Biomedical subjects

Deborah White

Publications and source records attributed to Deborah White.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

In vitro sensitivity to imatinib-induced inhibition of ABL kinase activity is predictive of molecular response in patients with de novo CML.

Most patients with de novo chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) achieve good responses to imatinib, but the rate and degree of molecular response is variable. We assessed the inhibitory concentration 50% for imatinib (IC50imatinib) in 62 patients with de novo chronic-phase CML as a predictor of molecular response. IC50imatinib was determined in pretherapy blood samples by measuring the in vitro imatinib-induced reduction of the phosphorylated form of the adaptor protein Crkl (CT10 regulator of kinase like). There was marked variability between patients, with IC50imatinib ranging from 0.375 to 1.8 microM (median, 0.6 microM). Patients with low IC50imatinib (IC50 < or = 0.6 microM; n = 36) had a 36% probability of achieving 2-log reduction in BCR-ABL (breakpoint cluster region-abelson) by 3 months compared with 8% in patients with high IC50imatinib (n = 26) (P = .01). The IC50imatinib was also predictive of molecular response at 12 months, with 47% of patients in the low IC50imatinib group achieving 3-log reduction and 23% in the high IC50imatinib group (P = .03). The predictive power of IC50imatinib was particularly strong in patients with low Sokal scores. These data provide strong evidence that intrinsic sensitivity to imatinib is variable in previously untreated patients with CML, and the actual level of BCR-ABL kinase inhibition achieved is critical to imatinib response. The IC50imatinib potentially provides a new prognostic indicator for molecular response in patients treated with imatinib.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗

PubMed2004

Classifying asthma severity in children: mismatch between symptoms, medication use, and lung function.

Current guidelines for asthma care categorize asthma severity based on the frequency of asthma symptoms, medication use, and lung function measures. The objective of this study was to determine whether lung function measures are consistent with levels of asthma severity as defined by the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program/Expert Panel Report 2 Guidelines. Parents of children aged 5-18 years with asthma seen in two outpatient subspecialty clinics completed questionnaires regarding asthma medication use and symptom frequency over the preceding 1 and 4 weeks, respectively. All children performed spirometry. When asthma severity was based on the higher severity of asthma symptom frequency or medication use, asthma was mild intermittent in 6.9% of participants, mild persistent in 27.9%, moderate persistent in 22.4%, and severe persistent in 42.9%. FEV(1) % predicted did not differ by level of asthma severity. FEV(1)/FVC decreased as asthma severity increased (p < 0.0001) and was abnormal in 33% of the participants, and a greater percentage of participants had an abnormal FEV(1)/FVC as asthma severity increased (p = 0.0001). In children, asthma severity classified by symptom frequency and medication usage does not correlate with FEV(1) categories defined by National Asthma Education and Prevention Program Guidelines. FEV(1) is generally normal, even in severe persistent childhood asthma, whereas FEV(1)/FVC declines as asthma severity increases.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Evaluating in-home training for fathers of children with autism using single-subject experimentation and group analysis methods.

BACKGROUND: Autism, or the broader category of autistic spectrum disorder, is a complex developmental disability with uncertain etiologies that appears to be increasing in prevalence. Researchers have stated that training programs for children with autism are most effective when they are individualized, address communicative intent of child behaviors, and promote social reciprocity between children and individuals with whom they have regular contact. Yet, to date, most of what is known comes solely from studying mothers, who have traditionally been the most accessible parent. OBJECTIVES: In this study the mother-child in-home training program was modified and evaluated for its effects on the acquisition of training skills by fathers and on precommunication skills by the autistic children. METHODS: Frequency counts of skills taught to fathers and targeted child behaviors were obtained from videotaped father-child play sessions. These data were analyzed for each father-child dyad by using graphs and visual analyses, which are integral parts of single-participant experimentation. This procedure was replicated across all of the father-child dyads. Data were then grouped and analyzed using the more traditional repeated measures analysis of variance. RESULTS: The most significant findings were increases in father use of imitating with animation (p < .0001) and child initiating following training (p < .0004). Also noteworthy were significant increases in father responding (p < .0005) and child vocalizations (p < .05). DISCUSSION: Results of the study indicate that the in-home training for fathers of children with autism was effective and valued by the participating families.

Adult↗