HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: dyer@spdcc.com (Steve Dyer)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: SYSTEMIC MASTOCYTOSIS
Date: 10 Apr 92 16:54:59 GMT
Article-I.D.: spdcc.1992Apr10.165459.7475
Organization: S.P. Dyer Computer Consulting, Cambridge MA

In article <ARA.92Apr10115948@camelot.ai.mit.edu> ara@zurich.ai.mit.edu (Allan Adler) writes:
>Since the problem seems to be an overactive immune system, maybe one way
>to treat it is to give the immune system something else to do. For example,
>try infecting the person with some disease that will cause the immune
>system to fight the disease instead of the body itself.

The problem is that there isn't a monolithic _thing_ called the immune
system.  The subsystem here isn't directly involved with fighting
infection: mast cells are involved in allergic responses.  In
particular, they respond to antigens and release a variety of
substances, including histamine and certain other autacoids.  In the
case of systemic mastocytosis, there is such an accumulation of these
cells that they infiltrate organs where they have no business being.
You can almost think of this disease as being a kind of leukemia of
mast cells.  The excess and unpredictable release of autacoids like
histamine causes flushing, stomach distress, and even outright loss
of consciousness due to sudden falls in blood pressure.

>Since it seems to be acceptable medical practice to cure one disease by
>causing another one that will take longer to kill you (e.g. some cancer
>treatments, which themselves cause cancer),

Cancer treatments do not cure people by causing a more indolent
cancer.  Some cancer treatments are themselves carcinogenic, in that
they may cause or promote cancers in a small proportion of individuals
given the treatment.  But when this happens, and it hopefully happens
rarely, it's an undesirable side-effect and not related to the cure.

>one might ask, for example,
>whether it takes longer to die of AIDS than it does to die of this disease.
>AIDS must do wonders to cure an overactive immune system.

I wouldn't expect HIV infection to have much of an effect on mastocytosis,
but I could be wrong.

The February 27, 1992 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine has
a brief report on the use of interferon alfa-2b in an adult man with
systemic mastocytosis.  This is just a single data point in a study
where the patient was his own control, but this guy was still having
severe problems even while treated with H1 and H2 antihistamines, prednisone
and oral cromolyn.  Apparently, the interferon 2b-alpa therapy worked
fairly well in combination with these, and he responded well after only
two months of daily therapy.  You can't necessarily extrapolate this to
a pediatric patient, but it sounds promising.


-- 
Steve Dyer
dyer@ursa-major.spdcc.com aka {ima,harvard,rayssd,linus,m2c}!spdcc!dyer
From: george@ibmpcug.co.uk (Michael Veltman)
Newsgroups: sci.med,connect.audit
Subject: Re: Input section of an EKG
Date: 13 Apr 92 17:33:19 GMT
Organization: The IBM PC User Group, UK.

If you are going to build your own EKG, make sure you know about
the class A type circuitry, and about microshock.  Battery powered
units are generally ok.

Yours,

Michael

(It takes about 10 volts to kill someone through the gel pads used
 to take an EKG (to my understanding, never tried it myself))


-- 
Automatic Disclaimer:
The views expressed above are those of the author alone and may not
represent the views of the IBM PC User Group.
-- 
The above opinion is not that of the IBMPCUG.
In fact, it may not be my opinion, either.

Michael Veltman         George@ibmpcug.co.uk
From: francis@ircam.fr (Joseph Francis)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Physicians & Responsibility
Date: 6 Apr 92 14:58:12 GMT
Organization: IRCAM, Paris (France)

In article <1992Apr3.163912.1433@spdcc.com> dyer@spdcc.com (Steve Dyer) writes:
>In article <14184@pitt.UUCP> km@cs.pitt.edu (Ken Mitchum) writes:
>>One reason medications like Zantac are prescription is that they are
>>for very serious conditions. Patients self medicate for symptoms only,
>>delaying diagnosis and treatment. If you have enough pain that you
...
>That's a good point.  Non-prescription medications are designed
>for self-medication in conditions where such self-medication is
>appropriate (mild, self-limited problems like athletes foot,
>headaches, allergies, etc.)  Even very safe prescription-only
>medications wouldn't be made OTC simply on the basis of safety.

Unfortunately, I have a chronic condition (Herpes) for which I take
400 milligrams daily during sunny weather (a nice bright flash of
sunlight in my eyes can trigger a cold sore within about 8 hours).
Now.  I take the stuff all the time (it isn't cheap), yet I cannot get
a "permanent" prescription (either here in Paris, or in Los Angeles
where I last resided).

I'm sure it will happen eventually, that it will be OTC, but
meanwhile, I have to pay for each medical visit to get the appropriate
prescriptions (actually, I infrequently get an HIV ill friend to
triple his prescription and give 2/3 of it to me which is about 6
months of supply, but that seems evil and I shouldn't admit it...) and
that costs.

On the basis of safety, I have yet to hear of a Zovirax side-effect.

Another minor annoyance of life.

-- 
| Le Jojo: Fresh 'n' Clean, speaking out to the way you want to live
| today; American - All American; doing, a bit so, and even more so.
From: mryan@stsci.edu (Mary Ryan)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Glycemic Reactions
Date: 8 Apr 92 20:29:46 GMT
Organization: Space Telescope Science Institute

In article <14240@pitt.UUCP>, km@speedy.cs.pitt.edu (Ken Mitchum) writes:
> In article <7APR92.00280480@nauvax.ucc.nau.edu> coody@nauvax.ucc.nau.edu writes:
> >me back on track (a sudden high and then a sudden low).  My doctor
> >claims that there is nothing wrong with me, yet co-workers claim
> >my symptoms are like those of an individual with hypoglycemia.
> 
> I cannot say there is nothing wrong with you, but hypoglycemia
> as a medical problem in someone who is not on insulin is
> relatively uncommon. If your blood sugar goes to 20 and you pass
> out, that is a problem. The common scenario, however, is someone
> will have sugars in the 60s or 70s, and feel tired. The problem
> 

My sister has severe hypoglycemia.  She was originally diagnosed as having
narcolepsy because she had some blackouts, and they took her driver's license
away for several years.  Eventually she was diagnosed as hypoglycemic after
a glucose tolerance test.  The diet she was told to follow is essentially
the same as the diabetic's: avoid sugar and caffeine, eat more protein and
less carbohydrate.  There is certainly no harm in following such a diet,
and it may make you feel better.  Some years ago I did the Scarsdale diet
(high protein, low carbohydrate & fat) to lose a few pounds and was amazed
at how much energy I had.  I felt the difference after just one day.
From: Robin.Salmansohn@f715.n273.z1.fidonet.org (Robin Salmansohn)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Special Microphone needed
Date: 12 Apr 92 13:47:28 GMT
Organization: FidoNet node 1:273/715 - Ophiophile Maximus, Blue Bell PA

I would like to obtain the company name for those tiny microphones used
in the manufacture of the all-in-the-ear hearing aids. Microphone to be
(potentially) used in a cardiac pacemaker (Investigational Device).


 

--  
Uucp: ...{gatech,ames,rutgers}!ncar!asuvax!stjhmc!273!715!Robin.Salmansohn
Internet: Robin.Salmansohn@f715.n273.z1.fidonet.org
From: rind@binoc.bih.harvard.edu (David Rind)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Get Prescription Drugs Without Prescription - Mail Order
Date: 11 Apr 92 01:05:36 GMT
Reply-To: rind@binoc.bih.harvard.edu (David Rind)
Followup-To: sci.med
Distribution: na
Organization: Beth Israel Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston Mass., USA

In article <1992Apr10.221726.9729@eng.umd.edu> georgec@eng.umd.edu
 (George B. Clark) writes:
>Dilantin should be given to your children in 50mg-100mg doses, twice
>per day. It takes effect within an hour. In thousands of studied cases,
>it has been shown to increase concentration, intelligence, learning
>ability, memory, and verbal performance.

I'm not a great fan of civil suits, but if some child is given Dilantin
based on your recommendation, and ends up permanently disfigured by
gingival hyperplasia (you can look it up) I hope he or she has the
right to sue you for this sort of thing.  I ignore most of the posts
here for ridiculous therapies to promote intelligence, but
recommending harmful drugs to be used inappropriately in children
is despicable.


-- 
David Rind
rind@binoc.bih.harvard.edu
From: ccdw@hippo.ru.ac.za (Dave Wilson)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: epilepsy - breakthrough incidents?
Keywords: epilepsy, petit mal, breakthrough
Date: 17 Apr 92 19:58:34 GMT
Organization: Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa

I have a query regarding my 13 year old daughter, who was diagnosed as
suffering from temporal lobe epilepsy approximately 4 years ago.  She
manifested auditory hallucinations (what sounded like indistinct
voices), had a CAT-scan and EEG, and was put onto Tegretol.  She
remained on that for a year or so, and then was moved to Epilim, as it
was felt that her concentration levels were being affected by the
Tegretol.  Apart from 2 incidents of short-term 'absences', lasting for
a few minutes and followed by confusion, she has been fine.  Recently,
however, she has been re-experiencing the auditory hallucinations.  Our
doctor took a blood test, but this confirms her Epilim level as being
within normal bounds.  She has also been down with a stomach bug, but
started having the hallucinations before this (the doctor has ascribed
the re-occurence to lower than normal levels of medication absorption
due to the stomach bug).  She has also been on six-monthly visits to a
neurologist, who has so far recommended keeping her on medication, "at
least until the next time we see her".

Are there any ideas as to what might be causing this?   



--
Dave Wilson                                    ccdw@hippo.ru.ac.za
Systems Programmer                            Fax:    +27-461-25049 
Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa. Voice:  +27-461-22023
From: jparnas@larouch.uucp (Jacob Parnas)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: LES strengthening drugs...
Date: 10 Apr 92 12:48:51 GMT
Organization: larouch.uucp

It seems that I've developed a reflux problem due to a weakened LES
(Lower Esophageal Sphincter) muscle.  I've read/heard of two drugs
that are supposed to sometimes strengthen the LES.  I think one
is cisapride/prepulsed and another is Metaclopramide/Raglan.  If 
anyone out there has any knowledge/experience with either of these drugs,
I'd really appreciate it if you could email me some information on them.
In particular I'm interested in their effectiveness and side effects and
which one is best to try.

Thanks very much for your help,

Sincerely,

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Jacob M. Parnas                    | DISCLAIMER: The above message is from |
| IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Ctr. | me and is not from my employer.  IBM  |
| Arpanet: jparnas@watson.ibm.com    | might completely disagree with me.    |
| Bitnet: jparnas@yktvmz.bitnet      \---------------------------------------|
| Home: ..!uunet!bywater!acheron!larouch!jparnas | Phone: (914) 945-1635     |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: eepee@polaris.utu.fi (Esa-Pekka P{lvim{ki)
Subject: Re: Physicians & Responsibility
Organization: University of Turku, Finland
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 92 16:41:22 GMT

In article <1992Apr3.163912.1433@spdcc.com> dyer@spdcc.com (Steve Dyer) writes:
>In article <14184@pitt.UUCP> km@cs.pitt.edu (Ken Mitchum) writes:
>>One reason medications like Zantac are prescription is that they are
>>for very serious conditions. Patients self medicate for symptoms only,
>>delaying diagnosis and treatment. If you have enough pain that you
>>need to take Zantac, you need to be properly evaluated to find out
>>whether you have an ulcer, especially a gastric ulcer, which is
>>significantly associated with having gastric carcinoma, or are
>>experiencing slow (or not so slow) GI bleeding. It has nothing to
>>do with whether or not Zantac is safe. If you want to make Zantac
>>over the counter, go ahead. This will just bring patients to us
>>later in the stage of their illness
(Dyer:)
>
>....To comment specifically on H2-blockers, there's still a chance
>that they'll be approved for OTC sale, but obviously not for
>the treatment of ulcers.....

Someone claimed earlier that Zantac is an OTC drug "everywhere else than
in the states". I can discredit that: It doesn't have OTC status in Finland,
and I don't think that it does in any other Scandinavian country.

H2-blockers like ranitidine (Zantac) can "succesfully" ease gastric carcinoma
symptoms, long enough indeed for the cancer to reach a stage where it cannot
be controlled anymore, and this is a strong argument against it gettin OTC
status, just like Mitchum and Dyer pointed out before.

/Esa

Newsgroups: sci.med
From: lamontg@milton.u.washington.edu (Lamont Granquist)
Subject: Re: Suicide prevention; what next?
Organization: 'Operation: Mindcrime'
Date: Sun, 12 Apr 1992 04:32:03 GMT

suhre@meltami.dsd.trw.com (Maurice E. Suhre) writes:
>If you get super technical, the alcoholic is never "recovered" in the
>sense that he/she can drink normally.

I really doubt this is true for all alcoholics.  
 
-- 
Lamont Granquist  lamontg@u.washington.edu  (anon: ap.4497@layout.berkeley.edu)
University of Washington, Seattle.    Disc: if UW ever finds out what I post... 
alt.drugs FTP site: milton.u.washington.edu[128.95.136.1] dir:/public/alt.drugs
               For quotes and other useless info see my .plan
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: dyer@spdcc.com (Steve Dyer)
Subject: Re: Lime juice and lots of sun
Organization: S.P. Dyer Computer Consulting, Cambridge MA
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1992 00:37:27 GMT

In article <1992Apr14.180943.12200@usenet.ins.cwru.edu> bg055@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Stewart Rowe) writes:
>It seems as if there are TWO possible culprits: the lime juice, and/or
>the terpene-containing peel oil, to which you surely were also
>exposed. Probably would need at least a literature search to be sure
>which was responsible (or both together?).

Don't limes contain psoralens, photosensitizing chemicals?

-- 
Steve Dyer
dyer@ursa-major.spdcc.com aka {ima,harvard,rayssd,linus,m2c}!spdcc!dyer
From: george@ibmpcug.co.uk (Michael Veltman)
Newsgroups: sci.med,connect.audit
Subject: Re: Beta-blockers and bee/wasp stings
Date: 10 Apr 92 19:30:56 GMT
Organization: The IBM PC User Group, UK.

Dear DLD,

This potentiation of bee sting anaphylaxis with beta blockers is news
to me.

I could see some problems in that the normal treatment of severe 
anaphylaxis is adrenaline, which is blocked partially by betablockers
( I think the one you were referring to was Tenormin or Atenolol (same
drug, different names)).

This would not alone be a reason to give up the medication, as this 
depends on 1. how important it is that you take it and 2. whether or 
not you get many lifethreatening incidents with bees and or are
likely to in the future.  If so, perhaps desensitisation is more
appropriate than stopping the medicine anyway.

I've not yet seen the combination you mention, although I have seen
lots of people on beta blockers and a few bee stings.

Hope this is of some help

Michael

-- 
Automatic Disclaimer:
The views expressed above are those of the author alone and may not
represent the views of the IBM PC User Group.
-- 
The above opinion is not that of the IBMPCUG.
In fact, it may not be my opinion, either.

Michael Veltman         George@ibmpcug.co.uk 
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: claudia@lonex.rl.af.mil (Claudia M. Servadio-Coyne)
Subject: Infra-red Glucose monitors
Organization: RL
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 92 11:30:43 GMT

Does anyone know where the Infra-red glucose monitors are available?
And what might the hold up be with the FDA here in the U.S. in getting
these approved?

How much more accurate are these monitors compared to the blood glucose
monitors?

Please either email the info or post-it in this news group because I
know alot of other diabetics are interested in this information.

claudia@lonex.rl.af.mil
From: echeverr@mimosa.unice.fr (Echeverria Galvez Luz)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Need Help: Hallvorden and Spaz disease
Date: 9 Apr 92 13:31:28 GMT
Organization: University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis


Hello,

I need information about new treatments for the Hallvorden and Spaz disease.

A couple I know, old friends of my family, had a son suffering from this 
disease. He died last year, still a teenager, after having spent most of 
his life struggling to survive. The Hallvorden and Spaz disease can be
inherited by male descendants; it mainly consists in the increasing 
atrophy of all muscles, which deforms the body and finally paralyzes
the ill person, causing also great pain (I am not a physician, so 
this is not a technical description, it is only what I have seen).

Some days ago, the first grandson of these friends, after several exams,
received the same diagnostic: the doctors said that he has the disease of 
Hallvorden and Spaz. They also said that they know of no cure for him. 
The boy is only 2 years old and has not yet developed visible symptoms. 
His only hope now is finding a new, maybe experimental, treatment.

So, if you know anything about this, maybe a medical center researching
on this disease (in the USA, Europe or elsewhere), maybe a recent journal 
article (I would be interested in the author's name and address), or any 
other information that could be useful, please let me know. We would be very 
grateful. Please send e-mails to one of the addresses below (sorry, I don't 
usually read this newsgroup).

Thank you

Luz Echeverria
echeverr@mimosa.unice.fr              I3S, CNRS
echeverr@essi.cerisi.fr               Universite de Nice - Sophia Antipolis
From: fzjaffe@othello.ucdavis.edu (Rory Jaffe)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Histaglobin, was Re: Why allergies come in "attacks"?
Date: 15 Apr 92 20:28:16 GMT
Organization: University of California, Davis

In article <1992Apr15.150004.15737@frcs.Alt.ZA> linda@frcs.Alt.ZA (Linda Jacobson) writes:
>my husband had a course of Histaglobin injections. It's essentially a
>vaccine against histamine, so rather than concentrate on particular
>allergens it tries a blanket anti-allergic response approach.
Whoa there!  A vaccine against histamine?  As much as we curse
histamine's effects and take H1 and/or H2 blockers to relieve allergies
or ulcers, histamine is a needed neurotransmitter.  This would be like
vaccinating against epinephrine (can't do it).
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: dyer@spdcc.com (Steve Dyer)
Subject: Re: Effects of Prozac et al.
Organization: S.P. Dyer Computer Consulting, Cambridge MA
Distribution: sci
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1992 05:17:54 GMT

Fluoxetine is a funny drug--it makes some people feel very "wired"
(note that this is not itself evidence of the depression lifting)
and produce insomnia, yet it can also cause fatigue (or asthenia,
as it's rather obscurely called in the product literature.)
In fact, as you note, it can sometimes produce both side effects
in the same person.  Of course, there are many people who don't
experience any of these effects.

I tried Prozac as an aid to weight loss about a year ago,
and I found it made me extremely tired, especially in the
beginning.  I seemed to be sleeping all the time, not from
drowsiness but from a feeling of weakness.  This eventually
dimmed.  It worked fine as a diet pill, but at the dose
required to reduce appetite (3 or 4 20mg capsules a day)
it was getting fairly expensive.  I eventually stopped
after about three months because of the sexual side effects:
can you imagine going 3 months without an orgasm?  About 25%
of people given the drug experience delayed orgasm or outright
anorgasmia (as in, don't hold your breath, it's not going to
happen no matter how hard you try.)  I was apparently one of
those.  It was fascinating.  For a while.

-- 
Steve Dyer
dyer@ursa-major.spdcc.com aka {ima,harvard,rayssd,linus,m2c}!spdcc!dyer
From: fzjaffe@othello.ucdavis.edu (Rory Jaffe)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Input section of an EKG
Date: 8 Apr 92 15:46:01 GMT
Article-I.D.: ucdavis.12041
Organization: University of California, Davis

In article <1992Apr8.113910.14735@news.uni-stuttgart.de> TOBIAS@bonnie.physik.uni-stuttgart.de writes:
>> I'm looking for information on the input section of a simple
>> electrocardiograph.
>The minimum number of electrodes is 2.
but you'll have a lot more noise than if you use three
>No filters were normally used !
band-pass filtering 0.03-100 Hz for diagnostic use, but less (often
0.5-30 Hz) for rhythm monitoring
typical amplifier gain 1000X
From: francis@ircam.fr (Joseph Francis)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Skin Color (Re: Lime juice and lots of sun)
Date: 16 Apr 92 11:33:53 GMT
Organization: IRCAM, Paris (France)

In article <1992Apr15.175739.26961@tandem.com> day_kevran@tandem.tandem.com (Kevran Day ) writes:
>In article <1992Apr15.114200.29514@cpp.uucp>, root@cpp.uucp (Rich Bauer) writes:
>> 
>> There is a psoralens compound in lime juice and in figs.  When this
>> chemical is present and the body is exposed to intense sun light
>> blotches will come up on the skin.
>
>This is very interesting!  I remember that in college some friends were taking a 
>"tanning" pill called Trisoralen (sp)!  Of course, this was many years before the
>skin cancer consciousness brought us sunblocks to SPF 30!  The tanning pill had
>to be prescribed and was very effective.

I'm trying to remember, but isn't there a chemical (drug) that when taken
changes the skin color, in caucasians making them much, much darker? I
used to have a reference on it, but I can't remember what it was, though
these compounds sound similar...



-- 
| Le Jojo: Fresh 'n' Clean, speaking out to the way you want to live
| today; American - All American; doing, a bit so, and even more so.
From: hollombe@polymath.tti.com (The Polymath)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Effects of Prozac et al.
Date: 16 Apr 92 19:23:13 GMT
Article-I.D.: ttidca.34621
Distribution: sci
Organization: The Cat Factory

In article <1992Apr16.051754.18267@spdcc.com> dyer@spdcc.com (Steve Dyer) writes:
}... I eventually stopped
}after about three months because of the sexual side effects:
}can you imagine going 3 months without an orgasm?  About 25%
}of people given the drug experience delayed orgasm or outright
}anorgasmia ...

Same thing happened to me.  As I read the PDR, the percentage is more like
1.7%, but that's at the psychotherapeutic dose.  I told my pshrink that
eliminating one of the few harmless pleasures left to me seemed an odd way
to cure depression.  It took me nearly a month to fully recover from one
week of Prozac.

Interestingly, apart from the above, it had no other detectable effect.

The Polymath (aka: Jerry Hollombe, M.A., CDP, aka: hollombe@polymath.tti.com)
Head Robot Wrangler at Citicorp                   Turn the rascals out!
3100 Ocean Park Blvd.   (310) 450-9111, x2483     No incumbents in '92!
Santa Monica, CA  90405 {rutgers|pyramid|philabs|psivax}!ttidca!hollombe
Newsgroups: sci.med
From: alex@donne.unx.sas.com (Alexandra Bost)
Subject: ADA Affiliate in Canada?
Organization: SAS Institute Inc.
Date: Mon, 13 Apr 1992 18:17:33 GMT
X-Bytes: 530

Does anyone have a phone number for an American Diabetes Assc.
affiliate in Canada?  I called the National ADA phone number, 
and they told me there WAS an affiliate, but they didn't know
how to reach them (!).

If not, the number for a diabetes-care pharmacy or similar 
diabetes association in Canada would be fine.


Thanks!
Alex Bost
-- 
  @                                | Alexandra Bost
 \|/                               |
  O <----The Bostling              | E-mail:
_/ \_    (appearing June 28th!)    | alex@unx.sas.com