tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
America goes crazy for "the happy pill"
Authors: G McBride
Journal: BMJ (1994)

If there isn't yet a popular song about Prozac (fluoxetine), surely there will be soon. Everywhere you turn in America, there is another story or reference to this popular antidepressant. Some stick to giving “the facts”; others worry about people taking Prozac just to “cool out”; yet more discuss the drug's use in other troubled segments of the population, such as teenagers. Recently, one clever writer, the Chicago Tribune's syndicated columnist Mike Royko, managed to get both the Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan debacle and Prozac into the same column.

Several years ago, of course, Prozac received a lot of bad press as a dangerous drug capable of driving people to suicide. But this rare adverse effect did not stop American psychiatrists and then family practitioners using Prozac in increasing amounts to treat depression. Nor …
Epomediol ameliorates pruritus in patients with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy
Authors: Manuel C. Gonzalez, Joaquin Iglesias, Claudio Tiribelli, Jose Ribalta, Humberto Reyes, Ismael Hernandez, Marcelo Bianchi, Francisco Andrighetti, Claudina Molina
Journal: Journal of Hepatology (1992)
Book Review Doctors' Decisions: Ethical conflicts in medical practice Edited by G.R. Dunstan and E.A. Shinebourne. 248 pp. New York, Oxford University Press, 1989. $42.50. Social Science Perspectives on Medical Ethics (Culture, Illness, and Healing. Vol. 16.) Edited by George Weisz. 295 pp. Boston, Kluwer Academic, 1990. $59.
Authors: David L. Schiedermayer, Robyn S. Shapiro
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1991)
Huntington's Chorea
Authors: Salvatore J. Enna, Edward D. Bird, James P. Bennett, David B. Bylund, Henry I. Yamamura, Leslie L. Iversen, Solomon H. Snyder
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1976)

Neurotransmitter-receptor binding sites for apparent muscarinic cholinergic, beta-adrenergic, gamma-aminobutyric acid and serotonin receptors were measured in the caudate nucleus and frontal cerebral cortex from post-mortem brains of 16 patients with Huntington's chorea and 16 controls. In addition, the samples were assayed for the gamma-aminobutyric-acid-synthesizing enzyme, glutamic acid decarboxylase, and for the acetylcholine-synthesizing enzyme, choline acetyltransferase. In the caudate nucleus of choreic brain, both enzyme activities were markedly lower, with significant decreases in muscarinic cholinergic and serotonin receptor binding, whereas enzyme activities and receptor binding were unchanged in the cerebral cortex. By contrast, gamma-aminobutyric acid and beta-adrenergic receptor binding were not significantly different in choreic and control caudate nucleus or cortex, suggesting that, despite the loss of gamma-aminobutyric-acid-synthesizing ability in the corpus striatum, gamma-aminobuytric acid mimetic drugs might alleviate the movement disorders in Huntington's chorea.
Serum Elastase Activity, Serum Elastase Inhibitors, and Occurrence of Carotid Atherosclerotic Plaques
Authors: Mahmoud Zureik, Ladislas Robert, Dominique Courbon, Pierre-Jean Touboul, Latifa Bizbiz, Pierre Ducimetière
Journal: Circulation (2002)

Background — In the last decades, interest has increased in the potential deleterious atherogenic effects of some cellular elastase activities. The results of experimental and clinical investigations were inconsistent. In this report, we assessed the associations of serum elastase activity and serum elastase inhibitors with carotid plaque occurrence during the 4-year follow-up in a population of 859 subjects free of coronary heart disease and stroke (age, 59 to 71 years). Methods and Results — Serum elastase activity and serum elastase inhibitors were measured at baseline examination. Carotid B-mode ultrasound examination was performed at baseline and 2 years and 4 years later. The occurrence of carotid plaques in subjects with the lowest serum elastase activity values (quartile 1), in those with the intermediate values (quartiles 2 to 3), and in those with the highest values (quartile 4) was, respectively, 24.6%, 18.9%, and 12.2% ( P &lt;0.001 for trend). The multivariate odds ratios of carotid plaque occurrence associated with the three groups (adjusted for major known cardiovascular risk factors) were, respectively, 1.00, 0.67 (CI, 0.44 to 1.02; P &lt;0.06), and 0.40 (CI, 0.23 to 0.70, P &lt;0.001). For serum elastase inhibitors, the occurrence of carotid plaques in quartile 1 (lowest values), quartiles 2 to 3, and quartile 4 (highest values) was, respectively, 11.7%, 18.8%, and 25.2% ( P for trend&lt;0.001). The corresponding multivariate adjusted odds ratios were 1.00, 1.98 (CI, 1.19 to 3.31, P &lt;0.01), and 3.18 (CI, 1.80 to 5.60, P &lt;0.001). Conclusions — Low values of serum elastase activity and high values of serum elastase inhibitors were strongly and independently associated with increased 4-year carotid plaque occurrence. Further studies are necessary to elucidate the nature of the associations between elastase parameters and atherosclerosis.
Overdrive suppression of conduction in the canine His-Purkinje system after occlusion of the anterior septal artery.
Authors: N Takahashi, R F Gilmour, D P Zipes
Journal: Circulation (1984)

The purpose of these experiments was to determine whether overdrive suppression of conduction (OSC), i.e., transient worsening of conduction or development of atrioventricular block after cessation of rapid pacing, could be produced in the canine His-Purkinje system damaged by ligation of the anterior septal coronary artery and to investigate the responsible mechanism. We found that OSC occurred in vivo after rapid ventricular and His bundle pacing but not after atrial pacing, and that it occurred in vitro after rapid pacing from the left bundle branch but not after pacing from the proximal His bundle. OSC was related to the duration and cycle length of pacing. Lidocaine increased while verapamil reduced the duration of OSC in vivo. The mechanism responsible for the unidirectionality of OSC is not clear but is probably related to the geometry of the atrioventricular junction and the anterograde versus the retrograde activation sequence. Changes in regional myocardial blood flow, autonomic tone, hemodynamic variables, or ventricular function do not appear to be required to produce OSC, based on the demonstration of the phenomenon in vitro. The data suggest a time- and rate-dependent change in factors affecting conduction such as excitability or cell-to-cell coupling, possibly due to accumulation of intracellular cations such as calcium.
First infection-fighting monoclonal antibodies scrutinized by FDA Advisory Committee members
Authors: C. Marwick
Journal: JAMA (1991)

ABSTRACT AGENTS against some gram-negative infections are moving closer to receiving the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) green light.If these agents are licensed, they will be the first monoclonal antibodies available for clinical use in the United States. Members of the FDA's Advisory Committee on Vaccines and Related Biological Products have heard from two manufacturers of these monoclonal antibodies that studies show a reduction in mortality and morbidity in patients with gram-negative sepsis.While the committee has made no formal recommendations to the FDA commissioner for licensure of these products, the members do agree that one of them, Centoxin (HA-1A) (Centocor Inc, Malvern, Pa), could get the green light if the types of patients in which it is most likely to be useful can be identified with reasonable precision. The committee also says that if data analysis on the other product, E5 (Xoma Corp, Berkeley, Calif), shows similar efficacy, it,
The Statistical Significance of Suffering
Authors: Kristen Suthers
Journal: PLoS Medicine (2005)

PLoS Medicine Essay [1] about how the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) review of documents can serve as a source of clinical trials data, but she follows it up with the statement, "However, it is diffi cult to have confi dence in data released by sponsors when the data have not been subjected to external, independent peer review.Furthermore, this information is not integrated with other data, or indexed" [2].While I agree with the second assertion, the fi rst assertion-that the data are not subjected to external, independent peer review-is off the mark.FDA reviews are indeed external and independent to the sponsor.These reviews are conducted not by the sponsors but by physicians and scientists employed by the United States government.True, the data originate with the sponsor.However, once the sponsor submits data to the FDA, a level of rigor and scrutiny is applied to them that is arguably higher than what occurs in the typical journal manuscript review process.First, FDA reviewers typically revisit the original protocol submitted before the study was conducted in order to verify that the sponsor has not engaged in hypothesizing after the results are known ("HARKing") [3].By contrast, journal reviewers typically do not have access to the original protocol.As a result, they must trust that HARKing has not occurred, a dubious assumption in view of recent data [4].Second, FDA statistical reviewers obtain the raw data from the sponsor, and determine whether the sponsor's fi ndings can be replicated.By contrast, journal reviewers typically have access to only the summary statistics reported (perhaps selectively) to them by the authors or the sponsors.Consequently, reviewers can only speculate whether they could replicate the fi ndings.As a result, I believe that the FDA review process warrants a higher level of confi dence than the conventional journal manuscript review process.
Effectiveness of the nursing programme ‘Coping with itch’: a randomized controlled study in adults with chronic pruritic skin disease
Authors: H. van Os-Medendorp, W.J.G. Ros, P.C.M. Eland-de Kok, C. Kennedy, B.H. Thio, A. van der Schuur-van der Zande, M.H.F. Grypdonck, C.A.F.M. Bruijnzeel-Koomen
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (2007)

The nursing programme 'Coping with Itch' aims at reducing itch and at helping patients with chronic pruritic skin diseases cope with itch. The programme consists of educational and cognitive behavioural interventions. Dermatology nurses carry out the programme, which supplements standard medical treatment given by a dermatologist, in individual sessions at a nurse clinic organized by the dermatology outpatient department.To evaluate the effectiveness of the nursing programme 'Coping with Itch' in patients with chronic pruritic skin diseases.A randomized controlled study was carried out. Patients with chronic pruritic skin diseases were randomly assigned to the intervention group or the control group. The intervention group received standard care from a dermatologist and nursing care according to the programme 'Coping with Itch' for a mean of 2.9 visits. The control group received usual care from a dermatologist. Data collection took place at baseline, at 3 months (t1) and at 9 months (t2) after baseline. Most visits to the nurse clinic took place during the first 3 months of the study. Main outcome measures were the frequency and intensity of itching and scratching, itch-related coping, and skin-related and general psychosocial morbidity. Secondary outcome measures were the number of visits to the dermatologist and the use of medication and ointments. Mann-Whitney tests and analyses of covariance were used to analyse differences between the two groups.Data on 29 patients in the intervention group and 36 patients in the control group were used in the analyses. A trend to significance (P = 0.07) was shown in the difference between the two groups in the frequency of itching and scratching at t1. A significant difference (P = 0.04) was shown between the two groups in catastrophizing and helpless itch-related coping at t1. No significant differences were revealed at t2 between the groups. Patients in the intervention group visited the dermatologist significantly less frequently during the intervention period than did control group patients.The nursing programme 'Coping with Itch' led to a reduction in the frequency of itching and scratching and to a reduction of catastrophizing and helpless coping in patients with chronic pruritic skin diseases during the period immediately following the intervention. We suggest further follow-up visits to the itch clinic to extend these results over a longer period.
Evaluation of Desonide Cream
Authors: E. J. Van Scott
Journal: JAMA (1973)

<h3>To the Editor.—</h3> In a recent letter (225:1658, 1973), (<i>Arch Dermatol</i>107:870-871, 1973) Kligman directed criticism at a double-blind evaluation that showed that 0.05% desonide cream, topically applied to inflammatory skin disorders, was as effective as 0.025% fluocinolone acetonide cream. He alleged that the doubleblind study had yielded a spurious result because (1) it had included too many skin diseases that respond too easily to treatment and (2) he concluded from his own unpublished observations that desonide was inferior to fluocinolone acetonide (both in unstated concentrations). Details of his study were not provided for objective scrutiny by the reader. Phillips et al<sup>1</sup>reported 0.05% desonide cream to be superior to 0.025% fluocinolone acetonide cream when applied to stabilized psoriasis, a disease that indeed does not respond easily to treatment. This report was based in part on our own testing of desonide on psoriasis via a study with a double-blind
The Risk of Seizures after Receipt of Whole-Cell Pertussis or Measles, Mumps, and Rubella Vaccine
Authors: William E. Barlow, Robert L. Davis, John W. Glasser, Phillip H. Rhodes, Robert S. Thompson, John P. Mullooly, Steven B. Black, Henry R. Shinefield, Joel I. Ward, S. Michael Marcy, Frank DeStefano, Virginia Immanuel, John A. Pearson, Constance M. Vadheim, Viviana Rebolledo, Dimitri Christakis, Patti J. Benson, Ned Lewis, Robert T. Chen
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (2001)

The administration of the diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and whole-cell pertussis (DTP) vaccine and measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine has been associated with seizures. We studied the relation between these vaccinations and the risk of a first seizure, subsequent seizures, and neurodevelopmental disability in children.
Late Cardiac Effects of Therapeutic Mediastinal Irradiation
Authors: John S. Gottdiener, Michael J. Katin, Jeffery S. Borer, Stephen L. Bacharach, Michael V. Green
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1983)

Although the heart was formerly thought to be relatively resistant to radiation,1 the increasing use of radiation therapy to the mediastinum has been associated with well-documented instances of cardiac abnormalities, including pericarditis with effusion and tamponade,2 3 4 5 6 7 coronary-artery fibrosis and myocardial infarction,7 8 9 10 and constrictive pericarditis.6 , 11 Complications occurring within the first 12 to 24 months after treatment are well known2 3 4; nevertheless, the success of radiation in treating malignant conditions — particularly Hodgkin's disease — has led to its use in a sizable number of patients, who may be at risk for cardiac complications many years after therapy. Therefore, we used noninvasive . . .
Prevention of vitamin D deficiency in the elderly.
Authors: J Conely, D Sumner, A McKinlay, W McIntosh, M G Dunnigan
Journal: BMJ (1977)

<h3>Abstract</h3> Single cell Hi-C (scHi-C) has been used to map genome organization in complex tissues. However, computational tools to detect dynamic chromatin contacts from scHi-C datasets in development and through disease pathogenesis are still lacking. Here, we present SnapHiC-D, a computational pipeline to identify differential chromatin contacts (DCCs) between two scHi-C datasets. Compared to methods designed for bulk Hi-C data, SnapHiC-D detects DCCs with high sensitivity and accuracy. We used SnapHiC-D to identify celltype-specific chromatin contacts at 10 kilobase resolution in mouse hippocampal and human prefrontal cortical tissues, and demonstrated that DCCs detected in the cortical and hippocampal cell types are generally correlated with cell-type-specific gene expression patterns and epigenomic features.
Relationship of Alcohol Intake With Inflammatory Markers and Plasminogen Activator Inhibitior-1 in Well-Functioning Older Adults
Authors: Stefano Volpato, Marco Pahor, Luigi Ferrucci, Eleanor M. Simonsick, Jack M. Guralnik, Stephen B. Kritchevsky, Renato Fellin, Tamara B. Harris
Journal: Circulation (2004)

Increased levels of acute-phase reactants predict the onset of poor health outcomes. A U-shaped association has been reported between alcohol intake and health outcomes, which suggests that alcohol intake may modify levels of acute-phase reactants. We investigated the relationship between weekly alcohol intake and interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1).Data are from year 1 of the Health, Aging, and Body Composition study, a biracial cohort of 3075 well-functioning men and women aged 70 to 79 years, living in Memphis, Tenn, and Pittsburgh, Pa. The analysis included 2574 persons (51.2% women; 40.1% black) with complete data. After adjustment for age, race, smoking status, history of diabetes, history of cardiovascular disease, physical activity, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, antiinflammatory medications, statins, and total fat mass, alcohol intake showed a J-shaped relationship with mean IL-6 (P for quadratic term <0.001) and CRP (P=0.014) levels. The association was consistent in both men and women. Compared with subjects who consumed 1 to 7 drinks per week, those who never drank had an increased likelihood of having high levels of both IL-6 and CRP, as did those who drank 8 or more drinks per week. We found no relationship between alcohol intake and levels of TNF-alpha and PAI-1 (P=0.137 and 0.08, respectively).In well-functioning older persons, light alcohol consumption is associated with lower levels of IL-6 and CRP. These results might suggest an additional biological explanation to the epidemiological link between moderate alcohol consumption and cardiovascular events.
Adrenergic mechanisms in control of plasma lipid concentrations.
Authors: J L Day, J Metcalfe, C N Simpson
Journal: BMJ (1982)

The mechanisms of the changes in plasma lipids concentrations observed after beta-blockade were examined in 53 patients with hypertension receiving treatment with atenolol, metoprolol, propranolol, and oxprenolol in a randomised cross-over trial. Significant increases in mean plasma total and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) triglyceride and reductions in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and free fatty acids concentrations wer observed with all four drugs, the increase in plasma triglyceride concentration being greatest after propranolol and oxprenolol. No significant changes were observed in total of LDL cholesterol concentrations, but HDL:LDL ratios and HDL cholesterol as a proportion of total cholesterol fell significantly. Thus plasma lipid concentrations should be monitored after three to six months of long-term treatment. Changes in triglyceride, HDL cholesterol and free fatty acid concentrations were associated with a highly significant reduction in clearance of soya oil (Intralipid) in 25 patients studied but were unrelated to changes in blood pressure. The fall in HDL cholesterol and rise in free fatty acid concentrations were significantly less in those with initially reduced HDL cholesterol or raised free fatty acid concentrations respectively. It is proposed that unopposed alpha stimulation inhibits lipoprotein lipase with a subsequent rise in plasma triglyceride and fall in HDL cholesterol concentration. Analysis of the relation between pretreatment concentrations and subsequent changes suggests that excessive alpha stimulation may impair production of HDL cholesterol in those with low HDL cholesterol concentrations before treatment. Subtle catecholamine-mediated changes in plasma lipid concentrations might provide a mechanism for the relation between stress and the development of cardiovascular events.
Complex Demodulation of Cardiorespiratory Dynamics Preceding Vasovagal Syncope
Authors: Lewis A. Lipsitz, Junichiro Hayano, Seiichiro Sakata, Akiyoshi Okada, Raymond J. Morin
Journal: Circulation (1998)

The dynamic autonomic processes leading to vasovagal syncope are poorly understood.We used complex demodulation to continuously assess changes in respiration, R-R interval, and arterial pressure (blood pressure) variability during 60 degree head-up tilt in 25 healthy subjects with tilt-induced vasovagal syncope and 25 age-matched nonsyncopal control subjects. Coherence and transfer function analyses were used to examine the relation between respiration and R-R interval variability before syncope. Baseline blood pressure, R-R, and ventilation were similar between syncope subjects and control subjects. Syncope subjects experienced an increase in tidal volume and decrease in BP beginning 3 minutes before impending syncope (systolic blood pressure <80 mm Hg) necessitated termination of tilt. Approximately 90 seconds before syncope there was a sudden prolongation of R-R interval and increase in amplitude of high and low frequency R-R interval variability, indicating an abrupt enhancement of vagal tone. The increase in respiratory amplitude between 180 and 90 seconds before syncope was not accompanied by changes in R-R interval or R-R variability, suggesting a dissociation between respiration and the respiratory sinus arrhythmia. The coherence analysis showed fewer syncope subjects with coherence between respiratory and R-R interval variabilities and lower transfer magnitudes in syncope subjects compared with control subjects. Nonsyncopal subjects had no change in respiratory, R-R interval, or blood pressure dynamics during matched time periods before the time of syncope.Vasovagal syncope is preceded by a period of hyperpnea and cardiorespiratory decoupling followed by an abrupt increase in cardiovagal tone. Respiratory pumping without inspiratory cardiac slowing may partially counteract preload reduction until sudden bradycardia precipitates syncope.
Aspirin and Perioperative Blood Loss-Reply
Authors: William H. Harris
Journal: JAMA (1981)

<h3>In Reply.—</h3> Dr Michelson writes that "I cannot agree with the statement... that an average additional blood loss of 400 mL 'is not of great clinical importance.' " Our overall figures of blood loss include eight different groups of patients. That is to say, we compared patients with primary operations who then had normotensive or hypotensive anesthesia and broke those groups down into patients who received 1.2 or 3.6 g of aspirin a day. There was a second major group composed of patients undergoing revision total-hip arthroplasty. They received either normotensive or hypotensive anesthesia, and each of those groups was subdivided into patients receiving 1.2 vs 3.6 g of aspirin a day. The results in all of these subsets were then compared with those of control subjects who had the corresponding characteristics, ie, primary or secondary total-hip replacement and normotensive or hypotensive anesthesia. If Dr Michelson refers to Table 3, he
Topical vitamins, minerals and botanical ingredients as modulators of environmental and chronological skin damage
Authors: A. Chiu, A.B. Kimball
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (2003)

Ageing skin is characterized by fine lines, wrinkles, lentigines, dyspigmentation and increased coarseness. Topical preparations alleged to combat these changes abound in the over‐the‐counter market. Some of the most popular ingredients used in these products are vitamins, minerals and botanical extracts. Proposed mechanisms for antiageing effects on skin range from antioxidant properties to improved collagen synthesis or protection from collagen breakdown. Despite the media attention and consumer popularity that these ingredients have generated, there have been few scientific studies to support these claims. In this report, we review recent published studies on the most common of these ingredients for the topical photoprotection and the treatment of ageing skin.