Articles: disease.
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World Health Stat Q · Jan 1988
Integrated programme for noncommunicable diseases prevention and control (NCD).
In spite of the difference between developed and developing countries, health conditions change in a predictable pattern: the mortality and morbidity rates caused by infectious diseases decline while the rates related to non-infectious pathology increase. Taking into account the increasing importance of noncommunicable diseases, the majority of countries are developing a set of disease-oriented (cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, etc.) prevention and control programmes as well as factor-oriented programmes such as anti-smoking, alcohol abuse and nutrition. ⋯ The four main directions being developed for the realization of this programme are: experimental testing, mathematical modelling, training activity and research development: At present WHO headquarters: has established 18 demonstration projects in 15 countries for experimental testing of different intervention programmes; is collecting mathematical models for prediction of efficacy and effectiveness of different alternatives and scenarios; is developing different types of training courses; is investigating the competing risk among noncommunicable diseases and time lag for different intervention programmes, etc. In order to develop all these directions many collaborating centres are participating, and close cooperation with some nongovernmental organizations has been established.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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In a retrospective cohort study of survivors of cancer and of controls, we estimated the risk of infertility after treatment for cancer during childhood or adolescence. We interviewed 2283 long-term survivors of childhood or adolescent cancer diagnosed in the period from 1945 through 1975, who were identified at five cancer centers in the United States. Requirements for admission to the study were diagnosis before the age of 20, survival for at least five years, and attainment of the age of 21. ⋯ Chemotherapy with alkylating agents, with or without radiation to sites below the diaphragm, was associated with a fertility deficit of about 60 percent in the men. Among the women, there was no apparent effect of alkylating-agent therapy administered alone (relative fertility, 1.02) and only a moderate fertility deficit when alkylating-agent therapy was combined with radiation below the diaphragm (relative fertility, 0.81). Relative fertility in the survivors varied considerably according to sex, site of cancer, and type of treatment; these factors should be taken into consideration in counseling survivors about the long-term consequences of disease.
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A search of the medical literature published since 1950 disclosed 19 cases of probable AIDS reported before the start of the current epidemic. These cases retrospectively met the Centers for Disease Control's surveillance definition of the syndrome and had a clinical course suggestive of AIDS. The reports originated from North America, Western Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. ⋯ In two instances concurrent or subsequent opportunistic infection occurred in family members. All patients died 1 month to 6 years after the initial manifestation of disease. In view of the historical data, unrecognized cases of AIDS appear to have occurred sporadically in the pre-AIDS era.
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Oral contraceptives reduce menstrual pain but the interaction with vasopressin and prostaglandin F2 alpha, two uterine stimulants related to the condition, is unknown. Ten women with a history of moderate to severe dysmenorrhoea were studied. Repeated blood samples were taken during a first menstrual cycle without treatment, during the first 21 days of a second cycle when they received an oral contraceptive (150 micrograms levonorgestrel and 30 micrograms ethynyloestradiol) and on the first or second day of the bleeding following hormonal withdrawal. ⋯ M.) pmol/l) and at ovulation in the control cycle (1.91 +/- 0.58 pmol/l). During treatment the concentrations were consistently low, except on the first day of withdrawal bleeding (2.33 +/- 0.35 pmol/l). The concentrations of the prostaglandin F2 alpha metabolite showed less variation, but again the values at withdrawal bleeding (271 +/- 39 pmol/l) were not different from those obtained over the painful menstruations (255 +/- 24 and 217 +/- 25 pmol/l).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)