Melricflash/CW_MedAbstractsAlt huggingface dataset:
Influence of chemotherapy administration on monocyte activation by liposomal muramyl tripeptide phosphatidylethanolamine in children with osteosarcoma. The purpose of these studies was to determine whether chemotherapy interfered with the ability of peripheral blood monocytes from patients with osteosarcoma to respond to the liposome-encapsulated activating agent muramyl tripeptide phosphatidylethanolamine (L-MTP-PE). This was done in preparation of designing an adjuvant therapy protocol that includes L-MTP-PE combined with chemotherapy postoperatively for the treatment of primary osteosarcoma. The majority of patients who fail current adjuvant chemotherapy do so while on chemotherapy. Therefore, we believe it is important to combine L-MTP-PE with chemotherapy early in the treatment course rather than waiting until all chemotherapy cycles are completed. The tumoricidal properties of monocytes from patients with osteosarcoma could be activated by L-MTP-PE to levels equal to or greater than those expressed by normal control monocytes. No intrinsic monocyte defect could be demonstrated. Single-agent chemotherapy consisting of cisplatin (CPD), high-dose methotrexate (MTX), Cytoxan (CTX, cyclophosphamide; Bristol-Myers Co, Evansville, IN), or Adriamycin (ADR, doxorubicin; Adria Laboratories, Columbus, OH) did not interfere with this activation process. There was even a suggestion of enhanced activation potential following the administration of ADR. However, when both ADR and CTX were administered together on the same day, profound suppression in monocyte activation was observed. This suppressed function returned to normal by 3 weeks postcombination therapy. We therefore conclude that L-MTP-PE can be combined with ADR, CPD, MTX, or CTX as single agents but recommend that ADR plus L-MTP-PE is the most effective combination. By contrast, we discourage the use of L-MTP-PE when ADR and CTX are given together. 

Category: neoplasms
Comparison of postmortem magnetic resonance imaging and neuropathologic findings in the cerebral white matter. Two types of high-signal intensity abnormalities are frequently found bilaterally in the cerebral white matter of brains of elderly patients on T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. One is located in the immediate periventricular region; the other, in the deep subcortical white matter (centrum semiovale). The diagnostic implications of this second type continue to be uncertain. To determine the neuropathologic correlates of these lesions, the brains from seven elderly patients were fixed in buffered formaldehyde solution, subjected to MRI scanning, and examined neuropathologically. Variable degrees of bilateral periventricular (subependymal) sharply defined areas of high-signal intensity were found in all the brains, and the larger of these showed corresponding areas of myelin pallor with gliosis and dilated perivascular spaces. Discrete bilateral patches of high-signal intensity were found in the centrum semiovale in five patients. Myelin and axon stains showed varying degrees of diffuse white matter pallor in many areas examined, both with and without these areas of high-signal intensity on MRI scans. Neither the myelin nor the axon stains showed discrete white matter abnormalities that corresponded to the MRI findings. We believe that these changes, so commonly found on MRI scans in the elderly, reflect actual changes in the white matter but that their nature and clinical significance need to be elucidated. 

Category: general pathological conditions
Antigen related to cell proliferation in malignant gliomas recognized by a human monoclonal antibody. A human monoclonal antibody (CLN-IgG) was produced from a human-human hybridoma derived from lymphocytes of a patient with cervical carcinoma. The reactivities of this antibody with various human glioma tissues and cultured glioma cells and the characterization of the antigen recognized by CLN-IgG on malignant glioma cells were analyzed and reported. CLN-IgG reacted with various human glioma cells and glioma tissues, especially glioblastoma, but did not react with normal brain tissues or fetal brain tissues. A large amount of antigen recognized by CLN-IgG was expressed on cell membranes of undifferentiated glioma cells and of glioma cells at the G2/M tumor growth phase in cycling cells. Antigen recognized by CLN-IgG was detected in only one of seven samples of cyst fluid, and was not detected in 27 serum samples or 18 samples of cerebrospinal fluid from glioma patients. CLN-IgG exhibited antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity against U-25 1 MG glioma cells and primary cultured cells of glioblastomas and anaplastic astrocytomas. These data suggest that the antigen recognized by CLN-IgG might be related to cell proliferation in malignant gliomas. Thus, CLN-IgG might be useful for immunotherapy or immunoimaging of malignant gliomas. 

Category: neoplasms
Dysgeusia, gustatory sweating, and crocodile tears syndrome induced by a cerebellopontine angle meningioma. Facial nerve involvement in cerebellopontine angle tumors, both during their development and after excision, may be expressed in irreversible dysfunction of the parasympathetic pathways. The exact location of the lesion along the efferent nerve fibers can be established through evaluation of the functional level of those organs supplied by the cholinergic motor secretory components. This report deals with a female patient in whom peripheral facial palsy developed shortly after removal of a right cerebellopontine angle meningioma. She had slight facial asymmetry and deafness in the right ear and complained of prandial flush and sweating of the right malar area. Occult ipsilateral hyposalivation and hypolacrimation were diagnosed. In patients with seventh and ninth cranial nerve pathoses, evaluation of the end organs that are supplied by their associated autonomous nerve fibers is mandatory to prevent late ocular and oral sequelae. 

Category: general pathological conditions
Quantifying the potential benefit of CA 125 screening for ovarian cancer. We develop a stochastic model of screening for ovarian cancer with serum levels of the CA 125 radioimmunoassay, a tumor-specific marker. The natural history of the disease is constructed using a four stage model characterized by a multivariate distribution for duration in each stage. Preserving its important features, we simplify the model to a function of two parameters; the average duration in stage I and the coefficient of variation of duration in each stage. A yearly screening program is superimposed using exponential CA 125 growth curves which result in stage-specific sensitivities corresponding to values reported in the literature. By implementing a computer simulation of the stochastic model, we estimate the benefit due to screening. This benefit is expressed as expected years of life saved per case of ovarian cancer. The model incorporates the stochastic nature of the disease process, allows easy analysis of repeated screens, and automatically accounts for correlation between subsequent tests. It provides the basis for planning optimal screening strategies with CA 125 testing. 

Category: neoplasms
Syringomyelia as a postoperative sequela of the resection of a chordoma of the clivus: case report. Syringomyelia has been described frequently in association with various abnormalities of the skull base but rarely with tumors of the skull base. Syringomyelia as a postoperative sequela of surgery of the skull base has not been reported. The authors describe a case of cervical syringomyelia developing after the partial resection of a chordoma and combined conventional and proton beam irradiation. The possible mechanisms causing this abnormality are discussed. 

Category: nervous system diseases
Epidermal growth factor regulates the in vitro sensitivity of human ovarian carcinoma cells to cisplatin. Cisplatin (DDP) is the most effective drug for the treatment of human ovarian cancer, but the mechanisms that determine sensitivity to the cytotoxic action of DDP are not well understood. Treatment of two human ovarian carcinoma cell lines with epidermal growth factor (EGF) simultaneously increased sensitivity to DDP and caused a persistent change in morphology in the absence of any mitogenic effect. Sensitization to DDP was shown to be dependent on both EGF concentration and EGF receptor number in C127 mouse fibroblasts expressing the human EGF receptor after transfection with a pBPV plasmid construct containing the human EGF receptor gene under control of the transferrin receptor 3'-inducible regulator. Sensitization of human ovarian carcinoma cells to DDP was not blocked by inhibition of protein synthesis. EGF did not enhance sensitivity to DDP or alter morphology in DDP-resistant human ovarian carcinoma cells despite the presence of functional EGF receptors on these cells. These results showed that elements of the signal transduction pathway activated by EGF determined cellular sensitivity to DDP, and that a DDP-resistant phenotype is associated with a defect in this signal transduction pathway. 

Category: neoplasms
Preferential mitogenic activity for myoblast-like cells can be extracted from uterine leiomyoma tissues. The presence of mitogen(s) in leiomyoma extracts stimulating cells with the fibroblast, myoblast, and osteoblast phenotype was documented. Mitogenic activity in leiomyoma extracts was acid stable and sensitive to tryptic digestion. Reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography successfully separated mitogen(s) with preferential activity for myoblast cells from mitogens with a broad type of cell specificity and from inhibitors. This leiomyoma-derived preferential activity for myoblasts was absent in identically treated myometrial and endometrial extracts. This suggests that leiomyoma-derived substances with preferential growth factor activity for myoblast-like cells may play a role in the pathophysiologic characteristics of uterine leiomyomas. 

Category: neoplasms
Atracurium decay and the formation of laudanosine in humans. Several groups of investigators have reported that the plasma concentrations of laudanosine, a metabolite of atracurium, are high immediately after administration of atracurium and thereafter decline. Such a time profile of a metabolite in plasma is very unusual. The authors describe a model of atracurium decay and laudanosine disposition that satisfactorily explains these data. The model reveals the following: 1) each atracurium molecule is degraded into two of laudanosine; 2) the generation of laudanosine occurs through two processes--a rapid one, involving approximately 31% of the atracurium dose and proceeding with a half-life of 0.25 min, and a slower one, involving the residual 69% and proceeding with a half-life of 51 min; 3) atracurium degradation by Hofmann elimination proceeds in the central and the noncentral compartments; 4) laudanosine formed from atracurium gains access to its central compartment and disappears from plasma in a biexponential pattern; 5) in cirrhotic patients, only 18% of the atracurium dose is degraded rapidly and laudanosine is disposed of more slowly. The authors propose that the rapid degradation of atracurium in plasma proceeds through a nucleophilic substitution reaction, with plasma nucleophiles substituting for the laudanosine moiety in atracurium. Because both laudanosine moieties in atracurium are required to establish and sustain plasma concentrations of laudanosine, excretion of atracurium or its degradation through pathways not generating laudanosine must be small. 

Category: digestive system diseases
Diagnosis of chronic abacterial prostato-vesiculitis by rectal ultrasonography in relation to symptoms and findings. A group of 36 men with chronic abacterial prostato-vesiculitis, confirmed by semen analysis and rectal ultrasonography, underwent detailed anamnesis and clinical examination. There was no clear relationship between the severity of the symptoms or the presence of leucocytes and the extent of the changes visualised by ultrasound. In 72% of cases, clinical examination also revealed signs of a previous epididymitis. In general, asymmetry in symptoms could be related to glandular pathology, as indicated by ultrasonography, on the ipsilateral side. 

Category: general pathological conditions
Norfloxacin prevents spontaneous bacterial peritonitis recurrence in cirrhosis: results of a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Eighty cirrhotic patients who had recovered from an episode of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis were included in a multicenter, double-blind trial aimed at comparing long-term norfloxacin administration (400 mg/day; 40 patients) vs. placebo (40 patients) in the prevention of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis recurrence. At entry, both groups were similar with respect to clinical and laboratory data, ascitic fluid protein and polymorphonuclear concentrations, number of previous episodes of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis and causative organisms of the index spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. Norfloxacin administration produced a selective intestinal decontamination (elimination of aerobic gram-negative bacilli from the fecal flora without significant changes in other microorganisms) throughout the study in six patients in whom the effect of norfloxacin on the fecal flora was periodically assessed. Fourteen patients from the placebo group (35%) and five from the norfloxacin group (12%) developed spontaneous bacterial peritonitis recurrence during follow-up (chi 2 = 5.97; p = 0.014) (mean follow-up period = 6.4 +/- 0.6 mo; range = 1 to 19 mo). Ten of the 14 spontaneous bacterial peritonitis recurrences in the placebo group and only one of the five spontaneous bacterial peritonitis recurrences in the norfloxacin group were caused by aerobic gram-negative bacilli (chi 2 = 8.87; p = 0.0029). The overall probability of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis recurrence at 1 yr of follow-up was 20% in the norfloxacin group and 68% in the placebo group (p = 0.0063) and the probability of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis recurrence caused by aerobic gram-negative bacilli at 1 yr of follow-up was 3% and 60%, respectively (p = 0.0013). 

Category: digestive system diseases
Should safety concerns with available ulcer treatment influence drug selection? With the identification of the parietal cell receptors for gastric acid secretion coupled with the introduction of cimetidine in 1977, treatment of acid-peptic diseases was transformed from empiric therapy to an approach based on a clearer understanding of human physiology. Today, physicians are confronted with an array of antiulcer agents that differ within their drug class (e.g., the H2-receptor antagonists) as well as in their mechanisms of action (e.g., neutralize acid, alter mucosal defensive factors, or suppress acid secretion). With minor exceptions, the clinical efficacy of the available antiulcer drugs can be regarded as comparable. Thus, the safety profile becomes the next consideration when choosing among similarly effective drug products. Of the available antiulcer agents, the H2-receptor antagonists as a class have an excellent safety profile, as indicated by more than 25 years of cumulative clinical experience and postmarketing surveillance. Important safety issues with currently available antiulcer drugs, i.e., H2-receptor antagonists, sucralfate, prostaglandin E analogues, and the newest antiulcer agent, omeprazole, are reviewed to place them into perspective for the clinician. 

Category: digestive system diseases
Diffuse proliferative lupus nephritis: long-term observations in patients treated with ancrod. Twenty-two patients with histologically demonstrated diffuse proliferative lupus nephritis (DPLN) and glomerular thrombosis received a 14-day course of ancrod, followed in most by nitrogen mustard (mechlorethamine hydrochloride) 0.4 mg/kg. Many were referred when renal function was deteriorating despite large doses of prednisone. The patients had severe disease; there was a high degree of glomerular sclerosis; the median serum creatinine was 137 mumol/l, the diastolic blood pressure 101 mm Hg. Reported previously was a short-term improvement in renal function, blood pressure, and renal histology. Reported here is the long-term follow-up on all 22 patients for an average of 58 months. Three died of causes other than renal failure. Eleven developed end-stage renal disease an average of 27 months after ancrod treatment. The other 8 are alive with no deterioration of renal function after an average of 70 months. This outcome seems satisfactory when disease severity is taken into consideration. Factors present at treatment start that might be associated with subsequent renal function deterioration were: prior prolonged prednisone treatment, extensive glomerular sclerosis, high plasma alpha 2-antiplasmin and possibly triglycerides. During the follow-up period after completion of treatment, later relapses of SLE and DPLN appeared to be an important predictor of deterioration of renal function. 

Category: cardiovascular diseases
Characteristics of duodenal wall gastrinomas. Fifteen patients with duodenal wall gastrinomas (DWGs) and the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome have been treated since 1960. In 6 of 11 patients, DWGs were recognized at operation and totally excised. In four patients, the tumor was subsequently found in the proximal duodenum of the surgical specimens. In 12 patients, DWGs were single and lymph node metastases were present in 8. In three patients, DWGs were multiple and lymph node metastases were present in two. All DWGs were submucosal and all were located in the first or second portions of the duodenum except one found in the fourth portion. Tumor size ranged from 1 to 15 mm, and nine were less than 5 mm. Of 12 patients with single DWGs, 9 have remained eugastrinemic after resection (mean follow-up: 5.5 years). None of the patients with multiple DWGs became eugastrinemic after surgery. DWGs are characteristically single, small or microscopic, submucosal, located in the proximal duodenum, rarely metastasize to the liver, and are usually curable by surgical resection. 

Category: neoplasms
Treatment of malignant pleural effusions with doxorubicin hydrochloride-containing poly(L-lactic acid) microspheres. For the treatment of malignant pleural effusions, we prepared doxorubicin hydrochloride (Adriamycin)-containing poly(L-lactic acid) microspheres (ADR-MS). In vitro, 50 percent and 100 percent release times of ADR from ADR-MS were 6.3 and 20 days, respectively. After intrapleural administration of ADR-MS for seven patients at an ADR dose of 40 mg, ADR was detected in the effusions for more than two weeks; however, ADR concentrations in serum were very small, consistent with minimal transpleural absorption of ADR. These results indicated the slow release of ADR into the pleural cavity. Furthermore, the amount of drained ADR was less than a few percent of the administered dose. In some cases, malignant cells in the effusion disappeared after the treatment. No complications related to the procedure occurred, and the patients developed no systemic symptoms. One patient died after four months, and the other six patients are alive after 21 to 31 months without reaccumulation of the effusion. The local administration of ADR-MS produces a localized high and systemic low concentration of ADR, which could potentially improve the patient's quality of life. 

Category: neoplasms
Atonic pupil: an unusual complication of cataract surgery. Eight cases of atonic pupil, an unusual complication following cataract surgery, are presented. Six of the eyes involved had intracapsular cataract extraction and anterior chamber intraocular lens implantation; one case underwent extracapsular cataract extraction with a posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation; the other had an extracapsular procedure with no implant. The etiology is unknown, but we believe the most likely one is that the sodium hyaluronate used in all these patients caused a temporary reduction of the iris blood supply by mechanical factors or by a vasoconstriction induced by some toxicity of the material that produced a lesion on the iris sphincter. 

Category: general pathological conditions
The influence of age vs peak serum concentration on life-threatening events after chronic theophylline intoxication. To identify risk factors for the development of seizures and cardiac arrhythmias after chronic, unintentional theophylline intoxication we monitored the clinical course of 72 consecutive patients referred to a regional poison center with chronic theophylline intoxication (serum theophylline concentration, greater than or equal to 167 mumol/L after protracted use). The median age of the sample was 47.5 years (range, 4 days to 91 years). Median peak theophylline concentration was 239 mumol/L, with a range of 167 to 722 mumol/L. A life-threatening event (LTE) occurred in 28 patients (39%) that included seizures in eight and a major cardiac arrhythmia in 22. The median peak (theophylline) of patients who had an LTE vs those who did not was 235.8 vs 238.7 mumol/L. However, the median age of patients with an LTE compared with those without an LTE was significantly greater (70.5 vs 18.0 years). Stratification of data by chronologic age revealed a stepwise increase in the frequency of LTE with advancing years: patients more than 75 years old had a 16.7-fold greater risk of LTE than patients less than 25 years old (95% confidence interval, 3.56, 77.5) despite comparable intergroup median serum (theophylline). These data suggest the primary determinant of LTEs after chronic theophylline intoxication is chronologic age. Elderly patients have an inordinately greater risk of LTE than younger patients. Peak serum theophylline concentration cannot predict which patients with chronic theophylline intoxication will have an LTE. Finally, these data indicate that theophylline should be used cautiously and with frequent monitoring of serum theophylline concentrations in elderly patients. 

Category: general pathological conditions
Angiocentric lymphoma with histologic features of neoplastic angioendotheliomatosis presenting with predominant respiratory and hematologic manifestations. Report of a case and review of the literature Neoplastic angioendotheliomatosis (NAE) is a rare fatal disease characterized by widespread intravascular proliferations of neoplastic mononuclear cells. Clinically, dermatologic and bizarre neurologic manifestations usually predominate. The origin of the neoplastic cells remains still undetermined. The authors report a patient with NAE peculiar with respect to the following points: (1) the patient predominantly manifested respiratory symptoms and hematologic findings and lacked cutaneous or neurologic manifestations; and (2) immunohistochemical and molecular genetic studies showed the B-cell nature of the neoplastic cells, although previous cases with predominant respiratory or hematologic manifestations were reported to be of endothelial origin. Despite the rarity, this type of NAE or angiocentric lymphoma should be recognized because it is easily confused with other disorders, particularly vasculitis or thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. 

Category: neoplasms
Sudden death from acute cocaine intoxication in Virginia in 1988. A review of medical examiners' autopsy records revealed that in 1988, 33 residents of Virginia died of acute cocaine intoxication. The subjects were 19 to 45 years old; most were men, used cocaine intravenously, and used other toxic substances with the lethal dose of cocaine. 

Category: cardiovascular diseases