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Biomedical subjects

R Goldberg

Publications and source records attributed to R Goldberg.

227 records · Page 13Linked to original sources
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Heavy smoking among a sample of employed women.

Understanding the phenomenon of heavy smoking among women and factors related to it is of considerable public health importance. Whereas lighter smokers have been more successful in their cessation attempts, the percentage of smokers who smoke more than 25 cigarettes per day has increased in recent years. This article examines the hypothesis that, compared to lighter smokers, female heavy smokers will report more responsiveness to internal cues to smoke, less interest in quitting, more difficulty with previous cessation attempts, more uncertainty about cessation strategies, and more concern about weight gain as a result of quitting. We collected data in 1984 through a self-administered survey completed by 874 women employed as nurses in acute care, chronic care, and home care nursing in Worcester, Massachusetts; we base our analyses on data collected from 158 light and moderate smokers and 67 heavy smokers. Our findings suggest that, compared to lighter smokers, heavy smokers may depend more on nicotine and are likely to respond to a broader array of cues to smoke, factors that appear to contribute to heavy smokers' greater difficulties with quitting. These female heavy smokers are just as likely as lighter smokers to have made previous attempts to quit and want to quit just as much. Major barriers to quitting for female heavy smokers include a lack of confidence in their ability to quit, insufficient tools to succeed with cessation attempts, and fear that weight gain will accompany quitting.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Severity of angiographically proven coronary artery disease predicts smoking cessation.

We investigated the relationship between the extent of coronary artery disease (CAD) and the likelihood of cigarette smoking cessation in a population of 84 smokers between 21 and 75 years of age undergoing elective or urgent coronary angiography at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. The smokers were enrolled in a pilot study investigating the relationship of hospitalization and coronary arteriography for coronary artery disease to subsequent smoking cessation and were scored at baseline as having none, one-, two-, or three-vessel disease. Smoking status at a mean follow-up time of 11 months was obtained by telephone interview, at which point 50% reported not smoking. Logistic regression showed a significant relationship between smoking cessation and two factors: the anatomic extent of CAD and the experience of having had coronary artery bypass surgery or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty following the initial catheterization. We discuss the relative roles of patient knowledge and motivation and physician intervention, and their implications for smoking cessation interventions.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Recent progress in the development of radioimmunoassays for human serum lipoproteins.

A review of radioimmunoassays for measuring human apolipoprotein B (apo B), the A apolipoproteins of high density lipoprotein (apo A-I and apo A-II) and apolipoprotein C-II (apo C-II) in human plasma and in isolated lipoproteins is presented. The sensitivity, specificity and validity of each of these assays is discussed. In normolipidemic subjects the reported serum apo B concentrations ranged between 0.83 +/- 0.16 and 0.92 +/- 0.21 g per l (m +/- SD). Serum apo B concentrations were highest in Type II subjects (Type IIa homozygotes 3.83 +/- 0.43 g per l; Type IIa heterozygotes 2.37 +/- 0.47 g per l) and were less elevated in patients with Type IV and Type V disorders (1.32 +/- 0.21 g per l and 1.26 +/- 0.30 g per l, respectively). Preliminary data on the relationship between plasma apo B and cholesterol, the distribution of apo B amongst the lipoprotein classes and a comparison of the lipoprotein lipid-apo B ratios in the various hyperlipidemic disorders are summarized. In contrast to apo A-II, the immunoreactivity of apo A-I was not fully exposed in whole sera and in isolated lipoproteins. The different methods used to measure the apo A-I immunoreactivity are discussed. In normolipidemic subjects the serum apo A-I concentration in males and females was 1.13 +/- 0.061 and 1.24 +/- 0.068 g per l (m +/- SD), respectively, while the corresponding serum apo A-II values were 0.35 +/- 0.038 g per l and 0.41 +/- 0.046 g per l. In subjects with Tangier's disease, the serum apo A-I and apo A-II concentrations were less than 1 percent and 5 to 7 percent of that found in controls. The serum apo A-I level was also reduced in two subjects with abetalipoproteinemia (0.38 g per l and 0.30 g per l) and Tye II hyperlipoproteinemia (range 0.54 to 0.86 g per l). In normotriglyceridemic subjects and those with Type IIa hyperlipoproteinemia, the total plasma apo C-II concentrations were 0.0497 +/- 0.0040 g per l and 0.0562 +/- 0.0054 g per l (m +/- SE). Plasma apo C-II levels in Type IIb, Type IV and Type V lipoproteinemic subjects were 0.0899 +/- 0.0046, 0.0854 +/- 0.0069 and 0.1328 +/- 0.0021 g per l, respectively and were significantly higher than in the normotriglyceridemic subjects. An analysis of the relationship between the apo C-II content and the lipoprotein lipase activator properties of VLDL isolated from normo- and hypertriglyceridemic plasma samples is presented.

Apolipoproteins↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Fascicular conduction disturbances following aortocoronary bypass surgery: the role of hypothermia versus potassium-arrest cardioplegia.

Two hundred and sixty six consecutive patients who underwent aortocoronary bypass surgery at our institution were studied to assess the incidence of developing new fascicular conduction disturbance. The first 66 patients (Group I) were operated on using systemic hypothermia and ventricular fibrillation while the next 200 patients (Group II) were operated on using systemic hypothermia plus 4 degrees C potassium cardioplegia. Twelve patients in Group I (18%) developed new fascicular conduction defects, an incidence similar to previous studies of patients operated on using similar conditions. A significantly higher incidence of new fascicular conduction defects occurred in Group II patients where 87 patients (43.5%) developed new defects (p less than .001). The most likely explanations for the marked increase in fascicular conduction defects in Group II patients were either local effects of high concentrations of potassium on the conduction system or excessive cooling of the posterior wall of the heart.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Use of a premixed insulin regimen (Novolin 70/30) to replace self-mixed insulin regimens.

The efficacy and safety of transferring 76 patients with poorly controlled type II diabetes mellitus from various self-mixed human insulin regimens to a premixed insulin regimen (Novolin 70/30, 70% NPH and 30% Regular insulin, semisynthetic) were evaluated in a 24-week, multicenter, open-label study. During the initial 12-week run-in period, the patients received twice-daily doses of NPH and Regular human insulin mixed in ratios of 60/40, 80/20, 90/10, or NPH alone, as recommended by their physicians. Subsequently, these patients were transferred to a regimen of Novolin 70/30 twice daily for an additional 12 weeks. In most cases, the transfer was made on a dose-for-dose basis. Following the transfer from self-mixed to premixed insulin, the mean glycated hemoglobin fell from 9.3% to 8.7% at 6 weeks (P < 0.001) and to 8.5% at 12 weeks (P < 0.001). This improved glycemic control was not accompanied by an increase in the frequency or severity of hypoglycemic episodes. It is concluded that patients with type II diabetes mellitus who are poorly controlled on a wide range of self-mixed insulin ratios can be safely transferred, often in a dose-for-dose fashion, to a more convenient 70/30 premixed regimen.

Adult↗