Lianne Parkin | |
|---|---|
 Parkin in 2003 | |
| Awards | Ig Nobel Prize |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | University of Otago |
| Thesis | |
| Doctoral advisor | Charlotte Paul , David Skegg |
| Academic work | |
| Institutions | University of Otago |
Lianne Parkin is a New Zealand academic,and is a full professor at the University of Otago,specialising in public health and the safety of medicines.
Parkin completed a medical degree and a postgraduate diploma in obstetrics at the University of Otago,and practised as a GP in New Zealand and Australia. [1] PhD titled Risk factors for venous thromboembolism at the University of Otago,supervised by Charlotte Paul and David Skegg. [2] Parkin then joined the faculty of the university,rising to associate professor in 2019, [3] and full professor in 2023. [4] [5]
Parkin has researched the association between blood clots and flying,finding that long-distance flights did increase the risk of pulmonary embolism but that dying from the condition was still rare. [6] She and her research group have also investigated the link between the cholesterol-lowering drugs statins and the muscle disease rhabdomyolysis, [7] [8] and noted an increased risk of the kidney condition interstitial nephritis from the use of proton-pump inhibitors. [9] [10] Parkin has received grant funding to investigate how type 2 diabetics in New Zealand use metformin. [11]
During the Covid-19 pandemic,Parkin studied the proportion of people scanning QR codes at public venues to enable contact tracing. [12] She also looked at the proportion of students at the university reporting their Covid infections,finding that although more than 94% of surveyed student flats had cases during the study period,more than a third of infected students did not report their positive test result. [13]
In 2010,Parkin and collaborators Patricia Priest and Sheila Williams won an Ig Nobel Prize for demonstrating that,on icy footpaths in wintertime,people slip and fall less often if they wear socks on the outside of their shoes. [14] [15] The Ig Nobel Prizes are given to "honour achievements that first make people laugh,and then make them think". The advice to wear socks over shoes on icy streets is given by Dunedin City Council,where the study was conducted,although Parkin's study noted that some people are too self-conscious to wear them even after experiencing the benefits. [15]
Thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the circulatory system. When a blood vessel is injured, the body uses platelets (thrombocytes) and fibrin to form a blood clot to prevent blood loss. Even when a blood vessel is not injured, blood clots may form in the body under certain conditions. A clot, or a piece of the clot, that breaks free and begins to travel around the body is known as an embolus.
An embolus is an unattached mass that travels through the bloodstream and is capable of creating blockages. When an embolus occludes a blood vessel, it is called an embolism or embolic event. There are a number of different types of emboli, including blood clots, cholesterol plaque or crystals, fat globules, gas bubbles, and foreign bodies, which can result in different types of embolisms.
Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream (embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include shortness of breath, chest pain particularly upon breathing in, and coughing up blood. Symptoms of a blood clot in the leg may also be present, such as a red, warm, swollen, and painful leg. Signs of a PE include low blood oxygen levels, rapid breathing, rapid heart rate, and sometimes a mild fever. Severe cases can lead to passing out, abnormally low blood pressure, obstructive shock, and sudden death.
Venous thrombosis is the blockage of a vein caused by a thrombus. A common form of venous thrombosis is deep vein thrombosis (DVT), when a blood clot forms in the deep veins. If a thrombus breaks off (embolizes) and flows to the lungs to lodge there, it becomes a pulmonary embolism (PE), a blood clot in the lungs. The conditions of DVT only, DVT with PE, and PE only, are all captured by the term venous thromboembolism (VTE).
Factor V Leiden is a variant of human factor V, which causes an increase in blood clotting (hypercoagulability). Due to this mutation, protein C, an anticoagulant protein that normally inhibits the pro-clotting activity of factor V, is not able to bind normally to factor V, leading to a hypercoagulable state, i.e., an increased tendency for the patient to form abnormal and potentially harmful blood clots. Factor V Leiden is the most common hereditary hypercoagulability disorder amongst ethnic Europeans. It is named after the Dutch city of Leiden, where it was first identified in 1994 by Rogier Maria Bertina under the direction of Pieter Hendrick Reitsma. Despite the increased risk of venous thromboembolisms, people with one copy of this gene have not been found to have shorter lives than the general population. It is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder with incomplete penetrance.
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a type of venous thrombosis involving the formation of a blood clot in a deep vein, most commonly in the legs or pelvis. A minority of DVTs occur in the arms. Symptoms can include pain, swelling, redness, and enlarged veins in the affected area, but some DVTs have no symptoms.
D-dimer is a dimer that is a fibrin degradation product, a small protein fragment present in the blood after a blood clot is degraded by fibrinolysis. It is so named because it contains two D fragments of the fibrin protein joined by a cross-link, hence forming a protein dimer.
Renal vein thrombosis (RVT) is the formation of a clot in the vein that drains blood from the kidneys, ultimately leading to a reduction in the drainage of one or both kidneys and the possible migration of the clot to other parts of the body. First described by German pathologist Friedrich Daniel von Recklinghausen in 1861, RVT most commonly affects two subpopulations: newly born infants with blood clotting abnormalities or dehydration and adults with nephrotic syndrome.
An embolus, is described as a free-floating mass, located inside blood vessels that can travel from one site in the blood stream to another. An embolus can be made up of solid, liquid, or gas. Once these masses get "stuck" in a different blood vessel, it is then known as an "embolism." An embolism can cause ischemia—damage to an organ from lack of oxygen. A paradoxical embolism is a specific type of embolism in which the embolus travels from the right side of the heart to the left side of the heart and lodges itself in a blood vessel known as an artery. Thus, it is termed "paradoxical" because the embolus lands in an artery, rather than a vein.
Activated protein C resistance (APCR) is a hypercoagulability characterized by a lack of a response to activated protein C (APC), which normally helps prevent blood from clotting excessively. This results in an increased risk of venous thrombosis, which resulting in medical conditions such as deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. The most common cause of hereditary APC resistance is factor V Leiden mutation.
Dalteparin is a low molecular weight heparin. It is marketed as Fragmin. Like other low molecular weight heparins, dalteparin is used for prophylaxis or treatment of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism to reduce the risk of a stroke or heart attack. Dalteparin acts by potentiating the activity of antithrombin III, inhibiting formation of both Factor Xa and thrombin. It is normally administered by self-injection.
Hypercoagulability in pregnancy is the propensity of pregnant women to develop thrombosis. Pregnancy itself is a factor of hypercoagulability, as a physiologically adaptive mechanism to prevent post partum bleeding. However, when combined with an additional underlying hypercoagulable states, the risk of thrombosis or embolism may become substantial.
Superficial thrombophlebitis is a thrombosis and inflammation of superficial veins which presents as a painful induration with erythema, often in a linear or branching configuration forming cords.
Sir David Christopher Graham Skegg is a New Zealand epidemiologist and university administrator. He is an emeritus professor in the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine at the University of Otago. He was the vice-chancellor of the university from 2004 to 2011 and president of the Royal Society of New Zealand from 2012 to 2015. His primary research interest is cancer epidemiology.
Prothrombin G20210A is a genetic condition that increases the risk of blood clots including from deep vein thrombosis, and of pulmonary embolism. One copy of the mutation increases the risk of a blood clot from 1 in 1,000 per year to 2.5 in 1,000. Two copies increases the risk to up to 20 in 1,000 per year. Most people never develop a blood clot in their lifetimes.
Thrombosis prevention or thromboprophylaxis is medical treatment to prevent the development of thrombosis in those considered at risk for developing thrombosis. Some people are at a higher risk for the formation of blood clots than others, such as those with cancer undergoing a surgical procedure. Prevention measures or interventions are usually begun after surgery as the associated immobility will increase a person's risk.
Henri Bounameaux is a known clinical faculty and Professor of Medicine (hon), specialized in internal and vascular medicine (angiology), and general medicine.
Charlotte Entrican Paul is a New Zealand doctor, epidemiologist and emeritus professor at the University of Otago.
Patricia Priest is a New Zealand public health scientist and epidemiologist who is Professor of Public Health in Medicine at the University of Otago. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Priest served as an advisor to the New Zealand Ministry of Health. She was awarded an Ig Nobel Prize in 2010. As of 2024 Priest is the Acting Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the Division of Health Sciences at the university.
Sally Anne Baddock is a New Zealand academic in the field of midwifery, and is a professor in the School of Midwifery at Otago Polytechnic.
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