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Biomedical subjects

N J Nusbaum

Publications and source records attributed to N J Nusbaum.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Role of first responders in detecting and evaluating elders at risk.

Delay in recognition of elder abuse and neglect may be especially problematic for the elder residing in relative isolation. Police and fire personnel may have a unique opportunity to identify vulnerable elders as they interact with them in the community. The present study was designed to evaluate first responders in northern Illinois to determine their approach to vulnerable elders they encounter in the course of their work. A survey instrument was completed by the first responder, immediately preceding an educational intervention conducted at the work location of the first responder. Most first responders had no standard approach for screening vulnerable elders. First responders already detect many elders who pose a risk to themselves or others, but such detection efforts are typically unstructured. A particular area where a more structured approach might be of value is in screening for risk related to firearms.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

Factors governing speed of societal responses to threats: precision of definition of the threat may be more important than its anticipated likely severity.

Responses to two recent international public health threats, AIDS and BSE, both exemplify missed opportunities for early intervention. They are in contrast to the response to the Y2K computer issue, a threat of lesser-anticipated consequence but one that was more precisely defined. Lessons from these experiences should inform the public health response to new threats, such as the emergence of multiple drug resistance in human pathogens.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1999

Aging and sensory senescence.

BACKGROUND: The aging process typically is associated with decline in function for the various senses. A decline in sensory ability may simulate an intellectual decline that is not present. Sensory decline can lead to depression, social isolation, and even to hallucinations. METHODS: I reviewed the medical literature via computer, focusing on recent findings. RESULTS: Sensory changes with aging are common yet often go unrecognized and untreated. Declines in sensory function often reflect the combined effect of age-related changes in both the sensory organ and the central nervous system processing of sensory information. Combinations of defects in several sensory modalities are often found in the older individual. CONCLUSIONS: Correct diagnosis is important for management so that correctable causes of sensory decline are not overlooked.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

The saga of tobacco products liability litigation: a look back and a proposal for the future.

Recent developments in the courts have indicated an increased vulnerability of the tobacco industry to civil lawsuits brought because of tobacco-related illness. Much of the recent public discussion has dealt with how to attack the public health problem of childhood smoking, and the judicial system may also be of help in this effort. Antitrust law may be of particular benefit in dealing with tobacco promotion to children.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Red cell age by flow cytometry.

A method is presented for the use of red cell markers to assess the age of red cells in clinical samples. The reticulocyte count and its variants are already in clinical use to measure the number of young circulating red cells, but tools have not been put into place for studying the overall distribution of red cell age. These data could be of significant value, not merely for hematologic investigations, but as a part of infectious disease, renal, and toxicologic studies.

Cell Separation↗
PubMed1996

What good is it to get old?

The physiologic basis for aging is still incompletely understood, and most investigators have looked at aging as a process of decay without any clear adaptive advantage to the species. It is proposed that aging has potential evolutionary advantages, and that the aging process may have been the subject of positive selection.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

AZT incorporation into mitochondria: study in a human myeloid cell line.

Zidovudine (AZT) is widely used in the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection because of its ability to act as a false substrate for the viral reverse transcriptase. AZT in the clinical setting has also been shown to produce significant hematologic and other toxicity, even though prior reports in the literature indicate that AZT is not readily incorporated into mammalian nuclear DNA. The human myeloid leukemia cell line HL-60 was grown in the presence of radiolabeled AZT or radiolabeled deoxythymidine as an in vitro model to study AZT toxicity for human myeloid cells. Radioactivity was reversibly incorporated into the mitochondria, suggesting that AZT toxicity may result in part from its toxic effects on human mitochondria rather than on human nuclear DNA.

Antimetabolites↗
PubMed1996

How do geriatric patients recover from surgery?

Age is often a marker for comorbid illnesses that may complicate attempts at surgical intervention. Careful selection is important in deciding to recommend surgery for geriatric patients, but selected elderly patients may even benefit from major surgery. Ancillary services, such as nutrition, nursing, and physical therapy, are particularly important components in the postoperative care of geriatric patients. Case series have shown the ability of geriatric patients to recover from major surgical procedures, including cardiac surgery, neurosurgery, and oncologic surgery. In general, advanced age is not a contraindication to surgery but it reinforces the need for careful preoperative evaluation and vigorous postoperative support of the patient.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Combination antiretroviral chemotherapy: a potential strategy in AIDS-related malignancy.

There has been considerable interest and controversy over the potential clinical role of combination antiretroviral therapy, primarily in the treatment of patients with established HIV infection. In order to model the hematologic toxicity of high-dose combination antiretroviral therapy, the HL60 myeloid leukemia cell line was exposed to zidovudine, dideoxycytidine and/or didanosine. The results suggest that the myelotoxicity of high-dose combination antiretroviral therapy may be controlled by using very brief periods of drug exposure. Brief intense antiretroviral therapy may offer a useful approach, particularly in the treatment of patients with AIDS-related neoplasms who are also receiving myelotoxic antineoplastic drugs.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1995

Computers and the clinical laboratory.

Quality control in the clinical laboratory has long been an important concern. The techniques used for several decades have relied heavily on aggregated data analysis of the data within the clinical laboratory itself, techniques which were feasible even in a system of manually maintained laboratory records. The development of increasingly sophisticated computerized hospital information systems presents an opportunity to significantly expand upon traditional quality control efforts.

Clinical Laboratory Information Systems↗
PubMed1995

Paclitaxel effect on a leukemia cell line: importance of paclitaxel concentration.

The efficacy of a drug may be a complex function of the length of drug exposure and the drug concentration. One traditional way to model these variables together has been to look at the area under the curve (AUC) when drug concentration is plotted against time. Experiments in an HL60 leukemia cell model suggest that, for the antineoplastic drug paclitaxel, AUC is not a good predictor of efficacy.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Review: selective filtration--a phlebotomy strategy for sickle cell therapy.

The molecular defect in sickle cell disease is an error in the coding for hemoglobin synthesis. All of a patient's erythrocyte precursors share the genetic defect, but the patient's circulating erythrocytes are heterogenous in their degree of deformability. Periodic removal, by selective filtration, of the least deformable of the circulating erythrocytes might prove of clinical benefit.

Anemia, Sickle Cell↗
PubMed1995

AZT modulation of trimetrexate myelotoxicity: evidence from an HL60 model.

AZT is widely used in combination with other potentially myelotoxic drugs. Bone marrow suppression may limit the vigor of therapy directed at HIV itself, opportunistic infections, and/or AIDS-associated malignancies. Evidence from an HL60 model suggests that toxicity is of most concern with simultaneous use of multiple agents, and that staggered use of different agents may in some cases be a more effective strategy.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗