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A Garber

Publications and source records attributed to A Garber.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis of using methotrexate vs Goeckerman therapy for psoriasis. A pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the net benefit and cost-effectiveness of methotrexate use and Goeckerman therapy for psoriasis. DESIGN: Net benefit and cost-effectiveness depend on the costs, efficacy, and utilities of therapy. Utilities are quantitative measures of patient preferences. We obtained costs by using resource-based accounting techniques. Efficacy was estimated from literature reports. We surveyed patients with psoriasis, dermatologists, and healthy subjects using utility assessment methods. All assumptions were examined in a sensitivity analysis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: For net benefit, if benefits out-weighed the costs, it was deemed worth providing. For the cost-effectiveness analysis, the ratio of costs-to-effectiveness of less than $35,000 was considered cost-effective. RESULTS: Using utilities from healthy nonexperts, the costs of both therapies exceeded the benefits in mild and moderate psoriasis. In severe psoriasis, only methotrexate demonstrates a net benefit. Both therapies were cost-effective compared with no therapy. Liquid methotrexate should be chosen over the tablet form since it was cheaper and had the same outcome. Goeckerman was cost-effective against liquid methotrexate in severe, but not mild or moderate psoriasis. There was a trend for therapies to be more cost-effective when using patient utilities and less with dermatologist utilities. The results were highly sensitive to efficacy and utilities. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study need to be confirmed in other settings, but they demonstrate that the tools of cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis have great potential value in dermatology. Once efficacy is better characterized and utilities better quantified, these types of analyses will be crucial for health care policy.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
PubMed1998

Localization of a multiple synostoses-syndrome disease gene to chromosome 17q21-22.

Multiple synostoses syndrome is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by premature onset of joint fusions, which initially affect the interphalangeal joints, by characteristic facies, and by deafness. We performed linkage analysis on a large Hawaiian family with multiple synostoses syndrome. Because another autosomal dominant disorder, proximal symphalangism, shares some clinical symptoms with multiple synostoses syndrome and has been linked to markers at loci at chromosome 17q21-22, we tested the hypothesis that multiple synostoses syndrome is linked to the same chromosomal region. Using polymorphic markers from the proximal symphalangism interval, we conducted linkage analysis and showed that the multiple synostoses-syndrome phenotype is linked to the same chromosomal region. A maximum LOD score of 3.98 at recombination fraction of .00 was achieved for the marker at locus D17S787. Further genetic analysis identified individuals with recombinant genotypes, allowing localization of the disease gene within the interval D17S931-D17S792, a 16-cM region. These data provide evidence that multiple synostoses syndrome and proximal symphalangism may be allelic disorders.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1997

Assessing for sexual abuse.

1. Knowing the sexual abuse history of a patient contributes to a greater understanding of the patient's clinical problems and facilitates appropriate discharge planning. 2. Obtaining a history of sexual abuse is not always part of the nursing admission assessment sheet, and many staff members have little or no training on the therapeutic interventions for a history of sexual abuse. 3. The lack of staff training and the ambiguous nature of sexual abuse assessment must be examined in relationship to quality patient care.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Relationship between trinucleotide repeats and neuropathological changes in Huntington's disease.

The discovery of the Huntington's disease (HD) gene has provided the impetus to determine the association between the triplet repeat sequences and clinical manifestations of the disease. The present study is directed toward determining the relationship between the triplet repeat sequences and severity of the neurodegenerative process. Nineteen HD postmortem cases were evaluated for neuropathological changes as well as for the number of trinucleotide repeat sequences, each in a blinded fashion. Each case was assigned a gross grade according to the scale of Vonsattel and colleagues (1985); neuronal counts were then performed on both the caudate and the putamen. For 7 of the postmortem cases, blood had been collected prior to death and was analyzed for the HD gene. For the 12 remaining cases for which blood was unavailable, DNA from the frontal neocortex and striatum was extracted from frozen or formalin-fixed paraffinized tissue and subsequently analyzed for the HD gene. When correlation was made for age at death, greater numbers of trinucleotide repeats were associated with greater neuronal loss, in both the caudate (r = 0.9641, p < 0.001) and the putamen (r = 0.9652, p < 0.001). When correction was made for disease duration, the correlation was again significant, for both the caudate (r = 0.6396, p < 0.01) and the putamen (r = 0.6710, p < 0.001). This suggests that in HD, longer trinucleotide repeat length is associated with a faster rate of deterioration and greater pathological severity. A comparison of trinucleotide repeat length in different brain regions in 4 of the HD postmortem cases associated with greater numbers of repeats consistently demonstrated fewer repeats in the cerebellum than in the frontal cortex, striatum or blood.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Prenatal diagnosis and dysmorphic findings in mosaic trisomy 16.

We report two cases of mosaic trisomy 16 diagnosed by amniocentesis, with dysmorphic findings in both cases evident upon delivery. Following elective termination, case 1 demonstrated a trisomy 16 cell line in fetal skin (4 per cent) and placental tissue (64 per cent). Molecular studies on the disomic cell line indicated that both chromosome 16s were maternal in origin, suggesting loss of the paternal chromosome 16 from a trisomic zygote (uniparental heterodisomy). At birth, case 2 demonstrated only disomic cells in skin and blood, with trisomy 16 present in 4 per cent of cells from the amnion. Molecular studies confirmed both maternal and paternal contributions of the chromosome 16s. We analysed DNA from one previously reported case of mosaic trisomy 16 (Williams et al., 1992) and failed to find signs of uniparental disomy in this child with congenital heart defects. These cases had distinctive but different dysmorphic features. We suggest that trisomy 16 embryos may revert to disomy during the course of pregnancy, allowing for longer survival with various abnormalities in growth and morphogenesis. The clinical significance of prenatally detected mosaic trisomy 16 may not be completely defined by additional cytogenetic, molecular, and ultrasound studies.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Preaxial ray reduction defects as part of valproic acid embryofetopathy.

It is well known that prenatal exposure of valproic acid (VPA) may be associated with the occurrence of neural tube defects (Robert and Gibaud, 1982). Additional adverse effects related to VPA exposure include craniofacial abnormalities, skeletal defects, brain defects, cardiovascular defects, and urogenital defects (DiLiberti et al., 1984; Winter et al., 1987; Huot et al., 1987; Jager-Roman et al., 1986; Martinez-Frias, 1990). Recently, radial ray reduction has been reported as a severe type of skeletal defect associated with VPA exposure (Jager-Roman et al., 1986; Huot et al., 1987; Verloes et al., 1990). We report two additional cases of this severe limb reduction defect as part of a broader pattern of altered morphogenesis in fetuses exposed to VPA and to confirm an association between such severe specific skeletal defects and VPA exposure. We briefly review teratologic studies in experimental animals which document the biologic plausibility of this association, and suggest that fetuses exposed to VPA undergo detailed prenatal ultrasonographic evaluation of the limbs.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
PubMed1993

Fetal akinesia/hypokinesia sequence: prenatal diagnosis and intra-familial variability.

Intrauterine fetal movement plays a key role in normal embryonic and fetal development (Moessinger, 1983). When movement is absent or decreased, abnormal development takes place which can be appreciated in newborns and/or fetuses with the fetal akinesia/hypokinesia sequence. This sequence is caused by a number of heterogeneous entities which result in decreased fetal movements by the action of intrinsic or extrinsic factors. Prenatal diagnosis of the akinesia/hypokinesia sequence may be possible during the second trimester through the use of real-time ultrasonographic evaluation of fetal movement. We report a family with three consecutive affected pregnancies in which the prenatal presentation of this sequence varied. Based on the phenotypic findings of the three affected fetuses, we believe that although they superficially resemble those features found in the New-Laxova syndrome, they are probably affected with a distinctly different lethal form of akinesia/hypokinesia transmitted in an autosomal recessive fashion.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1990

Megacystis-microcolon-intestinal hypoperistalsis syndrome in two male siblings.

Two male sibs with severe congenital megacystis-microcolon-intestinal hypoperistalsis syndrome (MMIHS) are presented. Both had enlarged bladder and hydronephrosis due to reduced bladder emptying, decreased bowel motility, and malrotation of the colon. Repeated careful ultrasound examination of the urinary tract in the second sib failed to show significant bladder enlargement prior to 25 weeks' gestation, which has been considered to be a reliable prenatal diagnostic sign for MMIHS. Slight bilateral enlargement of the renal pelves was noted at 21 weeks' gestation, and this may represent the earliest prenatally-detectable observation in this disease. Although more females than males with this condition have been reported, our cases provide support for an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance with a similar recurrence risk for both sexes.

Colon↗
PubMed1988

Self-management of hypertension: predictors of success in diastolic blood pressure reduction.

The purpose of this study was to determine which borderline hypertension subjects could succeed in self-regulating blood pressure, and to distinguish the psychologic and physiologic variables that predicted success. Thirty-four white, male, unmedicated, borderline hypertensive subjects participated in a 14-session biofeedback/cognitive self-management training program. Of these, 22 exited with diastolic pressure below 90 mm Hg; 12 exited equal to or above 90 mm Hg. Both groups exited with scores markedly lower on the Symptoms Checklist-90 (SCL-90). The successful group began and ended on all cognitive/affective subscales at a lower level than the unsuccessful group. A discriminant analysis revealed that lower scores on the SCL-90, lower systolic blood pressures, and higher heart rates during a mental task at the beginning of treatment distinguished those who succeeded in self-regulation from those who could not succeed. The possible mechanisms for blood pressure control/change as a consequence of biofeedback are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

The relationship between narrow and wide bandwidth filter settings during an EMG scanning procedure.

This study examined the correlation between EMG values measured with wide (25-1000 Hz) and narrow (100-200 Hz) band-width filters. An EMG diagnostic scan was conducted on 32 chronic pain patients admitted to an inpatient treatment unit. EMG readings were taken from a total of 44 sites (11 sites X 2 sides X 2 postures). Each EMG measure was passed in parallel through a narrow and wide band-pass filter and the stable readings were recorded. Correlated t tests and Pearson correlations were used to compare the data from the narrow and wide filter settings. The measures from the wide filter were significantly higher than the measures from the narrow filter. In addition, 61% of the correlations were greater than .90. The majority of the correlations below the median (.93) occurred in the neck region and the abdomen. The implications of the findings are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

The impact of psychological distress on the control of hypertension.

Previous research has yielded inconsistent results in the control of essential hypertension. One explanation for response to drug or behavioral therapy may be the patient's psychological status upon entering treatment. Thirty-five borderline hypertensive males entered into a self-management program with biofeedback and cognitive restructuring components. The SCL-90 (Symptom Checklist-90) and the Holmes' Schedule of Recent Events were used to determine if responders and nonresponders could be distinguished prior to treatment on the basis of psychological status. Patients whose hypertension was resistant to treatment (diastolic greater than or equal to 90 mm Hg) reported significantly greater levels of psychological distress and greater life changes than did controlled patients. Pretreatment differences could not be explained by compliance or expectation of success. This study suggests that a relationship exists between psychological distress, life changes and the subsequent control of hypertension; this has implications for treatment selection and design for psychologically distressed individuals.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Sleep and estivation (shallow torpor): continuous processes of energy conservation.

Estivation (shallow torpor) in the round-tailed ground squirrel (Citellus tereticaudus) is entered through electrophysiologically defined states of sleep. Rapid-eye-movement sleep diminishes as body temperature falls in such a way that, at a body temperature of 26 degrees to 28 degrees C, torpor is characterized by almost continuous slow-wave sleep isomorphic with that observed at euthermic body temperatures.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The effect of search procedures on utility elicitations.

OBJECTIVE: Elicited preferences for health states vary among scaling methods, manners of describing health states, and other features of the elicitation process. The authors examined the effects of changing the search procedure for a subject's utility on mean utility values. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial of two search procedures (titration and "ping-pong") using two otherwise identical computer programs that describe health states related to Gaucher's disease, then measuring subjects' preferences. SETTING: Paid, healthy volunteers recruited from the community through advertisements. RESULTS: The mean time tradeoff (TTO) and standard gamble (SG) utility values for life with severe anemia and splenomegaly and life with chronic bone pain from Gaucher's disease were between 0.10 and 0.15 higher with the titration search procedure than with the ping-pong procedure. Effects of the search procedure were additive with variability due to scaling methods, resulting in mean differences in utility ratings for the same health state of as much as 0.28 among procedures and scaling methods. Effects of search procedures on utility values persisted on repeated testing at week 2 and week 3; there was no evidence of convergence to a single "true" utility value over time. CONCLUSIONS: The procedure used to search for subjects' utility values strongly influences the results of preference-assessment experiments. Effects of search procedures persist on repeated testing. The results suggest that utility values are heavily influenced by, if not created during, the process of elicitation. Thus, utility values elicited using different search procedures may not be directly comparable.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

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Adult↗