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Treatment Control (treatment + control)
Selected AbstractsImpact of a Social Skills Intervention on the Hostile Attributions of Children With Prenatal Alcohol ExposureALCOHOLISM, Issue 2 2010Vivien Keil Background:, Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) has been linked to a wide array of developmental deficits, including significant impairments in social skills. Given the extensive body of evidence linking social information-processing patterns with social behavior, it is possible that social information-processing may represent one mechanism of behavioral change. The present investigation sought to answer the question of whether a well-established social skills intervention decreased the hostile attributions of children with PAE. Further, was there a differential impact of the intervention on hostile attributions in the context of peer provocation versus group entry scenarios? Methods:, Participants consisted of 100 children (51% male) with PAE between the ages of 6 and 12 years. Participants were randomly assigned to either a social skills intervention, Children's Friendship Training (CFT), or to a Delayed Treatment Control (DTC) condition. Results:, Analyses indicated that the social skills intervention resulted in a significantly lower proportion of hostile attributions in peer group entry, but not peer provocation, scenarios. This decrease was maintained over a 3-month follow-up period. Conclusions:, Deficits in social information-processing among individuals with PAE can be improved through social skills intervention, and these changes may lead to more positive developmental outcomes. [source] Cutaneous cryptococcosis associated with lepromatous leprosyINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 6 2001Rubem David Azulay MD A 65-year-old Brazilian man presented with an erythematous nodular lesion on the left forearm (Fig. 1). The patient had been treated with multidrug therapy for 8 months for lepromatous leprosy. During therapy, he developed recurrent episodes of reactions which were treated with high doses of prednisone and thalidomide. The histopathology of the cutaneous nodular lesion showed a granulomatous inflammatory infiltrate; some histiocytes contained vacuolations and others demonstrated oval-like or coma-like structures (Fig. 2). The specimen was cultivated in Sabouraud agar at room temperature. The colonies were transferred to Petri dishes containing Niger Seed Agar (NSA) (Fig. 3). The confirmed diagnosis was Cryptococcus neoformans var. neoformans based on microscopy and physiology, including the canavanine,glycine,bromothymol blue (CGB) medium (Lazéra MS, Pires FDA, Camillo-Coura L et al. Natural habitat of Cryptococcus neoformans var. neoformans in decaying wood forming hollows in living trees. J Med Vet Mycol 1996; 34: 127,131). The liquor culture was negative. Hemoculture and urine culture were also negative. Latex agglutination test was blood positive and liquor negative. Figure 1. Erythematous nodular lesion on the left forearm measuring 9 cm in diameter Figure 2. Granulomatous infiltrate presenting oval-like or coma-like structures inside the histiocytes (mucicarmine stain, ×,100) Figure 3. Petri dishes with Niger Seed Agar containing numerous colonies of Cryptococcus neoformans var. neoformans The patient's hemogram revealed normocytic anemia and normal total and differential white blood count. The CD4 count was 189/m3 and the CD8 count was 141/m3. Serology for anti-human immunodeficiency virus-I (anti-HIV-I) antibodies was negative. The X-ray of the lungs showed an areolar image in the superior lobe of the right lung. Therapy with prednisone was suspended and fluconazole (300 mg/day) was prescribed. The nodular cutaneous lesion regressed completely after 90 days. The patient was submitted to a second skin biopsy for treatment control. The culture of the specimen taken was still positive and the histopathology showed the same picture as before treatment. After 5 months of continued therapy with fluconazole, another biopsy was performed but no fungus was recovered from the specimen. [source] Symptom Perception and Adherence to Asthma Controller MedicationsJOURNAL OF NURSING SCHOLARSHIP, Issue 3 2006Ruth Ohm Purpose: To explore asthma symptom perception and the relationship between asthma symptom perception and adherence to asthma treatment. Design: Adult patients (N=120) of asthma/allergy specialty clinics, taking Advair® as a controller medication, were enrolled in this cross-sectional descriptive study. Methods: Ninety-seven participants completed 4 weeks of daily diaries to assess subjective symptom perception and measured peak expiratory flow rates (PEFR), both done twice daily. Individual perceptual accuracy scores (PAS) were determined by correlating the subjective symptom perception scores with the PEFRs. Measures included demographic variables, illness identity (personal control and treatment control, consequences, and timeline-cyclical subscales of the IPQ-R), asthma severity (FEV1 percentage) and a single-item indicator of perceived asthma severity. Adherence was measured by the Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS) and by an Advair® dose count (percentage of doses taken as prescribed). Findings: Independent t tests comparing adherence rates of good versus poor perceivers were not significant, using either the percentage Advair® dose count or the MARS. Multiple regression analyses showed that years with asthma, illness identity, and peak flow variability were all significant explanatory variables for perceptual accuracy. Conclusion: Peak flow variability adds complexity to the relationship between perceptual accuracy and adherence that warrants further investigation. [source] Pilot clinical study of a novel minimally invasive bipolar microneedle radiofrequency device,LASERS IN SURGERY AND MEDICINE, Issue 2 2009Basil M. Hantash MD Abstract Background and Objectives Noninvasive bipolar and monopolar radiofrequency (RF) deep dermal heating devices have previously been described. A novel minimally invasive RF device employing a bipolar microneedle electrode system is introduced and its resultant thermal effects on human skin in vivo were characterized for the first time. Study Design/Materials and Methods An investigational 35 W RF device was configured to operate in bipolar mode delivering energy directly within the dermis using 5 microneedle electrode pairs with real-time feedback of tissue temperature for treatment control. Superficial cooling was achieved using a Peltier device. A range of pulse durations between 1 and 25 seconds, and lesion temperatures between 60 and 80°C were tested in vivo on 15 human subjects. Thermal effects were assessed histologically using either hematoxylin & eosin (H&E) or nitroblue-tetrazoliumchloride (NBTC) staining. Treatment effects and adverse events were also monitored clinically. Results The investigational bipolar RF device delivered controlled heating within dermal tissue. Histological staining with H&E revealed the presence of zones of denatured collagen within the reticular dermis. Lesions were generated at preselected temperatures between 60 and 80°C. Fractional lesions separated by zones of sparing as well as contiguous lesion patterns were demonstrated. Histological staining with H&E and NBTC revealed sparing of adnexal structures and adipose tissue. No major adverse events were observed. Conclusions A novel fractional RF device utilizing a minimally invasive bipolar microneedle delivery system for the treatment of human tissue was developed. Treatment of 15 human subjects illustrated the controlled creation of dermally located thermal coagulation zones, herein known as radiofrequency thermal zones. We discovered that varying the pulse length allowed for fractional sparing of dermal tissue. To our knowledge, this is the first report to describe use of a direct real-time temperature and impedance feedback system to control energy delivery during deep dermal heating. Lasers Surg. Med. 41:87,95, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Effect of Cyclosporine Therapy With Low Doses of Corticosteroids on Idiopathic Nephrotic SyndromeARTIFICIAL ORGANS, Issue 3 2010Ioannis Griveas Abstract Cyclosporine (CyA) has an immunosuppressive effect that might suggest a therapeutic role in idiopathic glomerular conditions. We focused on the optimization of CyA treatment control in patients with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome by using trough-level CyA measurements (C0) and the 2-h postdose levels (C2). Twenty-two patients (14 male, 8 female) with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome and the mean age of 51 ± 18 months (mean [M] ± standard deviation [SD]) were enrolled in our study during a period of 10 months (range: 3,18 months). All of the patients received CyA (2,3 mg/kg) in combination with methylprednisolone. In the present study protocol CyA concentrations (C0, C2), renal function, lipid profile, and degree of proteinuria were determined. The mean proteinuria of our patients before treatment was 11 972 ± 7953 mg/24 H (±SD) and the mean creatinine level (Cr) was 0.99 ± 0.37 mg/dL (±SD). Proteinuria decreased significantly already from the first month of therapy with CyA to 3578 ± 2470 mg/24 H (M± SD), and during the whole study period this reduction was significant (0.56 ± 0.37 gr/24 H (M ± SD), P < 0.05). At the same time renal function preserved, 1.09 ± 0.48 mg/dL (M ± SD). The blood levels of C0 were 135.10 ± 97.36 ng/mL (M ± SD) and the blood levels of C2 were 725 ± 256 ng/mL (M ± SD) at the first month of therapy. At the same time renal function preserved, 1.09 ± 0.48 mg/dL (M ± SD). Total cholesterol levels reduced significantly during study period (276.89 ± 45.57 to 200.67 ± 40.27 mg/dL [M ± SD]). The mean number of antihypertensive medication remained the same. The whole therapeutic protocol did not provoke any kind of side effects and CyA was quite tolerated by our patients. Treatment of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome with low doses of CyA with methylprednisolone leads to remission of proteinuria without deterioration of renal function. Blood levels of C0 for monitoring and treatment of nephrotic syndrome agrees with recent literature, while our study focus on establishing the proper levels of C2 for the treatment of nephrotic syndrome. The efficacy of CyA is combined with safety and tolerance. [source] Practitioner Review: The effectiveness of systemic family therapy for children and adolescentsTHE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 5 2002David Cottrell Background: Systemic family therapy has become a widely used intervention in child and adolescent mental health services over the last twenty years. Methods: This paper reviews the development of systemic family therapy, briefly describes the theory and techniques associated with the most prominent contemporary strands of systemic practice, and examines the empirical justification for using systemic family therapies with children and adolescents. Results: There is a paucity of well-designed randomised controlled trials of systemic therapies with children and adolescents and those trials that do exist evaluate older structural and strategic therapies. Methodological limitations of existing research include the use of unrepresentative participants, small sample sizes and wide age ranges. There is a lack of credible no-treatment or alternative treatment controls, tests of clinical as opposed to statistical significance, and conceptually relevant outcome measures that examine underlying interactional mechanisms. The term `family therapy' encompasses a wide range of interventions and it is not always clear what treatment intervention has been delivered. Nevertheless, there is good evidence for the effectiveness of systemic family therapies in the treatment of conduct disorders, substance misuse and eating disorders, and some support for their use as second-line treatments in depression and chronic illness. Conclusions: Systemic family therapy is an effective intervention for children and adolescents but further well-designed outcome studies are needed using clearly specified, manualised forms of treatment and conceptually relevant outcome measures. [source] | ||||||||||