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Biomedical subjects

R M Miller

Publications and source records attributed to R M Miller.

155 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Coping with metastatic melanoma: the last year of life.

BACKGROUND: Few longitudinal studies have concurrently investigated cognitive appraisal, coping and psychological adjustment in patients with terminal cancer. This study aimed to (i) consider patterns of change in these variables during the last year of life and (ii) consider covariates associated with patients' psychological adjustment. METHODS AND PATIENTS: Questionnaires were sent to a cohort of stage IV melanoma patients seen at the Sydney Melanoma Unit between 1991 and 1996, approximately every 3 months, for up to 2 years. A sub-sample of 110 patients completed at least one questionnaire in the last year of life. Repeated measures linear regression was used to model cognitive appraisal, coping and psychological adjustment. RESULTS: In the last year of life, patients' cognitive appraisal of their disease remained relatively stable, whereas their use of active coping strategies increased (p=0. 04). There was some deterioration in psychological adjustment, particularly in patients' ability to minimize the impact of cancer on daily life (p=0.03), but this effect did not remain significant when patients' level of tiredness was included in the model. Cognitive appraisal, coping style and quality of life indicators were all associated with psychological adjustment. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that while patients work hard to actively cope with their disease, they experience increasing levels of tiredness, and deterioration in their mood and ability to function in their daily lives.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Blood preservation. XLIII. Studies on the ascorbate mechanisms of maintaining red cell 2,3-DPG.

Our previous experiments on the mechanisms of ascorbate's effect on the red blood cell failed to show an effect of iodoacetate (IA), a sulfydryl inhibitor. In this study, in contrast to the previous, iodoacetate (85 micromolar) was seen to prevent continued red blood cell metabolism. During the first weeks there was an absence of a continual fall in pH; ATP levels were depressed below half normal; and 2,3-DPG levels fell to very low values within the first week. ATP was best maintained in the control preservative and next best maintained, at adequate levels, with ascorbate, 5 mM, with and without glutathione, 5 mM. 2,3-DPG levels were well maintained with ascorbate and ascorbate with glutathione. Poor ATP maintenance and rapid decreases in 2,3-DPG were observed with iodoacetate, IA plus ascorbate, and IA plus ascorbate and glutathione.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Blood preservation 35. Red cell 2,3-DPG and ATP maintained by DHA-ascorbate-phosphate.

DHA (dihydroxyacetone, 60 mM) with ascorbic acid (d-ascorbate, 10 mM) kept 2,3-DPG concentrations above normal for six weeks. Levels of 2,3-DPG were below normal after four weeks with DHA alone and after two weeks with DHA-ascorbate-phosphate. As in previous studies, high phosphate concentrations decreased 2,3-DPG maintenance. ATP maintenance was best achieved with the following (in order of performance): DHA-phosphate (20 mM); DHA-phosphate (10 mM); the control, CPD-adenine preservative; Phosphate 20 mM; and DHA. DHA with ascorbate provides normal 2,3-DPG for six weeks. The adverse effects of DHA and DHA with ascorbate on ATP levels are modified by 10 mM phosphate.

Adenine↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Blood preservation 42: improvement of ascorbate's ability to maintain 2,3-DPG with inosine.

Inosine and ascorbate have been shown to maintain normal 2,3-DPG levels during three to four weeks of blood storage. With the introduction of CPD-adenine, which allows five weeks of storage, the desire for 2,3-DPG maintenance may receive new emphasis. Red blood cell 2,3-DPG remained at normal or higher levels for six weeks whenever 10 or 15 mM inosine and 10 mM vitamin C (L-ascorbate) or D-ascorbate were present in the CPD-adenine preservative. Provision by inosine of a five-carbon sugar for 2,3-DPG synthesis, bypassing the rate-limiting phosphofructokinase reaction, may allow NADH oxidation by ascorbate to provide an increased supply of substrate for the Rappoport-Luebering shunt, thus affecting the net increase and maintenance of 2,3-DPG.

Ascorbic Acid↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Stroke: current concepts of care.

Despite the approval of the use of tissue plasminogen activator for the treatment of acute stroke, less than 10% of all patients with stroke are able to reach a medical facility in time to receive the treatment. This article reviews the current concepts of stroke management and emphasizes the importance of public awareness for the signs and symptoms of stroke and the need for immediate attention when a stroke is suspected.

Acute Disease↗