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Biomedical subjects

B Kaplan

Publications and source records attributed to B Kaplan.

At least 343 records · Page 19Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) as a relief for dysmenorrhea.

Sixty-one women who suffered from primary dysmenorrhea, were treated with Transcutaneous Nerve Stimulation (TENS) for two menstrual cycles, and reported the effect of the treatment on their pain. Thirty percent of the patients reported marked pain relief, 60% reported moderate pain relief and 10% reported that TENS had no influence on their pain. No side effects were reported. We conclude that TENS is an effective and safe non-pharmacological means for the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea. It could serve as a main treatment modality for women who suffer from primary dysmenorrhea and do not wish to or cannot use the conservative pharmacological agents. In addition TENS can serve as an adjuvant therapy to the conventional pharmacological agent in severe cases of primary dysmenorrhea.

Analgesia↗
PubMed1994

Rational treatment for dyslipidemias.

High blood cholesterol is one of the three most common risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Several antihyperlipidemic agents are available to the prescriber; however, first line therapy is a diet low in cholesterol and saturated fats. The choice of therapy must be based on the type of abnormality present, concurrent disease states, side effect profiles, ease of use and cost. Several differences exist among the various dyslipidemic agents such as mechanism of action, effectiveness, pharmacokinetics, side effects, drug interactions and cost. For these reasons, this review focuses on the most commonly used dyslipidemic agents, e.g. the bile-acid sequestrants, nicotinic acid, fibric-acid derivatives and HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors.

Humans↗
PubMed1994

Homoeopathy: 3. Everyday uses for all the family.

Homoeopathy is a useful and safe therapeutic tool for all the family but cannot totally replace conventional medicine. It has a place in most chronic diseases; a tendency to recurrent attacks of acute illnesses; and acute conditions not treatable by conventional medicine or where the patient or parent wishes to avoid conventional drugs. The homoeopathic consultation involves a "whole person" approach and involves listening to the patient. Several homoeopathic remedies are suitable for the family medicine chest, eg. Arnica for bruising. Chamomilla for teething and Calendula cream for grazes and scalds.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

NSAIDs. Are there any differences?

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are one of the most widely prescribed groups of medication in the United States. While the selection of the most appropriate NSAID should be based on therapeutic efficacy, adverse reaction profile, concurrent therapy, simplicity of dosage regimen, patient acceptance and compliance, cost, and the specific patient's medical profile, prescribing habits are often not based on specific guidelines. The choice of NSAID is further complicated by the wide variety of available agents; over 20 NSAIDs are presently available to the primary care physician. None of the NSAIDs is best for all of the criteria that are considered when selecting an NSAID; therefore, the physician needs to be able to determine which agent provides the desired benefits while outweighing the potential risks. This article provides a rational approach to prescribing NSAIDs in the primary health care setting.

Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal↗
PubMed1993

A modified transvaginal sonographic technique for better ovarian evaluation.

Sonographic evaluation of the pelvis of postmenopausal women is not complete until both ovaries are scanned. Transvaginal sonographic examination combined with transabdominal screening is diagnostic in 85% of cases. Transvaginal examination performed with a partially full bladder significantly increased ovarian detection to 93.5% (p < 0.05).

Female↗
PubMed1993

Endometrial suction in luteal phase as a method of late postcoital contraception.

In a pilot study group of 25 women presenting in our clinic after exposure at ovulation to undesired pregnancy, endometrial suction by means of a Pipelle catheter was performed. Sixteen of the 25 women had proven fertility and 9 had never tried to conceive. The women were aged 18 to 38 years. Pathological dating of endometrial sampling verified that the patients were actually post-ovulation in all cases studied. hCG tests were performed 10 to 14 days after endometrial suction and all were negative. We conclude that endometrial suction in the luteal phase is a possible means of postcoital non-hormonal contraception, and we are currently expanding our study.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Fetal 'fright-bradycardia' brought on by air-raid alarm in Israel.

Three cases of severe fetal bradycardia during labor following an air-raid alarm are described. After 2 min of severe bradycardia (less than 60 beats/min) the fetal heart rate (FHR) returned to a normal pattern. In all cases labor progressed uneventfully with an excellent fetal and maternal outcome. The cases are briefly described and possible causative mechanisms are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

The effects of taurine on perfused heart muscle malondialdehyde levels.

1. Taurine is found as a free amino acid in plasma and many tissues such as heart, muscle, brain and blood. Its exact role is not fully defined but it appears to have an important effect on the function of the heart. 2. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of taurine (10(-3) M and 10(-2) M) on malondialdehyde levels in perfused heart muscle. 3. In this study we found that administrated taurine before anoxia and reperfusion increased the malondialdehyde levels but administrated taurine after anoxia decreased the malondialdehyde levels in perfused heart muscle compared to the taurine administrated group before anoxia. 4. Anoxia did not change the perfused heart muscle malondialdehyde levels.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Assessing physician choice of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs in a health maintenance organization.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a categorization scheme for grouping various nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) by relative safety; to develop a method to quantify the appropriateness of the initial and subsequent choices of NSAID therapy; to assess whether NSAID prescribing was consistent with the developed criteria; to examine the cost of inappropriate, acute NSAID use as defined by the established criteria. DESIGN: Retrospective drug utilization review focusing on NSAIDs. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Members aged > or = 18 years of a 40,000-person southeastern Michigan health maintenance organization. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: (1) Appropriateness of therapy using a four-level safety classification system for the NSAIDs developed by a consensus process; criteria based on safety under the assumption that any particular NSAID is equally likely to be effective when dosed appropriately; (2) evaluation of progression of NSAID therapy using the NSAID Therapy Progression Formula. RESULTS: For acute patients, almost half of the prescriptions were for ibuprofen and 33 percent were for naproxen. Ibuprofen usage accounted for 16 percent of total NSAID cost and naproxen agents accounted for over 50 percent of that cost. Potential cost savings of approximately $82,000 probably would have occurred had a 50 percent interchange rate for ibuprofen been acceptable. For chronic patients, 85 percent were treated with one or two NSAIDs; treatments were of reasonable high quality when compared by safety profiles. There was low use of ibuprofen in patients who only received one NSAID. CONCLUSIONS: NSAID usage assessment in a large population was achieved by developing a classification and scoring system based on NSAID safety; in this population, prescribing patterns were generally consistent with established criteria; however, when considering cost, improvement in initial NSAID selection for acute patients was possible.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

High dose-rate intraluminal irradiation in bronchogenic carcinoma. Technique and results.

Patients who present with symptomatic airway obstruction often have limited therapeutic options. Intraluminal irradiation has been used in an attempt to obtain sustained palliation. Patients treated with high dose-rate endobronchial irradiation have shown good to excellent palliation of symptoms, as well as a high rate of local control; however, these results have not always been devoid of complications. Some recent reports have shown a high incidence of morbidity, including an excessive incidence of fatal pulmonary hemorrhage. In this series, we report on 80 high dose-rate endobronchial treatments in 32 patients who were treated with remote afterloading endobronchial irradiation. All patients had endoscopic and histologic proof of tumor. Patients were divided into two groups. Group 1 consisted of 17 patients who were treated with endobronchial brachytherapy as a boost to primary external-beam irradiation. The remaining 15 patients comprised group 2 and were treated for endobronchial recurrence after prior irradiation with an external beam (main dose, 5,000 cGy). The endobronchial irradiation treatments were delivered using a high dose-rate remote afterloader. The standard dose per fraction was 500 cGy prescribed at a distance of 1 cm from the central axis of the catheter for a median of 3 fractions at weekly intervals. Treatment length averaged 5 cm; the median total dose was 1,500 cGy. The median follow-up for the entire group was 9.3 months, with a range of 6 to 24 months. Symptomatic improvement was attained in 15 of 15 patients presenting with hemoptysis, in 6 of 7 of those with cough, and in 10 of 10 who presented with dyspnea. In ten patients, follow-up endoscopy was performed, which revealed a pathologic complete response (by negative results on biopsies). At 6 months past the last brachytherapy, clinical and radiographic local control was obtained in 15/17 (88 percent) of the patients in group 1 and in 70 percent of the patients in group 2. All patients tolerated treatment well, without any acute or late complications, and there were no instances of fistula formation or fatal pulmonary hemorrhage. There was no association between the location of recurrence and complications. Fractionation, dose per fraction, and total combined dose appear to be important parameters in reducing complications.

Brachytherapy↗
PubMed1992

Isolation and purification of amyloid protein A by sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography.

Sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were used consecutively for the isolation of amyloid protein A (protein AA) from amyloid fibrils. Highly purified protein AA was obtained and determined by electrophoretic and amino acid analyses. The heterogeneity of protein AA was shown by HPLC. The isoforms of protein AA had different hydrophobicities, although they were equal in size and similar in amino acid composition. Compared with the conventional amyloid separation procedure (gel permeation chromatography), this technique is rapid, requires only small amounts of amyloid fibrils and may provide new information on amyloid proteins.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1992

Effect of EGF on the corneal wound healing of alloxan diabetic mice.

We identified the local treatment effect of epidermal growth factor on corneal wound healing of alloxan diabetic mice. The corneal wounds were induced by 0.5 M NaOH solution on the corneal surfaces of the diabetic and non-diabetic groups. The local epidermal growth factor solution (100 ng ml-1) was dropped in 5-microliters aliquots into the eye twice a day. The corneal wounds were measured daily for 15 days and examined histologically at the end of 15th day of experimental period. The results indicated that topical epidermal growth factor treatment of diabetic and non-diabetic mice greatly improved the incidence of healing of wounded corneas.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed1992

Human papillomavirus types and cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions that recur after cold-knife conization.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the HPV types and histological margins of cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions (SILs) treated by cold-knife conization and to correlate this with recurrent disease. Of 203 cone biopsies done for SILs primarily because the entire lesion could not be visualized at colposcopy, follow-up information was available for 85 cases. Of these 85 cases, biopsy-proven recurrences were documented for 10 (12%) women. In the SILs which recurred after conization, the lesion was noted on the surgical margin in 7/10 (70%) cases. In contrast, SILs that did not recur after cold-knife conization were detected on the surgical margin in only 12% of cases. In 7 of the recurrences, the HPV type detected in the pretreatment SIL was the same as that detected in the SIL that occurred after conization. In the other 3 recurrences, one of either the primary or recurrent SILs was HPV positive and the other corresponding lesion HPV negative. It is concluded that detection of a SIL on the surgical margin is a marker for recurrent disease and that recurrences are often associated with the same HPV type as that noted in the pretreatment SIL.

Biopsy↗