tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Alkaline Phosphatase in Schistosomiasis
Authors: VICTORINO S. T. BARRETO
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1971)

Letters and Comments1 March 1971Alkaline Phosphatase in SchistosomiasisVICTORINO S. T. BARRETO, M.D.VICTORINO S. T. BARRETO, M.D.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-74-3-450_2 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptTo the editor: In their interesting and very informative article on acute schistosomiasis mansoni (Ann Intern Med 73:379-385, 1970) Dr. Clark and his associates made some interesting observations on the high levels of alkaline phosphatase present in all their patients. They also comment on the possible usefulness of determinations of this enzyme in chronically infected patients.While living in a highly endemic area, the Northeast of Brazil, we recently had the opportunity of reviewing 81 cases of hepatosplenic schistosomiasis mansoni and found high serum levels of alkaline phosphatase in half of them, reaching more than 2.5 times the upper limit... This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited ByAlterations in the lipid profiles and circulating liver enzymes in individuals infected by Schistosoma mansoniSplenectomy Improves Hemostatic and Liver Functions in Hepatosplenic Schistosomiasis MansoniUltrasound versus biological markers in the evaluation of periportal fibrosis in human Schistosoma mansoniClinical and laboratory evaluation of schistosomiasis mansoni patients in Brazilian endemic areasCorrelation of biological serum markers with the degree of hepatic fibrosis and necroinflammatory activity in hepatitis C and schistosomiasis patientsAlterações da função hepática de camundongos desnutridos e infectados pelo Schistosoma mansoniElevação da gama-glutamiltransferase sérica na hepatopatia esquistossomótica não se correlaciona com a carga parasitária e precede alterações ultra-sonográficasThe Measurement of Serum Alkaline Phosphatase in Clinical MedicineClinical Utilization of Alkaline Phosphatase MeasurementsSerum and urinary ribonuclease in children with schistosomal hepatic fibrosisLiver schistosomiasis and primary biliary cirrhosis 1 March 1971Volume 74, Issue 3Page: 450-451KeywordsEnzymesPhosphatasesSchistosomiasis Issue Published: 1 March 1971 PDF DownloadLoading ...
High Risk of Cerebral-Vein Thrombosis in Carriers of a Prothrombin-Gene Mutation and in Users of Oral Contraceptives
Authors: Ida Martinelli, Elisabetta Sacchi, Gianluca Landi, Emanuela Taioli, Francesca Duca, Pier Mannuccio Mannucci
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1998)

Idiopathic cerebral-vein thrombosis can cause serious neurologic disability. We evaluated risk factors for this disorder, including genetic risk factors (mutations in the genes encoding factor V and prothrombin) and nongenetic risk factors (such as the use of oral contraceptive agents).
Coronary Composition and Macrophage Infiltration in Atherectomy Specimens From Patients With Diabetes Mellitus
Authors: Pedro R. Moreno, Alvaro M. Murcia, Igor F. Palacios, Miltiadis N. Leon, Victor H. Bernardi, Valentín Fuster, John T. Fallon
Journal: Circulation (2000)

Background —Lipid-rich, inflamed atherosclerotic lesions are associated with plaque rupture and thrombosis, which are the most important causes of death in patients with diabetes mellitus. This study was designed to quantify lipid composition and macrophage infiltration in the coronary lesions of patients with diabetes mellitus. Methods and Results —A total of 47 coronary atherectomy specimens from patients with diabetes mellitus were examined and compared with 48 atherectomy specimens from patients without diabetes. Plaque composition was characterized by trichrome staining. Macrophage infiltration was characterized by immunostaining. Clinical and demographic data were similar in both groups. The percentage of total area occupied by lipid-rich atheroma was larger in specimens from patients with diabetes (7±2%) than in specimens from patients without diabetes (2±1%; P =0.01), and the percentage of total area occupied by macrophages was larger in specimens from patients with diabetes (22±3%) than in specimens from patients without diabetes (12±1%; P =0.003). The incidence of thrombus was also higher in specimens from patients with diabetes than in specimens from patients without diabetes (62% versus 40%; P =0.04). Plaque composition, macrophage infiltration, and thrombus were similar in lesions from diabetic patients treated with insulin compared with lesions from patients treated with sulfonylureas or diet. Conclusions —Coronary tissue from patients with diabetes exhibits a larger content of lipid-rich atheroma, macrophage infiltration, and subsequent thrombosis than tissue from patients without diabetes. These differences suggest an increased vulnerability for coronary thrombosis in patients with diabetes mellitus.
THE EFFECTS OF PSYCHOTHERAPY ON THE COURSE OF ULCERATIVE COLITIS—A PRELIMINARY REPORT
Authors: JOHN F. O'CONNOR, GEORGE DANIELS, AARON KARUSH, LEON MOSES, CHARLES FLOOD, LENORE O. STERN
Journal: American Journal of Psychiatry (1964)

The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of psychological treatment, using objective physiological indices as the basic criteria. Emphasis was placed on using only data that were recorded at the time of observation, rather than retrospective data, which frequently are inaccurrate and misleading. The subjective reports of physicians and patients were not used. It was possible to demonstrate that psychotherapy was related to an improvement in the physiological status. Over the total time period, the treated group showed a marked and sustained improvement, while the control group remained relatively status quo (Fig. 3). The higher curve of the treated group following psychotherapy is significant in that it indicates less physical impairment and a greater ability to function effectively. It was also observed that those patients who experienced favorable environmental changes (either through accident or as a result of psychotherapy enabling them to change their life situations) showed more improvement both physiologically and psychologically than patients who did not experience such beneficial changes. Patients with both ulcerative colitis and schizophrenia have a poorer prognosis than the non-schizophrenic patients. This poor prognosis was apparent not only in terms of the eventual outcome of the disease, but also on the basis of the yearly recorded data. No specific correlation appeared to exist between the degree of physiological improvement and the degree of psychological improvement. Nor could a favorable physiological response be correlated with the intensity, duration or type of psychotherapy. In general, those patients who did poorly from a psychological standpoint also tended to do poorly physiologically. A continuation of this preliminary study and further investigation of the effects of psychotherapy on the course of ulcerative colitis will be reported shortly. On the basis of present findings, it is apparent that in terms of patient survival, amelioration of disease and adaptive response to chronic illness, a combined medical and psychiatric approach is most effective. There is a definite role for psychotherapy in the treatment of ulcerative colitis.
High Frequency–Induced Upregulation of Human Cardiac Calcium Currents
Authors: Christophe Piot, Stéphanie Lemaire, Bernard Albat, Jacques Seguin, Joël Nargeot, Sylvain Richard
Journal: Circulation (1996)

Background In mammalian heart cells, Ca 2+ influx through voltage-gated L-type Ca 2+ channels can be upregulated by high rates of stimulation. We have investigated this important adaptive regulation in human cardiomyocytes. Methods and Results Using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique, we found a high frequency–induced upregulation (HFIUR) of the dihydropyridine-sensitive L-type Ca 2+ current (I Ca ) in human cardiomyocytes. I Ca was potentiated in a graded manner with increasing rates of stimulation between 0.3 and 5 Hz. Both moderate increase of I Ca peak amplitude and marked slowing of current decay contributed to large increases of Ca 2+ influx (up to 80%). The maximal potentiation of I Ca was reached rapidly after the change in the rate of stimulation (no more than a few seconds). β-Adrenergic stimulation of the cells by isoproterenol (1 μmol/L), which is well known to induce a slow (≈1 minute) cAMP-mediated potentiation of I Ca , could enhance (when present) or promote (when absent) the HFIUR of I Ca . As a consequence, the increasing effect of isoproterenol on Ca 2+ influx through Ca 2+ channels was dependent on the rate of stimulation. HFIUR of I Ca was altered in patients with ejection fraction lower than 40% and in patients pretreated with Ca 2+ antagonists or β-blockers. Conclusions Upregulation of Ca 2+ entry through voltage-gated Ca 2+ channels by high rates of beating may be involved in the frequency-dependent regulation of contractility (Bowditch “staircase”) of the human heart. This process, which is highly sensitive to β-adrenergic stimulation, may be crucial in adaptation to exercise and stress.
Cancer of the breast in men
Authors: W. L. Donegan
Journal: CA A Cancer Journal for Clinicians (1991)

As knowledge grows about breast cancer in men, it becomes apparent that the disease is strikingly similar to that seen in women. Although rare, as is cancer in most vestigial organs, all indications are that it shares a common etiology and a similar natural history with breast cancer in females and that apparent differences between the diseases in the two sexes are minor or illusory. The poor prognosis of men in the past promises to yield to better public and professional education about the value of prompt recognition and treatment. Fortunately, the lessons learned from treatment of women are also applicable to men, and in comparable stages men prove equally curable.
Human African trypanosomiasis of the CNS: current issues and challenges
Authors: Peter G.E. Kennedy
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (2004)

Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as sleeping sickness, is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in sub-Saharan Africa. Current therapy with melarsoprol for CNS HAT has unacceptable side-effects with an overall mortality of 5%. This review discusses the issues of diagnosis and staging of CNS disease, its neuropathogenesis, and the possibility of new therapies for treating late-stage disease.
A CASE OF HAEMOPTYSIS, WITH NUMEROUS SPIROCHAETES IN THE SPUTUM
Authors: C. W. Branch
Journal: BMJ (1906)

rM TzD BJORSA 1537 vious health good, excepting one week in bed with " inflamma- tion of the kidneys."His present illness began about eleven months before with a "cold" attended by cough and expectoration and occasional vomiting.These symptoms remained in evidence until August, 1902, from which time until January, 1903, there was some remission of the symptoms and apparent improvement.In the latter month the symptoms became again more pro- nounced; vomiting was more frequent, and cough and expec- toration were much increased; night sweating and slight haemoptysis began ; diarrhoea, at times frequent and severe.State on Admission.-Thesesymptoms were all markedly present on admission to the Sanatorium, and signs of con- solidation were conspicuous, extending over an area repre- senting the upper and middle lobes of the right lung, front and back.Patient very anaemic, weak, and short of breath; weight, 8 st. 2 lb. ; tubercle bacilli present in sputum.Treatment.-Thepatient was kept in bed for a month, carefully dieted, and received special nursing attention.He then began to sit up, at first for a few moments daily, which were gradually increased in number.At the beginning of the fifth week he was visited by a relative, the result being a rise of temperature to 1020 F. (the previous day the temperature had not risen above 1000 F.).In seven weeks he had entered upon the exercise stage, at first only ten minutes being allowed.Chart I shows the course of tha temperature at four stated periods of the day during the first three weeks of treatment.Chart II relates to three weeks approaching the end of the period of treatment.Total duration of treatment, 26 weeks.
Randomized, Phase II Study of the Thrombospondin-1-Mimetic Angiogenesis Inhibitor ABT-510 in Patients With Advanced Soft Tissue Sarcoma
Authors: Laurence H. Baker, Eric K. Rowinsky, David Mendelson, Rod A. Humerickhouse, Raymond A. Knight, Jiang Qian, Robert A. Carr, Gary B. Gordon, George D. Demetri
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2008)

Sarcomas are among the most proangiogenic malignancies in preclinical models. Phase I study results for ABT-510, which inhibits angiogenesis via a novel thrombospondin-mimetic mechanism, suggested activity in soft tissue sarcoma (STS) patients. This phase II study further evaluated the safety and efficacy of ABT-510 in advanced STS patients.Patients with metastatic or unresectable STS were randomly assigned to treatment with one of two ABT-510 dose schedules (20 mg once a day [20 mg], n = 42; or 100 mg twice a day [200 mg], n = 46), which were self-administered subcutaneously in 28-day treatment periods. End points included progression-free survival (PFS), objective response rate (ORR), overall survival (OS), and safety.Median PFS for the 20-mg arm was 94 days, with 4- and 6-month PFS rate estimates of 42% and 24%, respectively. Median PFS for the 200-mg arm was 64 days, with 4- and 6-month PFS rate estimates of 41% and 32%, respectively. Although only one objective response was noted, stable disease was observed in 52% (20 mg) and 48% (200 mg) of patients. Median OS was 431 days (20 mg) and 295 days (200 mg). ABT-510 was well tolerated. Rare treatment-related grade 3 or 4 adverse events were one event each of hypotension, deep vein thrombosis, and hypophosphatemia. ABT-510 pharmacokinetics were dose proportional, time independent, and consistent with those in previous studies.ABT-510 had a favorable safety profile, and the rate of disease control and OS times were encouraging. However, with low ORR and lack of dose response, the study failed to yield compelling evidence of strong single-agent activity in STS.
Cerebrospinal Fluid in Brain Tumors
Authors: Morris J. Karpas
Journal: JAMA (1913)

And so on.As it seemed probable that Mr. l.eniinon would extend his Get-Rieh-Quick Wallingford operations, it seemed worth while to head off his "game."Tiik Journal accord- ingly asked some of the Iowa ]ihysicians who had been favored with Mr. Lemmon's invitation to send the secretary of the Chicago, Wilmington and Ycrmillion Coal Company the dollar necessary to obtain the prescription.This was done, but alas, the medical profession
Regulation of osteoclast differentiation and function by BiP
Authors: M Zaiss, N McGowan, J-P David, A Grigoriadis, G Schett, G Panayi, V Corrigall
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2010)

Dysregulated bone remodelling is the major cause of the pathology of a number of human diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis. Our previous work suggests that the immunoglobulin binding protein BiP affects the differentiation of peripheral blood monocytes, so we investigated the effect of BiP on osteoclast differentiation from monocytes in vitro, on resorption of bone explants and the spontaneous onset of arthritis in the human tumour necrosis factor transgenic (hTNFtg) mouse.

Human peripheral …
A case of "Alpine armailli's apple hands syndrome"
Authors: B. Graz
Journal: BMJ (2003)

The telephone rings in the surgery of the general practitioner of a Swiss alpine valley: “Doctor, please come fast. My man's hands are like apples. He can't even milk the cows. It's an emergency.”

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Armailli (alpine herdsmen) in traditional dress and holding a oiseau (a cheese carrier)

Credit: STEPHAN ENGLER/SWISS NATIONAL TOURIST BOARD

I jump in the car and bowl around a hundred curves up the valley to an isolated old mountain farm, barely hanging on in a steep clearing, almost hidden behind its huge manure heap. I put on my boots—the courtyard seems to be an …

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Weber-Christian Disease
Authors: Harvey A. Rosenstock
Journal: JAMA (1968)

Weber-Christian disease is the eponymous designation of an idiopathic, relapsing, febrile, nodular, and nonsuppurative panniculitis. The presence of leukoagglutinins in the absence of a transfusion history and the peculiar response to intradermal injection of an autologous buffy coat tend to support the contention that this disease may constitute merely a histiologically specific, hyperergic response.
The Unmasking of Medicine
Authors: James Curran
Journal: BMJ (2008)

In 1980 the medicolegal expert Ian Kennedy presented the BBC Reith lectures, the basis for this book. His aim was to “ask some questions about the way medicine is thought of and practised and to offer some ways of responding to what I perceive are problems.”

The Unmasking of Medicine covers a range of topics that were, and still are, important to the practice of medicine in the United Kingdom. Kennedy describes a situation where modern medicine had reached its pre-eminent position in society as a result of …
Glucocorticoid Hormone Effect on Transplacental Carcinogenesis and Lung Differentiation: Influence of Histocompatibility-2 Complex
Authors: L. C. J. M. Oomen, M. A. van der Valk, A. A. M. Hart, P. Demant
Journal: JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute (1989)

In the mouse, the histocompatibility-2 (H-2) haplotype influences induction of lung and intestinal tumors by N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) treatment of fetuses or infant mice. The differentiation of lung and intestinal epithelium is known to be regulated by glucocorticoids. We show that glucocorticoid-induced development of alveolar lung volume is H-2 influenced and that glucocorticoid treatment of fetuses also influences prenatal ENU induction of lung and intestinal tumors. These glucocorticoid effects on tumorigenesis are also H-2 influenced. The number of papillary lung tumors increased in B10 (H-2b) and decreased in B10.A (H-2a) mice. In the intestine, the number of tumors increased in H-2b females and decreased in H-2b males. In H-2a mice, the number of intestinal tumors was unchanged but their location was altered. We propose that the H-2 complex influences tumorigenesis in lung and small intestine by affecting the hormonal regulation of differentiation of target epithelial cells.
Western drug companies conducted trials behind the Iron Curtain without patient consent
Authors: J. Wise
Journal: BMJ (2014)

Western drug companies capitalised on the impending bankruptcy of East Germany during the Cold War to carry out clinical trials that were often conducted without patients’ consent or full understanding, a new study has shown.

However, the research, published in the Journal of Medical Ethics , found no evidence that the trials systematically and intentionally damaged patients.1

In May 2013 Der Spiegel , the German news magazine, reported that the German Democratic Republic had “sold” its …
Natriuretic hormone (NH) in the urine of patients with cirrhosis, and ascites
Authors: G. La Villa, M. Asbert, W. Jiménez, J. Claria, C. Lopez, P. Ginés, R. Planas, J. Gaya, F. Rivera, P. Gentilini, V. Arrovo, J. Rodés
Journal: Journal of Hepatology (1989)
The Macrophage Scavenger Receptor Type A Is Expressed by Activated Macrophages and Protects the Host Against Lethal Endotoxic Shock
Authors: Richard Haworth, Nick Platt, Satish Keshav, Derralynn Hughes, Elisabeth Darley, Hiroshi Suzuki, Yukiko Kurihara, Tatsuhiko Kodama, Siamon Gordon
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (1997)

During gram-negative bacterial infections, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulates primed macrophages (Mφ) to release inflammatory mediators such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, which can cause hypotension, organ failure, and often death. Several different receptors on Mφ have been shown to bind LPS, including the type A scavenger receptor (SR-A). This receptor is able to bind a broad range of polyanionic ligands such as modified lipoproteins and lipoteichoic acid of gram-positive bacteria, which suggests that SR-A plays a role in host defense. In this study, we used mice lacking the SR-A (SRKO) to investigate the role of SR-A in acquired immunity using a viable bacillus Calmette Guérin (BCG) infection model. We show that activated Mφ express SR-A and that this molecule is functional in assays of adhesion and endocytic uptake. After BCG infection, SRKO mice are able to recruit Mφ to sites of granuloma formation where they become activated and restrict BCG replication. However, infected mice lacking the SR-A are more susceptible to endotoxic shock and produce more TNF-α and interleukin-6 in response to LPS. In addition, we show that an antibody which blocks TNF-α activity reduces LPS-induced mortality in these mice. Thus SR-A, expressed by activated Mφ, plays a protective role in host defense by scavenging LPS as well as by reducing the release by activated Mφ of proinflammatory cytokines. Modulation of SR-A may provide a novel therapeutic approach to control endotoxic shock.
Hepatolenticular Degeneration (Wilson's Disease)
Authors: Derek Denny-Brown
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1964)

WILSON'S disease has for a long time been of particular interest to the neurologist because it exemplifies a specific metabolic disorder involving some special relation between hepatic cirrhosis and degeneration of the brain. The special fea tures of this relation have become of greater interest in recent years in the light of increasing knowledge of brain damage in hepatic coma and hepatic encephalopathy, in association with more common types of hepatic cirrhosis.Two different syndromes were originally described, those of pseudosclerosis described by Westphal1 in 1883 and the juvenile form, called "progressive lenticular degeneration" by Wilson2 in 1913. Since the . . .
The highs and lows of policy based evidence
Authors: D. Colquhoun
Journal: BMJ (2009)

Remember George W Bush? For him it was simple. If a scientist told him an inconvenient truth, the messenger was fired, and someone more compliant got the job. In every area from global warming to the existence of weapons of mass destruction he chose to base policy on fantasy and wishful thinking. It seems that the UK home secretary, Alan Johnson, has something in common with Bush. When the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) said something he didn’t like, its chairman, David Nutt, got fired ( BMJ 2009;339:b4563, doi:10.1136/bmj.b4563).

In a democracy there is no doubt that decisions must be made by politicians. Sceptical though one may be about politicians, I’m not sure that I’d want to live in a country ruled by scientists. Politicians have wider responsibilities than scientists, and they can be voted out if we don’t like the decisions. Why, then, the explosion of indignation when Professor Nutt got the sack?

In the House of Commons Mr Johnson said, “I asked Professor Nutt to resign as …