Melricflash/CW_MedAbstractsAlt huggingface dataset:
Helicobacter pylori infection in pernicious anemia: a prospective controlled study. Although some authors believe that Helicobacter pylori is the etiologic agent in chronic nonspecific gastritis, it has also been suggested that the bacterium colonizes inflamed mucosa as a secondary event. This study documents the prevalence of H. pylori in 28 patients with pernicious anemia and compares the findings with those of a group of 28 age-, race-, and sex-matched asymptomatic control subjects. All subjects underwent endoscopy with biopsy of the gastric antrum and corpus. A sample of serum was obtained before endoscopy for determination of antibodies (immunoglobulin A and immunoglobulin G) to H. pylori. The prevalence of H. pylori (by biopsy) in patients with pernicious anemia was significantly less than that in controls (11% vs. 71%, P less than 0.0001). All patients with pernicious anemia had abnormalities of corpus histology (inflammation and/or atrophy). In addition, 50% of patients with pernicious anemia had a lymphocytic infiltration of the antrum. All controls with H. pylori had gastritis, 50% having active chronic gastritis. Atrophic changes of the corpus were more commonly found in patients with pernicious anemia (75% vs. 7%, P less than 0.0001). Serology and biopsy results correlated poorly in the patients with pernicious anemia: all 5 patients with positive serology results had negative biopsy results, whereas all 3 patients with positive cultures on biopsy had negative serological studies. In conclusion, patients with pernicious anemia are protected from infection with H. pylori, and H. pylori does not passively colonize mucosa inflamed by an unrelated process. 

Category: digestive system diseases
Vitamin B12 and folate concentrations in serum and cerebrospinal fluid of neurological patients with special reference to multiple sclerosis and dementia. Vitamin B12 and folate concentrations were measured in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in 293 neurological patients. Serum and CSF vitamin B12 concentrations showed a positive correlation. In individual patients CSF B12 concentrations varied considerably for a given serum concentration. The median serum vitamin B12 concentration of the Alzheimer's type dementia group was significantly lower compared with that of a control group. Lower median CSF vitamin B12 concentrations were found in groups of patients with multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's type dementia. Five patients with heterogeneous clinical pictures had unexplained low serum and CSF B12 concentrations without macrocytosis. Two patients had very high serum B12 and low-normal CSF concentrations which could be explained by a blood-brain barrier transport defect. Serum and CSF folate concentrations did not show significant differences between the various groups. 

Category: nervous system diseases
Comparison of early versus late experience with percutaneous mitral balloon valvuloplasty. The immediate outcome of the first 150 patients (Group 1) and the last 161 patients (Group 2) who underwent percutaneous mitral balloon valvuloplasty was compared. There was no difference between the two groups in age, gender, New York Heart Association functional class, presence of calcification, atrial fibrillation, degree of mitral regurgitation, mean pulmonary artery pressure, left atrial pressure, cardiac output, pulmonary vascular resistance, mitral valve gradient and mitral valve area. Fewer patients in Group 1 than Group 2 had an echocardiographic score less than or equal to 8 (62% versus 69%, respectively, p = 0.02). The atrial septum was dilated with an 8 mm balloon in 74% of patients in Group 1 and with a 5 mm balloon in all patients in Group 2. Ratio of effective balloon dilating area to body surface area was larger in Group 1 than in Group 2 (4.05 +/- 0.07 versus 3.7 +/- 0.03 cm2/m2, p = 0.0001). A good result (mitral valve area greater than or equal to 1.5 cm2) was obtained in 77% and 75% in Groups 1 and 2, respectively (p = NS). After percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty, a greater than or equal to 2 grade increase in mitral regurgitation was noted in 12% of Group 1 and 6% of Group 2 (p = 0.02) and a left to right shunt was detected in 22% of Group 1 and 11% of Group 2 (p = 0.0001). There were three procedure-related deaths in Group 1, but none in Group 2. 

Category: cardiovascular diseases
The effect of improved cementing techniques on component loosening in total hip replacement. An 11-year radiographic review. Improved cementing techniques have been shown to decrease the rate of aseptic loosening of femoral components of cemented total hip replacements at five to seven years. We now report our results in 105 hips in 93 patients at 10 to 12.7 years (mean 11.2). The improved techniques included use of a medullary plug, a cement gun, a doughy mix of Simplex P and a collared stem of chrome cobalt. Only three femoral components had definitely loosened, none were probably loose and 24 were graded as possibly loose. In contrast, the incidence of radiographic loosening on the acetabular side was 42%. Improved cementing techniques have produced a marked reduction in the rate of aseptic loosening of the femoral component, but the incidence of acetabular loosening is unchanged. 

Category: nervous system diseases
Postoperative pancreatic abscess due to Plesiomonas shigelloides. Plesiomonas shigelloides is being recognized with increasing frequency as a human pathogen. The organism is ubiquitous in fresh and brackish water, and clinical illness has been associated with foreign travel and ingestion of inadequately cooked seafood. We describe a 64-year-old Filipino woman who presented 2 weeks after elective cholecystectomy and pancreatic biopsy with left upper quadrant pain, abdominal distention, and fever. Computerized tomography of the abdomen revealed an abscess in the tail of the pancreas with fluid accumulation in the lesser omental sac. Percutaneous aspiration yielded purulent material, and P. shigelloides was recovered in pure culture. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of pancreatic abscess due to P. shigelloides. 

Category: digestive system diseases
Sleep apnoea syndrome associated with maxillofacial abnormalities. Four cases with Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Syndrome (OSAS) are presented. They consisted of two cases with TMJ ankylosis with micrognathia, one case with Treacher Collins Syndrome, and one case with the Long Face Syndrome. Standard and specific cephalometric parameters were obtained to detect the site of the obstruction. Polysomnographic studies yielded information regarding the patient's sleep-wake state, respiratory and cardiac functioning, pre- and post-operatively. A temporary tracheostomy corrected the symptoms in one patient but the syndrome recurred when it was closed. Surgical correction of the maxillofacial anomalies will re-establish normal sleep patterns preventing OSAS. 

Category: nervous system diseases
Gallium uptake in tryptophan-related pulmonary disease. We describe a patient who developed fever, fatigue, muscle weakness, dyspnea, skin rash, and eosinophilia after taking "high doses" of tryptophan for insomnia for two years. A gallium-67 scan revealed diffuse increased uptake in the lung and no abnormal uptake in the muscular distribution. Bronchoscopy and biopsy confirmed inflammatory reactions with infiltration by eosinophils, mast cells, and lymphocytes. CT scan showed an interstitial alveolar pattern without fibrosis. EMG demonstrated diffuse myopathy. Muscle biopsy from the right thigh showed an inflammatory myositis with eosinophilic and lymphocytic infiltrations. 

Category: general pathological conditions
Percutaneous balloon pulmonic valvuloplasty following treated endocarditis in a patient with congenital pulmonary valve stenosis. A 36-year-old woman with congenital pulmonary valve stenosis developed the rare complication of endocarditis of the valve. After successful sterilization of the valve, the patient underwent percutaneous balloon pulmonic valvuloplasty at a later date. The procedure successfully reduced the peak pulmonary valve gradient from 94 to 45 mm Hg. Percutaneous balloon valvuloplasty is the procedure of choice for treatment of congenital pulmonary valvular stenosis, even in the unusual patient who has healed endocarditis of the pulmonary valve. 

Category: cardiovascular diseases
Long-term cardiopulmonary bypass by peripheral cannulation in a model of total heart failure. The decompression of the left heart through a percutaneous helical spring positioned within the lumen of the tricuspid and pulmonary artery valves. We performed long-term closed-chest cardiopulmonary bypass in an animal model of total heart failure (induced ventricular fibrillation). The extracorporeal system included a venous reservoir, a roller pump, a membrane lung, and a blood pulsator system. We cannulated the right external jugular vein for venous drainage and the right subclavian artery for arterial return. To decompress the left heart we passed by percutaneous cannulation a special helical spring mounted on a Swan-Ganz catheter (Baxter Edwards Divisions, Irvine, Calif.) and positioned it to rest within the pulmonary artery and tricuspid valves, which rendered them partly incompetent. After induced ventricular fibrillation, blood flow was raised to keep the central venous pressure at baseline values. The lungs were ventilated with 5% carbon dioxide in room air. During bypass, mean pulmonary artery pressure was 10.0 +/- 1.7 mm Hg, mean wedge pressure 11.9 +/- 1.8 mm Hg, and mean blood pressure 95.2 +/- 5.6 mm Hg. After 2 days (four animals) and 3 days (two animals) the hearts were defibrillated. There was immediate ejection from both sides of the heart. All sheep were weaned from bypass within 29 +/- 11 minutes and their lungs were ventilated with room air within 42 +/- 34 minutes. At autopsy hearts and lungs grossly appeared normal. We conclude that the percutaneous helical spring resting within right heart valves provided excellent decompression throughout the study, with full recovery of heart and lung function on defibrillation. 

Category: general pathological conditions
Hyponatremia-induced inhibition of magnocellular neurons causes stressor-selective impairment of stimulated adrenocorticotropin secretion in rats. Chronically hyponatremic rats were subjected to various stressors in order to evaluate the possible contribution of magnocellular neurons to the regulation of ACTH secretion, since such rats have markedly inhibited secretion and synthesis of magnocellular arginine vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin (OT). Stress caused by a novel environment or by insulin-induced hypoglycemia resulted in moderate increases in plasma ACTH, which were of similar magnitude in both hyponatremic and normonatremic rats, and these stressors caused no increase in plasma AVP and OT levels in either group of rats. However, when exposed to ether, hyponatremic rats exhibited a significantly blunted ACTH response compared to normonatremic controls (331 +/- 49 vs. 740 +/- 124 pg/ml; P less than 0.01, respectively), and plasma AVP levels were markedly increased in the normonatremic, but not in the hyponatremic, rats. Intravenous infusion of 2 M NaCl also caused an ACTH release in hyponatremic rats that was significantly smaller than that in their normonatremic counterparts (228 +/- 52 vs. 479 +/- 85 pg/ml; P less than 0.05, respectively), and in this case both plasma AVP and OT levels were markedly increased in the normonatremic, but not in the hyponatremic, rats. However, hyponatremic rats exhibited greatly increased plasma ACTH levels 2 and 96 h after adrenalectomy (ADX), which were statistically equivalent to the increases in ACTH levels in normonatremic rats after ADX. Seven days after ADX parvocellular neurons of the paraventricular nucleus showed strongly increased CRF-41 and AVP-neurophysin, but not OT-neurophysin, immunoreactivities in both normonatremic and hyponatremic rats. These results show that parvocellular CRF-41/AVP-producing neurons in the paraventricular nucleus are not inhibited by chronic hyponatremia, in contrast to magnocellular neurons, and suggest that ACTH secretion induced by ether or hypertonic saline, but not by novel environment or insulin-induced hypoglycemia, is partially mediated by magnocellular AVP and/or OT. 

Category: general pathological conditions
Serum CA 125 levels during the menstrual cycle. Serum concentrations of CA 125 were measured in different phases of the menstrual cycle in 16 women with ovulatory and 12 women with anovulatory cycles. CA 125 levels were significantly elevated during menstruation in both groups. In women with anovulatory cycles, but not in those with ovulatory cycles, CA 125 levels were already increased in the premenstrual phase. A negative correlation was found between serum CA 125 and progesterone concentrations in the premenstrual phase of the cycle. We suggest that premenstrual elevation of serum CA 125 in women with anovulatory cycles is related to premature endometrial vascular changes which are the result of the low serum progesterone concentration leading to insufficient endometrial control. Thus the effect of progesterone seems to be indirect rather than a direct effect on CA 125 synthesis. When the CA 125 assay is used for diagnosis of cancer, sampling should not be done immediately before or during menstruation because the physiological elevation of the CA 125 levels may give false positive results. 

Category: neoplasms
Acceleration of scrapie in trisomy 16----diploid aggregation chimeras. We studied the susceptibility to prion infection of the trisomy 16----diploid chimeric mouse, a putative model of Down syndrome. When weanling chimeras were inoculated intracerebrally with scrapie prions, the time until appearance of the first symptoms of scrapie was reduced by 17 days (from a mean control time of 153 days) and the time to death was reduced by 30 days (from control time of 170 days). Our results with trisomy 16 chimeras argue that the susceptibility to central nervous system degeneration caused by prions can be modulated by chromosome imbalance. 

Category: general pathological conditions
Carcinosarcoma and spindle cell carcinoma of the lung. Clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical studies. We examined pulmonary carcinomas with prominent sarcoma-like lesions both clinicopathologically and immunohistochemically. Grossly, two tumors had predominantly endobronchial growths, four bulky parenchymal growths, and two endobronchial, parenchymally mixed growths. In these eight patients, six tumors were completely resected, one patient was given irradiation only, and one patient died in the early postoperative period. On the basis of specific differentiation of the sarcoma-like lesions, the tumors were separated into three groups: two with "true" sarcoma differentiated into soft tissues such as striated muscle or osteoid tissue; three with a fibromatous sarcoma resembling atypical pseudosarcomatous stroma; and three with spindle cell carcinoma with evidence of epithelial differentiation. The prognosis was poor, and tumors with specific differentiation into rhabdomyosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, or spindle cell carcinoma progressed more rapidly than did those with a fibromatous sarcoma. Because the fibromatous sarcoma-like lesions were found to relate to a longer survival time for the patients, we wish to emphasize that a distinction of sarcomatous components should be made with regard to assessing the prognosis of pulmonary carcinoma with sarcoma-like lesions. 

Category: neoplasms
Sotalol versus quinidine for the maintenance of sinus rhythm after direct current conversion of atrial fibrillation This open, parallel-group study compares quinidine and sotalol treatment for maintenance of sinus rhythm after direct current conversion of patients with chronic atrial fibrillation. The patients from 15 centers in Sweden were randomized to sotalol (98 patients) or quinidine (85 patients) after 2 hours of sinus rhythm after direct current conversion. According to primary efficacy assessment, 52% of the patients in the sotalol group and 48% of the patients in the quinidine group remained in sinus rhythm during the following 6-month treatment period (NS). Furthermore, 34% of the patients treated with sotalol and 22% of the patients treated with quinidine relapsed into atrial fibrillation (NS). Heart rate after relapsing into atrial fibrillation was higher in the patients treated with quinidine (109 beats/min) than in the patients treated with sotalol (78 beats/min, p less than 0.001). Patients treated with sotalol were found to be less symptomatic at the time of relapse compared with relapsing patients in the quinidine group. In terms of safety, more patients were withdrawn from quinidine than from sotalol treatment (26% vs. 11%, p less than 0.05), and sotalol was generally better tolerated than quinidine. Twenty-eight percent of the patients treated with sotalol and 50% of the patients treated with quinidine reported side effects (p less than 0.01). The difference was primarily a result of early (within the first month of treatment) gastrointestinal and skin side effects in the group of patients treated with quinidine. 

Category: cardiovascular diseases
Characterization of spontaneous termination of sustained ventricular tachycardia associated with coronary artery disease. To characterize the change in cycle length and QRS morphology before spontaneous termination of sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT), electrocardiograms were recorded and VT cycle length measured for the periods 31 to 21 and 11 to 1 beats before termination in 55 episodes from 28 patients with coronary artery disease. Beats 31 to 21 were designated as a period of stable arrhythmia and served as a reference for changes occurring just before termination. Forty-four episodes of VT occurred in the setting of antiarrhythmic drug therapy; 11 episodes occurred in patients not treated with antiarrhythmic drugs. Variability in cycle length was indexed by the standard deviation of the mean cycle length and by the percentage of consecutive cycles varying by greater than or equal to 40 ms (% greater than or equal to 40 ms). There was greater variability just before termination (standard deviation of the mean cycle length, 25.8 ms; % greater than or equal to 40 ms, 16.7%) than during the stable period (standard deviation of the mean cycle length, 8.5 ms; % greater than or equal to 40 ms, 5.4%; p less than 0.001 for both). This was true irrespective of antiarrhythmic drug use, although the differences in the standard deviation of the mean cycle length for beats 11 to 1 and for beats 31 to 21 were greater for the antiarrhythmic drug group (29.6 vs 8.9 ms, p less than 0.001) than for the group not receiving antiarrhythmic drugs (11.0 vs 6.7 ms, difference not significant). No specific patterns of cycle length variability characteristic of VT termination were found. 

Category: cardiovascular diseases
Febrile status epilepticus As part of a study of status epilepticus in children (Maytal J, Shinnar S, Moshe SL, Alvarez LA. Pediatrics. 1989; 83:323-331); 44 children with febrile convulsions lasting more than 30 minutes were followed for a mean of 28 months (range 4 to 72). Thirty children were followed prospectively. Children with prior afebrile seizures or evidence of acute central nervous system infection were excluded. Nine (20%) children had prior neurological deficits. The duration of the febrile seizure was 0.5 to 1 hour in 41 cases (85%), 1 to 2 hours in 5 (10%), and greater than 2 hours in 2 children (5%). No child died or developed new neurological deficits following the seizures. The risk of recurrent seizures was increased, but only in the group with prior neurological abnormality. Six (66%) of these children had subsequent febrile seizures compared with 12 (34%) of the normal children (P = .08). Three (33%) had recurrent febrile status epilepticus compared with only 1 (3%) normal child (P = .023). The 2 children in the prospective arm of the study with recurrent febrile status epilepticus were both neurologically abnormal (P = .035). All 3 of the children who subsequently had afebrile seizures (2 prospective) were neurologically abnormal (P = .006 overall, P = .035 for prospective only). It is concluded that the occurrence of febrile status epilepticus in a neurologically impaired child is a risk factor for subsequent febrile as well as afebrile seizures. The occurrence of febrile status epilepticus in an otherwise normal child does not significantly increase the risk for subsequent febrile (brief or prolonged) or afebrile seizures in the first few years following the episode. 

Category: general pathological conditions
Pyoderma gangrenosum complicating Felty's syndrome. The case of a 54-year-old woman with Felty's syndrome whose course was complicated by mucocutaneous lesions clinically typical of pyoderma gangrenosum is described. Necrotizing sinusitis and saddle nose deformity were distinctive clinical features. Lymphocytic vasculitis and rheumatoid nodule formation observed within panniculus at the base of a cutaneous lesion and in a nasal mucosal lesion were unexpected histopathologic findings. 

Category: general pathological conditions
Endometrial carcinoma: a pathologic evaluation of 142 cases with and without associated endometrial hyperplasia. The association of some cases of endometrial carcinoma (EC) with hyperestrogenism is well known. The prognostic significance of concomitant endometrial hyperplasia (EH) in EC were evaluated in 142 patients with clinical stage I EC in whom lymph node assessment was carried out in 121 patients. The presence of EH was significantly associated with better differentiated tumor having lesser degrees of myometrial invasion, low segment-adnexal-lymphovascular space and pelvic/para-aortic lymph node involvement. However, the presence of EH was not significantly associated with the less virulent histologic subtypes. The possible existence of two types of EC--a hormonal-dependent EC associated with EH, and an independent EC not associated with EH--is discussed and the prognostic significance of concomitant EH stressed. 

Category: neoplasms
Penile implants in the treatment of Peyronie's disease. The treatment of Peyronie's disease remains controversial. Patients who fail conservative therapy may require surgical intervention to restore the ability to have sexual intercourse. Plaque excision and dermal grafting have not been universally successful, and alternate procedures that rely on the placement of a penile prosthesis have gained in popularity. We reviewed our experience with 35 patients with advanced Peyronie's disease treated with a penile prosthesis. Preoperatively, 55% of the patients were unable to engage in intercourse due to pain or angulation of the penis and 25% were unable to achieve any erection at all. Postoperatively, with a mean followup of 6.9 years, 88% of the patients were able to engage in intercourse and were satisfied with the results obtained. In selected patients with advanced disease the implantation of a penile prosthesis remains a highly successful and satisfying alternative for the treatment of Peyronie's disease. 

Category: general pathological conditions