PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Robert Nicholson

Publications and source records attributed to Robert Nicholson.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

The contribution of pain-related anxiety to disability from headache.

Disability associated with headache cannot be fully accounted for by pain intensity and headache frequency. As such, a variety of cognitive and affective factors have been identified to help explain headache-related disability beyond that accounted for by pain levels. Pain-related anxiety, a multidimensional construct, also has been found to contribute to disability in headache sufferers. What is not known is whether pain-related anxiety is unique in contributing to disability beyond the role of headache-specific cognitive factors and emotional distress. The present study examines the influence of pain-related anxiety on disability, after controlling for pain, cognitive (self-efficacy and locus of control), and affective factors (emotional distress) in a sample of 96 primary headache sufferers. Pain, headache-related control beliefs, and emotional distress accounted for 32%, with locus of control related to health care professionals contributing unique variance. In the full model, with the addition of pain-related anxiety, only pain-related anxiety was a unique predictor of disability. These findings suggest that pain-related anxiety may have a unique and important role in contributing to disability in headache sufferers.

Absenteeism↗
PubMed2006

Cyclin D1 determines mitochondrial function in vivo.

The cyclin D1 gene encodes a regulatory subunit of the holoenzyme that phosphorylates and inactivates the pRb tumor suppressor to promote nuclear DNA synthesis. cyclin D1 is overexpressed in human breast cancers and is sufficient for the development of murine mammary tumors. Herein, cyclin D1 is shown to perform a novel function, inhibiting mitochondrial function and size. Mitochondrial activity was enhanced by genetic deletion or antisense or small interfering RNA to cyclin D1. Global gene expression profiling and functional analysis of mammary epithelial cell-targeted cyclin D1 antisense transgenics demonstrated that cyclin D1 inhibits mitochondrial activity and aerobic glycolysis in vivo. Reciprocal regulation of these genes was observed in cyclin D1-induced mammary tumors. Cyclin D1 thus integrates nuclear DNA synthesis and mitochondrial function.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Measurement of estrogen receptor status by immunocytochemistry in paraffin wax sections.

The estrogen receptor (ER) status and, to a lesser extent, progesterone receptor status have been recommended by recently published guidelines as important for routine prognostic and predictive evaluation of breast cancer. Although the clinical utility of ER status has been largely validated using biochemical ligand-binding assays such as the dextran-coated, charcoal ligand-binding assay, there has been the need to develop the ER immunocytochemical assay as a more accurate and practical alternative. In particular, ER status as determined on paraffin sections by immunocytochemical assay has been shown to be superior to the ligand-binding assay for predicting response to adjuvant endocrine therapy in breast cancer. The success of the paraffin-section assay is founded on two principles. The first relates to the advent of the heat-mediated, antigen-retrieval technique capable of restoring ER and progesterone receptor antigenicity in routinely prepared diagnostic formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections. The second is associated with the capacity for this substrate to provide more reliable and reproducible semiquantitative assessment of ER status in morphologically better-preserved tissue used routinely for histopathological diagnosis. The aim of this chapter is to describe the methodology currently used for optimal reproducible demonstration, scoring, and assessment of ER status in paraffin wax-embedded tissue sections in relation to the management of breast cancer in a routine or clinical-trial setting.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed2005

A self-administered behavioral intervention using tailored messages for migraine.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a Self-Administered Behavioral Intervention using Tailored messages (SEABIT) for migraine. The primary measures were headache days, headache-related disability, behavioral/emotional factors, and headache-related beliefs. BACKGROUND: Behavioral and cognitive-behavioral interventions for migraine treatment are well established and possess "Grade-A" evidence based on the U.S. Headache Consortium evidence-based guidelines. To increase the accessibility of behavioral interventions in primary and other settings, treatment can be delivered in self-administered formats. Incorporating tailored health communication strategies (via tailored messages) into a self-administered format can help maintain a level of personalization without requiring regular visits to a behavioral specialist. Tailored messages are created using individual-level assessment data to educate and motivate the patient to develop behavioral skills and strategies for migraine prevention and management. METHODS: Twenty-five individuals (95% female, 90% Caucasian, mean headache years = 21.0) began and 84% (21/25) completed all phases of the 8-week SEABIT developed for migraine prevention (preceded by a 1-month baseline phase and followed by a 1-month postintervention phase). RESULTS: Overall, 62% (13/21) reported at least a 50% reduction in headache frequency, and mean headache frequency for the group was also significantly reduced from baseline to postintervention (16.9 vs. 10.7, P < .001; eta2= .61). Headache-related disability, behavioral/emotional factors, and headache-management self-efficacy also showed significant improvement. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that the SEABIT for migraine prevention is an effective behavioral intervention that potentially could be accessed and distributed in a variety of settings including primary care.

Adult↗