Motor neuron disease in Nova Scotia

Fifty-two cases of motor neuron disease seen in two Halifax hospitals were reviewed.Thirty-three (63.5%) had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, 14 (26.9%) had primary muscular atrophy, four (7.7%) had bulbar palsy and one (1.9%) had primary lateral sclerosis. There were no unusual features in this series when compared with a similar series from the United States. These cases were used to illustrate the features of this disorder and to comment on recent research observations.     

Chlamydia trachomatis infection in rural Nova Scotia.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the demographic characteristics of patients who underwent testing for Chlamydia trachomatis and to determine the clinical and behavioural characteristics and the types of treatment for those who had positive test results. DESIGN: Case series. SETTING: Rural county in Nova Scotia. PATIENTS: All residents of the county for whom testing for C. trachomatis was ordered at the regional hospital from Sept. 1, 1990, to Mar. 31, 1991. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Rates of testing and of positive test results by age and sex. Comparison of patient and physician characteristics in relation to testing rates. RESULTS: Of the 1116 patients tested 58 (5.2%) had positive test results. Females accounted for 82.8% of those with positive results whose sex could be determined. Among the females the mean age of those with a positive result was 22.3 years, as compared with 27.5 years for those with a negative result (p < 0.0001). Females 15 to 19 years of age were less likely to have a test performed than women 20 to 29 years and were more likely to have a positive test result than the women in the older groups. Almost 9% of the testing among the females was in those over 39 years of age, although no infection was seen in this age group. The number of tests ordered per general or family practitioner varied from 1 to 154; the physicians'' sex, practice location and length of time in practice did not predict the rates of positive test results. Treatment was most often in keeping with that recommended by national guidelines. Four (8.5%) of the 47 patients with positive results who were interviewed were not aware of their diagnosis, either because they had not returned for follow-up or had not being notified by the physician''s office. CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of testing for C. trachomatis infection may be less than is desirable among young patients, who, if tested, are more likely than older patients to have positive results. More understanding of the diagnostic approach taken by physicians is needed.     

Prevalence of Cytomegalovirus Infection in a Normal Urban Population in Nova Scotia

During 1967 and 1968 a seroepidemiological survey was conducted on the prevalence of CF antibodies to CMV in the normal population of the Halifax-Dartmouth metropolitan area of Nova Scotia. Samples of 550 sera, collected from all age groups, including newborns, were processed. At birth, 34% of infants possess antibodies, presumably of maternal origin, and there follows a decline until at 2 years of age only 4% of children exhibit evidence of infection. There is a gradual increase up to 16% by 20 years of age, and thereafter this is maintained until by 40+ years half the population possesses antibodies.A more detailed analysis of cord sera indicated that approximately 60% of women of childbearing age possess no antibodies and are susceptible to primary CMV infection. Among these, age and gravidity are not significant factors.These data indicate that CMV infection is fairly widespread in this community, although comparative studies suggest that it is less so than in some other areas, such as Easter Island, where a more homogeneous pattern of overcrowding and poor sacioeconomic conditions prevails.     

Prehistoric pH Trends in Kejimkujik Lake,Nova Scotia

Kejimkujik Lake in Nova Scotia has an average pH of 4.8 and receives wet precipitation with a weighted mean pH of 4.62. The lake is situated in a drainage basin where organic rich soils and bogs rest upon poorly buffered igneous and metamorphic rocks. Fossil diatoms from a sediment core reveal that since 21.7cm the pH trend has been to a lower pH. The flora of the lake between 13.0 and 10.7cm indicate a climatic change to a dryer period followed by a return to a more moist and humid climate. Colonization by European settlers, around 1850 A.D. drastically altered the pH of Kejimkujik Lake through deforestation and burning of lumbering refuse. The effect of potassium hydroxide, by leaching potassium from wood ash, on the lake continued to 2.2cm (about 1950) when the acidity began to drop to lower more normal levels. The overriding effect on the lake appears to have been the presence of organic soils and bogs which have contributed organic acids to the system since at least 21.7cm.