Biomedical subjects

B Lafer

Publications and source records attributed to B Lafer.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1993

The evaluation of hospice home care volunteers.

A national sample of 139 hospice volunteer coordinators rated a series of statements about volunteer behaviors in terms of their importance to volunteer performance. Each statement had to be rated at least 8 on a scale of 10 by 75% of the respondents in order to be included in the final instrument. This procedure yielded a scale of 27 descriptors of appropriate volunteer behavior. The scale is intended for use by hospice volunteer coordinators who want a tool with which to offer concrete, behavior based, constructive feedback to volunteers about their performance.

Employee Performance Appraisal↗

PubMed1992

The human brain resonance of choline-containing compounds is similar in patients receiving lithium treatment and controls: an in vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study.

Lithium specifically and potentially inhibits membrane transport of choline. However, the effect of lithium on human neuronal choline content is unknown. This study was performed to determine if lithium alters the human brain choline concentration in vivo. In vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to compare the relative brain concentration of choline-containing compounds in seven lithium-treated patients and six lithium-free controls. No significant difference was observed in the mean relative choline resonance between the patient and control groups. Lithium treatment did not appear to alter the overall brain content of choline-containing compounds. It remains possible that a component of these compounds, particularly free choline, is elevated during lithium treatment.

Adult↗

PubMed1989

Predicting performance and persistence in hospice volunteers.

In a group of 75 prospective hospice volunteers, screened and accepted for training, those rated as performing satisfactorily differed significantly from those rated as performing unsatisfactorily or those who dropped out six months after completion of training. Discriminant function analysis indicated that a function consisting of death anxiety, tolerance, and flexibility significantly differentiated the three groups of volunteers. The satisfactory persisters demonstrated lower death anxiety, higher tolerance, and more moderate flexibility than unsatisfactory persisters or dropouts. Fifty (67%) of the 75 cases were correctly classified. These findings suggest that the inclusion of personality measures in the screening procedure could be useful in the selection of hospice volunteers.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Outpatients with DSM-III-R versus DSM-IV melancholic depression.

The purpose of this study was to compare outpatients who met DSM-III-R versus DSM-IV criteria for melancholia. Of 176 consecutive outpatients with unipolar depression, 40 (22.7%) met DSM-III-R criteria and 29 (16.5%) met DSM-IV criteria for melancholia. Patients with DSM-IV melancholia had higher mean scores on measurements of clinical severity as compared with those who qualified for a DSM-III-R diagnosis. These results suggest that the criteria for melancholia proposed in the DSM-IV are more restrictive and define a more severely depressed population than criteria in the DSM-III-R.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Neuropsychiatric disorders in systemic lupus erythematosus: a multidisciplinary review].

Neuropsychiatric alterations appear in 14-75% of lupic patients. Verified in 59% of the patients, psychiatric changes are the most frequent. Psychic symptoms are primarily related to the disease and secondary to uremia, hypertension, infection, and corticosteroids. Manifestations were also seen as a reaction to this chronic disease, which are potentially severe and causing many limitations to the patients. The authors review the literature considering the multidisciplinary aspects of this disease related to its pathogenesis, clinical features, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, and treatment.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Depression in the elderly: a review].

With the increase in life expectancy during recent years, the elderly population and its medical problems are increasing considerably. Depression in the elderly is an important example of this situation. In this article, the authors discuss special aspects of depression in the elderly, its clinical presentation, prevalence, course, etiologic factors, diagnosis, and treatment. They draw attention to the risk of not correctly identifying and treating those patients.

Aged↗