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Biomedical subjects

S B Friedman

Publications and source records attributed to S B Friedman.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

School-based adolescent health care. Review of a clinical service.

OBJECTIVE: To provide recommendations regarding the establishment and maintenance of school-based clinics, based on analysis of data from a clinic located in a New York City high school. DESIGN: Review of demographic, medical, and psychosocial data collected during student visits. SUBJECTS: During 2 1/2 years, 1283 students were seen. The students were 53% girls and 47% boys; 65% black and 25% Hispanic; and 65% grades 9-10 and 35% grades 11-12. RESULTS: There were 7920 visits. Visits were for acute or chronic medical problems (44%), physical examinations and immunizations (25%), gynecologic or sexuality-related issues (17%), and mental health concerns (14%). Psychosocial characteristics of the 378 students who enrolled during the 1989-1990 academic year indicated that only 27% lived with both natural parents, 55% were foreign-born, 37% had repeated a grade at least once, 44% were sexually active, 13% drank alcohol, and 14% had past or present suicidal ideation. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrate that a school-based clinic can be involved in the management of a wide range of health care needs for large numbers of at-risk youth. In addition, school-based clinics can serve as a major site for the teaching of medical students and residents, and as a valuable resource for clinical research.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

The effects of television viewing on preoperative anxiety.

Previous studies have looked at the relationship between preoperative anxiety and postoperative course. However, few studies have looked at methods to decrease preoperative anxiety. To investigate preoperative anxiety and possible anxiety reduction strategies, the investigators devised a clinical study to examine the effects of television viewing on preoperative anxiety. The study compared patients who were not able to watch television in the preoperative setting with those who were. The investigators hypothesized that television viewing in the preoperative setting would decrease preoperative anxiety. A purposive sampling method was chosen so that the study population could be selected using certain criteria. The sample consisted of adult patients 18 to 77 years old who were admitted to the preoperative area at least 2 hours before surgery. A total of 76 subjects participated in the study. However, due to incomplete data on seven of the questionnaires, 7 of the subjects were rejected. Of the remaining 69 subjects, 39 had no television access and the remaining 30 did. Statistical comparisons of the two groups suggest that there was a significant difference in the anxiety levels of the two groups. As hoped, the hypothesis was proven correct: Those subjects who watched television in the preoperative area had significantly lower levels of anxiety than those who did not.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Marfan syndrome in adolescents and young adults: psychosocial functioning and knowledge.

Twenty-two subjects with Marfan syndrome (age range 11-24 years, mean 15.7 years) were studied to evaluate the impact of Marfan syndrome on their lives, level of psychosocial adaptation, concerns about their disorder, compliance with medical regimens, and knowledge of Marfan syndrome. Subjects were interviewed and then completed the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire and two questionnaires designed for the study. Parents also were interviewed. Subjects demonstrated normal psychosocial adaptation on the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire. Nevertheless, the subjects perceived that their lives would be significantly better without Marfan syndrome, especially in the areas of physical activities and self-image. They expressed concerns about their illness most often to their parents, less frequently to their doctors. Their compliance with medical regimens were suboptimal and similar to the published description of compliance among teenagers with other chronic illnesses. Their knowledge base was weakest in the areas pertaining to future childbearing. Thus, although these subjects showed normal psychosocial adaptation, doctors caring for them may foster better coping with Marfan syndrome by discussing self-image issues and Marfan syndrome-related concerns, and by encouraging compliance and imparting knowledge.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1988

Relationship between psychosocial variables and school absenteeism in kindergarten children.

Experimental and clinical studies have demonstrated that psychosocial factors may influence various immune responses. Recently, the relationship between psychologically stressful events and immunomodulation in humans has been reported. Few studies, however, have demonstrated clinically significant increases in infectious illness, or delayed recovery from infectious illness among humans as a result of stressful events. This study was undertaken to determine if children who experienced the greatest difficulty adjusting to kindergarten entry, a common event which is differentially stressful, would have the highest frequency of school absence (an index of illness). A randomly selected sample of 49 children entering kindergarten for the first time, and their families (patients of a suburban pediatric practice), were studied over a 6-month period utilizing health diaries, interviews with parents, parent ratings, physicians' records and ratings, and teacher ratings of children's behavior. We were unable to demonstrate a relationship between psychosocial factors and school absence among our sample of children. A possible explanation for this finding may be the relatively nondeviant character of the subjects studied. Another possibility is that kindergarten entry was not experienced as a stressful event for the children, most of whom had attended nursery school.

Absenteeism↗
PubMed1986

CEDIA, a new homogeneous immunoassay system.

Genetic engineering of beta-galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.23) has led to the development of a new homogeneous assay system, CEDIA. The Z gene of the lac operon of Escherichia coli encodes a large enzymatically inactive polypeptide that spontaneously aggregates and folds to form active beta-galactosidase. Using recombinant DNA techniques, we have been able to engineer beta-galactosidase protein into a large polypeptide (an enzyme acceptor, EA) and a small polypeptide (an enzyme donor, ED). The EAs and EDs are both enzymatically inactive, but spontaneously associate to form enzymatically active tetramers. In the assay, hapten or analyte is attached to an ED, and an analyte-specific antibody is used to inhibit the spontaneous assembly of active enzyme. Analyte in a patient's serum competes with the analyte in the analyte-ED conjugate for antibody, modulating the amount of beta-galactosidase formed. The signal generated by enzyme substrates is directly proportional to the analyte concentrations in the patient's serum. We describe quick (5-15 min) colorimetric tests for digoxin, requiring no serum pretreatments or predilutions and suitable for use with centrifugal and random-access analyzers.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1977

Children with cystic fibrosis: I. Psychological test findings of patients, siblings, and parents.

Psychological evaluation of 43 families, each with a child with cystic fibrosis, is reported. Personality testing of the parents showed that 32% of the fathers and 22% of the mothers obtained scores in the range suggestive of emotional disturbance. The Family-Concept O Sort assessment of family interaction indicated that the primary effect of having a child with cystic fibrosis was in terms of decreased family satisfaction and family adjustment. The results do not support previous estimates of an increased incidence of emotional disturbance in children with cystic fibrosis. Evidence for negative psychological impact of chronic illness on sibling development was also lacking. Future research would benefit from a focus on the strengths and resilience of children with cystic fibrosis and their families.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1975

Genital herpesvirus hominis infection in mice. I. Development of an experimental model.

Pregnant female mice, after intravaginal inoculation with Herpesvirus hominis (HVH) type 2, developed vaginitis on days 5 to 7 after virus challenge, followed by hunching and hind limb paralysis on days 7 to 9 and death from encephalitis on days 9 to 11. After initial replication in the mucous membranes of the genital tract, virus spread to the spinal cord and ascended to involve the brain. Viremia or replication of H. hominis type 2 in the liver or spleen was not detected. Virus was cleared from vaginal secretions by days 8 to 10 after infection. Pregnant mice were more susceptible to the infection than nonpregnant mice. This experimental infection in female mice provides a model for genital herpesvirus infection and for herpesvirus infection and for herpesvirus encephalitis in which one can evaluate potentially promising antiviral chemotherapeutic agents.

Animals↗