Melricflash/CW_MedAbstractsAlt huggingface dataset:
Use of arterial compliance for evaluation of hypertension. Arterial compliance describes a change in the volume of arteries following a change in blood pressure. The physical basis of the compliance concept and experimental procedures in animals both indicate that the relation between arterial compliance and blood pressure pattern is often unclear. Compliance is pressure-dependent because of the biphasic elastin and collagen composition of arteries and, hence, decreases when blood pressure increases. Compliance also determines the pulsatile amplitude of the pressure wave by regulating the buffering function of an artery's face to the cardiac pump and, accordingly, its reduction induces a selective increase in systolic level. The questions are whether these theoretical and experimental phenomena can be extrapolated to human hypertension and whether they can be assessed from indirect measurement of arterial compliance by means of a time-domain analysis of arterial pressure and flow waves via various models of the arterial tree. Whatever the method and site of measurement, arterial compliance was found to be decreased in different forms of hypertension. This low compliance can be considered to have a causal role in elderly patients with isolated systolic hypertension. In contrast, in patients with systolo-diastolic hypertension physiologic and pharmacologic arguments exist against the fact that low arterial compliance may be the pure consequence of mean blood pressure elevation. Moreover, it is suggested that aging acts in concurrence with pressure elevation to decrease arterial compliance, and that in certain hypertensive patients additional factors, perhaps atherosclerotic in nature, contribute to impair the elastic properties of arteries. 

Category: cardiovascular diseases
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for the circulatory support of children after repair of congenital heart disease. We have treated 39 infants and children with congenital heart disease with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation during the past 5 years. Thirty-six were treated for low cardiac output or pulmonary vasoreactive crisis after repair of congenital heart defects. Twenty-two (61%) survived. Most patients were cannulated from the neck via the right internal jugular vein and the right common carotid artery. Six patients were cannulated from the chest, including three who had separate drainage of the left side of the heart with a left atrial cannula. Two of these patients survived and were the only survivors of the nine patients cannulated in the operating room because they could not be weaned from cardiopulmonary bypass after open cardiac operations. We also reviewed 312 patients (the predictor study series) having open cardiac operations before the availability of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation; 27 of these patients died. Data were collected at 1 and 8 hours postoperatively to determine if any parameters might predict early mortality. With these parameters used as criteria, patients who went on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation were as sick as those who died before extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was available. The most common complication was bleeding related to heparinization. The mean transfusion requirement in survivors was 1.50 +/- 1.13 ml/kg/hr, 5.63 +/- 7.0 ml/kg/hr in the nonsurvivors, and 7.46 +/- 8.29 ml/kg/hr in those cannulated in the operating room because they could not be weaned from bypass. Four children had intracranial hemorrhage, and two of them died. There was one late death. Nine of the 22 survivors are entirely normal. All survivors who do not have Down's syndrome are considered to have normal central nervous system function. We conclude that extracorporeal membrane oxygenation can improve survival in patients with both pulmonary artery hypertension and low cardiac output after operations for congenital heart disease. 

Category: general pathological conditions
Epididymal metastasis from prostatic adenocarcinoma mimicking adenomatoid tumor. A case of epididymal metastasis from prostatic carcinoma is presented. The initial histologic findings were suggestive of adenomatoid tumor, but a diagnosis of metastatic adenocarcinoma of prostatic origin has been established by prostatic acid phosphatase and prostate-specific antigen immunoperoxidase staining. 

Category: neoplasms
Beneficial effect of upper thoracic epidural anesthesia in experimental hemorrhagic shock in dogs: influence of circulating catecholamines. The question as to whether reduction of plasma catecholamine concentration contributes to the beneficial effects of upper thoracic epidural anesthesia on survival during hemorrhagic shock was examined. Twenty-six dogs were anesthetized with halothane and nitrous oxide, and blood was withdrawn to reduce the mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) to 40 mmHg. The 12 dogs in group A received both upper thoracic epidural anesthesia before the hemorrhage and intravenous infusion of epinephrine (450 ng.kg-1.min-1) and norepinephrine (150 ng.kg-1.min-1) during hemorrhage. The 14 dogs in group B received none of these. At 20 min after the start of the bleeding, plasma catecholamine concentrations were increased in both groups more than ten-fold. There were no significant intergroup differences with respect to these concentrations at any point during the experimental period. During the 100-min period of hemorrhage, 1 of the 12 animals in group A and 10 of the 14 in group B died. A significant difference in survival was seen between the two groups over the 100-min hypotensive period (P less than 0.01 by the generalized Wilcoxon test). These results suggest that the survival benefit of upper thoracic epidural anesthesia cannot be explained simply by differences in the level of catecholamines in the plasma, and that perhaps differences in the level of catecholamines at the nerve endings or other factors may be more important. 

Category: general pathological conditions
Autonomic dysfunction and Guillain-Barre syndrome. The use of esmolol in its management. A 17-year-old girl with Guillain-Barre syndrome and autonomic dysfunction was treated successfully with esmolol. Esmolol may be an appropriate drug for the rapid assessment and control of tachyarrhythmias in critically ill patients. 

Category: cardiovascular diseases
Portal venous gas in a patient with Crohn's disease. Portal venous gas usually occurs in the setting of an acute abdomen. Several causes for benign portal venous gas (PVG) have been reported. We describe the finding of PVG by computed tomography in a febrile patient with Crohn's disease and discuss the clinical implications of such a finding. 

Category: digestive system diseases
Monitoring of cortical blood flow during temporary arterial occlusion in aneurysm surgery by the thermal diffusion method. During aneurysm surgery, regional cortical blood flow (CoBF) was continuously monitored in 12 patients with a thermal diffusion flow probe in an attempt to assess the effects of temporary major arterial occlusion on blood flow and outcome. When the CoBF was above 30 ml/100 g/min, the safe period for temporary clipping applied distal to the perforators was 15 minutes. The occlusion time should be shortened when the CoBF is below 30 ml/100 g/min. Two patients suffered basal infarction, which was not detected by CoBF monitoring. Attention should be paid to the blood flow in the deep structures when a temporary clip is applied at a site proximal to the perforating branches. Direct measurement of CoBF may be of value in estimating the time that temporary occlusion of a major vessel can be tolerated. 

Category: nervous system diseases
High-frequency oscillatory ventilation compared with conventional intermittent mechanical ventilation in the treatment of respiratory failure in preterm infants: neurodevelopmental status at 16 to 24 months of postterm age. The HIFI Study Group. The High-Frequency Intervention Trial was a 10-center randomized clinical trial to test the efficacy and safety of high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFO) in the treatment of neonates weighing 750 to 2000 gm; 327 infants were assigned to HFO and 346 to conventional intermittent mechanical ventilation (IMV). Survival and lung morbidity rates were the same in the two groups. Bayley psychometric evaluations and CNS examination were performed at 16 to 24 months of postterm age in 77% of the survivors (185 HFO and 201 IMV). There was no difference in growth or respiratory status at follow-up. Cerebral palsy was diagnosed in 19 (10%) HFO-treated infants and 23 (11%) IMV-treated infants. There was no difference in severity between the two groups. A significantly higher incidence of hydrocephalus (12% vs 6%) was present in the HFO group (p less than 0.05). Bayley index scores greater than 83 were scored in 57% of HFO-treated infants compared with 66% of IMV-treated infants. The proportion of children at follow-up with a normal neuro-developmental status (i.e., Bayley score greater than 83 and no major CNS defect) was significantly less in the HFO than in the IMV group (54 vs 65%; p less than 0.05). Both treatment groups showed a strong association between the presence of grade 3 or 4 intraventricular hemorrhage and the development of major CNS or cognitive defects. No significant long-term beneficial or deleterious effects were demonstrated in the use of HFO versus IMV for the treatment of respiratory failure in low birth weight premature infants, except that there were slightly more neurologic deficits in the HFO group related to the higher proportion of survivors with major intraventricular hemorrhage. 

Category: general pathological conditions
Retrospective application of prognostic indices to pancreatitis discovered at necropsy. Six prognostic indices, which were developed to assess inpatients with acute pancreatitis, were evaluated for possible retrospective application. When applied to a series of 14 cases in whom pancreatitis was first diagnosed at necropsy, the index devised by Jacobs et al was found to be the most useful, because in nine of these cases eight or more of the variables required were available for assessment from the case records. In the other indices evaluated fewer than eight of the required variables were available for retrospective assessment in most cases. Although undiagnosed pancreatitis is probably uncommon as a sole cause of death, the retrospective use of one or more of these indices may help assess the severity of the patient's condition on admission to hospital. 

Category: digestive system diseases
Calcium antagonists in the management of patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: a review. Cerebral arterial vasospasm and infarction is the leading cause of death and disability among patients who reach a major medical center after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Recent evidence suggests that two calcium antagonists, nimodipine or nicardipine, may be useful in preventing this important complication of SAH. This paper reviews the current status of these two calcium antagonists in the management of SAH. 

Category: nervous system diseases
Weight gain at the time of menopause. We studied prospectively the weight change and the effect of weight change on changes in coronary heart disease risk factors in a population-based sample of 485 middle-aged women. All women were studied first in 1983 to 1984, when they were premenopausal and aged 42 to 50 years, and then restudied in 1987. Women gained an average of 2.25 +/- 4.19 kg during this 3-year period; 20% of women gained 4.5 kg or more, and only 3% lost 4.5 kg or more. There were no significant differences in weight gain of women who remained premenopausal and those who had a natural menopause (+2.07 kg vs +1.35 kg). Weight gain was significantly associated with increases in blood pressure and levels of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and fasting insulin. Weight gain is thus a common occurrence for women at the time of menopause and is related to the changes in coronary heart disease risk factors observed during this period. Efforts to lose weight or to prevent weight gain may help to mitigate the worsening in coronary heart disease risk factors in middle-aged women. 

Category: cardiovascular diseases
Suppressive effects of visceral tumor on the generation of antitumor T cells for adoptive immunotherapy. Antitumor reactive cells can be generated from lymphoid organs of mice bearing subcutaneous (SC), but not liver or lung, tumors by in vitro sensitization with irradiated tumor and interleukin 2. To examine whether visceral tumors mediated tumor-induced suppression, in vitro sensitization cells were generated from mice bearing SC tumors with and without concomitant liver or lung tumors. Antitumor efficacy of these cells was assessed in adoptive immunotherapy experiments. The presence of visceral tumors suppressed the ability to generate therapeutic in vitro sensitization cells from mice with SC tumors. By establishing visceral tumors at different intervals in relationship to SC tumor inoculation, we found that visceral tumor appeared to suppress directly the development of a host immune response to SC tumor, rather than inhibit function of established immune cells. Our model affords a means to study mechanisms of tumor-induced immunosuppression. 

Category: neoplasms
Embolic stroke after smoking "crack" cocaine. A 39-year-old woman had an embolic upper division middle cerebral artery branch occlusion 3 hours after smoking the free base of cocaine ("crack"). Radionuclide ventriculography demonstrated cardiomyopathy, and echocardiography documented a left atrial thrombus. This case demonstrates that embolism is one mechanism of ischemic stroke after cocaine use, and that cardiomyopathy, possibly cocaine induced, may be the source of embolus. A cardiac source of embolus should be sought in patients with cocaine-associated cerebral infarction. 

Category: nervous system diseases
Recanalization of chronic, totally occluded coronary arteries by new angioplasty systems. The benefit and safety of new angioplasty equipment as compared with the conventional guidewire approach was evaluated in 154 consecutive patients. with chronic, totally occluded coronary arteries. The protocol followed a stepwise design: first, conventional guidewires and low-profile balloons were used, followed by "balloon-on-the-wire" systems (Probe, Ace) or by a shaft-enforced, tip-deflecting catheter (Omniflex). In 97 patients with occlusions of 2 to 12 weeks' duration, recanalization was achieved in 51 patients (53%) with the conventional approach and in 29 patients with the new devices (balloon-on-the-wire [n = 5], Omniflex [n = 24]), thereby raising the success rate to 82%. In 57 occlusions of greater than 12 weeks' duration, the recanalization attempt was successful in 58%, mediated in 16 patients (28%) by the Omniflex catheter and in 5 patients by balloon-on-the-wire systems. There were no life-threatening complications and only 1 (0.6%) emergency bypass operation was necessary. New angioplasty devices are therefore of considerable value in the attempt to improve the results of coronary angioplasty in chronic total occlusions. 

Category: cardiovascular diseases
Diagnostic value of brush cytology in the diagnosis of bile duct carcinoma: a study in 65 patients with bile duct strictures. Malignant strictures of the extrahepatic bile ducts are difficult to distinguish from benign strictures, particularly in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis. Because attempts at diagnosing small cancers with fine-needle aspiration biopsy are not possible in the absence of an associated mass lesion and because the sensitivity of exfoliative biliary cytology is controversial, brush cytology has been used as a potential means of establishing a specific diagnosis of bile duct carcinoma. Herein we report our experience with this technique when performed on 65 patients over a 5-yr period. Each had at least one brushing. Thirty-seven were found to have bile duct carcinoma and 28 were found to have benign strictures. Of these 37, the first brushing was positive for malignancy in 15 (40%), whereas four (11%) had cells suspected but not diagnostic of malignancy. Thirteen patients with bile duct carcinoma whose initial brushings were negative for malignancy had second brushings. Of these, five (38%) had malignant cells, whereas three (24%) yielded suspicious cells. Three of the eight whose first two brushings were negative for malignancy were found to have malignant cells on the third brushing. In contrast, of the 28 patients with benign strictures, malignant cells were never found. However, in two patients, suspicious cells were reported with the first but not the second brushing. A single negative or suspicious cytological finding decreased the probability of bile duct carcinoma to 43%. Two and three sequential negative tests reduced the probability to 32% and 0%, respectively. 

Category: neoplasms
Intrapalatine resection (IPR) in the treatment of sleep apnea and snoring. A conservative surgical technique is proposed as an alternative to the classical uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea and snoring. The resection is strictly intrapalatine, and careful suturing in three planes seems to lead to complete disappearance of the often unbearable postoperative pain. The soft palate is shortened but nonetheless still resembles a normal soft palate. Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) was described by Ikematsu in 1952. This method has taken on a new lease of life in recent years. Its efficacy is generally accepted, and its use, especially in cases of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, is the only treatment of the palatal velum at present practiced. In addition to aesthetic problems, this method generally gives rise to complications in the shape of temporary--but sometimes considerable--pain, nasal regurgitation, and a nasal voice. In a small percentage of patients, some of these disorders may prove irreversible. In my series of eight patients, five were obese and presented with hypertension. Three of them also were suffering from obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. The three others were ordinary snorers who caused considerable inconvenience to sleeping partners. 

Category: nervous system diseases
A case-control study of Alzheimer's disease in Australia. We conducted a case-control study of clinically diagnosed Alzheimer's disease (AD) on 170 cases aged 52 to 96 years, and 170 controls matched for age, sex and, where possible, the general practice of origin. Trained lay interviewers naive to the hypotheses and to the clinical status of the elderly person carried out risk-factor interviews with informants. Significant odds ratios were found for 4 variables: a history of either dementia, probable AD, or Down's syndrome in a 1st-degree relative, and underactivity as a behavioral trait in both the recent and more distant past. Previously reported or suggested associations not confirmed by this study include head injury, starvation, thyroid disease, analgesic abuse, antacid use (aluminum exposure), alcohol abuse, smoking, and being left-handed. 

Category: nervous system diseases
Potentially lethal ventricular arrhythmias. Minimizing the danger. Patients with potentially lethal ventricular arrhythmias are at an increased risk of sudden death. Antiarrhythmic drugs, with the exception of beta blockers and possibly amiodarone, have not been particularly effective in reducing mortality. Beta blockers have been used successfully to treat survivors of myocardial infarction, including patients with significant impairment of ventricular function. Evidence to date suggests that use of low-dose amiodarone may be appropriate for selected patients with chronic heart failure and potentially lethal ventricular arrhythmias. 

Category: general pathological conditions
HIV-associated myocarditis. Pathology and immunopathology. Autopsy studies of AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) patients showed a high incidence of myocarditis. To attain a better understanding of the pathogenesis, the pathology and immunopathology of nine endomyocardial biopsies with active myocarditis from 18 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients were systematically characterized. These were compared with 17 biopsies with active myocarditis from patients without AIDS risk factors. In both groups, the myocarditis consisted of either multifocal or interstitial infiltrates of small lymphocytes and isolated myocyte necrosis. The lymphocytes consisted of T cells (CD2+, CD3+) and cells not identified by the usual markers. B cells, monocytes, CD4+ cells, and natural killer (NK) cells were only rarely observed. All of the HIV-positive patients but only 7 of 17 non-HIV patients had CD8+ lymphocytes in the infiltrates (P less than 0.01). The arteriolar endothelium demonstrated induced class I (HLA-A, B, C) and II (HLA-DR) antigens in both groups. In situ hybridization for HIV-1 failed to identify the virus in the specimens. The immunopathology is consistent with a cell-mediated injury to the myocytes in HIV-positive patients and is similar to a subgroup of myocarditis in the non-HIV group. 

Category: cardiovascular diseases
Concentration of tumor-associated trypsin inhibitor (TATI) in pleural effusions. We measured the concentration of tumor-associated trypsin inhibitor (TATI) in plasma and pleural fluid of 84 patients with pleural effusions of various causes. We observed elevated (greater than 30 micrograms/L) TATI levels in pleural fluid in 45 percent of patients with pleural effusion associated with malignant disease and in 15 percent of patients with benign disease. Similar results were obtained for TATI in plasma. The concentration of TATI in pleural fluid closely parallelled that in plasma. In patients with renal insufficiency and in patients with biliary obstruction, the TATI levels were elevated both in plasma and pleural fluid. A positive correlation was seen between the concentration of TATI and the activity of alkaline phosphatase in plasma. The results show that simultaneous determination of TATI in plasma and pleural fluid improves the diagnosis of cancer only marginally. Our results also support the hypothesis that elevated TATI levels may reflect an acute phase reaction caused by inflammatory disease or tissue destruction associated with cancer not only in inflammatory conditions, but also in malignant disease where the tumor itself is not producing TATI. 

Category: neoplasms
Chemotherapy for medulloblastoma/primitive neuroectodermal tumors of the posterior fossa. Chemotherapy has only marginal efficacy in adult malignant brain tumors. In contrast, drug therapy is considerably more effective in medulloblastoma/primitive neuroectodermal tumors (MB/PNET) of the posterior fossa, the most common childhood primary central nervous system tumor. At the time of disease recurrence, a variety of different single agents and drug combinations result in tumor shrinkage and increased survival. The addition of chemotherapy to standard radiotherapy improves the rate and length of disease-free survival for those children with MB/PNET who have the most extensive tumors at diagnosis. It remains to be determined which drug or drug combinations are the most effective in MB/PNET, and which patients are most likely to benefit from chemotherapy. Chemotherapy may be useful to reduce or, in selected cases, obviate the need for radiotherapy and reduce treatment-related sequelae. 

Category: neoplasms