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Biomedical subjects

Robert Carlson

Publications and source records attributed to Robert Carlson.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

A longitudinal study of depression, pain, and stress as predictors of sleep disturbance among women with metastatic breast cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Sleep disturbances are common among women with breast cancer and can have serious consequences. The present study examined depression, pain, life stress, and participation in group therapy in relation to sleep disturbances in a sample of women with metastatic breast cancer. METHODS: Ninety-three women with metastatic breast cancer participated in a large intervention trial examining the effect of the group therapy on their symptoms. They completed measures of depression, pain, life stress, and sleep disturbance at baseline, 4, 8 and 12 months. RESULTS: The results showed that higher initial levels of depression at baseline predicted problems associated with getting up in the morning, waking up during the night, and daytime sleepiness. Increases in depression over the course of 12 months were associated with fewer hours of sleep, more problems with waking up during the night and more daytime sleepiness. Higher levels of pain at baseline predicted more problems getting to sleep. Increases in pain predicted more difficulty getting to sleep and more problems waking up during the night. Greater life stress at baseline predicted more problems getting to sleep and more daytime sleepiness. CONCLUSIONS: Depression, pain, and life stress scores were each associated with different types of negative change in self-reported sleep disturbances. Depression, especially worsening depression, was associated with the greatest number of types of negative change. The relationships found between sleep disturbance and depression, pain, and life stress suggest specific ways to address the problem of sleep disturbance for women with metastatic breast cancer and show how different types of disturbed sleep may be clinical markers for depression, pain, or life stress in this population.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Treatment barriers identified by substance abusers assessed at a centralized intake unit.

The 59-item Barriers to Treatment Inventory (BTI) was administered to 312 substance abusers at a centralized intake unit following assessment but before treatment entry to assess their views on barriers to treatment. Factor analysis identified 25 items in 7 well-defined latent constructs: Absence of Problem, Negative Social Support, Fear of Treatment, Privacy Concerns, Time Conflict, Poor Treatment Availability, and Admission Difficulty. The factorial structure of the barriers is consistent with the findings of other studies that asked substance abusers about barriers to treatment and is conceptually compatible with Andersen's model of health care utilization. Factors were moderately to highly correlated, suggesting that they interact with one another. Selected characteristics were generally not predictive of barrier factors. Overall, results indicate that the BTI has good content validity and is a reliable instrument for assessing barriers to drug treatment. The potential utility of the BTI in assessment settings is discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Correlates of rural methamphetamine and cocaine users: results from a multistate community study.

OBJECTIVE: Use and production of methamphetamine (MA) has dramatically increased in the United States, especially in rural areas, with concomitant burdens on the treatment and criminal justice systems. However, cocaine is also widely used in many rural areas. The purpose of this article is to contrast MA and cocaine users in three geographically distinct rural areas of the United States. METHOD: Participants were recent not-in-treatment adult cocaine and MA users living in rural Ohio, Arkansas, and Kentucky, who were recruited by a referral recruitment method for sampling hidden community populations. Participants were interviewed for demographics, drug and alcohol use, criminal justice involvement, and psychological distress (Brief Symptom Inventory). RESULTS: The sample of 706 comprised 29% nonwhite and 38% female participants; the average age was 32.6 years; 58% had a high school education or higher, and 32% were employed. In the past 6 months, they had used either MA only (13%), cocaine only (52%), or both (35%). MA users were seldom (8.2%) nonwhite, but type of stimulant use did not vary by gender. Combined MA/cocaine users reported significantly greater use of alcohol and other drugs, including marijuana and nonprescribed opiates and tranquilizers, and reported significantly higher psychological distress. MA users (with or without cocaine use) had greater odds of recent criminal justice involvement compared with cocaine-only users. CONCLUSIONS: There is a clear need for accessible substance-use treatment and prevention services in rural areas of the United States, including services that can address MA, cocaine, polydrug use, and mental health needs. There is a particular need of these services for polydrug users.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Using protein-DNA chimeras to detect and count small numbers of molecules.

We describe general methods to detect and quantify small numbers of specific molecules. We redirected self-splicing protein inteins to create 'tadpoles', chimeric molecules comprised of a protein head covalently coupled to an oligonucleotide tail. We made different classes of tadpoles that bind specific targets, including Bacillus anthracis protective antigen and the enzyme cofactor biotin. We measured the amount of bound target by quantifying DNA tails by T7 RNA polymerase runoff transcription and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) evaluated by rigorous statistical methods. These assays had a dynamic range of detection of more than 11 orders of magnitude and distinguished numbers of molecules that differed by as little as 10%. At their low limit, these assays were used to detect as few as 6,400 protective antigen molecules, 600 biotin molecules and 150 biotinylated protein molecules. In crudely fractionated human serum, the assays were used to detect as few as 32,000 protective antigen molecules. Tadpoles thus enable sensitive detection and precise quantification of molecules other than DNA and RNA.

Antigens, Bacterial↗
PubMed2004

The synergistic effects of betulin with acyclovir against herpes simplex viruses.

Betulin, a pentacyclic triterpenoid, was isolated from the bark of Betula papyrifera. The antiviral efficacies of betulin on herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2) were evaluated using viral plaque reduction assays on Vero cells. The results indicate that betulin is active against both HSV-1 and HSV-2 infections with the 50% effective concentrations (EC(50)) of 0.40 and 4.15 microg/ml, respectively. The cytotoxicity of betulin was examined on Vero cells using a neutral red uptake assay. The 50% cytotoxic concentration (CC(50)) of betulin was 73.1 microg/ml. A synergistic antiviral effect between betulin and acyclovir (ACV) was determined by drug combination studies. Strong and moderate synergistic antiviral effects were observed for betulin and ACV against HSV-1 when the concentrations of ACV and betulin were higher than 0.068 and 0.4 microg/ml, respectively. At the concentrations lower than these, additive effect was found. Synergistic antiviral effects were also found against HSV-2 at higher concentrations than for HSV-1, i.e. 0.45 microg/ml of ACV combined with 8.4 microg/ml of betulin.

Acyclovir↗