Thanh G. N. Ton

Background: As low and middle-income countries such as Vietnam experience the health transition from infectious to chronic diseases, the morbidity and mortality from stroke will rise. In line with the recommendation of the Institute of Medicine’s report on “Promoting Cardiovascular Health in the Developing World” to “improve local data”, we sought to investigate patient characteristics and clinical predictors of mortality among stroke inpatients at Da Nang Hospital in Vietnam. Methods: A stroke registry was developed and implemented at Da Nang Hospital utilizing the World Health Organization’s Stroke STEPS instrument for data collection. Results: 754 patients were hospitalized for stroke from March 2010 through February 2011 and admitted to either the intensive care unit or cardiology ward. Mean age was 65 years, and 39% were female. Nearly 50% of strokes were hemorrhagic. At 28-day follow-up, 51.0% of patients with hemorrhagic stroke died whereas 20.3% of patients with ischemic stroke died. A number of factors were independently associated with 28-day mortality; the two strongest independent predictors were depressed level of consciousness on presentation and hemorrhagic stroke type. While virtually all patients completed a CT during the admission, evidence-based processes of care such as anti-thrombotic therapy and carotid ultrasound for ischemic stroke patients were underutilized. Conclusions: This cohort study highlights the high mortality due in part to the large proportion of hemorrhagic strokes in Vietnam. Lack of hypertension awareness and standards of care exacerbated clinical outcomes. Numerous opportunities for simple, inexpensive interventions to improve outcomes or reduce recurrent stroke have been identified.

Background: Viet Nam is experiencing a health transition from infectious to chronic disease. Data on cardiovascular diseases, including strokes, are limited. Methods: Data were randomly collected from six communities in Da Nang, Viet Nam, on participant demographics, medical history, blood pressure, anthropometrics and health behavior using World Health...

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among Asian Americans, the majority of whom are foreign-born. However, CVD and risk factor data is sparse for specific Asian immigrant populations. To assess knowledge and understanding of CVD and risk factors within Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese immigrant populations, we conducted eight focus groups of 77 participants between 36 and 84 years old. Participants correctly identified signs and symptoms for heart attacks while knowledge about stroke was incomplete. While poor diet, lack of exercise, older age, and high cholesterol were frequently discussed as risk factors, mechanisms perceived as contributing to heart disease were influenced primarily by non-Western paradigms. Non-Western remedies were discussed in detail among Chinese and Vietnamese participants. All participants desired more information, and identified barriers to effective communication with healthcare providers. A deeper understanding of beliefs and barriers faced by Asian immigrants can help guide health promotion efforts.

We tested 2655 Peruvian men who have sex with men for the presence of retroviral infection. Human T cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) was detected in 48 (1.8%) of the patients, HTLV-2 was detected in 28 (1.1%), and HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 were both detected in 5 (0.2%). Human immunodeficiency virus infection was detected in 329 (12.4%) of the patients; 24 (7.3%) had HTLV coinfection. Risk factors for HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 infection varied with sexual role.

Background: We examined the risk of narcolepsy associated with active and passive smoking among genetically susceptible individuals. Methods: We conducted a popula- tion-based case-control study in King County, Wash., USA. Between 2001 and 2005, we enrolled 67 cases through physicians and public outreach, and 95 controls through random-digit dialing. Subjects were aged between 18 and 50 years and positive for HLA DQB1*0602. All subjects were administered in-person interviews about their history of active and passive smoking. Results: We observed an increased risk of narcolepsy associated with having lived with two or more household smokers (odds ratio, OR = 5.1; 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.6, 12.1); with a grandparent or a sibling who smoked (OR = 3.0; 95% CI: 1.1, 8.3); with a non-family household member who smoked (OR = 3.7; 95% CI: 1.6, 8.6); and with an unrelated smoker for 1–2 years (OR = 3.1; 95% CI: 1.0, 9.0). The risk of narcolepsy was not associated with exposure to smoke at work or with active smoking before age 21 or before age of narcolepsy onset. Conclusion: Passive smoking may be a risk factor for narcolepsy in subjects with HLA DQB1*0602. Future studies could help clarify whether passive smoking is an important etiologic component of narcolepsy among genetically susceptible individuals.

Genes involved in dopaminergic neurotransmission have been suggested as candidates for involvement in smoking behavior. We hypothesized that alleles associated with reduced dopaminergic neurotransmission would be more common in continuing smokers than among women who quit smoking. The study included 593 women aged 26–65 years who participated in a twelve month smoking cessation trial conducted in 1993–1994. Participants were contacted three years after the trial to obtain updated smoking history and biological specimens. Seven polymorphisms were assessed in genes involved in dopamine synthesis (tyrosine hydoxylase [TH]), receptor activation (dopamine receptors [DRD2, DRD3, DRD4]), reuptake (dopamine transporter [SLC6A3]), and metabolism (catechol-o-methyltransferase [COMT]). Smoking cessation was assessed as "short-term" quitting (abstinence for the seven days before the conclusion of the trial) and "long-term" quitting (abstinence for the six months before a subsequent interview conducted several years later). We observed no association of any polymorphism with either short- or long-term quitting. Although some relative risk estimates were consistent with weak associations, either the direction of effect was opposite of that hypothesized, or results of the short- and long-term cessation endpoints differed. However, effect modification on smoking cessation was observed between DRD2 Taq1A and SLC6A3 VNTR polymorphisms, DRD3 Ser/Gly and d,1-fenfluramine, and DRD4 VNTR and d,1-fenfluramine. Although these results fail to support prior findings of independent associations of these polymorphisms with smoking status, our exploratory findings suggestive of gene-gene and gene-treatment interactions warrants further investigation.

Inflammation and oxidative stress have been implicated as pathogenic mechanisms in Parkinson's disease (PD). Evidence from in vitro and animal studies suggests a possible protective role of nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), including aspirin. We investigated the risk of PD associated with use of aspirin and nonaspirin NSAIDs in a population‐based case‐control study among enrollees of Group Health Cooperative, a health maintenance organization in the Seattle area. Subjects included 206 cases between ages 35 and 89 with a new diagnosis of idiopathic PD between 1992 and 2002, and 383 randomly selected controls frequency‐matched by age, sex, duration of enrollment, and clinic. We obtained information on participants' age, smoking, and medical history from interview. Exposure to NSAIDs was ascertained from an automated pharmacy database. Medications filled within 5 years of the interview were excluded. After adjusting for age, sex, smoking, duration of enrollment, and clinic, the risk of PD among individuals who received nonaspirin NSAIDs between 1977 and 1992 was 0.90 (95% CI: 0.59–1.35) and 1.67 (95% CI: 0.60–4.60) between 1993 and 2002. Use of ibuprofen was not associated with PD (OR: 0.89; 95% CI: 0.60–1.32). The risk of PD associated with aspirin or aspirin‐containing medications was 0.74 (95% CI: 0.49–1.12). We observed no trend in risk according to number of fills for these drugs. Our results provide only limited support for the hypothesis that use of aspirin may reduce the risk of this disease, and no indication of protection from other NSAIDs. © 2006 Movement Disorder Society