123rc/medical_text huggingface dataset:
Effect of indecainide in patients with left ventricular dysfunction. Indecainide, a new antiarrhythmic agent classified as type Ic was evaluated in 11 patients with heart disease who had greater than or equal to 30 ventricular premature complexes/hour, moderate-to-marked left ventricular dysfunction, and mean ejection fraction 34% +/- 8%. Patients received indecainide, 50 mg by mouth, every 6 hours and the dose was increased until greater than or equal to 80% suppression was noted, adverse effects occurred, or a maximum dose of 100 mg indecainide was given every 6 hours. Ventricular premature complexes were suppressed greater than or equal to 80% in nine patients (p less than 0.05) and ventricular tachycardia episodes were completely suppressed in five of eight patients. The effective or maximal mean daily indecainide dose was 191 +/- 32 mg; half of the responders achieved achieved efficacy at serum drug concentration greater than or equal to 600 ng/ml. Serum drug concentration was directly related to gender (r = 0.78, p less than 0.04) and inversely related to creatinine clearance (r = 0.74, p less than 0.05) and ejection fraction (r = 0.71, p less than 0.02). Indecainide prolonged mean PR and QRS intervals (p less than 0.05) but not QT or QTc. There was a linear relation between percent change in PR (r = 0.80, p less than 0.001) and QRS (r = 0.66, p less than 0.001) intervals and serum drug concentration. After starting or increasing the dose, careful observation of patients with decreased renal function or reduced ejection fraction should be exercised because they attain higher drug concentration than normal subjects.
Carcinoma of the breast: measurement and the management of treatment. II. The regression of tumours. Regression slopes fitted in 238 new cases of primary breast cancer submitted to a variety of managements are analysed. Contrary to the original hypothesis that slopes would primarily reflect the composition of the tumours, the steepness of resorption slopes is found also to be treatment dependent. Investigation of other factors influencing slopes is confined to radiotherapy where the expectation that the prescribed dose will be delivered is high. A large cumulative radiation effect before the start of shrinkage is associated with steeper slopes. A small correlation between slope and both menopausal status and starting diameter has been found, with premenopausal patients and small tumours producing the steepest slopes. The full range of slopes has been seen in postmenopausal patients. The data has been fitted to a linear model to evaluate the relative importance of these associations. Illustrative cases support the hypothesis that resorption slopes are a product of tumour architecture and histology but we conclude that the maximum possible steepness of slope is not always achieved in the clinic, even when radiation is used. A combination of histological and regression data is therefore required to characterize a tumour for predictive purposes.
Evolution of in vitro transformation and tumorigenesis of HPV16 and HPV18 immortalized primary cervical epithelial cells. Cervical carcinoma develops through a progressive spectrum of premalignant intraepithelial lesions (CIN I-III), the majority of which are associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18. We established HPV16 and HPV18 immortalized human cervical epithelial cell lines and used them as a model to investigate the genesis and progression of cervical malignancy. The cell lines when cultured in vitro in a system mimicking their in vivo environment exhibit cytologic atypia and a variety of defects in morphologic differentiation at early passage compared to their normal counterparts. With increased passage, these alterations progress to more severe grades, histologically similar to CIN III; however only a limited number of the cell lines are tumorigenic, mimicking the epidemiologic evidence on the rate of conversion from premalignant to invasive carcinoma. The observed changes are not associated with alterations of viral DNA integration or expression and may reflect specific cellular events or changes in virus-host interactions associated with malignant progression.
Circadian esophageal motor function in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease. Effective esophageal peristalsis is a major determinant of esophageal clearance function and may contribute to the development of complications in gastroesophageal reflux disease. Using 24-hour ambulatory esophageal manometry, we compared the circadian esophageal motor activity of normal volunteers to that of patients with increased esophageal exposure to gastric juice and various grades of mucosal injury (no mucosal injury, esophagitis, stricture, or Barrett's esophagus). The prevalence of a mechanically defective lower esophageal sphincter, esophageal acid exposure time, and the frequency of nonperistaltic esophageal contractions during the supine, upright, and meal periods increased with increasing severity of mucosal injury. The median amplitude of esophageal contractions was compromised only in patients with a mechanically defective sphincter. This was particularly so in patients with stricture or Barrett's esophagus and was associated with an increased frequency of ineffective contractions (less than 30 mm Hg). These data show that esophageal motor function deteriorates with increasing severity of mucosal injury. This appears to be caused by persistent reflux of gastric juice across a mechanically defective lower esophageal sphincter. The need for surgical correction of a mechanically defective sphincter before the loss of esophageal body function is implicated.
Practicalities of lipids: ICU patient, autoimmune disease, and vascular disease. Although the use of lipids should be individualized, certain generalizations are appropriate. 1. Lipid infusion should be limited in the fulminately septic patient to 10% of total calories in an effort to reduce immunosuppression. 2. The stressed, nonseptic patient with difficulties in ventilator weaning or TPN-induced hepatic dysfunction may reap benefit from a reduction in dextrose calories and the provision of daily lipids. 3. Patients with severe autoimmune disease have had mild amelioration of symptoms with PUFA supplementation. The relative benefits of omega-6 vs omega-3 continue to be examined. 4. Dietary immunomodulation in transplant and burns remains an area of active investigation. 5. Patients with fat-free TPN show transient declines in serum lipids. The development of a "fat-solubilizer" remains in the experimental realm. 6. The provision of fish oil, high in W-3 EPA, has shown promise in atherosclerosis and immunomodulation. The changes in the relative amounts of each prostaglandin class depend on precursor prevalence.
Bone scans in the diagnosis of bone crisis in patients who have Gaucher disease [published erratum appears in J Bone Joint Surg [Am] 1991 Jun;73(5):791] Of thirty-four occurrences of bone pain in seventeen children and young adults who had type-I Gaucher disease, twenty-five were finally diagnosed as bone crises. On the basis of a bone scan with technetium-99m methylene diphosphonate, a correct diagnosis of bone crisis was made for twenty-three occurrences, with a sensitivity of 0.92. At the onset of a crisis, the bone scan typically showed decreased uptake of radionuclide at the involved site. After six weeks, a repeat bone scan of the long bones showed a ring of increased uptake surrounding an area of decreased uptake. At six months, the appearance of the bones on the radionuclide scan was normal.
Rupture of thoracic aorta caused by blunt trauma. A fifteen-year experience. During the 15 years from 1971 through 1985, 114 patients with rupture of the thoracic aorta caused by blunt trauma were admitted to the Shock Trauma Center of the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems. Mean age was 31.3 years (range, 15 to 80). Ninety were male and 24 were female, a 3.75:1 ratio. Of the 114, 89 (78.1%) survived initial resuscitation in the admitting area. Twenty five of the 89 initial survivors (28.1%) died during or after surgical repair. Paraplegia occurred in 11 of the 78 operating room survivors (14.1%). Further analysis was done of the 83 patients admitted in the 10-year period from 1976 through 1985. Mean Injury Severity Score, excluding aortic injury, was 18.2. Twenty-five of the 83 (30.1%) died during resuscitation in the admitting area or operating room. Seven others died during surgical repair and 12 died postoperatively, leaving 39 survivors (39/83 [47%] of total admissions and 39/58 [67.2%] of survivors of resuscitation). Paraplegia/paresis developed postoperatively in six of 34 (17.6%) cases involving shunt and four of 17 (23.5%) without shunt. Other major complications occurred in 21 of the operating room survivors. Statistically significant risk of death or major complication was associated with female sex, higher Injury Severity Score, lower admission blood pressure, larger hemothorax on admission, less qualified surgeon, major operation before aortic repair, use of shunt, and transfer directly from scene of injury. There was no advantage in this series to using or not using a shunt in preventing paraplegia. Mortality rates are realistic for a highly developed trauma system. Better techniques are needed to manage exsanguination and prevent paraplegia.
Doppler ultrasonography of malignant melanomas of the uvea. Doppler shifts were detected using duplex and color Doppler scanning in 41 of 42 patients with malignant melanomas of the uvea. Mean maximum tumor systolic velocity was 18.8 +/- 7.6 cm/s. Time-averaged maximum velocity in the tumor vessels was 12.3 +/- 5.3 cm/s. Maximum tumor velocity increased in four of eight tumors and was unchanged or had diminished in the other four 2 to 3 days after ruthenium plaque irradiation. Doppler shifts were undetectable in three tumors, markedly reduced in three tumors, and unchanged in one tumor 1 to 4 months after treatment. We detected minimal non-pulse-synchronized Doppler shifts in one of three tumors, and no shifts in the remaining two tumors 1 1/2 to 4 years after therapy. Color duplex scanning allowed a rapid overview of tumor vasculature and facilitated study of individual vessels.
Germ line p53 mutations in a familial syndrome of breast cancer, sarcomas, and other neoplasms Familial cancer syndromes have helped to define the role of tumor suppressor genes in the development of cancer. The dominantly inherited Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS) is of particular interest because of the diversity of childhood and adult tumors that occur in affected individuals. The rarity and high mortality of LFS precluded formal linkage analysis. The alternative approach was to select the most plausible candidate gene. The tumor suppressor gene, p53, was studied because of previous indications that this gene is inactivated in the sporadic (nonfamilial) forms of most cancers that are associated with LFS. Germ line p53 mutations have been detected in all five LFS families analyzed. These mutations do not produce amounts of mutant p53 protein expected to exert a trans-dominant loss of function effect on wild-type p53 protein. The frequency of germ line p53 mutations can now be examined in additional families with LFS, and in other cancer patients and families with clinical features that might be attributed to the mutation.
Skin conductance and arousal in the newborn. We measured skin conductance continuously from the sole of a foot in babies of different conceptional ages before, during, and for 10 minutes after a 'heel prick' carried out for routine blood sampling. We studied 82 healthy babies whose gestational and postnatal ages ranged from 25-42 weeks, and 1-73 days. The median skin conductance level (preheel prick) in babies of 40-43 weeks' conceptional age was 0.6 microS (microsiemens) and differed significantly between awake babies (1.2 microS) and those who were asleep (0.5 microS). In contrast babies less than 40 weeks had a significantly lower median skin conductive level (0.3 microS) which was identical in awake and asleep babies. In response to the heel prick all babies became aroused and skin conductance rose sharply and immediately in 21 out of 22 (95%) babies 40-43 weeks' conceptional age, and in seven out of 23 (30%) babies 36-39 weeks. The median rise at one minute in babies of 40-43 weeks was significantly higher than those 36-39 weeks (2.7 microS compared with 0.5 microS). No babies less than 36 weeks had a change in their skin conductance after the heel prick. These results are consistent with the notion that 'emotional sweating' is a function of maturity and does not develop until 36 weeks' conceptional age.
Primary prevention of coronary artery disease through a family-oriented cardiac risk factor clinic. Primary prevention of coronary artery disease in children and young adults is important and can be instituted through a family-oriented cardiac risk factor clinic. Such a clinic was initiated at the Medical College of Georgia in March 1988. Children whose total cholesterol level (TC) exceeded 200 mg/dL when screened by their primary care physician were referred with their siblings and parents for fasting lipid profile and further evaluation. Data are available for the initial 21 families, including 30 children and 36 adults. The mean TC level was 258 mg/dL for index cases, 195 mg/dL for siblings, and 233 mg/dL for parents. Follow-up data obtained after therapy at a mean of 6 months are available for 12 families, including 14 children and 14 adults. The mean change in TC was from 265 to 246 mg/dL; 82% of the patients had a decrease in TC. Only one index case was documented as having neither a sibling nor a parent with an elevated cholesterol level. Family-oriented cardiac risk factor clinics are important for the identification and treatment of hypercholesterolemia in asymptomatic young people when primary prevention is possible.
Multivariate data reduction by principal components, with application to neurological scoring instruments. Principal components analysis is widely used as a practical tool for the analysis of multivariate data. The aim of this analysis is to reduce the dimensionality of a multivariate data set to the smallest number of meaningful and independent dimensions. The analysis can also provide interpretable linear functions of the original measured variables that may serve as valuable indices of variation. A brief introduction to principal components analysis is given herein, followed by an examination of a particular set of multivariate data accruing from a study of acute brain injuries in a pediatric population, in which severity of brain injury had been assessed with the Glasgow Coma Scale (CGS). Principal components analysis reveals that the GCS sum score is a particularly inefficient summarizer of information in this cohort. The determination of an objective weighting of measured variables, as provided through principal components analysis, is essential in the construction of meaningful neurological scoring instruments.
A risk of malignancy index incorporating CA 125, ultrasound and menopausal status for the accurate preoperative diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Age, ultrasound score, menopausal status, a clinical impression score and serum CA 125 level were assessed to see how they could best distinguish between patients with benign (n = 101) and malignant (n = 42) pelvic masses. Each criteria used alone provided statistically significant discrimination. The most useful individual criteria were a serum CA 125 level of 30 U/ml (sensitivity 81%, specificity 75%) and an ultrasound score of 2 (sensitivity 71%, specificity 83%). Three criteria could be combined in a risk of malignancy index (RMI) which is simply calculated using the product of the serum CA 125 level (U/ml), the ultrasound scan result (expressed as a score of 0, 1 or 3) and the menopausal status (1 if premenopausal and 3 if postmenopausal). This index was statistically virtually as effective a discriminant between cancer and benign lesions as more formal methods. Using an RMI cut-off level of 200, the sensitivity was 85% and the specificity was 97%. Patients with an RMI score of greater than 200 had, on average, 42 times the background risk of cancer and those with a lower value 0.15 times the background risk.
Identification of three related human GRO genes encoding cytokine functions. The product of the human GRO gene is a cytokine with inflammatory and growth-regulatory properties; GRO is also called MGSA for melanoma growth-stimulatory activity. We have identified two additional genes, GRO beta and GRO gamma, that share 90% and 86% identity at the deduced amino acid level with the original GRO alpha isolate. One amino acid substitution of proline in GRO alpha by leucine in GRO beta and GRO gamma leads to a large predicted change in protein conformation. Significant differences also exist in the 3' untranslated region, including different numbers of ATTTA repeats associated with mRNA instability. A 122-base-pair region in the 3' region is conserved among the three GRO genes, and a part of it is also conserved in the Chinese hamster genome, suggesting a role in regulation. DNA hybridization with oligonucleotide probes and partial sequence analysis of the genomic clones confirm that the three forms are derived from related but different genes. Only one chromosomal locus has been identified, at 4q21, by using a GRO alpha cDNA clone that hybridized to all three genes. Expression studies reveal tissue-specific regulation as well as regulation by specific inducing agents, including interleukin 1, tumor necrosis factor, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, and lipopolysaccharide.
Anti-CD33 monoclonal antibody and etoposide/cytosine arabinoside combinations for the ex vivo purification of bone marrow in acute nonlymphocytic leukemia. Pharmacologic and immunologic methods of ex-vivo bone marrow (BM) purging for acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (ANLL) were combined to augment the effect of either method alone. Etoposide (VP16; 20 to 30 micrograms/mL) with or without cytosine arabinoside (Ara C; 10 mg/mL) was used in tandem with the anti-CD33 monoclonal antibody (MoAb), MY9, chosen because CD33 is found on the stem cell pool in the majority of patients with ANLL. The agents were tested singly or sequentially, with a 1-hour incubation of the drugs preceding complement-mediated lysis using MY9. VP16 combined with Ara C killed up to 3.9 +/- 0.3 and 5.11 +/- 0.4 logs of the human ANLL cell lines HL60 and K562 at drug concentrations that killed only 1.2 +/- 0.1 logs of normal committed granulocyte/macrophage stem cells (CFU-GM). Adding a single exposure of the MY9 and complement (C') to the drug-treated cells, greater than 5.4 logs of HL60 were killed. Similar to other pharmacologic agents, no differential kill for clonagenic leukemic cells (colony-forming unit-leukemia; CFU-L) from patients with ANLL was seen for drug only treated blasts versus normal CFU-granulocyte-macrophage (CFU-GM), with less than 1 log CFU-L kill at drug concentrations that spared 1 log of CFU-GM. Similarly, only 1.1 +/- 0.3 logs of ANLL CFU-L were eliminated using MY9 and C'. However, with the sequential VP16/Ara C----MY9 + C' treatment, synergy was demonstrated and 2.6 +/- 0.3 logs of CFU-L were eliminated. Because CD33 is also found on the normal CFU-GM pool, two-stage long-term BM cultures were performed to determine pluripotent stem cell elimination by the drug/MoAb purging combination. No difference of CFU-GM or BFU-E production at 4 to 6 weeks of culture for VP16/Ara C, MY9 + C', or VP16/AraC----My9 + C' treated cells was seen compared with untreated controls indicating sparing of early progenitor cells. Sequential ex vivo treatment of human ANLL CFU-L with VP16/Ara C followed by complement-mediated lysis using MY9 synergistically kills CFU-L while sparing early normal hematopoietic progenitor cells, and thus may be a more effective way to purge BM than either alone.
Anteromedial tibial tubercle transfer without bone graft. We followed 30 patients for more than 2 years after anteromedial tibial tubercle transfer for persistent patellofemoral pain associated with patellar articular degeneration. Twelve of these patients were followed more than 5 years. We report 93% good and excellent results subjectively and 89% good and excellent results objectively. The quality of improvement was sustained in all 12 of the patients who were evaluated again after more than 5 years from surgery. When examined separately, 75% of those patients with advanced patellar arthrosis achieved a good result; none of these patients achieved an excellent result. Postoperative continuous passive motion has markedly reduced the incidence of stiffness. Serious complications such as compartment syndrome, infection, and skin slough were avoided completely in 51 consecutive cases. Patellofemoral contact pressure studies in five cadaver knees have shown that anteromedial tibial tubercle transfer can provide substantial reduction of patellofemoral contact stress while helping to balance medial and lateral facet pressures. This surgical procedure is mechanically and clinically successful for alleviating intractable pain related to patellar malalignment and articular degeneration. This procedure enables the majority of appropriately selected patients with malalignment and patellar articular degeneration to resume increased levels of activity with substantially diminished pain.
Stage A adenocarcinoma of the prostate: transrectal US and sonographic-pathologic correlation. Results of transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) of the prostate and pathologic examination of specimens obtained at transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) were compared in 29 patients with clinical stage A adenocarcinoma. Ten specimens contained no residual tumors larger than 5 mm in diameter; in the remaining 19 glands, 20 discrete cancers were found. At TRUS, 30 peripheral hypoechoic lesions were demonstrated, of which 11 corresponded to carcinoma at pathologic examination. Other hypoechoic peripheral zone lesions included a focal area of dilated acinar glands in 10 cases, post-TURP scarring with fingerlike projections of fibrosis in seven, dysplasia in one, and no correlation in one. Of nine tumors that were not detected prospectively at TRUS, eight were predominantly in the anterior zone and one was in the posterior peripheral zone but was isoechoic. Overall, the sensitivity of TRUS in the evaluation of clinical stage A lesions was 55% and the specificity was 37%. Clinical stage A carcinomas may be difficult to detect at US, and findings are often nonspecific. Any suspicious peripheral zone lesion should undergo biopsy with TRUS guidance before being diagnosed as malignant.
A community study of delay in presenting with signs of melanoma to medical practitioners. In the absence of more effective treatment for advanced tumors, early diagnosis and treatment of localized tumors is the most effective way of reducing the burden of illness associated with melanoma. This study examined the following factors: prevalence of signs of melanoma (a mole changing in size, shape, appearance, or color, itching or tingling, bleeding or weeping, becoming raised) in 1344 individuals in a randomly selected sample of 1075 households; the length of delay in seeking medical advice; the factors associated with either going to a medical practitioner or not going/delaying; and the actions of the medical practitioners when first presented with these signs. The results indicate that a large proportion of the sample (11.9%, n = 156) had observed signs of melanoma in the previous 12 months. Of the sample reporting signs that had first appeared in the previous 5 years, only 32% sought medical advice about the signs within the recommended period. Of the sample either not seeking advice at all or delaying, 49% reported that they thought the sign "wasn't serious/would clear up." Furthermore, 30% of the sample either did not known or underrated the importance of early detection and treatment of lesions. These results indicate that there is a deficit in the knowledge of the general public about the signs of melanoma, the severity of the disease, and the possible risks associated with delay.