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Biomedical subjects

L B Brown

Publications and source records attributed to L B Brown.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Johrei family healing: a pilot study.

Johrei is a form of spiritual healing comprising "energy channelling" and light massage given either by a trained healer or, after some basic training, by anyone. This pilot trial aimed to identify any potential benefits of family-based Johrei practice in childhood eczema and for general health and to establish the feasibility of a subsequent randomised controlled trial. Volunteer families of 3-5 individuals, including at least one child with eczema were recruited to an uncontrolled pilot trial lasting 12 months. Parents were trained in Johrei healing and then practised at home with their family. Participants kept diaries and provided questionnaire data at baseline, 3,6 and 12 months. Eczema symptoms were scored at the same intervals. Scepticism about Johrei is presently an obstacle to recruitment and retention of a representative sample in a clinical trial, and to its potential use in general practice. The frequency and quality of practise at home by families may be insufficient to bring about the putative health benefits. Initial improvements in eczema symptoms and diary recorded illness, could not be separated from seasonal factors and other potential confounders. There were no improvements on other outcomes measuring general health and psychological wellbeing of family members.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Donepezil therapy in clinical practice: a randomized crossover study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy of donepezil hydrochloride for the treatment of Alzheimer disease in patients drawn from clinical practice. DESIGN: Two-center, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-masked crossover study. SETTING: Memory disorders units at Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women's hospitals, Boston. PATIENTS: Sixty individuals (30 men and 30 women; mean +/- SD age, 75.0+/-9.5 years) with probable Alzheimer disease and scores of 20 or less on the information-memory-concentration subscale of the Blessed Dementia Scale. INTERVENTIONS: Placebo wash-in, followed in randomized sequence by (1) donepezil hydrochloride therapy, 5 mg/d, for 6 weeks, followed by placebo washout for 6 weeks and (2) placebo treatment for 6 weeks. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE: Change in Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale cognitive subscale scores from the beginning to the end of the two 6-week treatment periods. RESULTS: Among patients completing treatment and testing for both periods (n = 48), subscale scores improved (mean +/- SEM) 2.17+/-0.98 points (95% confidence interval, 0.20-4.10 points) during donepezil therapy relative to placebo therapy (P = .04). Scores returned toward baseline within 3 weeks of drug washout. There was no associated change in caregiver-rated global impression (donepezil vs placebo: proportion improved, 0.24 vs 0.22; proportion worsened, 0.27 vs 0.35; P = .34) or on specific tests of explicit memory or verbal fluency. Contrary to studies with tacrine, the presence of the apolipoprotein E epsilon4 allele did not predict donepezil treatment failure. Most common adverse events related to donepezil therapy were nausea (5 patients), diarrhea (3 patients), and agitation (3 patients). Serious events possibly related to drug use were seizure, pancreatitis, and syncope (1 patient each). CONCLUSION: This independent confirmation of data from phase 3 trials suggests that donepezil therapy modestly improves cognition in patients with Alzheimer disease who are encountered in clinical practice.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

Sensitivity of category cued recall to very mild dementia of the Alzheimer type.

We sought to replicate Buschke, Sliwinski, Kulansky, and Lipton's (1997) finding that the Category Cued Recall portion of the Double Memory Test can discriminate individuals with mild dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) and healthy older controls. We then attempted to extend this finding to those with very mild DAT. Finally, we compared these results with those of other tests that discriminate DAT from normal aging. Although we replicated Buschke et al.'s finding that the Category Cued Recall portion of the Double Memory Test discriminates effectively between mildly demented people and controls, it was little more effective in detecting very mild DAT than the WMS Logical Memory subtest nor did it add substantially to the discriminative ability of a brief battery of psychometric tests identified previously.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1999

An artefact desynchroniser for use with visual evoked potential stimulators.

When recording visual evoked potentials elicited by a CRT raster display, driven from a frame-synchronised stimulus generator, artefacts caused by magnetic fields originating from the CRT field coils may seriously contaminate the recordings. This interference cannot be removed by signal averaging as it is time locked to the frame rate of the CRT. The circuit described here effectively desynchronises the interference, enabling the signal averaging process to reduce the artefact without the bandwidth restriction and resultant distortion of the recording which would be caused by lowpass filtering.

Electronics, Medical↗
PubMed1998

Reflections on prevention in dieting-induced disorders.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to reflect on current approaches to the prevention of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. METHOD: The literature on preventing those disorders was examined within the context of the published literatures concerned with preventive interventions for adolescent drug-taking and alcohol-related behaviors. RESULTS: Our review revealed that those involved in preventing eating disorders maintain the traditional distinction between primary and secondary prevention, although the fruitfulness of that categorization is now uncertain. DISCUSSION: It is argued that interventions for dieting-induced disorders ought to be generic, and target the gamut of transitional risk behaviors among adolescents. Programs for dieting, cigarette smoking, alcohol use, and safe sex within the health and social development curricula in schools must be sustained by comprehensive efforts within the broader context of societal and systemic change.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Rapid onset: a valid panic disorder criterion?

This study examined the value of the DSM-IV time criterion for panic disorder (PD) requiring an abrupt onset to panic attacks (PAs) with a time to peak intensity (TTPI) of less than 10 min, and evaluated features distinguishing rapid onset (TTPI < 10) from prolonged onset (TTPI > 10) panickers. Eight hundred and sixty-four respondents to the National Institute of Mental Health Panic Disorder Questionnaire (NIMH PQ) who met the first three PD criteria were compared based on the time criterion. The prolonged onset panickers (18.2%) did not differ significantly from rapid onset panickers (81.8%) on any of 100 items assessing clinical symptoms, course of illness, and comorbidity of PD. These results suggest that many patients with otherwise classic features of PD have a prolonged TTPI of PAs, and that patients with prolonged-onset PAs are similar to patients with rapid-onset PAs on most measures. The reliability, validity, and clinical relevance of the current DSM-IV TTPI criterion should be evaluated in future studies.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Reports of dieting among children: effects of interview style and approach to information collection.

Recent reports have suggested that worrying about getting fat, and restrictive eating practices have been identified among pre-pubescent girls. This study sought to examine the extent to which interviewing styles and question or response types would differentially affect such reports about dieting among 40 third- and 40 sixth-grade girls. When these girls were asked if they had dieted, or if they intended to go on a diet in the future, the information-eliciting strategies interacted in different ways for the younger and older girls. As an external validation of their body-related attitudes, a second aim was to replicate Huon, Morris & Brown's (1990) body size preference study with children. Few girls identified the very thin body as their 'ideal', and their choices were not consistent with the claim that they might be dissatisfied with their body.

Body Image↗
PubMed1996

Task dependence in color-naming latency among dieters.

OBJECTIVE: This study was concerned with the robustness of responses to food- and to body-related words within a modified Stroop procedure. METHOD: A within-subjects repeated measures design with 30 female dieters was used in order to examine task dependence in slowed color naming, with comparisons involving different dependent measures and the subjects' responses to the same stimuli using a simple computerized task. RESULTS: The color naming of food words was retarded when compared to neutral words, and more food words than neutral words were seen to appear first in the simple computerized decision task using the same lists of words. In contrast, the time taken to color name body and neutral words did not differ. DISCUSSION: Taken together, these results emphasize that these effects are not confined to patients with an eating disorder, and may simply reflect current community concern with healthy eating (and dieting). It is premature to advocate the Stroop procedure as an index of psychopathology, since it requires some evidence for the specificity of responses among patients with an eating disorder, and more importantly, a consensus about what might be involved in producing such effects.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

The role of restraint and disinhibition in appetite control.

Fifty-six women classified according to their restraint and disinhibition scores, using Stunkard and Messick's (1985) Eating Questionnaire, participated in an experiment in which the proportion of carbohydrate in a prepared meal and the knowledge provided to them about its contents were varied. Measures were taken of their desire for food and their willingness to eat, as well as the total intake and the amount of carbohydrate and of protein they ate at an ad libitum test meal 4 hr later. While the results do not support the argument that laboratory-induced counter-regulatory eating can be attributed to disinhibition, they emphasize the usefulness of our experimental model which allows the interaction of dietary, cognitive and personality factors to be examined concurrently in investigations of appetite control.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Interaction of glyceryl trinitrate and sodium nitroprusside with bovine pulmonary vein homogenate and 10,000 x g supernatant: biotransformation and nitric oxide formation.

The current proposed mechanism of action of nitrovasodilator drugs involves biotransformation to nitric oxide, which is postulated to be the active vasodilator substance. Our objective was to determine whether nitric oxide was formed from two prototype nitrovasodilator drugs, glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP), after incubation with bovine pulmonary vein (BPV) preparations. GTN or SNP was incubated in an argon atmosphere with phosphate buffer, BPV homogenate, or the 10,000 x g supernatant fraction of the homogenate. Nitric oxide formation, as determined by a chemiluminescence-headspace gas method, was measurable following the incubation of SNP with BPV homogenate and 10,000 x g supernatant. There was no detectable formation of nitric oxide from the incubation of GTN with the two BPV preparations, although GTN was biotransformed to glyceryl dinitrate, as determined by gas-liquid chromatography. There was decreased recovery of nitric oxide during the incubation of authentic nitric oxide with the two BPV preparations as compared with buffer. In conclusion, formation of nitric oxide was measured for the interaction of SNP, but not GTN, with BPV preparations. However, the data do not exclude the possible formation of nitric oxide from GTN, as nitric oxide was shown to be sequestered or transformed by the BPV preparations.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Comparison of oral contraceptive use in women with adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix.

The possible link between oral contraceptives (OCs) and cervical adenocarcinoma was tested by a case-case study of prior and current OC use in women with adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. Cases were matched by age, year of diagnosis, and stage of the lesion, and personal, reproductive, and contraceptive data were obtained by mailed questionnaires. Except for smoking, which was significantly more prevalent in women with squamous cell carcinoma, the two groups were identical, with similar OC exposure. This study does not support the idea that OCs modulate the expression of cervical neoplasia in favor of adenocarcinoma.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1989

Assessing bulimics' dissatisfaction with their bodies.

A Body Mapping Questionnaire and a Colour-the-Body Task were devised to assess the dissatisfaction that bulimics feel about their body, beyond their preoccupation with its weight. When 134 women, 67 diagnosed with bulimia nervosa and 67 non-patient controls were matched for age, weight and height, the bulimics showed greater overall dislike for their body, and for about half of its specified parts.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Adriamycin and cisplatin in the treatment of stage III and IV epithelial ovarian carcinoma.

A total of 342 eligible, previously untreated patients with Stage III or IV epithelial ovarian carcinoma were treated with Adriamycin and cisplatin, both at 50 mg/m2, for nine courses. Of the 210 patients who had clinically detectable disease after initial surgery, 85 (41%) had a complete clinical response and 45 (21%) had a partial clinical response. A total of 197 were clinically free of disease at the completion of chemotherapy and 175 of these had a second-look laparotomy; 55 had no macroscopic or microscopic evidence of residual disease after multiple random biopsies were examined histologically (complete surgical/histologic response). The major determinants of complete surgical/histologic response were diameter of largest residual tumor prior to treatment, ECOG performance status, and grade, patients with grade 3 tumors having a higher complete response rate than those with grade 1 or 2 tumors. The major determinants of survival were ECOG performance status and diameter of largest residual tumor prior to treatment. Median survival of the total group was 1.8 years.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

A predictive index of cure versus no cure in advanced ovarian carcinoma patients--replacement of second-look laparotomy as a diagnostic test.

Three hundred forty-two Stage III and IV epithelial ovarian carcinoma patients received cytoreductive surgery followed by Adriamycin and cisplatin, 50 mg/m2 each, q 4 weeks for 9 courses. One hundred ninety-seven were clinically NED at completion of treatment and 173 of these 197 had a second-look laparotomy. One hundred twenty had persistent disease. Fifty-three were second-look negative and had no further treatment. Thirty of these latter patients relapsed--all (with one exception) within 2 years. Those not relapsing after negative second-look are considered "cured" (median follow-up 42 months, range 24-68 months) and all others "failures." Stage was a significant predictor of treatment failure--there were no Stage IV "cures." In Stage III patients, age and largest residual tumor diameter post initial surgery were significant predictors of failure. Performance status was marginally significant. In our series, any patient with Stage IV disease or Stage III disease with at least two of the following three poor prognostic factors had a chance of cure of 2.2% (2 "cures" out of 90 patients): age greater than 60 years, macroscopic residual initially, or initial performance status of 2 or 3. Under normal circumstances a second-look procedure to identify persistent disease in this group of patients does not appear justified.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Second-line chemotherapy of stage III-IV ovarian carcinoma: a randomized comparison of melphalan to melphalan and hexamethylmelamine in patients with persistent disease after doxorubicin and cisplatin.

A total of 205 women with stage III or IV ovarian cancer who had persistent disease after initial treatment with doxorubicin and cisplatin were randomized to receive melphalan (8 mg/m2 orally for 4 days) or the combination of melphalan (6 mg/m2 for 4 days) and hexamethylmelamine (120 mg/m2 for 14 days) every 4 weeks. Only one of 64 patients with measurable disease had an objective response. The major determinants of survival after randomization were the amount of residual disease after initial chemotherapy and the type of response to initial chemotherapy. There was no overall difference in survival between the two chemotherapy regimens, but the small group of patients whose disease progressed on initial chemotherapy survived significantly longer when treated with the two-drug combination. Neither of these regimens provided effective therapy for women whose disease was not eliminated by first-line treatment. However, the superior results obtained in one subgroup with the addition of hexamethylmelamine suggest that the place of this agent in treating ovarian cancer should be carefully evaluated.

Adult↗