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Biomedical subjects

P Devine

Publications and source records attributed to P Devine.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Internet use by patients with prostate cancer undergoing radiotherapy.

OBJECTIVES: To analyze the amount of Internet use, type of Internet use, and factors that predict Internet use by patients with prostate cancer. METHODS: A questionnaire evaluating the use of the Internet was given to 295 patients undergoing radiotherapy for prostate cancer in three different settings: an academic center (AC), a Veterans Affairs center (VA), and a community hospital. The study included 171 AC patients (58%), 104 VA patients (35%), and 20 community hospital patients (7%). RESULTS: The response rate to the questionnaire was greater than 99%. Overall, 128 (43%) of 295 patients had a home computer. This differed among the institutions, with 64% of AC patients and only 5% of VA patients having a home computer (P <0.0001). Overall, 94 (32%) of 295 patients used the Internet to access cancer information, with 48% of AC patients and 8% of VA patients using the Internet (P <0.0001). Seventeen percent of black patients (n = 113) had a home computer compared with 62% of white patients (n = 175; P <0.0001). Equal access to computers did not influence Internet use because, among those patients who had access to computers, black patients used the Internet less than did white patients (32% versus 61%, P <0.0001). Men 65 years of age or younger were more likely to use the Internet (45%) than those older than 65 years (28%; P = 0.004). Patients used many sites to access different types of information. CONCLUSIONS: A significant number of patients with prostate cancer access the Internet to obtain cancer information. Urologists and radiation oncologists should be familiar with this important resource to help patients access appropriate material.

Academic Medical Centers↗
PubMed2000

Use of complementary health practices by prostate carcinoma patients undergoing radiation therapy.

BACKGROUND: There has been increasing interest in complementary health practices among patients, popular media, and even institutional health care providers. However, there is still surprisingly little information on the use of alternative medicine by patients undergoing treatment for prostate carcinoma. METHODS: A prospective study of 50 consecutive patients undergoing radiation treatment for prostate carcinoma at a tertiary care referral center was conducted. Patients were surveyed after the initiation of radiation therapy whether they had used complementary health practices at any time. RESULTS: The authors found that a surprisingly high proportion of patients (37%) relied on complementary health practices not prescribed by physicians. In contrast, according to a separate survey of the treating physicians, the physicians believed that on average only 4% of their patients resorted to such practices. The use of complementary health practices usually continued even after the initiation of definitive treatment for prostate carcinoma. Patients who used complementary health practices tended to have higher levels of education and income, whereas there were no differences in age, religion, perception of health status, stage of prostate carcinoma, or prostate specific antigen level. Herbal remedies were the most frequently utilized, by 60% of those using complementary health practices, followed by old-time remedies (47%), high dose vitamins (41%), chiropractic/massage therapy and relaxation techniques (18% each), and special diets (12%). CONCLUSIONS: Patients undergoing radiation therapy for prostate carcinoma frequently rely on complementary health practices not prescribed by their treating physicians. Patients who do so tend to have higher education and income levels and continue their complementary practices during the conventional treatment. As the health implications of these practices are unclear, further research is clearly needed.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2000

Pertussis antibody levels in infants immunized with an acellular pertussis component vaccine, measured using whole-cell pertussis ELISA.

A commercially available whole-cell pertussis IgG ELISA was used to test the response of 137 2-month-old infants to immunization with a trivalent acellular pertussis vaccine. The pre-immunization geometric mean (GM) IgG index was 6.96 (95% confidence interval (CI) 5.88-8.04) and the postimmunization GM index was 13.16 (95% CI 12. 20-14.11), P < 0.001. Eighty percent of subjects (110/137) had a significant 1.5-fold increase of pertussis IgG index (97/137, 71%) or a postimmunization IgG index > 10 (93/137, 68%). In single antigen ELISA, 83% showed at least a fourfold increase in pertussis toxin-specific IgG (PT-IgG) and 91% showed an increase in IgG specific for filamentous haemagglutinin (FHA-IgG). Four percent had high pre- immunization antibody levels (index > 20), likely to reflect recent maternal exposure to pertussis. This correlated with a smaller increase in pertussis IgG index. A decline in pertussis IgG index postimmunization occurred in 17/24 infants (71%) whose pre-immunization IgG index was > 10. This postimmunization pertussis IgG index was not significantly different to that of infants with a low pre-immunization index. A similar trend was noted with PT-IgG and FHA-IgG results. The whole-cell ELISA can detect a response to acellular pertussis vaccination in most infants if both antibody index and degree of seroconversion are calculated and at least one criterion is satisfied.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗
PubMed1999

Oral cavity and oropharyngeal tumors in human immunodeficiency virus-positive patients: acute response to radiation therapy.

BACKGROUND: The survival of patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has improved considerably with modern medical management. However, there remains surprisingly little information on treating head and neck neoplasms in HIV-positive patients. OBJECTIVE: To report our recent experience treating oral cavity and oropharyngeal tumors in HIV-positive patients. DESIGN AND PATIENTS: Retrospective analysis of a cohort of 8 HIV-positive patients with Kaposi sarcoma (KS), lymphoma, or squamous carcinoma of the oral cavity or oropharynx who were consecutively treated during a single year with radiation therapy at a tertiary care referral center. Length of follow-up was at least 2 years (mean, 2.5 years). RESULTS: All patients had partial and complete responses to treatment lasting until the last follow-up. However, we found that treatment was considerably better tolerated by patients with non-KS tumors, with fewer acute reactions and significantly less weight loss, despite larger treatment volumes and higher radiation doses, compared with patients with KS. Patients with non-KS tumors received a mean radiation dose of 62.6 Gy to 2636 cm3, yet lost only a mean of 0.1 kg in weight, whereas patients with KS were treated with a mean radiation dose of 19 Gy to a mean volume of 568 cm3, but lost a mean of 5.8 kg during treatment (P = .005) and on average sustained an additional grade of severity on a standard scale of mucosal reaction (P = .01). CONCLUSIONS: Oral cavity and oropharyngeal tumors in HIV-positive patients respond to radiation therapy, but there is a marked difference in the degree of acute reactions to treatment between patients with and without KS. Infection with HIV is not a contraindication when aggressive radiation therapy is needed in select patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Electric stimulation and wound healing.

Interest in accelerating the process of wound healing has existed since the beginning of health care. Although significant advances have been made in our understanding of the stages of wound healing, the mediators of tissue repair and regeneration, as well as the efficacy of many treatments, have not been fully evaluated. This article will review electric stimulation as one means to promote wound healing.

Electric Stimulation Therapy↗
PubMed1998

Clinical evaluation of a rapid immunochromatographic test for the diagnosis of dengue virus infection.

A rapid immunochromatographic test was compared to the hemagglutination inhibition assay for separate determinations of dengue virus-specific immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgG levels in paired serum specimens from 92 patients (34 with primary dengue virus infection, 35 with secondary dengue virus infection, and 23 without dengue virus infection). The rapid test showed 99% sensitivity in the diagnosis of dengue virus infection. The majority (30 of 34 [88%]) of patients with primary infection showed positive IgM but negative IgG, while 34 of 35 (97%) patients with secondary infection showed positive IgG with or without IgM. Specificity in nonflavivirus infections was 96% (1 of 23 positive). The rapid test should be a useful aid in rapid diagnosis of dengue virus infection.

Antibodies, Viral↗
PubMed1997

A fetal yawn?

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Female↗
PubMed1997

Combined determination of Coxiella burnetii-specific immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgA improves specificity in the diagnosis of acute Q fever.

Immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgA responses in patients with acute Q fever were compared by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. An increase in both IgM and IgA was observed in paired sera from all 19 patients with acute Q fever, and both IgM and IgA levels showed good correlation with complement fixation test titers. Paired sera from 23 patients with infections other than Q fever were also tested. IgM levels were elevated in three of these patients, while IgA levels were elevated in three different patients (87% specificity for either IgM or IgA). As no patients in the disease control group showed elevated levels of both IgM and IgA, definition of a positive result as elevated levels of both IgM and IgA improved specificity to 100% without a decrease in sensitivity. This study indicates that detection of specific IgA is a useful adjunct to that of IgM in the diagnosis of acute Q fever.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗
PubMed1996

Data on apheresis, blood collection, and transfusion-related activities: statistical analyses of the American Association of Blood Banks institutional membership questionnaires.

BACKGROUND: The American Association of Blood Banks annually surveys institutional members on activities pertinent to blood collections, apheresis, and transfusions. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Retrospective descriptive statistics and comparative statistical analyses including trend tests were performed on selected topics from the 1989, 1990, and 1991 Institutional Questionnaires. The data were compiled by institution type, namely, regional and community blood donor collection centers and hospital-based facilities. Evaluated topics included the apheresis and therapeutic procedures performed, transfusion-associated AIDS and hepatitis, and the blood components (red cells, platelets, fresh-frozen plasma, and cryoprecipitate) that were collected, transfused, or outdated or discarded. RESULTS: Significant findings (p<0.05) included upward trends over time in the numbers of donor plateletpheresis units collected and transfused and in the numbers of random-donor platelet concentrates collected by hospitals. There was an upward trend over time in the outdating or discarding of all blood component types that was reported by hospitals. Data from blood centers showed the outdating or discarding of significant numbers of apheresis platelets, fresh-frozen plasma, and cryoprecipitate. No significant trends were identified in the reported cases of transfusion-associated hepatitis or AIDS. CONCLUSION: Ongoing data analysis of the institutional questionnaires provides information on trends in blood collection and transfusion-related activities.

Blood Banks↗
PubMed1995

Characterization of the major sialyl-Lex-positive mucins present in colon, colon carcinoma, and sera of patients with colorectal cancer.

The expression of the mucin-bound sialyl-Lewisx epitope is increased in the tissue of most colorectal carcinomas and in the sera of about 30% of tumor patients. In colon cancer, a portion of the sialyl-Lex groups detectable with the monoclonal antibody AM-3 is located on MUC1 (C. Hanski et al., Cancer Res., 53: 4082-4088, 1993). In order to characterize the major colon carcinoma-associated sialyl-Lex-positive glycoprotein components, the tissue- and serum-derived antigens were investigated. The buoyant densities of the sialyl-Lewisx-positive antigens from tumor and normal colonic tissues and from sera of patients with colon carcinoma and healthy donors correspond to that of mucins (1.40 g/ml). The sialyl-Lex-positive mucins purified from both tissues elute under nonreducing conditions in the void volume of a Sepharose CL-2B column, indicating a molecular mass more than 2 x 10(7) daltons. They yield in immunoblot after SDS gel electrophoresis under reducing conditions a main band at an apparent M(r) 880,000. Radioactive labeling revealed that the band at M(r) 880,000 is the major protein component in sialyl-Lewisx-positive mucins both from tumor and normal colonic tissue. In sera of colon carcinoma patients, the sialyl-Lex moiety is also detectable mainly on a M(r) 880,000 glycoprotein band and, additionally, on a M(r) 140,000 molecule as well as on alpha 1-acid glycoprotein. Sera from healthy donors exhibited only a sialyl-Lex-positive glycoprotein with the apparent M(r) 140,000. Sandwich ELISA as well as immunoblots of mucins purified from the colon carcinoma cell line LS174T indicated that the sialyl-Lex moiety migrating in the M(r) 880,000 band is located on MUC2 protein core. Together, these data suggest that sialyl-Lex antigen in colon, colon carcinoma, and the sera of patients with this tumor is located on the MUC2 molecule, consisting of several subunits with an apparent M(r) 880,000, linked via disulfide bridges. The increase of sialyl-Lex expression in colon carcinomas appears to be mainly due to a more frequent transfer of sialyl-Lex moieties onto the mucin core in tumor tissue.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMed1994

Pseudoinvasion of vascular spaces: report of an artifact caused by cervical lidocaine injection prior to loop diathermy.

Cervical loop diathermy is a relatively new procedure performed by gynecologists to diagnose and treat squamous intraepithelial lesions. We report a case of pseudoinvasion of vascular spaces noted in an excisional biopsy of a high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion of the cervix. The neoplastic epithelium was forced into the cervical stroma by injection of local anesthetic through the lesion prior to loop diathermy. The identification of this pseudovascular space invasion as artifact had important prognostic and therapeutic value. With the increasing use of loop diathermy and local anesthesia this type of artifact may be seen more commonly.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

PPACK attenuates plasmin-induced changes in endothelial integrity.

In order to determine whether plasmin affects endothelial cell integrity directly, confluent bovine aortic endothelial cells were treated with plasminogen and a plasminogen activator. The permeability of the monolayer to [125I]-albumin was shown to be increased significantly (P < 0.01) with a concomitant decrease in viability. Plasmin activity correlated significantly with endothelial cell permeability (p < 0.004; r = 0.82). Coincubation with D-phenylalanyl-L-prolyl-L-arginyl chloromethylketone, a tripeptide inhibitor of plasmin, reduced the increase in endothelial permeability induced by plasmin by 59% (p = 0.033). Monolayers studied in parallel were stained with rhodamine-phalloidin to visualize F-actin. There were significant morphologic changes in the endothelial monolayers exposed to plasmin compared to control monolayers, and these changes could be attenuated by coincubation with D-phenylalanyl-L-prolyl-L-arginyl chloromethylketone. These studies show that: 1) plasmin induces significant increases in endothelial cell permeability with accompanying morphologic changes; and 2) these deleterious functional and morphologic effects can be attenuated by coincubation with the plasmin inhibitor, D-phenylalanyl-L-prolyl-L-arginyl chloromethylketone.

Actins↗