tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Human Cytomegalovirus Seropositivity Is Associated With Impaired Vascular Function
Authors: Cairistine Grahame-Clarke, Norman N. Chan, Dawn Andrew, Geoff L. Ridgway, D. John Betteridge, Vincent Emery, Helen M. Colhoun, Patrick Vallance
Journal: Circulation (2003)

Background— Herpesvirus infection is a possible risk factor for atherogenesis, and diabetics may be at particular risk. Endothelial dysfunction is an early marker for atherosclerosis, and the present study tests the hypotheses that (1) prior infection with cytomegalovirus (CMV) and herpes simplex virus (HSV) is associated with endothelial dysfunction and (2) this may be more marked in diabetics. Methods and Results— Serum samples were tested for anti-IgG antibodies to CMV and HSV from 400 subjects (mean age for diabetics and nondiabetics, 37.8±4.3 and 37.9±3.7 [SD]). We also assessed Helicobacter pylori and Chlamydia pneumoniae serology. Coronary atheroma was quantified by means of electron beam computed tomography. Subjects (n=157) underwent venous occlusion plethysmography with acetylcholine, bradykinin, glyceryl trinitrate, norepinephrine, and l - N G -monomethyl- l -arginine. Individuals who were seropositive for CMV had reduced responses to bradykinin ( P =0.005) and glyceryl trinitrate ( P =0.006). The reduced response to bradykinin remained significant ( P =0.045) after adjusting for the response to glyceryl trinitrate and was independent of conventional risk factors. Positive serology for the other organisms did not have an independent effect on reactivity. There was a weaker association between CMV and coronary artery calcification ( P =0.09). Positive serology for each of the other pathogens did not affect reactivity, but there was a relation between total pathogen burden and impaired vascular reactivity. No significant differences were found between diabetics and nondiabetics. Conclusions— This study shows that CMV-seropositive individuals have endothelial dysfunction and impaired responses to NO. This association was independent of conventional risk factors and may be associated with increased atherosclerosis burden.
Tampon for Nose and Nasopharynx.
Authors: Edward J. Brown
Journal: JAMA (1905)

Minneapolis, April 18, 1905. <h3>To the Editor:</h3> —InThe Journal, April 1, page 1073, you abstract G. Lennhoff's description of a tampon for nose and nasopharynx, a long narrow strip of gauze tied at one end with a strong thread which is passed through several folds of the gauze, the string to be held by an assistant while the operator packs the gauze into the nose to the required extent. Permit me to make an addition to the technic, which makes the tampon the best possible. I have used such a tampon, which I devised five years ago, as an improvement on Ingals' many string tampon, with great satisfaction. The one difficulty is that of packing the gauze along the thread without entanglements. The best "assistant" is a tube, through which the string is passed, which serves to carry the tied end of gauze to the nasopharynx, and over which
Selective Chemotherapy of Macrophages in the Treatment of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura
Authors: Wendell F. Rosse
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1978)

Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura is not as "idiopathic" as it once was since much evidence has accumulated to demonstrate the role of IgG antibody in its genesis.1 Its treatment is often quite simple and yet is sometimes fraught with great difficulties. The clinical presentation is commonly one of purpura, perhaps with mild bleeding, and a platelet count that is mildly to moderately reduced but is usually above 5000 per cubic millimeter. An initial trial of prednisone in high doses (60 to 100 mg per day) is usually successful in reducing the amount of antibody on the platelets and in elevating the . . .
Combining measles virus with radiotherapy shows early promise against cancer
Authors: J. Wise
Journal: BMJ (2013)

Harnessing the measles virus to target cancer cells as part of a quadruple combination treatment has shown promise in a preclinical study. 

Scientists from the Institute of Cancer Research in London say that the “radiovirotherapy” treatment could improve on standard treatments for cancer of the bowel and of the head and neck. Around 50 000 people in the United Kingdom are diagnosed with colorectal carcinoma or head and neck cancer …
Urography With Ureteral Occlusion
Authors: William M. Hamby, Israel E. Kirsh
Journal: JAMA (1964)

WITH INCREASING frequency hypertension associated with unilateral renal disease has been recognized and treated. Its recognition has increased the importance of the excretory urogram as a screening technique. Because of inadequate filling of the renal pelvis and calyces with contrast material, numerous techniques to improve their visualization have been developed. These include abdominal pressure and the prone and Trendelenburg positions.<sup>1</sup>These methods have not resulted in the complete filling of the renal pelvis needed for successful examination. A technique for unilateral urine sampling has been described recently whereby the ureters can be occluded by external compression.<sup>2</sup>During this study an incidental observation was that the excretory urogram was improved on the occluded side. The purpose of this paper is to present experiments designed to test whether or not external ureteral compression significantly improves the diagnostic quality of excretory urograms. <h3>Methods and Material</h3> Eight hypertensive patients were selected for
ELECTROLYTE EQUILIBRIA IN ERYTHROCYTES DURING DIABETIC ACIDOSIS 12
Authors: George Nichols, Nancy Nichols
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1953)

It has been suggested that changes in the electrolyte composition of the erythrocyte may parallel such changes in other body cells (1).The main objections to this theory have been that the red cell has not only a slower metabolic rate (2) but also an anion pattern that differs mark- edly from that of other cells (3).In the studies here reported, erythrocyte base and water were measured during diabetic acidosis and recovery, and an attempt made to interpret the observed data in terms of a logical and orderly sequence of events, both within the erythrocyte and within other body compartments.The shifts found in base and water were qualitatively similar to those demonstrated previously by other workers in total intracellular base and water, using balance tech- niques (4-6).Furthermore, in most instances they were quantitatively reconcilable with changes that have been demonstrated in the anion composition of the erythrocyte (7).This suggests that this readily available cell may serve as an in- dicator of intracellular base and water shifts in disease. METHODSBlood samples were drawn from patients admitted in severe diabetic acidosis before the institution of any therapy, at 6 and 12 hours after the beginning of therapy, and at 24-hour intervals thereafter until the patient's dis- charge from the hospital.Blood was collected in 20-ml.syringes containing 0.02 ml. of heparin ("Liquaemin," Hoffmann-LaRoche, sodium content 0.0035 mEq./20 ml. of blood).Measurements of water, sodium, potassium, and hematocrit were made on whole blood.Plasma was sepa- rated immediately for the determination of pH, water, sodium, potassium, and chloride.Intake and urinary output of water, sodium, potassium and chloride were measured on all patients for the first 24 hours.The urinary excretion of these elements was measured throughout the patient's hospital stay.
Epidemiology of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Authors: J.M. Antó, P. Vermeire, J. Vestbo, J. Sunyer
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2001)

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a leading cause of world-wide mortality and disability. On average ∼5–15% of adults in industrialized countries have COPD defined by spirometry. In 1990, COPD was considered to be at the twelfth position world-wide as a cause of combined mortality and disability but is expected to become the fifth cause by the year 2020. COPD has a chronic long-lasting course characterized by irreversible decline of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV 1 ), increasing presence of dyspnoea and other respiratory symptoms, and progressive deterioration of health status. After diagnosis the 10-yr survival rate is ∼50% with more than one-third of patients dying due to respiratory insufficiency. Several environmental exposures such as air pollution increase the risk of death in COPD patients. The aetiology of COPD is overwhelmingly dominated by smoking although many other factors could play a role. Particular genetic variants are likely to increase the susceptibility to environmental factors although little is known about which are the relevant genes. There is clear evidence about the role of the α-1-antitrypsin but the fraction of COPD attributable to the relevant variants is only 1%. Phenotypic traits that are considered to play a role in the development of COPD include sex, with females being at a higher risk, bronchial responsiveness and atopy. There is strong causal evidence regarding the relationship between smoking and COPD with decline in FEV 1 levelling off after smoking cessation. Passive smoking has been found to be associated with a small though statistically significant decline in FEV 1 . Other risk factors that are likely to be relevant in the development of COPD are occupation, low socioeconomic status, diet and possibly some environmental exposures in early life. Although there is accumulating evidence that oxygen therapy, pharmacological treatment and rehabilitation may improve the course of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, preventing smoking continues to be the most relevant measure, not only to prevent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, but also to arrest its development.
Mechanism of action of nitroglycerin during exercise in a rat model of heart failure. Improvement of blood flow to the renal, splanchnic, and cutaneous beds.
Authors: S F Flaim, R L Weitzel, R Zelis
Journal: Circulation Research (1981)

The radioactive microsphere technique was used to trace regional blood flow and total cardiac output distribution in rats in heart failure secondary to biventricular volume overload during acute intravenous infusion of nitroglycerin. Data from rats with heart failure (chronic arteriovenous shunt) were compared to data obtained from rats subjected to sham surgical procedures. In both glycerin and normal saline (control). In heart failure, nitroglycerin slightly increased cardiac output at rest and during exercise, increased stroke volume, and reduced systemic vascular resistance at rest but not during exercise. In the heart failure group, exercise reduced flow to the renal, gastrointestinal, and cutaneous circulations but had little or no effect in the sham group. Nitroglycerin dramatically increased renal, gastrointestinal, and cutaneous blood flow during exercise in the heart failure group but had minimal effects on active hyperemia in the skeletal muscle bed. In the sham group, nitroglycerin decreased blood flow in the renal, gastrointestinal, and cutaneous beds and had no effect on skeletal muscle blood flow. Thus, in the renal, gastrointestinal, and cutaneous circulations during exercise, nitroglycerin increased flow in the heart failure group and decreased flow in the sham group to the extent that the respective values in the two groups were equal.
Manic States in the Far East
Authors: R. F. Tredgold
Journal: BMJ (1947)

Shortly after the Japanese capitulation there were observed in South-East Asia a number of cases of interest in several ways: their cause was obscure; their symptoms were elation, overactivity, and fever; their distribution was mostly in young British officers; and, however acute the symptoms, the prognosis was good.The first appearance of these cases was dramatic.In August, 1945, preparations for the reoccupation of Malaya had been made, and at the last moment the Japanese capitulated.The blow thus, so to speak, fell upon air.A few weeks later four British officers were admitted within a period of 12 days to the psychiatric centre serving the corps concerned.Between the landings and the end of this period no other cases of psychosis-British, Indian, or Gurkha-had been reported in this corps.
Author's reply to Vaughan
Authors: D. Jurkovic
Journal: BMJ (2013)

In answer to Vaughan’s question1 2: little evidence supports the practice of performing vaginal examinations to diagnose ectopic pregnancy. Vaginal examination has a low accuracy for differentiating between intrauterine and extrauterine pregnancies, and some authors have expressed concern that it could cause tubal rupture.3 Ruptured …
Ovarian Cyst, with Extensive Adhesions, in a Patient 80 Years of Age—Recovery.
Authors: Thos. Legaré
Journal: JAMA (1889)

<i>To the Editor:</i>—I send you the report of a case which I think will be of interest to the readers ofThe Journal, and hope it may be of use to others in similar cases in forming a favorable prognosis where age seems to contradict any operative procedure that may give the patient a chance of prolonging life. Mrs. H., 80 years old, native of South Carolina, resident of Edisto Island. First seen by me July 2, 1889. Her weight at that time was 85 lbs., her general health bad. She insisted on my operating at once, strongly against my desire and advice—said life was a burden to her, assumed all the responsibility and preferred death under the operation, rather than to live any longer in her present condition. Four days later I made an exploratory incision in the median line, as usual, and about 6 inches in length.
Proposal to boost number of rural doctors sparks heated debate in Germany
Authors: N. Stafford
Journal: BMJ (2010)

Germany’s health minister, Philipp Rosler, has suggested that medical schools take more account of interviews and place less emphasis on grade point averages when deciding which applicants to accept.

In an interview published on Easter Sunday in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung , Dr Rosler, a medical doctor, said that Germany has an oversupply of doctors in towns and cities, while rural areas face shortages of doctors, especially of GPs. He suggested that preadmission interviews could be used to help ease shortages by identifying medical students who would be willing to practise for at least a few years in rural areas.

About a quarter of medical school applicants are accepted, most of whom have grade point averages less than 1.4 (where 1 is equivalent to a grade A, 2 to a …
Evidence for early dualism and a more direct path to afterlife beliefs
Authors: David Estes
Journal: Behavioral and Brain Sciences (2006)

Ample evidence for dualism in early childhood already exists. Young children have explicit knowledge of the distinction between mental and physical phenomena, which provides the foundation for a rapidly developing theory of mind. Belief in psychological immortality might then follow naturally from this mentalistic conception of human existence and thus require no organized cognitive system dedicated to producing it.
Factor XI deficiency: Genetic and clinical studies of a single kindred
Authors: Craig E. Litz, William R. Swaim, Agustin P. Dalmasso
Journal: American Journal of Hematology (1988)

Abstract A four‐generation 25‐member kindred with Factor XI:C deficiency is reported. Factor XI:C levels in heterorygotes varied from 15 to 58%, suggesting that Factor XI:C values for homozygote determination should be less than 15%. The frequency of bleeding was not correlated with Factor XI:C levels in this range. Individuals with joint pain had significantly lower Factor XI:C levels than members without joint pain and pain occurred more frequently in frequent bleeders. Lod scores showed no close genetic linkage of Factor XI:C deficiency with blood group MNSs (chromosome 4), complement components Bf and C4B (chromosome 6), or blood group P.
Sudden Infant Death
Authors: Lee Salk, Bruce A. Grellong, Jeanne Dietrich
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1974)

An infant who subsequently died of sudden-infant-death syndrome was included in a sample of 24 healthy neonates in a study of normal learning ability using cardiac habituation to an auditory stimulus. This infant showed more lability and poorer stabilization of the cardiac rate after stimulation. Although cardiac lability did not interfere with his learning capacities, these findings suggest a dysfunction of the central mechanism for stabilizing the autonomic response especially after stimulation. (N Engl J Med 291:219–222, 1974)
Failure of heparin to alter the outcome of pneumococcal meningitis.
Authors: J T MacFarlane, P G Cleland, E D Attai, B M Greenwood
Journal: BMJ (1977)

Routine hypnotics and pain relief were prescribed by ward staff not associated with the study.Though five patients claimed to be bad sleepers at home and four more regularly took hypnotics, the striking finding was a reduction of the mean duration of sleep both before and after surgery over the ten days of the study (see figure).More detailed analysis of the sleep patterns showed that the deficit was principally due to early awakening, though there was also more delay in getting to sleep.Patients also recorded a decrease in the quality of the sleep, increased wakenings, and, in the first three postoperative days, much disturbance by both noise and pain.Only two-thirds of the severe group and one-third of the mild group received intramuscular analgesia on the first postoperative night.
An Improved Method of Transporting Donor Eyes
Authors: F. O. Mueller, P. O'Neill, P. D. Trevor-Roper
Journal: BMJ (1965)

1965).This mixing of the two insulins in predetermined proportions is in our view most regrettable, since it deprives them of their only advantage, which is the appropriate adjust- ment of their individual dosage by the patient. SummaryTime-action studies of Actrapid and Crystal II insulins are reported.Actrapid insulin has a short action comparable to soluble insulin, and Crystal II insulin has an intermediate time-action.The method and results of their use over a period of one to two years are described in a group of 10 patients whose control was previously judged as unsatisfactory.We are indebted to Drs.
Premature termination codons on both alleles of the type VII collagen gene (COL7A1) in three brothers with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa.
Authors: A M Christiano, Y Suga, D S Greenspan, H Ogawa, J Uitto
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1995)

Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is a group of heritable mechano-bullous skin diseases classified into three major categories on the basis of the level of tissue separation within the dermal-epidermal basement membrane zone. In the most severe, dystrophic (scarring) forms of EB, blisters form below the cutaneous basement membrane at the level of the anchoring fibrils, which are composed of type VII collagen. Ultrastructural observations of altered anchoring fibrils and genetic linkage to the type VII collagen locus (COL7A1) have implicated COL7A1 as the candidate gene in the dystrophic forms of EB. We have recently cloned the entire cDNA and the gene for human COL7A1. In this study, we describe distinct mutations in both COL7A1 alleles in three brothers with severe, mutilating recessive dystrophic EB (the Hallopeau-Siemens type, HS-RDEB). The patients are compound heterozygotes for two different mutations, both of which result in a premature termination codon in COL7A1, and the parents were shown to be clinically heterozygous carries of the respective mutations. Premature termination codons in both alleles of COL7A1 appear to be the underlying cause of severe, recessive dystrophic EB in this family.
Surgical Excision of Nevi-Reply
Authors: Gordon McNeer
Journal: JAMA (1961)

<h3>To the Editor:—</h3> First of all, the removal of nevi at anatomic pressure points is consistent with the recommendations probably made by almost all doctors who see a large number of nevi. Secondly, there is a considerable difference between the relationship of the pigment to the pathogenesis of melanoma, and recommended prophylactic treatment of black moles in children. Lastly, I believe we have one example of a hairy mole in 1,500 odd cases of melanoma in adults. Hence it is most unusual.
Michael George Parke Stoker
Authors: J. A. Wyke
Journal: BMJ (2013)

Pioneer in basic cancer research



Remarkable advances in cancer research over the past 50 years make it difficult to recall our rudimentary understanding of neoplasia in the middle of the 20th century. Although transplantation studies had suggested that individual neoplastic cells were able to produce a tumour, the hypothesis that cancer arose from mutation(s) to a somatic cell was not widely accepted because it was not testable. Around the time of this impasse, Michael Stoker became Britain’s first professor of virology, and the research he initiated on the molecular biology of virus induced neoplasia would contribute significantly to breaking the logjam.

After graduating, Stoker served in the Royal Army Medical Corps in India (1943-47), which stimulated an interest in laboratory medicine, with a focus on virology during a subsequent decade in Cambridge as a lecturer in pathology. Cambridge in the 1950s was a cradle of the new discipline of molecular biology. The structural work on haemoglobin and DNA at the Cavendish Laboratory was one of its antecedents, with genetic studies on bacteriophages in the USA and France being another. Stoker, …
Protective effect of S-adenosyl-?-methionine on bromobenzene- and ?- galactosamine-induced toxicity to isolated rat hepatocytes
Authors: J Wu
Journal: Hepatology (1996)

The protective effect of S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe) on bromobenzene (BB)- or D-galactosamine (GalN)-induced damage to isolated rat hepatocytes and its effect on cellular glutathione (GSH) levels were investigated. SAMe at concentrations of 0.5 to 3.0 mmol/L significantly reduced lactate dehydrogenase leakage from cells exposed to 1.6 mmol/L BB (P < .05 to .001) during 2 hours' incubation. GalN at 25 to 50 mmol/L induced a marked increase of LDH leakage from the cells during the later stage of 24 hours' incubation and SAMe at 1.0 mmol/L clearly attenuated the LDH leakage in GalN (25 mmol/L)-exposed cells. The GSH content in the cells exposed to 2.4 mmol/L BB for 150 minutes was markedly decreased, and further decreased during 24 hours' incubation. SAMe (1.5 mmol/L) both reduced LDH leakage and corrected GSH depletion in cells exposed to 2.4 mmol/L BB. The GSH content in 25 and 50 mmol/L GalN-exposed cells was strikingly diminished to 51.2% and 32.8% of the controls, respectively, during 24 hours' of exposure. SAMe at 1.5 mmol/L significantly reduced the loss in GSH content in 25 mmol/L GalN-exposed cells. The findings show that SAMe has beneficial effects on both BB- and GalN-induced toxicity to rat hepatocytes. The main mechanism behind the protective effect of SAMe on BB and GalN toxicity seems to be associated with enhancement of GSH synthesis in the cells. (Hepatology 1996 Feb;23(2):359-65)