Prospective study

FIGURE 5.4 Mercury concentrations in axial muscle tissue of largemouth bass from 2 canals in the Florida Everglades. 

FIGURE 5.5 Reconstruction of time course of great egret feather mercury concentrations as a result of mercury emissions changes in southern Florida, from 1940 through 2003. Source From Frederick et al. 2004.) 

Concerning indicator species, as a preliminary assessment in describing the wildlife component of a mercury monitoring network, based on criteria evaluated in Section 5.5 and studies cited herein, additional concerns noted above, and professional judgment of the authors, candidate wildlife species for inclusion in such a network have been selected and are indicated in Table 5.4. 

Ecosystem Responses to Mercury Contamination Indicators of Change 

Candidate wildlife species for inclusion in a mercury monitoring network 

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S. Ramcharan, R. A. PeUegtin, R. M. Ray, and co-workers. The Walnut Creek Contraceptive Drug Study A Prospective Study of the Side Effects of Oral Contracptives, Vol. 3, U.S. Dept, of Health and Human Services, Government Printing Office, 1981. 

Controversy will continue to persist over allegations that sperm counts are declining. Prospective studies on semen quality in fertile men involving centres in... 

De Bleecker J, Van Den Neucker K, Colard5m F. 1993. Intermediate syndrome in organophosphorus poisoning A prospective study. Crit Care Med 21 1706-1711. 

Prospective Study—A type of cohort study in which the pertinent observations are made on events occurring after the start of the study. A group is followed over time. 

Few prospective studies of induced anaphylaxis have been performed in human subjects to imderstand the molecular basis of systemic anaphylaxis, because of the potentially rapid, Ufe-threatening outcome. Accordingly, various models of anaphylaxis have been estabUshed in laboratory animals, particularly mice, and extensively studied to clarify the underlying mechanisms. Such studies revealed that the classical pathway utilizing mast cells, IgE and histamine cannot explain all cases of anaphylaxis. 

Garcia-Montero AC, Jara-Acevedo M. Teodosio C. et al KIT mutation in mast cells and other bone marrow hematopoietic cell hneages in systemic mast cell disorders a prospective study of the Spanish Network on Mastocytosis (REMA) in a series of 113 patients. Blood 2006 108 2366-2372. Daley T, Metcalfe DD, Akin C Association of the Q576R polymorphism in the interleukin-4 receptor a chain with indolent mastocytosis limited to the skin. Blood 2001 98 880-882. 

The natural history of Hymenoptera venom anaphylaxis, that is the risk to develop anaphylaxis again when re-stung, has been analyzed in several prospective studies (table 3) [35-37], and in placebo or whole-body extract treated controls of prospective studies on venom immunotherapy [38-40]. It is higher in patients with a history of severe as compared to mild systemic anaphylactic reactions, and in honey bee than in vespid venom-allergic patients - most likely because of the smaller and less constant amoimt of venom applied by vespids [10,41]. A short interval between two stings increases the risk of anaphylaxis [25], but severe anaphylaxis may occur again even after intervals of 10-20 years or more. 

Table 4. Efficacy of venom immunotherapy controlled prospective studies... 

Protamine. Protamine, whose use to reverse heparin anticoagulation has increased over the last two decades, has also been incriminated. Reactions may involve a number of mechanisms including IgE, IgG and complement. The incidence of anaphylactic reactions is estimated at 0.19% (retrospective studies) and 0.69% (prospective studies), respectively [27]. 

Dinnett EM, Mungall MMB, Kent JA, Ronald ES, Gaw A. Closing out a large clinical trial lessons from the Prospective Study of Pravastatin in the Elderly at Risk (PROSPER). Clin Trials 2004 1.6 545-52. 

Lazarou J, Pomeranz BH, Corey PN. Incidence of adverse drug reactions in hospitalized patients a meta-analysis of prospective studies. JAMA. 1998 Apr 15 279(15) 1200-5. 

Various forms of psychotherapy are regarded as effective interventions in mild to moderate depression, but studies comparing the economics of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy are few (Rosenbaum and Hylan, 1999). One study found that the total health-care costs for patients who received psychotherapy were no different from those for patients who received an antidepressant. However, no efficacy measure was used (Edgell and Hylan, 1997). A randomized, prospective study which evaluated the treatment of depression with nortriptyline, interpersonal therapy or treatment as usual, with outcomes expressed in quality-adjusted life years, found that nortriptyline but not interpersonal therapy was a cost-effective alternative to treatment as usual (Lave et al, 1998). 

Bauer MS, Shea N, McBride L, Gavin C (1997). Predictors of service utilization in veterans with bipolar disorder a prospective study. 

Maj M, Pirozzi R, Magliano L, et al (1998). Longterm outcome of lithium prophylaxis in bipolar disorder 5-year prospective study of 402 patients a lithium clinic. Am J Psychiatry 155,30-5. 

The diagnostic usefulness should be established by appropriate retrospective or prospective studies to see if the test in fact improves the diagnostic accuracy. For inherited enzyme diseases, the measurement of the enzyme activity can be diagnostically specific and highly useful. For otherwise obvious diseases such as metastatic prostatic carcinoma, enzyme tests may be of little value (24). 

Bassi P, Lattuada R Gomitoni A. Cervical cerebral artery dissection a multicenter prospective study (preliminary report). Neurol Sci 2003 24 (Suppl.l) S4—S7. 

Pillai et al. J Neurosurg 2007 106(1) 59-65 Prospective study decompression with durplasty various stages of mass occupying MCA infarct 26 patients with mean age of 48 and mean preop GCS of 9.9 Immediate and long-term intervention by survival and functional outcome 73% survival at 1 year 33% independent, and 55% partially independent by Barthel Index. No patients in PVS... 

Malm et al. Acta Neurol Scand 2006 113 (l) 25-30 Prospective study of hemicraniectomy and neurointensive care in patients with hemicraniectomy 30 patients taken to surgery if transition was awake to response to painful stimuli with mean age of 49 Survival and independence at various time points Nine patients died within one month. No further deaths in 3.4 years. Forty three percent survivors could walk with minimal aid... 

Additional studies of the Woburn population have been completed (MDPH 1994). The final report indicated that there was an increased prevalence in choanal atresia, a rare respiratory effect, and hypospadias/congenital chordee. A small increase in eye defects was observed, but there was no association between TCE exposure and heart defects. There was no statistically significant associations between exposure concentrations and birth defects, although analyses was limited by the small number of cases observed. Based on four cases in the Woburn population, a rate of 0.88 was observed in the exposed population, compared to rates of 0.11 and 0.13 in the Atlanta and California comparison populations, respectively. In a prospective study completed after well closure, the rate of choanal atresia was 0.88 (based on 1 case) in Woburn, 0.11 in the surrounding communities, and 0.2 and 0.13 in Atlanta and California, respectively. The study authors cautioned that their study did not rule out moderate increases in rates of the less common adverse reproductive outcomes. For these outcomes only large increases would have been detected. 

GARLAND c F, COMSTOCK G w and GARLAND F B (1989) Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and colon cancer 8-year prospective study , Lancet, 2, 1176-8. 

WATKINS M L, ERICSON J D, THUN M J, MULINARE J and HEATHC w Jr (2000) Multi-vitamin use and mortality in a large prospective study . Am J Epidemiol, 152, 149-62. 

NOMURA A, GROVE J S, STEMMERMANN G N, STEVENSON R K (1990) A prospective Study of stomach cancer and its relation to diet, cigarettes and alcohol consiunption. Cancer Res. 50 627-31. 

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