tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Abstract 896: Pre-diagnostic blood fatty acid levels and prostate cancer mortality
Authors: Jorge E. Chavarro, Meir J. Stampfer, Hannia Campos, Howard D. Sesso, Jing Ma
Journal: Cancer Research (2010)

Abstract Purpose: Fatty acid metabolism, particularly de novo lipogenesis, may be an important determinant of prostate cancer progression and mortality. However, epidemiologic data regarding the role of circulating fatty acids, as biomarkers of fatty acid intake and metabolism, on prostate cancer progression and mortality is scarce. Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study among 582 Physicans’ Health Study participants who provided a blood sample in 1982 and who were later diagnosed with prostate cancer, between 1982 and 2006. Blood samples were kept frozen until they were assayed. Men were followed from the date of prostate cancer diagnosis until death or the end of follow-up (March 31, 2009). Blood levels of major types of fatty acids were measured using gas chromatography and expressed as percentage of total fatty acids. Men were categorized according to quintiles of blood fatty acid levels. Proportional hazards regression was used to estimate the relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) of prostate cancer specific mortality in a given quintile of fatty acid level in relation to the lowest quintile. Results: During 7,414 person-years of follow-up, 94 men died of prostate cancer. The median time between diagnosis and prostate cancer death was 14 years. The median time between blood draw and prostate cancer diagnosis was 9.5 years. Blood levels of all the mono-unsaturated, n-6 polyunsaturated and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids examined were unrelated to prostate cancer mortality. However, compared to men in the lowest quintile, the RRs (95% CIs) of prostate cancer mortality for men in increasing quintiles of blood stearic acid (18:0) levels were 1.90 (0.81-4.50), 3.61 (1.55-8.42), 2.29 (0.96-5.43) and 4.96 (2.10-11.7) (P, trend &amp;lt;0.001) after adjusting for age at diagnosis, race, body mass index, smoking status, clinical stage and tumor grade at diagnosis, and time between blood draw and prostate cancer diagnosis. Blood levels of the remaining saturated fatty acids examined were unrelated to prostate cancer mortality. Conclusions: Pre-diagnostic blood levels of stearic acid, a saturated fatty acid, are positively related to prostate cancer mortality. Since blood stearic acid levels are usually unrelated to diet, these data suggest that differences in fatty acid metabolism might be responsible for this association. It remains to be determined whether this finding is due to between-person differences in the activity of de novo lipogenesis enzymes or other metabolic factors that result in higher blood levels of stearic acid. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 896.
Tc-99m MIBI Uptake in Breast Carcinoma and Axillary Lymph Node Metastases
Authors: CHIA-HUNG KAO, SHYH-JEN WANG, SHIN-HWA YEH
Journal: Clinical Nuclear Medicine (1994)

Two female patients with breast cancer and axillary lymph node metastases had Tc-99m MIBI chest scintigraphy. The Tc-99m MIBI uptake in the primary breast cancer and metastatic lymph nodes were noted and discussed. The findings suggest that Tc-99m MIBI chest scintigraphy for palpable breast masses and axillary lymph nodes is a helpful test in detecting malignant breast masses and metastatic lymph nodes.
Conduction Disturbances Located within the His Bundle
Authors: REINIER M. SCHUILENBURG, DIRK DURRER
Journal: Circulation (1972)

Four patients are described with different degrees of conduction disturbance within the His bundle. In one patient with a Mobitz type II atrioventricular (A-V) block with normal QRS complexes the blocked atrial beats were followed by a His potential. Since the QRS complexes of the conducted beats were completely normal, the site of the block was thought to be in the distal part of the His bundle. In the other three patients with a 2:1 A-V block, a nearly complete A-V block, and a complete A-V block, two distinct His potentials could be discerned, one (H) following each atrial beat, the other (H') preceding each ventricular activation. In the patient with 2:1 A-V block a Wenckebach phenomenon within the His bundle could be produced at certain atrial driving rates. Impulse conduction through the A-V node was normal in all four cases, as could be concluded from the effect of increased atrial driving rate and of accurately timed atrial premature beats. The site of the block could not be predicted from the conventional electrocardiogram.
Private health sector in India
Authors: Shyamal Bagchee
Journal: BMJ (2005)

Editor—The editorial by Sengupta and Nundy on the private health sector in India raises interesting issues.1,2 People who still believe in the much discredited “trickle down” effects of money supply need to know that the Indian system rarely allows the government to collect legitimate taxes from rich and privileged people. Therefore and especially, there cannot be even the smallest hope of any public good coming of medical tourism in India, no matter how profitable it might be to the service providers.

The fact that the state medical machinery so miserably fails in India—and similar systems do only marginally better in the United Kingdom or the United States—has to do with the simple reality that the wealthy and the influential sections of the public have no interest in it. In the absence of the country's powerful folks' direct dependence on a healthy public system there can be only the dimmest hope for improvement. The opinions and self interest of the influential and the wealthy always sway government policies and priorities. The only solution is a single level, universal healthcare system with no one unqualified for it or exempt from it. If the privileged section of the population is still dissatisfied with the national arrangement, it can always buy services from commercial providers outside of the country—as many such Indians even now do.

Having lived in Canada long enough to know what it was like before our one-payer health system came into existence, I know too well what the other options are like.
To the Members of the Medical Profession.
Authors: Thomas J. Mays
Journal: JAMA (1896)

Philadelphia, Pa., May 1, 1896. My two collective reports which are already published on Ice-cold Applications in Acute Pneumonia give a record of one hundred and ninety-five cases so treated, with seven deaths, or a mortality rate of 3.58 per cent. Being desirous of making as full a report as possible on this subject, I take the liberty of asking those who have tested this measure to kindly give me the result of their experience. Full credit will be given to each correspondent in the report which I hope to publish. Blanks for the report of cases will be furnished by me on application. 1829 Spruce Street.
Outcome following listing for liver transplantation in primary sclerosing cholangitis
Authors: Bjorn Brandsaeter, Styrbjorn Friman, Bo-Gorann Ericzon, Krister Hockerstedt, Preben Kierkegaard, Michael Olausson, Ulrika Broome, Helena Isoniemi, Bent Hansen, Erik Schrumpf, Kristian Bjoro
Journal: Journal of Hepatology (2002)
Involvement of E-cadherin, β-catenin, Cdc42 and CXCR4 in the progression and prognosis of cutaneous melanoma
Authors: M.G. Tucci, G. Lucarini, D. Brancorsini, A. Zizzi, A. Pugnaloni, A. Giacchetti, G. Ricotti, G. Biagini
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (2007)

A key event in cancer metastasis is the migration of tumour cells from their original location to a secondary site. The development of melanoma may be viewed as a consequence of the disruption of homeostatic mechanisms in the skin of the original site.To investigate whether dysregulation of cell motility (Cdc42 expression), escaping the control of cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions (E-cadherin, beta-catenin expression), enhances melanoma progression, and whether chemokine receptors (CXCR4) mediate cell migration and activation during invasion and metastasis development.The immunohistochemical expression of Cdc42, E-cadherin, beta-catenin and CXCR4 was investigated in 30 patients with surgically treated nodular melanoma, 18 alive and disease free and 12 with a fatal outcome due to metastatic disease.E-cadherin expression was significantly reduced (P < 0.05) and cytoplasmic beta-catenin was increased in the patients who had died compared with disease-free individuals, while membrane expression of beta-catenin was similar in the two groups. Patients with fatal outcome had increased Cdc42 (P < 0.01) and CXCR4 (P < 0.05). In this group a positive correlation was found between melanocytic Cdc42 expression and Breslow thickness (r = 0.598, P < 0.05) and between CXCR4 expression and Breslow thickness (r = 0.583, P < 0.05).Findings suggest that primary cutaneous melanoma with a high Breslow thickness is characterized by tumour cells with high motility and invasion ability, in line with the hypothesis that low E-cadherin levels and overexpression of Cdc42 and CXCR4 could be prognostic markers of poor outcome.
Salicylate poisoning in dermatological therapy.
Authors: J B Aspinall, K M Goel
Journal: BMJ (1978)

screening for amoebiasis in patients from endemic areas who may require systemic therapy with corticosteroids.The difficulties in screening such patients, especially those who are asymptomatic, have been emphasised recently.'This man's serology was positive for E histolytica just four days after the onset of symptoms of perforation, implying an immune response which antedated the acute event.We therefore suggest that screening of both faeces and blood-for evidence of amoebiasis is desirable in this group of patients.
Childhood Urinary Tract Infection
Authors: T. G. S. Cameron
Journal: BMJ (1970)

BDIC 51Tolerance of Rifampicin SIR,-One of the virtues of rifampicin is said to be a good patient tolerance which, as you have noted (30 August, 1969, p. 487), should be particularly valuable in treatment of tuberculosis where tolerance is poor.To demonstrate objectively whether this good tolerance extends to domiciliary ambulant therapy we have used a simple urine test for rifampicin on patients attending the Dagenham Chest Clinic, consecutively during June, July, August, and September last year (Table ).During the same period we examined urines of all patients on P.A.S., using Phenistix.1 |No. of patientsIPositive Negative Rifampicin (Butanol) 23 23 Nil P.A.
Surgical Technique for Implantation of the Jarvik-7-100 Total Artificial Heart
Authors: William C. DeVries
Journal: JAMA (1988)

THE FIRST total artificial heart was implanted in a dog by Akutsu and Kolff<sup>1</sup>in 1957; this device sustained life for six hours. Since then, animal survival times with the artificial heart have increased dramatically, and refinements in the mechanics of the device have resulted in the development of an effective, gentle blood pump operated by a hemodynamically responsive drive system.<sup>2,3</sup> Human use of a total artificial heart occurred initially in 1969 and again in 1981.<sup>4,5</sup>Cooley performed these first two implants as an interim measure until orthotopic cardiac transplantation could be accomplished. His efforts were followed by the first implantation of an artificial heart as a permanent replacement for the human heart in 1982.<sup>6,7</sup>By the end of 1986, a total of five permanent implant procedures had been accomplished, and 38 devices had been implanted as a bridge to transplantation.<sup>8,9</sup>As technological advances result
Clinical Reactivation of Genital Herpes Simplex Virus Infection Decreases in Frequency over Time
Authors: Jacqueline K. Benedetti, Judith Zeh, Lawrence Corey
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1999)

Background: Visits to physicians for genital herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection continue to increase. Most patients with symptomatic infections have recurrences, but no studies of the long-term clinical course of genital herpes are available. Objective: To determine whether the frequency of HSV recurrences decreases over time. Design: Observational cohort study. Setting: University-based research clinic. Patients: 664 persons with genital herpes followed for at least 14 months. Measurements: Patients were classified as having initial or recurrent HSV-1 or HSV-2 infection. Patient-reported recurrences and observed recurrences were recorded in a database; more than 12 000 recurrences were analyzed. Results: Median recurrence rates in the first year of follow-up were one and five per year in patients with newly acquired HSV-1 and HSV-2 infection, respectively; second-year rates were significantly lower in both groups. Patients presenting with recurrent HSV-2 infection had higher rates of recurrence in the first and second years and no significant decrease; significant decreases were detected with longer follow-up. One third of all patients experienced a decrease of two or more recurrences per year between years 1 and 2. Patients infected with HSV-2 who were followed for more than 4 years had a median decrease of two recurrences between years 1 and 5. However, 25% of these patients had an increase of at least one recurrence in year 5, illustrating the variability among HSV-infected persons. Decreases over time among patients who never received suppressive therapy were similar to decreases during untreated periods in patients who received suppressive therapy. Conclusions: Herpes simplex virus type 2 infection continues to be a chronic remitting illness. Over time, however, clinically significant reductions occur in a majority of patients. Physicians may wish to periodically assess the need for continued treatment with daily suppressive antiviral chemotherapy.
Population-based HIV-1 incidence in France, 2003–08: a modelling analysis
Authors: Stéphane Le Vu, Yann Le Strat, Francis Barin, Josiane Pillonel, Françoise Cazein, Vanina Bousquet, Sylvie Brunet, Damien Thierry, Caroline Semaille, Laurence Meyer, Jean-Claude Desenclos
Journal: The Lancet Infectious Diseases (2010)
Postmarketing Surveillance Study of Erlotinib in Japanese Patients With Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC): An Interim Analysis of 3488 Patients (POLARSTAR)
Authors: Kazuhiko Nakagawa, Shoji Kudoh, Yuichiro Ohe, Takeshi Johkoh, Masahiko Ando, Naoya Yamazaki, Akihiro Seki, Shinya Takemoto, Masahiro Fukuoka
Journal: Journal of Thoracic Oncology (2012)
Acetaldehyde activates the promoter of the mouse α2(I) collagen gene
Authors: Albert Parés,*, James J. Potter, Lynda Rennie, Esteban Mezey
Journal: Hepatology (1994)

The mechanism whereby ethanol ingestion results in hepatic fibrosis remains unknown. Acetaldehyde has been shown to increase α 1 (I) collagen gene transcription in human fibroblasts and in rat myofibroblastlike cells (Ito cells) in culture. In this study, the effect of acetaldehyde was determined on the activation of the α 2 (I) collagen promoter. A plasmid containing the mouse α 2 (I) collagen promoter region (−2000 to 54), fused to the coding sequence of the reporter gene chloramphenicol acetyl transferase and similar plasmid constructs containing deletions in the collagen promoter, were transfected into NIH 3T3 fibroblasts in culture. Acetaldehyde (200 μmol/L) and transforming growth factor-β1 (5 ng/ml) activated the wild type promoter. The combination of acetaldehyde and transforming growth factor-β1 did not result in a greater effect than either alone. Acetaldehyde inhibited, whereas transforming growth factor-β1 did not activate, the promoter, with a −352 to −104 deletion. By contrast, acetaldehyde had no effect, whereas transforming growth factor-β1 resulted in a small decrease in the activity of the promoter, with a −501 to −352 deletion. This study shows that acetaldehyde and transforming growth factor-β1 independently activate the mouse α 2 (I) collagen promoter and that this activation is mediated by the same proximal region of the promoter. (Hepatology 1994;19:498-503).
Pathogenesis and therapy of interstitial nephritis
Authors: Eric G. Neilson
Journal: Kidney International (1989)

An otherwise healthy, 27-year-old white female went to her local physician complaining of 2 weeks of fever, malaise, and poor appetite. She was taking no medication and had no history of substance abuse. Physical examination revealed pallor and a temperature of 101°F orally; the blood pressure was 110/70 mm Hg. Her eye grounds were normal, no lymphadenopathy was present, the chest was clear to auscultation and percussion, and she had no extra heart sounds. An abdominal examination was within normal limits, pelvic examination revealed no adnexal masses or tenderness, and a general neurologic examination was within normal limits. Urinalysis revealed a pH of 5.5, with +1 protein, a trace of blood, and no glucose. Microscopic examination revealed 10 to 12 white blood cells/high-powered field, 10 to 15 red blood cells/high-powered field, occasional epithelial cells, and 2 white blood cell casts; a stain for eosinophils was negative. Routine screening tests revealed a hemoglobin of 11.4 g/dl; the white blood cell count was 11,500 mm3, with 85% polymorphonuclear leukocytes, 5% bands, 1% eosinophils, and 9% monocytes. Sodium was 134 mEq/liter; potassium, 4.8 mEq/liter; bicarbonate, 25 mEq/liter; and chloride, 103 mEq/liter. The BUN was 34 mg/dl, and the creatinine was 2.1 mg/dl. Glucose was 114 mg/dl. A 24-hour urine collection revealed 1 g of creatinine, 800 mg of protein, and a creatinine clearance of 33 mI/mm. A plain chest film was normal, and serologic studies were unrevealing. The patient was admitted to the hospital, where a renal biopsy was performed subsequent to a diagnostic ultrasound examination, blood cultures, and a urine culture, The cultures were negative and the renal sonogram demonstrated two kidneys approximately 13.5 cm in length
Drug companies must provide "unbiased information" to patients, say MEPs
Authors: R. Watson
Journal: BMJ (2010)

Governments would have to ensure that “objective, unbiased information” about prescription drugs is made available to the public under legislation now being drafted by the European parliament.

The information would have to include a summary of product characteristics, the labelling and package leaflet, and a publicly accessible version of the drug’s assessment report. The data would have to be available electronically on dedicated websites established by national authorities and in printed form.

The obligation was introduced into the draft legislation last week by the European parliament’s environment committee as part of moves to provide …
Health professionals for a new century: transforming education to strengthen health systems in an interdependent world
Authors: Julio Frenk, Lincoln Chen, Zulfiqar A Bhutta, Jordan Cohen, Nigel Crisp, Timothy Evans, Harvey Fineberg, Patricia Garcia, Yang Ke, Patrick Kelley, Barry Kistnasamy, Afaf Meleis, David Naylor, Ariel Pablos-Mendez, Srinath Reddy, Susan Scrimshaw, Jaime Sepulveda, David Serwadda, Huda Zurayk
Journal: The Lancet (2010)
THE BINDING OF PENICILLIN IN RELATION TO ITS CYTOTOXIC ACTION
Authors: Harry Eagle
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (1954)

1. In a previous study, the differing sensitivity of bacterial strains as they occur in nature appeared to be correlated with their correspondingly differing reactivity with penicillin. Presumably, the over-all reactivity of the cell with penicillin paralleled that of the vulnerable cell component(s). However, when penicillin-resistant variants of these strains (Streptococcus pyogenes, Micrococcus pyogenes, Diplococcus pneumoniae, and Streptococcus faecalis) were produced by serial passage through increasing concentrations of antibiotic, this correlation between resistance and the ability of the cell to bind penicillin was no longer apparent. Some resistant variants bound more penicillin than the parent, sensitive cell (Streptococcus faecalis, Micrococcus pyogenes), some were unchanged in their reactivity (Diplococcus pneumoniae, Micrococcus pyogenes), and some bound less (Streptococcus pyogenes, Micrococcus pyogenes). One resistant variant of Micrococcus pyogenes at first showed enhanced reactivity with penicillin; on continued passage through antibiotic, there was a further increase in resistance, but now associated with a significantly decreased reactivity. In the case of Diplococcus pneumoniae, a resistant variant at first reacted normally with penicillin; on continued passage in antibiotic, its binding affinity for penicillin gradually decreased, but with no associated further increase in resistance. 2. The reactivity with penicillin of cell-free sonic extracts of the resistant variants paralleled that of the intact organisms. Permeability considerations therefore did not seem involved in the increased resistance produced by serial passage in antibiotic. 3. The penicillin-resistant variants did not have an enhanced capacity to degrade the free intracellular antibiotic. 4. Possible alternative explanations are discussed in the text.
Attendance of general practitioners at child protection case conferences.
Authors: C Lea-Cox, A Hall
Journal: BMJ (1991)

OBJECTIVE--To investigate general practitioners9 attendance at and views on child protection conferences and their confidence in dealing with sexual abuse in children. DESIGN--Anonymous postal questionnaire sent to all general practitioners in Tower Hamlets and review of consecutive case conferences held by social services for three months in 1989. SETTING--Tower Hamlets health district. SUBJECTS--91 general practitioners, 56 of whom (62%) responded. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Number of conferences attended, reasons for non-attendance, and reported confidence in dealing with sexual abuse. RESULTS--General practitioners estimated that 202 child protection conferences had been held in 1989 on their patients and that they had attended 85 of these. Information from social services for three months suggested that general practitioners had attended only nine of the 114 conferences reviewed. Timing of the conference was the most important reason for non-attendance. All respondents wanted access to the minutes of these conferences irrespective of their own attendance. Most general practitioners were very or moderately confident of their ability to detect child sexual abuse and non-accidental injury and to communicate with the family. CONCLUSION--More effort should be made to ensure that general practitioners are notified of case conferences and that the timing and location of conferences is compatible with their other commitments.
Ending Smoking at The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
Authors: Frances A. Stillman, Diane M. Becker, Robert T. Swank, Donald Hantula, Hamilton Moses, Stanton Glantz, H. Richard Waranch
Journal: JAMA (1990)

An empiric evaluation of a policy ending smoking in a large urban medical center was conducted. The study included a prospective cohort tracking of employees to measure changes in smoking behavior, environmental fires, smoking-related litter, and environmental tobacco pollution exposure. A 25% decrease in employee smoking prevalence was found (21.7% vs 16.2% before vs after policy implementation, respectively). The daily number of cigarettes reportedly smoked by employees who continued smoking and the total number smoked at work decreased across all occupational categories by an average of 25%. Significant reductions were noted in the level of public smoking and the amount of cigarette remnants. Nicotine vapor concentrations decreased significantly in all areas except restrooms. These findings suggest that visible smoking and environmental tobacco smoke exposure can be markedly decreased by instituting a policy eliminating smoking in a large medical center.