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In the edentulous lower jaw implant stabilised dentures have proved clinically so successful that the indication for this treatment is now being discussed more often with geriatric patients. The aim of this study of edentate subjects was to determine the age-relation of the demand for denture improvement, the risks and feasibility of implant treatment. Sixty four complete denture wearers aged from 42 to 84 years took part in the study. A questionnaire was used to determine the subjective demand for denture improvement. For 33 subjects implants seemed possible. For these patients fear and scepticism concerning implant treatment were specified and quantified. Impaired general health was the most frequent absolute contra-indication for implants; the local oral prerequisites tended to be slightly less favourable in elderly. Older patients were more satisfied with poorly fitting dentures and were less prepared to take trouble to achieve denture improvement. Although scepticism concerning implant treatment was not age-related, patients who were keen for an improvement of their dentures were significantly younger and less sceptical about implants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human filariasis due to Loa loa differs from other filariasis in that the majority of infected subjects are without circulating microfilariae (occult loiasis). In search for alternative diagnostic methods, which do not depend on circulating microfilariae or the (rather infrequent) eye-passage of adult worms, it was shown earlier that IgG4 antibodies directed against Loa loa adult worm antigen are apparently a good marker of occult loiasis and specific with regard to the sympatrically occurring Mansonella perstans. In this study we evaluated an IgG4 antibody-based ELISA using crude extract of Loa loa microfilariae (which is easier to obtain than adult worm) to estimate the prevalence of loiasis in 3 villages in South-East Gabon. Of 222 examined individuals (80 children < 16 years, 142 adults) 44 (20%) carried Loa loa microfilariae and 170 (77%) M. perstans. Using the mean OD-value + 1 standard deviation of 9 sera from patients solely infected with M. perstans (from the Gambia, where Loa loa is not endemic) as a cut-off, 35 of the 44 microfilaraemic Loa loa patients and 2 of the 9 Gambian controls were positive. This shows that our method had a sensitivity of 80% and a specificity of 78%. Among the remaining 178 subjects who had no microfilariae of Loa loa, as many as 97 (55%) had significant levels of specific IgG4 antibodies against Loa loa, suggesting that they carried occult loiasis. The mean IgG4 level in these putatively occult loiasis patients was slightly but significantly lower than in microfilaraemic subjects (P < 0.03). In conclusion, despite the limited sensitivity and specificity of our method, IgG4- ELISA at present is a very useful tool in estimating the real prevalence of loiasis in epidemiological surveys and at the individual level can confirm the diagnosis of L. loa amicrofilaraemic subjects with clinical signs suggesting loiasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

. Microfilariae (mff) of the savanna and forest strains of Onchocerca volvulus (Leuckart) were injected intrathoracically into adult females of Simulium damnosum Theobald sensu stricto, S.sirbanum Vajime & Dunbar, S.squamosum Enderlein and S.mengense Vajime & Dunbar. Nine days post infection (pi) 27-29% of the savanna mff and 31-38% of the forest strain had developed to third-stage larvae (L3), irrespective of the fly species, size or injection dose (5, 10 or 15 mff). Savanna flies supported the development of forest O. volvulus better than forest flies, in contrast to the results after per os infections. Therefore, in these four species of the S.damnosum complex from Cameroon, the peritrophic membrane is considered to be the main factor limiting the success rate of microfilarial development following the ingestion of blood infections, while the fly's haemolymph and intracellular environment play minor roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Agriculture is among the most hazardous of occupations. The lack of information regarding agriculture injuries or fatalities has been recognized as an obstacle for effective injury prevention. Workers' compensation claims data for non-fatal injuries among agriculture and agri-business workers in the State of Colorado between the years of 2000 and 2004., Methods: Workers' compensation claims are utilized to estimate injury claim incidence rates, determine the distributions of sources, causes, types and body locations of injuries, and estimate the costs of these injuries., Results: Colorado agriculture and agri-business workers (e.g., cattle dealers, cattle or livestock raisers, dairy farmers) have high rates of injury claims, especially in sectors that involve interaction with animals or livestock. Grain milling operations had a high rate of injury claims among agri-business operations. Injuries related to animals, strains, machinery, and falls or slips were the most frequent among all occupations analyzed., Conclusions: Understanding the occurrence of injuries among Colorado agriculture and agri-business workers is critical to implementing and evaluating effective intervention programs for specific agriculture-related occupations. The development of safety interventions that address the worker-animal interface, fall protection systems, machinery usage, and overexertion prevention strategies is recommended., (Copyright (c) 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)

The fibrinolytic system was assessed in 28 hemophiliacs using the chromogenic substrate H-D-Val-Leu-Lys-pNA. To determine whether a state of hyperfibrinolysis might be associated with Factor VIII replacement therapy, 14 patients with severe disease who were intensively treated with Factor VIII concentrates were compared with 14 patients with mild disease who were receiving infrequent transfusions with cryoprecipitate or fresh frozen plasma. Seventeen normal males served as controls. With the exception of an elevated level of plasminogen activator and a decreased level of immediate antiplasmin in the mild group only, no evidence of enhanced fibrinolysis was found. Other components of the fibrinolytic system were either normal (plasmin) or increased (progressive antiplasmin containing both alpha 2PI and alpha 2M, and plasminogen). The elevated plasminogen levels were found only in the severe intensively transfused group. The elevated progressive antiplasmin levels were found in both groups of patients and did not appear to be related to transfusions. These findings do not support the concept of enhanced fibrinolysis associated with intensive Factor VIII replacement therapy.