The accuracy of portable cholesterol analyzers in public screening programs

Article Abstract:

The accuracy of portable cholesterol analyzers was evaluated during cholesterol screenings at four organizations. Blood was obtained from participants by finger-stick and analyzed for cholesterol levels using a portable cholesterol analyzer. Blood was also obtained from the same individuals by venipuncture (sampling from the vein), and venous blood cholesterol levels were determined in a laboratory. Results were compared to those obtained by the finger-stick/portable analyzer method. Only one of the organizations produced cholesterol levels within the acceptable range, whereas the accuracy of the other three organizations varied from about 77 to 96 percent, with a tendency towards underestimating cholesterol levels. The portable cholesterol analyzers tended to produce false-negative values, in that persons with cholesterol levels greater than normal may not have been detected. The variability of the results may have resulted from the lack of experience of those operating the portable cholesterol analyzers, inadequate quality-control procedures, and dilution or watering down of blood samples obtained by the finger-stick procedure. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Evaluation, Medical screening, Health screening

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Testosterone replacement with transdermal therapeutic systems: physiological serum testosterone and elevated dihydrotestosterone levels

Article Abstract:

A group of men with hypogonadism, a condition caused by decreased functional activity of the gonads causing retardation of growth and sexual development, were treated with the hormone testosterone. Testosterone was applied to the skin of the scrotum, the pouch containing the testicles, in three experiments. In the first, the highest levels of testosterone were measured three to eight hours after a solution containing 5, 10 or 15 mg of testosterone was applied to the scrotum. After 22 hours, the level of testosterone was greater than 60 percent of the peak values. In the second test, patients were treated with 10-mg systems for four weeks followed by 15-mg systems for eight weeks. Blood samples, taken three to five hours after application of the testosterone, showed that the hormone increased from a pretreatment level. In the third experiment, seven of the eight patients who were treated with the 15-mg solution complied with treatment for an additional year and maintained blood testosterone levels. Through the various experiments, blood levels of testosterone were raised and maintained by applying the hormone to the scrotum's skin in two-thirds of the patients with hypogonadism.

Analysis, Drug therapy, Transdermal medication, Transdermal drug delivery systems, Testosterone, Dosage and administration, Androgens, Hypogonadism

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Preliminary report: 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin exposure to humans - Seveso, Italy

Article Abstract:

At noon on July 10, 1976, an explosion in a chemical factory north of Milan, Italy released a cloud of toxic 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) into the atmosphere. Approximately 1.3 kg (about 3 lbs) of TCDD was deposited over an area of approximately 700 acres. Immediately following the explosion, a generalized evacuation was ordered by the Italian officials, and soil tests from the region as well as other observations, including the death rate of local animals, were analyzed. In the following years over 30,000 blood tests were collected from residents of the region. These tests conclusively established that many residents had high concentrations of TCDD in their bodies, and the highest level ever measured in a human was from a resident of this area. In spite of this proven contamination and constant medical surveillance, the only pathologic effect yet seen in TCDD-contaminated victims of this accident has been chloracne, an acne caused by exposure to chlorinated chemicals.

Italy, Accidents, Dioxin, Dioxins, Chemical plants, column, Seveso, Italy

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