Biomedical subjects

Robert Kane

Publications and source records attributed to Robert Kane.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2002

Decrements in vigilance and cognitive functioning associated with ragweed-induced allergic rhinitis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The adverse effects of untreated seasonal allergic rhinitis (AR) on performance in the workplace, school, and home are poorly understood. To delineate more clearly the impact and consequences of the disease on performance, the effect of symptomatic AR on vigilance and a wide range of cognitive functions was investigated. METHODS: A battery of automated neuropsychological tests was administered to asymptomatic adult subjects with histories of AR. Subjects were randomized to either a symptomatic or to an asymptomatic group. Subjects in the symptomatic group were exposed to ragweed pollen in a controlled exposure setting until they demonstrated predetermined severities of AR symptoms. Subjects in the asymptomatic group were not exposed to ragweed pollen in the environmental unit and retained a minimum symptom profile. The battery of cognitive measures was re-administered to both groups. RESULTS: AR had major adverse impacts on measures of vigilance. Further, AR adversely affected a broad range of cognitive functions. Specifically, subjects with AR symptoms demonstrated longer response times and decreased efficiency on measures of working memory, psychomotor speed, reasoning/computation, and divided attention as compared with asymptomatic subjects. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to decreased vigilance, AR was associated with decrements in speed and efficiency across several cognitive domains. This is similar to findings in research on medications and medical conditions that cause sedation. Findings may represent a link between AR and poor productivity/personal safety among AR sufferers. This suggests that these results have implications with regard to public health.

Allergens↗

PubMed2002

Challenges and accomplishments of the second-generation social health maintenance organization.

PURPOSE: This study traces the implementation of the second-generation Social HMO demonstration program within the Health Plan of Nevada among more than 35,000 Las Vegas members. DESIGN AND METHODS: This case study uses health plan reports, claims data, and administrator and clinician interviews covering the years 1999-2001. RESULTS: Care coordination, geriatric services, communications, and support infrastructure development has been extensive. Implementation has occurred at different rates among staff model and network practice physicians. Hospital days and discharges were fewer among clinic than network participants; physician and emergency room visits were more frequent, as were day care, respite care, and home help. IMPLICATIONS: Integrating medical and social care is difficult. Despite great efforts, it took several years before key benefits could be adequately developed and linkages created. Evaluations that target start-up rather than steady-state operation may not capture these accomplishments. Further, federal government efforts to encourage experimentation and innovation in care for aged and disabled individuals may require programs other than time-limited demonstrations.

Health Maintenance Organizations↗

PubMed2002

Safety of lansoprazole in the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease in children.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the safety of lansoprazole in children between 1 and 11 years of age. METHODS: In a phase I/II, open-label, multicenter (11 sites) study, children with symptomatic gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), erosive esophagitis (> or = grade 2), and/or esophageal pH < 4 for > 4.2% of the 24-hour period were assigned, on the basis of body weight, to lansoprazole 15 mg (< or = 30 kg) or 30 mg (> 30 kg) once daily for 8 to 12 weeks. At the discretion of the investigator, the dosage of lansoprazole was increased up to 60 mg daily in children who continued to be symptomatic after 2 weeks of treatment. Safety for all study participants was monitored by adverse event reports and laboratory evaluations. RESULTS: Sixty-six children were enrolled in the study and were included in the safety analysis. Throughout the treatment period, no child discontinued therapy because of an adverse event and no clinically significant changes in laboratory values were observed. Three of the 32 children (9%) who received lansoprazole 15 mg once daily (mean exposure 50.3 days) and 6 of the 34 children (18%) who received the 30 mg once-daily dose (mean exposure 49.4 days) experienced one or more treatment-related adverse events before any dose increase. The three children in the lansoprazole 15 mg treatment group were treated with doses of 0.6 mg to 1.2 mg/kg/day; those in the lansoprazole 30 mg treatment group were treated with doses of 0.7 mg to 0.9 mg/kg/day. Only one child experienced a new treatment-related adverse event after an increase in lansoprazole dose to 1.3 mg/kg/day. Treatment-related events experienced by two or more children were: constipation (lansoprazole 15 mg QD, two children; lansoprazole 30 mg QD, one child), and headache (lansoprazole 30 mg QD, two children). Mean fasting serum gastrin levels were significantly increased from 58.0 pg/mL at baseline to 112.4 pg/mL at week 2 and 121.9 pg/mL at the final visit (P < or = 0.001 for each comparison). However, the median fasting serum gastrin levels at the week 2 and the final visit were within the normal range (25-111 pg/mL). CONCLUSION: Lansoprazole, when administered on the basis of body weight in children between 1 and 11 years of age, is safe and well-tolerated.

2-Pyridinylmethylsulfinylbenzimidazoles↗

PubMed2002

Gender differences in functional status and pain in a Medicare population undergoing elective total hip arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND: The major indication for total hip arthroplasty (THA) is pain and disability in the hip. Evidence from state and local studies suggests that women may be more disabled than men at the time of THA. Whether worse disability at the time to THA affects outcomes is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To examine differences in functional status and pain in men and women at the time of THA and at 1 year in a nationally representative Medicare population. METHODS: Cohort of patients undergoing THA. Data were collected at the time of THA, 4 to 6 months after surgery, and 1 year after surgery. SETTING: All Medicare recipients older than age 65 in 12 selected states were eligible. PATIENTS: One thousand six hundred forty patients who underwent THA were identified and 1120 (432 men and 688 women) were enrolled. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Pain and functional status. RESULTS: At the time of THA, women were more likely than men to report severe pain with walking (67% vs. 58%; P <0.01), and needing assistance with walking (56% vs. 45%; P <0.01), housework (49% vs. 30%; P <0.01), and grocery shopping (51% vs. 31%; P <0.01). Men could also walk greater distances. These differences persisted after adjustment for comorbidities and age. One year following THA, women were more likely to report needing assistance with walking (30% vs. 21%; P <0.01), housework (29% vs. 23%; P <01), and grocery shopping (27% vs. 19%; P <0.01) and could walk shorter distances. These differences were partially accounted for by differences in comorbidities and baseline status. CONCLUSION: Compared with men, women in Medicare are more disabled at the time of THA and do not do as well at 1 year. Whether this difference arises from patients' preferences or bias in the health care system is unknown.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2002

Effect of baseline functional status and pain on outcomes of total hip arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND: It is unknown whether there is an optimal time for surgery-that is, whether waiting until a patient has greater disability results in a worse outcome. We examined the effect of baseline status on the outcome of total hip arthroplasty to determine if such a relationship existed. METHODS: All Medicare patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty for osteoarthritis in twelve states were identified by the fiscal intermediary beginning in October 1994 and continuing for approximately eight months; 1640 eligible patients were identified. Consenting patients were surveyed within two months after the procedure and again at twelve months after the procedure, and their medical records were reviewed. The baseline survey, completed by 1120 patients, included items regarding the level of activity, the presence and severity of pain with walking, the need for assistance for walking, the distance that the patient could walk, and whether the patient could perform Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs). Data on comorbid diagnoses were collected from the medical records. RESULTS: Patients with pain during walking at baseline were more likely to have pain at one year than those without pain at baseline (21% compared with 9%; p < 0.05). Patients who needed assistance with walking at baseline were more likely to need assistance at one year than those who did not need assistance at baseline (38% compared with 15%; p < 0.01). Similar results were seen with regard to the need for assistance with housework (39% compared with 18%; p < 0.01) and grocery shopping (37% compared with 14%; p < 0.01) and, to a lesser extent, for overall participation in moderate activity (17% compared with 10%; p < 0.01). These results persisted after controlling for comorbidities in a multiple regression equation. However, the worse a patient's preoperative status, the more he or she gained in all four measures (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of the present study suggest that the worse a patient's preoperative status, the more he or she may benefit from total hip arthroplasty. However, our findings also suggest that patients who have a worse preoperative status may not have as good an outcome as those who have a better preoperative status. Patients and physicians should consider these findings when discussing the timing of total hip arthroplasty.

Aged↗

PubMed2002

Health effects and biological monitoring results of Gulf War veterans exposed to depleted uranium.

A small group of Gulf War veterans have retained fragments of depleted uranium (DU) shrapnel, the long-term health consequences of which are undetermined. We evaluated the clinical health effects of DU exposure in Gulf War veterans compared with nonexposed Gulf War veterans. History and follow-up medical examinations were performed on 29 exposed veterans and 38 nonexposed veterans. Outcome measures used were urinary uranium determinations, clinical laboratory values, and psychiatric and neurocognitive assessment. Gulf War veterans with retained DU metal shrapnel fragments were found to be still excreting elevated levels of urinary uranium 7 years after first exposure to DU (range for exposed individuals is 0.01-30.7 micrograms/g creatinine vs. 0.01-0.05 microgram/g creatinine in the nonexposed). The persistence of the elevated urine uranium suggests ongoing mobilization of uranium from a storage depot, resulting in chronic systemic exposure. Adverse effects in the kidney, a presumed target organ, were not seen at the time of the study; however, other subtle effects were observed in the reproductive and central nervous systems of the DU-exposed veterans.

Humans↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Depression and multiple sclerosis: Review of a lethal combination.

Depression is the most frequent psychiatric disorder in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The etiology of depression is multifactorial and likely associated with psychosocial stress, focal demyelinating lesions, and immune dysfunction. Proper diagnosis and severity assessment are critical prior to initiation of therapy. Patients with suicidal ideation should be referred for immediate psychiatric consultation and be closely monitored. While more therapeutic trials for depression in MS are needed, MS patients have been shown to respond to current antidepressant medications and psychotherapy. Unfortunately, patients with MS and major depression or suicidal thoughts are often underassessed and therefore not diagnosed. Unlike other aspects of MS, depression is treatable. Early intervention in depression can prevent declines in quality of life and even death from suicide. This article reviews the unique features, assessment, and treatment of depression in MS. MS care providers should vigilantly assess depression and suicide risk in their patients.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Cognitive dysfunction in multiple sclerosis: Assessment, imaging, and risk factors.

Up to 70% of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients experience cognitive dysfunction during the course of their disease. The most often affected domains are attention, memory, and information processing speed. Sequelae of cognitive dysfunction include negative effects on activities of daily living, employment, and relationships. This article reviews cognitive dysfunction in MS and focuses specifically on assessment, imaging, and risk factors. A number of neuropsychological batteries have been developed specifically for assessing cognitive dysfunction in MS patients. Trade-offs in length, administrative support, and efficiency exist between the various batteries. Modern imaging techniques provide a clearer picture of MS-related damage to the central nervous system, which is the major cause of cognitive dysfunction. Additionally, candidate risk factors have been identified that may help predict which patients will develop cognitive dysfunction.

Adult↗