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Biomedical subjects

Pamela J Shapiro

Publications and source records attributed to Pamela J Shapiro.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

Peer-support in coping with medical uncertainty: discussion of oophorectomy and hormone replacement therapy on a web-based message board.

The Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered (FORCE) website is devoted to women at risk for hereditary breast and ovarian cancers (HBOC). To understand the unique health concerns and emotional support needs of these women, we examined threads on the FORCE archived message boards with relevance to the broader HBOC community. We report on a thread discussing the controversial decision to use hormone replacement therapy (HRT) following prophylactic oophorectomy (PO). We used a qualitative research inductive process involving close reading, coding and identification of recurrent patterns, relationships and processes in the data. Twenty-nine women posted 177 messages over 7 months. Two main groups of women posted: (1) Women who were BRCA+, had completed PO, and were debating or adjusting their HRT options in terms of optimizing both quality and quantity of life. (2) Women who were BRCA+, were contemplating PO, but wanted to better understand the potential physical and psychological consequences of surgical menopause before deciding. Frustrated by physicians' lack of knowledge and contradictory media articles about the long-term consequences of HRT in BRCA+ women, they sought resources, emotional support and specific experiential knowledge from each other and generated a unique sense of community and a high level of trust.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2006

Preparation of ultrafine chalcopyrite nanoparticles via the photochemical decomposition of molecular single-source precursors.

The synthesis and characterization of ultrafine CuInS2 nanoparticles are described. Ultraviolet irradiation was used to decompose a molecular single source precursor, yielding organic soluble approximately 2 nm sized nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution. UV-vis absorption, 1H and 31P{1H} NMR, and fluorescence spectroscopies and mass spectrometry were used to characterize decomposition of the precursors and nanoparticle formation. The nanoparticles were characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), scanning electron microscopy energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron diffraction, inductively coupled plasma analysis, UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy. They have a wurzite-type crystal structure with a copper-rich composition. The hypsochromic shift in their emission band due to quantum confinement effects is consistent with the size of the nanocrystals indicated in the HRTEM and XRD analyses.

Chemical Fractionation↗
PubMed2004

Interest in services among prostate cancer patients receiving androgen deprivation therapy.

Treatment side effects and decreased quality of life associated with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) suggest the need for supportive services for prostate cancer (PC) patients receiving ADT. Nonetheless, uptake of services is low, suggesting that PC patients' preferences are not being addressed. We examined interest in supportive services and predictors of interest among 118 PC patients receiving ADT. Overall interest in services was associated with lower quality of life (p = 0.01). The majority of participants expressed interest in informational services (70%), with a minority (22%) expressing interest in psychosocial services. Interest in psychosocial services was associated with younger age (p = 0.02), and shorter duration of ADT (p < 0.04), but was unrelated to psychological distress or social support. Although most men (68%) reported that they would prefer not to take medication for depression, 75% would do so if advised by their physician. Overall, results suggest that PC patients on ADT prefer individualized informational support. Substantial interest (61%) in Oncolink, an internet-based informational resource, suggests the Internet may provide an acceptable mode of service delivery. Health care providers should consider integrating increased informational support into routine care and, more generally, consider patient preferences in prioritizing and designing support services.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

Zwitterionic ring-borylated ansa-chromocene complexes.

Ring borylation of [Me4C2(eta5-C5H4)2CrCO] by B(C6F5)3 affords the zwitterionic complex {Me4(eta5-C5H4)(eta5-C4H3B(C6F5)3)}CrH(CO) (1), the first structurally characterized bent-metallocene complex of Cr(4+). This species decomposes thermally to the zwitterionic species {Me4(eta5-C5H4)(eta5-C4H3B(C6F5)3)}Cr (2) and the ionic species [Me4C2(eta5-C5H4)2CrCO][HB(C6F5)3] (3). The molecular structure of 2 is also described.

Journal Article↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Distress, psychiatric morbidity, and prescriptions for psychotropic medication in a breast cancer waiting room sample.

We examined relationships among psychiatric screening, the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity, and prescription rates for psychotropic medication in a waiting room sample of breast cancer patients (N=113). Rates of distress (29%), major depressive disorder (MDD; 9%), and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD; 6%) were low and similar to those found in primary care settings. A substantial proportion of patients (52%) had received psychotropic medication during treatment, including almost half (48%) of those without a current psychiatric diagnosis. Most individuals with MDD received pharmacotherapy during cancer treatment (80%), although only half of those with GAD were treated. Overall high rates psychotropic medication negatively impacted the efficiency of screening, and individuals with elevated distress were about 6 times less likely to represent a case of untreated psychiatric morbidity than to be a new case. We conclude that the risk of psychiatric morbidity attributable to breast cancer may be lower and treatment rates for psychiatric morbidity higher than previously believed and that screening is unlikely to provide efficient identification of untreated psychiatric morbidity. Adequacy of follow-up care is unclear and medication may be prescribed nonspecifically. The low rate of untreated psychiatric morbidity may signal a need for multisite collaborations to generate adequate numbers of participants in clinical trials.

Adult↗