Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

G Duran

Publications and source records attributed to G Duran.

18 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

[Fear of progression in patients with cancer, diabetes mellitus and chronic arthritis].

Fear of an increasing disease progression (fear of progression) is among the main psychological stresses in patients with cancer, diabetes mellitus (type 1 and type 2) and chronic arthritis. The questions the study seeks to answer are: (1) Which are the main fears of these patients?, (2) How and in which circumstances in life do they occur?, (3) Which are the triggers of the fear? To answer these questions, a sample of 65 patients were researched through interviews. The results indicate that the predominant fears of cancer patients are the fear of dying and the unpredictability of the progression of the disease. Patients with chronic arthritis most frequently fear being physically dependent on someone else. The most common anxiety of diabetes patients are long-term complications. For all three groups of patients job-related fears cause a high amount of distress. These results contribute to the development of a standardised fear of progression questionnaire.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2001

Motexafin gadolinium: a redox active drug that enhances the efficacy of bleomycin and doxorubicin.

The effect of motexafin gadolinium (MGd), a redox mediator, on tumor response to doxorubicin (Dox) and bleomycin (Bleo) was investigated in vitro and in vivo. MES-SA human uterine sarcoma cells were studied in vitro using a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide viability assay. Rif-1, a murine fibrosarcoma cell line, was studied using a clonogenic survival assay. Tumor growth delay assays were performed using the EMT-6 murine mammary sarcoma cell line in BALB/c mice. MGd (25-100 microM) produced dose-dependent enhancement of Bleo cytotoxicity to MES-SA cells. The IC(50) for Bleo was reduced by approximately 10-fold using 100 microM MGd. In clonogenic assays using Rif-1 cells, MGd enhanced the activity of Bleo approximately 1000-fold. This effect was shown to be mediated, in part, by MGd inhibition of potentially lethal damage repair. MGd enhanced the tumor response to bleomycin and Dox in vivo. MGd had no significant effect on the systemic exposure to Dox (expressed in terms of the plasma area under the curve, 0-24 h) and did not increase Dox myelosuppression. MGd enhanced the effectiveness of the redox active drugs, Bleo and Dox.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

The mitochondrial DNA C3303T mutation can cause cardiomyopathy and/or skeletal myopathy.

OBJECTIVE: Several mutations in mitochondrial DNA have been associated with infantile cardiomyopathy, including a C3303T mutation in the mitochondrial transfer RNA(Leu(UUR)) gene. Although this mutation satisfied generally accepted criteria for pathogenicity, its causative role remained to be confirmed in more families. Our objective was to establish the frequency of the C3303T mutation and to define its clinical presentation. STUDY DESIGN: Families with cardiomyopathy and maternal inheritance were studied by polymerase chain reaction/restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis looking for the C3303T mutation. RESULTS: We found the C3303T mutation in 8 patients from 4 unrelated families. In one, the clinical presentation was infantile cardiomyopathy; in the second family, proximal limb and neck weakness dominated the clinical picture for the first 10 years of life, when cardiac dysfunction became apparent; in the third family, 2 individuals presented with isolated skeletal myopathy and 2 others with skeletal myopathy and cardiomyopathy; in the fourth family, one patient had fatal infantile cardiomyopathy and the other had a combination of skeletal myopathy and cardiomyopathy. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings confirm the pathogenicity of the C3303T mutation and suggest that this mutation may not be rare. The C3303T mutation should be considered in the differential diagnosis of skeletal myopathies and cardiomyopathy, especially when onset is in infancy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Psychometric properties of the Questionnaire on Stress in Patients with Diabetes--Revised (QSD-R).

This study reports the psychometric properties of a 45-item diabetes-specific questionnaire, the Questionnaire on Stress in Patients with Diabetes--Revised (QSD-R), a modified and shortened version of the QSD (G. Duran, P. Herschbach, S. Waadt, A. Zettler, & F. Strian, 1995). The QSD-R was filled out by 1,930 individuals with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Eight consistent scales were identified (values of Cronbach's alpha: .69-.81). The test-retest reliability for the total score after a 5-week interval was rtt = .63. The results provide evidence for the reliability and validity of this instrument.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Coping with fear of long-term complications in diabetes mellitus: a model clinical program.

Preliminary results are reported on the efficacy of a behaviorally oriented group therapy (n = 17) intended to improve coping with fear of long-term complications in patients with diabetes mellitus. Treatment consisted of exposure in imagination, relaxation training and analysis of dysfunctional health beliefs. Pre-, posttreatment and 3-month follow-up measure showed significant improvements regarding fear, acceptance of chronic disease and work. The usefulness of such a treatment program and the necessarity for further research is discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1995

Assessing daily problems with diabetes: a subject-oriented approach to compliance.

The reliability, construct validity, and discriminant validity of a new self-report questionnaire, the Questionnaire on Stress in Diabetic Patients, were assessed in a sample of 617 patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The 90-item inventory is designed to assess psychosocial stress associated with problems in daily living with diabetes. One of the intended uses is to identify psychosocial factors hampering patient compliance with the necessary treatment regimen. Values of Cronbach alpha ranged from 0.63 to 0.88. The results provide initial evidence for the reliability and validity of the instrument.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1991

[Compliance problems in type I diabetic patients].

Using a newly developed interview concept, 49 type I diabetics were questions about "obstacles to compliance". The patients were asked to identify, in nine different areas of life, any common concrete obstacles to compliance with self-treatment in terms of dietary measures, injections and self monitoring. Emotional barriers and the structuring of everyday activities proved to be of particular importance for compliance with dietary measures, and aspects of the doctor-patient relationship for insulin injection. The results obtained indicate a need both for abandoning the classical term of compliance, and for the use of psychological measures to support the instruction of diabetics.

Activities of Daily Living↗