Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

S Simmons

Publications and source records attributed to S Simmons.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

An effective method for measuring salivary lithium in patients on anticholinergic drugs.

The parotid salivary response to citric acid and cholinergic agonist and antagonist was assessed in normal volunteers. Gustatory stimulation by circulation of citric acid in the mouth evoked reproducible parotid salivary burst. The salivary response to citric acid was minimally affected by anticholinergic drugs. Analysis of citric acid-evoked parotid saliva revealed a linear relationship between saliva and serum lithium concentrations in affectively ill patients treated with lithium only, or with lithium in combination with anticholinergic drugs. We suggest that parotid saliva lithium levels can be used to guide lithium therapy in patients for whom phlebotomy is not practical.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

The MNA position.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Glucose-induced insulin resistance of phosphatidylinositol 3'-OH kinase and AKT/PKB is mediated by the hexosamine biosynthesis pathway.

Hyperglycemia is responsible for many of the vascular complications and metabolic derangements seen in diabetes. One potential regulator of the effects of glucose is the hexosamine biosynthesis pathway (HBP). Glutamine: fructose-6-phosphate amidotransferase (GFA), the first and rate-limiting enzyme in this pathway, catalyzes the transfer of an amino group from glutamine to fructose-6-phosphate to form glucosamine-6-phosphate. Overexpression of GFA in rat-1 fibroblasts results in insulin resistance for glycogen synthase (GS) activity, and renders these cells more sensitive to the effects of glucose. Using rat-1 cells, we examine further the mechanisms whereby hexosamines lead to insulin resistance. Insulin stimulated GS activity was found to occur via a PI-3 kinase (PI-3K)-dependent pathway as wortmannin, an inhibitor of PI-3K, blocked insulin's ability to stimulate GS activity. Subsequently, we examined the effects of hexosamines on PI-3K and Akt/PKB activity. Cells were cultured in 1 mM glucose (low glucose, LG), 20 mM glucose (high glucose, HG), or 1 mM glucose plus 3 mM glucosamine (GlcN) for 16--20 h. After treatment with insulin (100 nM) for 5 min, cell extracts were assayed for IRS-1 associated and total PI-3K activity. At LG, insulin increased PI-3K activity by 43%. There was no insulin stimulation of PI-3K activity in cells cultured in HG or GlcN. There was a trend for IRS-1 protein levels to decrease in HG but not GlcN. PI-3K protein levels were not altered by HG or GlcN. Finally PKB activity was assayed. At LG, insulin stimulated PKB activity. Again, both HG and GlcN significantly reduced insulin's ability to stimulate PKB activity. We conclude that the hexosamine-mediated insulin resistance of GS activity seen in rat-1 cells is mediated by hexosamine regulation of PI-3K and PKB.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Long-term care residents' preferences for health states on the quality of well-being scale.

The Quality of Well-Being Scale (QWB) quantifies health-related quality of life with a single number that represents community-based preferences for combinations of symptom/problem complexes, mobility, physical activity, and social activity. The aim of this study was to compare preferences of a long-term care population with those of the general population, determine whether preferences vary by the age of the hypothetical (target) person depicted in the health-state case description, and derive weights for new symptom/problem complexes of particular relevance to frail, older individuals. A sample of 38 female and 12 male long-term care residents with an average age of 86 years was asked to rate health-state scenarios that combined the four health domains of the QWB. This sample rates quality of life 0.10 units lower on average (on a 0-1 scale) than did the general population sample from which the QWB preferences were originally developed. Ratings of the same health state for younger versus older target persons did not differ significantly (all p values > 0.05 for t statistics). Weights derived for 11 new symptom/problem complexes were: disturbed sleep (-0.252), sit-to-stand requires maximal effort (-0.259), lonely (-0.265), walking a short distance causes extreme fatigue (-0.273), agitated (-0.284), hallucinating (-0.355), incontinent (0-359), unable to control one's behavior (-0.36), urinary catheter (-0.374), restrained in bed or chair (-0.374), and feeding tube through the nose or stomach (-0.402). These new weights increase the relevance of the QWB for cost-utility evaluations of health interventions for long-term care residents.

Activities of Daily Living↗