Bringing health care information to the deaf community.

BACKGROUND: The Deaf community reports limited access to health promotion information and care. Literature review, key informant interviews, and focus groups generated a clearer understanding of the community. Health care providers, educators, and policymakers could improve medical care to the Deaf community by: 1) better understanding its culture and language; 2) creating more health education programs specifically for the Deaf community; 3) developing opportunities for more deaf people and American Sign Language (ASL) users to enter the health professions; and 4) creating incentives for hearing health care providers to become ASL proficient.

Bringing breast cancer education to deaf women.

BACKGROUND: The Deaf community has not been adequately served by mainstream public health interventions. METHODS: A breast cancer education program adapted for the needs of the Deaf community was evaluated by 123 deaf and hard-of-hearing women using pre- and post-surveys and focus groups. RESULTS: Among the findings were the difficulty of recruiting Deaf community members to education and research programs; low adherence to breast cancer screening guidelines; insufficient breast-health knowledge; endorsement of the program; and suggestions for strengthening it. CONCLUSION: Deaf women will benefit from breast cancer education programs that specifically address their language, culture, and preferred learning styles.

Mast cells are a major source of basic fibroblast growth factor in chronic inflammation and cutaneous hemangioma.

Mast cells play an essential role during development of inflammation after chemical and immunological insults and have been implicated in tissue fibrosis and angiogenesis. The exact contribution of mast cells to these conditions is largely unknown. In this study, we found that a potent angiogenic and mitogenic polypeptide, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), is localized to the majority of mast cells from normal skin and lung and in tissue samples characterized by fibrosis, hyperplasia, and neovascularization. Using specific antibodies to mast cell tryptase, tissue macrophage, and bFGF, we demonstrate that cytoplasmic bFGF immunoreactivity is localized to 96.8 +/- 9.6% of tryptase-positive cells in human fibrotic lung tissue (n = 10), 82.3 +/- 6.9% of tryptase-positive cells in rheumatoid synovia (n = 6), and 93.1 +/- 4.8% of tryptase-positive cells in skin hemangioma (n = 5). Moreover, these tryptase-positive cells comprise a major portion (86 to 97%) of nonvascular cells exhibiting cytoplasmic bFGF staining in these tissues. In contrast, macrophage-like cells contribute less than 10% of the bFGF-positive cells in the same samples. The specificity of the immunostaining results was supported by the finding that cultured human mast cells (HMC-1) express both bFGF mRNA and protein. Our data indicate that mast cells, a primary source of heparin, also serve as a significant source of a heparin-binding growth factor, bFGF, in these disease processes. These observations suggest that mast cells may contribute to these pathological conditions by releasing this polypeptide.