Publications
Department of Medicine faculty members published more than 3,600 peer-reviewed articles in 2024.
2009
2009
2009
2009
2009
2009
OBJECTIVE
To examine the Chinese tobacco industry's claim that herbal cigarettes are less harmful than regular cigarettes.
METHODS
The study design was a cross-sectional survey. One hundred thirty-five herbal cigarette smokers and 143 regular smokers from one city in China completed a questionnaire on smoking behavior and provided a urine sample. The main outcome measures were cotinine and trans-3'-hydroxycotinine in all samples, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites (PAH; 1-hydroxypyrene, naphthols, hydroxyfluorenes, and hydroxyphnanthrenes) and the tobacco specific nitrosamine 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-butanol (NNAL) and NNAL-glucuronide in randomly selected 98 samples (47 from the herbal smokers' group and 51 from the regular smokers' group). Values were normalized by creatinine to correct for possible variability introduced by dilution or concentration of the urine.
RESULTS
Health concern was among the main reasons that smokers switched to herbal cigarettes from regular cigarettes. Smokers reported increased consumption after switching to herbal cigarettes from regular cigarettes. For all the four markers analyzed (cotinine, trans-3'-hydroxycotinine, total NNAL, and total PAHs), we observed no significant difference in the levels (P = 0.169, P = 0.146, P = 0.171, and P = 0.554, respectively) between smokers of herbal cigarettes and smokers of regular cigarettes. Both total NNAL and total PAHs were significantly correlated with cotinine and trans-3'-hydroxycotinine (P < 0.001 for all four correlations).
CONCLUSIONS
Our findings showed that herbal cigarettes did not deliver less carcinogens than regular cigarettes. The public needs to be aware of this fact, and the Chinese tobacco industry should avoid misleading the public when promoting herbal cigarettes as safer products.
View on PubMed2009
BACKGROUND
Artemisinin-based combination therapies are now widely recommended as first-line treatment for uncomplicated malaria. However, which therapies are optimal is a matter of debate. We aimed to compare the short- and longer-term efficacy of 2 leading therapies in a cohort of young Ugandan children.
METHODS
A total of 351 children aged 6 weeks to 12 months were enrolled and followed up for up to 1 year. Children who were at least 4 months of age, weighted at least 5 kg, and had been diagnosed as having their first episode of uncomplicated malaria were randomized to receive artemether-lumefantrine or dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine. The same treatment was given for all subsequent episodes of uncomplicated malaria. Recrudescent and new infections were distinguished by polymerase chain reaction genotyping. Outcomes included the risk of recurrent malaria after individual treatments and the incidence of malaria treatments for individual children after randomization.
RESULTS
A total of 113 children were randomized to artemether-lumefantrine and 119 to dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine, resulting in 320 and 351 treatments for uncomplicated falciparum malaria, respectively. Artemether-lumefantrine was associated with a higher risk of recurrent malaria after 28 days (35% vs 11%; P = .001]). When the duration of follow-up was extended, differences in the risk of recurrent malaria decreased such that the overall incidence of malaria treatments was similar for children randomized to artemether-lumefantrine, compared with those randomized to dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (4.82 vs 4.61 treatments per person-year; P = .63). The risk of recurrent malaria due to recrudescent parasites was similarly low in both treatment arms.
CONCLUSIONS
Artemether-lumefantrine and dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine were both efficacious and had similar long-term effects on the risk of recurrent malaria. Clinical trials registration. NCT00527800.
View on PubMed2009
BACKGROUND
Hypertriglyceridemia is associated with insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and the metabolic syndrome. Membrane glycoprotein PC-1 (also termed ENPP1) is a direct insulin receptor inhibitor, and certain polymorphisms of the ENPP1/PC-1 gene have been associated with insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and diabetic complications.
METHODS
We examined the effect of 3 ENPP1/PC-1 variants (K121Q, rs1044498, and IVS20delT-11, rs1799774, and A-->G+1044TGA, rs7754561) on plasma triglyceride levels in 1112 subjects of non-Hispanic American white European ancestry.
RESULTS
Two of the ENPP1/PC-1 variants--A-->G+1044TGA (odds ratio [OR] 1.48, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.54-1.82, P = 0.002) and IVS20delT-11 (OR 1.41, 95% CI, 1.08-1.84, P = 0.012)--were significantly associated with hypertriglyceridemia. Haplotype analyses also revealed an association with hypertriglyceridemia. In the variant analyses and in the haplotype analysis, the associations with hypertriglyceridemia were observed in male but not female subjects. Interestingly, the more widely studied K121Q ENPP1/PC-1 variant was not associated with hypertriglyceridemia in any group or subgroup analysis.
CONCLUSION
In the present study, we find that genetic variants of the ENPP1/PC-1 gene are associated with hypertriglyceridemia in male subjects, and may contribute to the development of the insulin resistance/metabolic syndrome in this population.
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