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Biomedical subjects

A Glicksman

Publications and source records attributed to A Glicksman.

32 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

A two-factor model of caregiving appraisal and psychological well-being.

Groups of spouse (N = 285) and adult child (N = 244) caregivers of elderly parents suffering from Alzheimer's disease were interviewed regarding their caregiving behaviors, evaluations of caregiving, and general psychological well-being. A model of caregiving dynamics where the objective stressor, caregiver resources, and subjective appraisal of caregiving (operationalized as caregiving satisfaction and burden) were studied as they affected both positive affect and depression was tested. For spouses, caregiving satisfaction was not related to aspects of the stressor, but was a significant determinant of positive affect. Among adult children, high levels of caregiving behavior resulted in both greater caregiving satisfaction and burden. Burden, in turn, was related to depression in both groups but, among adult child caregivers, positive affect was not affected by caregiving satisfaction. Limited support was found for the hypothesis that the positive and negative aspects of caregiving contributed to analogous aspects of generalized psychological well-being but not to the opposite-valence outcomes.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

Cancer patients' concerns: congruence between patients and primary care physicians.

To investigate whether physicians perceive concerns of cancer patients in the same way as patients, we asked primary care physicians and cancer patients to complete an instrument that allowed each to indicate their views of the relative importance of a variety of treatment and disease-related concerns. The instrument was completed by 195 physicians (56% response) and 119 newly diagnosed breast, lung, and colorectal cancer patients (50% response). Psychometric analysis of responses to the instrument revealed two components: general concerns and physician-treatment concerns. For both the physician and the patient groups, internal consistency (coefficient alpha) of these two components was high (greater than .83). Within the patient group, scale scores did not differ as a function of performance status, cancer type, extent of disease, or age. For physicians, scale scores were not related to years in practice, board certification, or number of new cancer patients seen per year. A comparison of scale scores between groups indicated that there was good physician-patient congruence on only one of the two concern components. Physicians do not adequately appreciate the extent of concern patients have with regard to treatment and physician interaction issues.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1990

The quality of the last year of life of older persons.

Researchers have begun devising measures of the quality of the entire last year of life of older community residents. Investigators in Philadelphia surveyed 150 living elderly on features of their quality of life, and matched the responses with 200 retrospective estimates obtained from relatives of decedents who had resided in the community much of the year. Most indicators showed declines for the decreased over their final year when compared with persons still alive; 82 percent of the decedents, however, experienced a majority of "positive-quality" months in their last year. Debates on the costs and ethical aspects of treatment and care need to take account of "positive" and "negative" aspects of quality of life reflecting individuals' multifaceted existence.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1989

Measuring caregiving appraisal.

Caregivers of disabled older people were studied in terms of their appraisal of the caregiving process. A conceptual approach based on stress theory suggested that such appraisal was broader than the traditional term, "caregiving burden." An item pool was constructed using traditional and new items to represent dimensions of subjective caregiving burden, caregiving satisfaction, caregiving impact, caregiving mastery, and traditional caregiving ideology. Component analysis of responses of 632 caregivers in a respite research project yielded factors that corresponded with those hypothesized; the content of similar factored responses from 239 caregivers in another study was quite similar. A series of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses resulted in acceptance of the subjective burden, caregiving satisfaction, and caregiving impact factors. Used as composite item scores, evidence of their psychometric quality is presented.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1989

Abnormal renal mobility--an indication for surgical intervention.

Movable kidney is a debated entity and therefore not diagnosed in many cases. According to our experience the diagnosis should be made much more frequent in patients who suffer from loin and/or abdominal pain which is relieved by recumbent position. Twenty-nine cases of patients who suffered from loin and/or abdominal pain and were diagnosed as suffering from abnormal renal mobility by medical history, intravenous pyelogram, angiography and dynamic scanning were operated upon with a reported high rate of relief of pain (87%; 25/29). The technique employed was the modified Deming operation.

Abdomen↗
PubMed1987

The effect of age on the care of women with breast cancer in community hospitals.

We studied the process of care received by 1,680 female breast cancer patients treated in 17 community hospitals. The probability of receiving various diagnostic, consultation, therapy, or rehabilitation services was almost always significantly associated with patient age for one or more disease stages. Most often there was a linear trend for older patients to receive fewer services (e.g., biopsies prior to definitive treatment, number of lymph nodes examined, chemotherapy, radiation therapy) but other age patterns also were found. Age was not significantly associated with clinical staging or estrogen receptors.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Intermediate dose methotrexate in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia resulting in decreased incidence of testicular relapse.

Six hundred thirty-four children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) were randomized to receive sanctuary therapy consisting of either cranial irradiation (CRT) plus intrathecal (IT) methotrexate (MTX) or three courses of intermediate-dose methotrexate (IDM) plus intrathecal methotrexate. Two hundred sixty-six male patients achieved a complete response and were evaluable for the effects of prophylactic therapy on the duration of remission. There was one isolated testicular relapse (0.8%) in the IDM group compared with 14 (10%) in the CRT group. The incidence of testicular relapse was significantly lower in the patients treated with IDM (P less than 0.001). High plasma levels of MTX achieved during the 24-hour infusions may result in increased penetration of MTX into the interstitium of the testes, thus allowing for the eradication of sequestered leukemic cells and preventing the emergence of drug resistance resulting from exposure to sublethal concentration of MTX.

Actuarial Analysis↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Sterilizing a clinitron air-fluidized bed with colistine powder.

After cross-patient infection occurred with the Clinitron bed, we looked for a way to deliver an antibiotic agent into the inner environment of the Clinitron bed through the filtering system in a manner that would sterilize the contaminated microspheres. Multiple cultures of the contaminated microspheres from the Clinitron air-fluidized bed were done, and the infecting microorganisms were identified. The appropriate antibiotic powder was delivered through the filter system of the bed, and the microspheres were recultured after treatment. After an antibiotic powder was administered, the microspheres cultured were sterile. We found that the Clinitron bed can be safely, easily, and inexpensively sterilized and reused by the administration of antibiotic agent through the air filter system. Furthermore resistant bacteria can be treated with antibiotic agent sparingly used in a clinical setting because of toxicity.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Transforming growth factor-beta in intestinal epithelial differentiation and neoplasia (review).

Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta is a multifunctional regulator of cell growth. It has become increasingly clear that TGF-beta action depends on the responsive cell types. Thus TGF-beta stimulates proliferation of mesenchymal cells and, in contrast, inhibits the growth of a large variety of epithelial cells. Recent studies, albeit controversial, support the notion that a gradient in mRNA transcripts encoding TGF-beta is maintained along the crypt-villus continuum of the small intestine in close correlation with the stage of differentiation of the enterocyte. Exogenous TGF-beta has been shown to inhibit the proliferation of a non-transformed rat jejunal crypt cell line. Additional salient findings have indicated that colon carcinoma cell lines recalcitrant to the restraining action of TGF-beta on proliferation are poorly differentiated, and that moderately differentiated colon tumor lines do retain, at least partly, their responsiveness to TGF-beta. To the best of our knowledge, no evidence is available pertaining to a contributory role of TGF-beta in the signalling mechanisms regulating growth and differentiation of normal colonic epithelial cells. In addition, we are ignorant of whether the interesting findings related to a functional relationship between TGF-beta and colon carcinoma cells lines (vide supra) are applicable to colonic preneoplastic and tumor cells in their natural habitat. In this review, we dwell on the available facts and missing observations, and present conceivable hypotheses pertaining to a putative role of TGF-beta in colon differentiation and neoplasia.

Cell Differentiation↗