades 8–12 students from 38 secondary schools. Descriptive and inferential statistics were computed using PSPP software. Results: A significantly higher proportion of male (24.4%) than female (16.9%) adolescents reported lifetime use of marijuana. There was no significant difference in the proportions of male and female adolescents regarding marijuana use over the past one year (15.5% versus 10.4%) or over the past 30 days (8.7% versus 5.4%). There were significant differences in lifetime use of marijuana among adolescents from different family structures (Chi-square = 442.63, p = 0.00). The differences were not between one-parent families and two-parent families. Parental monitoring of adolescents’ school work was strongly protective against lifetime marijuana use. Adolescents whose parents paid attention very closely (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 0.34; 95% confidence intervals [95% CI]: 0.22, 0.52), closely (AOR: 0.49; 95% CI: 0.32, 0.99) and somewhat closely (AOR: 0.63; 95% CI: 0.41, 0.99) to what they did at school were all significantly less likely to have ever used marijuana. Conclusion: Lifetime marijuana use among adolescents was associated with family structure but not from the perspective of one-parent families versus two-parent families. Parental monitoring of adolescents’ school activities significantly protected against lifetime use of marijuana.","PeriodicalId":49366,"journal":{"name":"West Indian Medical Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2017-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48290746","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Nalbandian, H. Kyotakoze, H. Kaminsky, D. Keleny, P. Baghdasaryan, A. McDonald, T. Erwes, T. Mylläri, K. Nalbandyan, T. Jalonen
{"title":"Characterization of Neuropathic Pain in Sickle Cell Disease","authors":"M. Nalbandian, H. Kyotakoze, H. Kaminsky, D. Keleny, P. Baghdasaryan, A. McDonald, T. Erwes, T. Mylläri, K. Nalbandyan, T. Jalonen","doi":"10.7727/WIMJOPEN.2017.164","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7727/WIMJOPEN.2017.164","url":null,"abstract":"Objective: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a multifaceted, chronic disease that severely affects the quality of life of patients globally. Recurrent episodes of pain are a hallmark of SCD; however, there are limited data on the characterization of the pain. This paper characterizes the types of pain experienced by persons living with SCD in Grenada, West Indies. More specifically, it assesses the presence of neuropathic pain in these individuals. This study hopes to increase awareness of the types of pain in SCD and contribute to the development of effective pain management guidelines. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed to assess the presence and characteristics of pain in patients with a confirmed diagnosis of SCD in Grenada. Participants were selected randomly from the registry provided by the Sickle Cell Association of Grenada. The painDETECT questionnaire was used to provide quantitative data and the McGill-Melzack Pain Questionnaire to provide qualitative data. Results: The study examined 63 participants, 24 males and 39 females, with a mean age of 21.16 years. In the McGill-Melzack Pain Questionnaire, participants chose pain descriptors for all three types of pain: nociceptive, affective/evaluative and neuropathic. An independent sample median test found neuropathic pain descriptors to be significantly different across age groups (p = 0.046). There was no age dependency in nociceptive and affective/evaluative pain. The mean final score of all participants in the painDETECT survey was 19.27 (95% CI: 17.25, 21.29), which is a score suggestive of a neuropathic pain component. There was also a positive correlation of 0.41 (p = 0.01) between age and painDETECT final score. Furthermore, a positive correlation of 0.56 (p < 0.001) existed between the number of neuropathic pain descriptors chosen and the painDETECT final score. Conclusion: The presence of all three types of pain, as well as the presence of neuropathic pain with increasing age, indicates the need for a multimodal pain management plan that is individually targeted and varied throughout the life of a patient with SCD.","PeriodicalId":49366,"journal":{"name":"West Indian Medical Journal","volume":"4 1","pages":"17-23"},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2017-10-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49523594","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}