tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Preventive home visits to elderly people in the community
Authors: J. Newbury
Journal: BMJ (2000)

Editor—The systematic review by van Haastregt et al of trials of preventive home visits for people aged 65 or over reported that “no clear evidence was found in favour” of such visits.1 Some of the trials reviewed showed favourable effects in some of the five main outcome measures (physical functioning, psychosocial functioning, falls, admissions to institutions, and mortality), but most found no effect. However, the review shows that favourable outcomes were more prevalent in studies conducted in older subjects (⩾75), although it does not comment on this. The table is constructed from the analysis they report.

Outcomes of physical functioning are the exception, with only one of the five favourable studies being in people aged 75 and over. This is not unexpected. It may be easier to improve physical functioning in the group aged 65 or over generally than in the group aged 75 or over specifically.

General practitioners in Australia have recently been funded for “75+ health assessments.” We have just concluded a randomised controlled trial of these assessments. A nurse visited 100 elderly people who were living in the community on two occasions, one year apart (50 control, 50 intervention). No interval assessment nor reminder was included in the protocol.2 Initial analysis found:



Fewer people reported falls in the intervention group in the study year (12 v 22, P=0.055)


Fewer people died in the intervention group (1 v 5, P=0.2)


Physical functioning did not change (measured using Barthel index of activities of daily living)


Psychosocial functioning improved (geriatric depression scale 15, Wilcoxon scores (rank sums) P=0.09).




Our study is consistent with the other published trials, showing modest improvement in the measured outcomes in the group aged 75 or over.

Van Haastregt et al call for either improved effectiveness of preventive home visits or their discontinuation. Their data, and our initial results, indicate that annual preventive home visits are most useful in the group aged 75 or over. An editorial in the BMJ 12 years ago also made the point that 65 year olds are too young to receive preventive home visits.3 Evaluation of the Australian 75+ health assessments will establish whether they have a beneficial effect on outcome.
T-cell-rich B-cell lymphomas: diagnosis and response to therapy of 44 patients.
Authors: J P Greer, W R Macon, R E Lamar, S N Wolff, R S Stein, J M Flexner, R D Collins, J B Cousar
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (1995)

Clinicopathologic features of 44 patients with well-documented T-cell-rich B-cell lymphomas (TCRBCLs) were reviewed to determine if there were distinguishing clinical characteristics and to evaluate the responsiveness to therapy.Forty-one patients had de novo TCRBCL, while three patients had a prior diagnosis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Seventeen TCRBCLs were identified from a retrospective analysis of 176 lymphomas diagnosed before 1988 as peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCLs). The initial pathologic diagnosis was incorrect in 36 of 44 cases (82%), usually due to the absence of adequate immunophenotypic and/or genotypic studies at the initial study.The median age of patients was 53 years (range, 17 to 92), and the male-to-female ratio was 1.4:1. B symptoms were present in 22 of 41 patients (54%); splenomegaly was detected in 11 patients (25%). Clinical stage at diagnosis was as follows: I (n = 8), II (n = 6), III (n = 15), IV (n = 14), and unstaged (n = 1). Although therapy was heterogeneous, the disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) rates at 3 years for patients with de novo TCRBCL were 29% and 46%, respectively. A complete response (CR) to combination chemotherapy for intermediate-grade lymphomas was observed in 16 of 26 patients (62%); 11 of these patients (42%) had a continuous CR, compared with one of 14 patients (7%) who received radiation therapy or therapy for low-grade lymphoma or Hodgkin's disease (HD) (P < .05). However, there was no difference in OS between patients who received chemotherapy for intermediate-grade lymphoma versus other therapies (49% v 48%) due to a high response rate to salvage therapies, including seven patients without disease after marrow transplantation.TCRBCLs are difficult to recognize without immunoperoxidase studies. Patients with TCRBCL have clinical features similar to patients with other large B-cell lymphomas, except they may have more splenomegaly and advanced-stage disease; they should receive combination chemotherapy directed at large-cell lymphomas.
Collagen degradation profile in serum of patients with COPD or IPF
Authors: F. Genovese, J.S. Sand, M.J. Nielsen, F.J. Martinez, C.M. Hogaboam, M. Han, M.A. Karsdal, D.J. Leeming
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2012)

Introduction: Fibrosis is a common consequence of COPD and IPF characterized by fibroblast proliferation and extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling. The most representative ECM component in lungs is collagen, and an imbalance in collagen turnover rate may lead to its accumulation eventually resulting in fibrosis.  Aims and objectives: During pulmonary fibrosis collagens type I, III, IV, V, VI are deposited in the lungs and are degraded by disease relevant proteases. Thus collagen fragments (neoepitopes) are released into circulation: our aim is to investigate their potential as markers for lung ECM turnover.  Methods: Levels of serum matrix metalloprotease degraded type I (C1M), III (C3M), IV (C4M), V (C5M) and VI (C6M) collagen and ADAMTS-4 degraded type III collagen (C3A) were assessed in serum from patient with COPD or IPF and healthy controls using a competitive ELISA assay.  Results: All serum markers were significantly elevated in COPD compared to controls (p 85% for C1M, C3M, C5M and C6M for COPD and IPF patients versus controls, while C4M and C3A had an AUROC>89% for COPD versus controls but were unable to diagnose IPF patients.  Conclusions: Four out of six collagen degradation serum markers were elevated in patients with mild COPD and IPF, who would benefit the most from early diagnosis. This small study highlights the potential of neoepitope collagen turnover marker for separation of healthy versus COPD and IPF patients.
Use of octreotide in the symptomatic management of diarrhea induced by graft-versus-host disease in patients with hematologic malignancies.
Authors: C Ippoliti, R Champlin, N Bugazia, D Przepiorka, J Neumann, S Giralt, I Khouri, J Gajewski
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (1997)

PURPOSE Diarrhea associated with acute gastrointestinal (GI) graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) can result in severe morbidity and mortality. A pilot study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of octreotide in the management of diarrhea in patients with GVHD after allogeneic BMT. PATIENTS AND METHODS Twenty-one patients entered the study. Patients received either peripheral-blood stem cells (n = 13) or bone marrow (n = 8). Seven patients had grade 4, 13 grade 3, and one grade 2 GVHD. Intravenous (I.V.) octreotide 500 microg every 8 hours for 7 days was administered. Octreotide treatment was discontinued if no response was observed after 7 days or for grade 4 toxicity. RESULTS Fifteen (71%) of 21 treated patients had a complete response within 7 days of the initiation of octreotide; three (14%) had a partial response and three (14%) failed to respond to treatment. Toxicities were minimal; hyperglycemia was seen in four patients and one patient developed a partial ileus. Octreotide was discontinued and the ileus resolved within 48 hours. CONCLUSION If initiated early in the course of GI GVHD, octreotide appears to be an effective, well-tolerated agent in reducing severe voluminous diarrhea. Octreotide should be discontinued within 24 hours after the resolution of diarrhea to avoid the development of ileus. Because no additional reduction in the volume of diarrhea occurred after 7 days of therapy, continuation of the drug beyond this time is not cost effective.
Safety of Topical Corticosteroids in Pregnancy
Authors: Ching-Chi Chi, Shu-Hui Wang, Gudula Kirtschig
Journal: JAMA Dermatology (2016)

Are topical corticosteroids safe for use in pregnancy?The available evidence found no associations of maternal use of topical corticosteroids of any potency with mode of delivery, birth defects, preterm delivery, fetal death, and low Apgar score. However, maternal use of potent to very potent topical corticosteroids, especially when the cumulative dosage of topical corticosteroids throughout the pregnancy is very large, is associated with low birth weight.
Cerebral vascular reactivity in duplex scanning in patients with COPD
Authors: Vera Nevzorova, Natalia Zaharchuk, Elena Gonchar, Natalia Sarafanova
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2013)

The study involved 34 patients with COPD mean age 54,3 years. Smoking duration was 35,6 years and the smoking index was 311,2. Intima-media thickness (IMT) of the carotid artery (CA) and the average flow velocity in the middle cerebral artery (MCA) were evaluated by transcranial duplex sonography, exercise stress tests were conducted to assess the mechanisms of autoregulatory of cerebral vessels.Patients were divided into 3 groups. The first group included 26.7% of patients with COPD stage I-II, in which the CA IMT was 1.05 mm, but without plaques. The second group consisted of 66.6% of patients with COPD stage I-III, in which IMT of CA was1.22 mm and plaques with stenosis  70% were found. In assessing blood flow in the first and in the second groups, it was showed reduction in speed performance in the MCA(68.0 and 74.9 while the norm is 88-96 cm /s, p>0.5). Optimal activity autoregulatory mechanisms are registered during the vasodilatory function tests in these groups (reactivity index 1.13 and 1.07). It was showed increase in speed performance in MCA to 180 cm/s in third group. Reactivity index was 1.1. So, atherosclerosis CA were revealed in patients with COPD, which progressing to the stage of the disease and leading to hemodynamically significant stenoses in stage III. In case of COPD I and II stages, mean blood flow velocity in the MCA at normal reactivity index decreased. In COPD stage III, it was showed an increase in speed performance in the MCA as a consequence of compensation for the lack of cerebral flow, which is indicated by normal index of reactivity.
Abstract 293: Role Of G-protein Coupled Receptor Signaling In Cardio-renal Injury
Authors: Fadia A Kamal, Joshua G Travers, Qing Ma, Prasad Devarajan, Burns C Blaxall
Journal: Circulation Research (2014)

The kidneys play an important role in cardiovascular disease (CVD), where renal co-morbidities accompany CVD in a large proportion of patients thus complicating their treatment regimen. Moreover, the incidence of acute renal injury after cardiac surgery plays an important role in disease progression. Emerging data suggest the importance of understanding the mechanisms of cardio-renal injury and the development of novel therapies that can be safely used with cardiovascular and renal co-existing pathologies. Although the role of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) in CVD has been broadly recognized, their role in renal injury remains poorly understood. We have found, in a chronic mouse model of heart failure, attenuated renal fibrosis and attenuated pathologic RAAS activation by the small molecule GPCR-Gβγ inhibitor “gallein”. To investigate the direct effects of GPCR-Gβγ inhibition on renal injury, we utilized an acute renal ischemia-reperfusion (RIR) mouse model. Gβγ inhibition by gallein pretreatment attenuated the histopathological profile of RIR, including attenuation of tubular hypertrophy, apoptosis, cast formation, and tissue Lipocalin2 expression. This was accompanied by attenuated inflammation, reflected by reduced CCL2 and ICAM1 gene expression and cellular infiltration, in addition to reduced Collagen III gene expression. These preliminary results suggest a promising protective role for Gβγ inhibition in renal injury and remodeling. Future mechanistic investigation of this possible protective effect will provide better understanding of the role of GPCR-Gβγ signaling in cardio-renal injury and remodeling and possible novel therapeutic targets.
Incidence of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in Taiwan: Perception versus reality
Authors: C.-T. Liau, N.-M. Chu, H.-E. Liu, G.-Y. Yang, R. Deuson, J.-S. Chen, C.-C. Liaw
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2004)

8200 Background: We aimed to determine the incidence of acute and delayed chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) among patients receiving chemotherapy (CTx) and to assess the accuracy with which medical providers perceive the prevalence of CINV among their patients. Methods: Medical providers from 2 cancer centers in Taiwan estimated the incidence of acute (24 hrs post CTx) and delayed (days 2–5 post CTx) nausea (N) and vomiting (V) after CTx. CTx-naïve patients from the same centers completed a 5-day N/V diary following highly and moderately emetogenic chemotherapy (HEC and MEC) to report the actual incidence of acute and delayed N/V. Daily N ratings were recorded on a 100-mm visual analogue scale (VAS). No N was defined as a VAS score < 5 mm. Vomiting episodes were recorded. Complete response was defined as no V and no rescue therapy. Results: 37 medical providers (13 specialists, 4 residents, 20 nurses) and 107 patients enrolled. Mean patient age was 49.2 years; 76% female; 74% breast cancer; 39% received HEC and 61% MEC; 77% received a 5-HT3 receptor antagonist and 94% dexamethasone. There was no significant difference between patients with and without acute CINV with respect to demographic characteristics, and CTx and antiemetic treatments. Good control of N/V during the acute phase was correlated with good control in the delayed phase. Medical providers predicted acute N/V and delayed N/V in 44%/41% and 61%/53% of HEC patients, respectively, while patient diaries reported acute N/V and delayed N/V in 43%/21% and 64%/60% of HEC patients, respectively. For MEC patients, medical providers predicted acute N/V and delayed N/V in 39%/36% and 44%/39% of patients, respectively, while patient diaries reported acute N/V and delayed N/V in 55%/18% and 74%/55% of patients, respectively. Conclusions: The incidence of acute vomiting caused by HEC or MEC is overestimated by medical providers. However, the incidence of delayed N/V caused by MEC appears to be underestimated by medical providers. The success of symptomatic control should not be assumed but should be established through assessment with the help of the patient. No significant financial relationships to disclose.
Prolonged lymphocytopenia after bendamustine therapy in patients with relapsed or refractory indolent B-cell and mantle cell lymphoma
Authors: H Saito, D Maruyama, A M Maeshima, S Makita, H Kitahara, K Miyamoto, S Fukuhara, W Munakata, T Suzuki, Y Kobayashi, H Taniguchi, K Tobinai
Journal: Blood Cancer Journal (2015)

Although bendamustine with or without rituximab has demonstrated remarkable efficacy in patients with relapsed or refractory indolent B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), 1-3 previous reports showed that the incidence of lymphocytopenia was higher in patients receiving bendamustine with or without rituximab than in those receiving other conventional cytotoxic chemotherapies such as R-CHOP regimen, 4-7 which triggers opportunistic infections including cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation, hepatitis B virus reactivation, varicella zoster virus (VZV) infections and Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP). 8-12However, the duration until recovery of the decreased lymphocytes and CD4-positive T cells to the baseline upon bendamustine treatment is still unclear. 6e retrospectively analyzed 56 consecutive patients with relapsed or refractory indolent B-NHL and MCL who received bendamustine (Treakisym) with or without rituximab at our institution between 2011 and 2014.The dose of bendamustine in combination with or without rituximab was 90 mg/m 2 /day or 120 mg/m 2 /day on days 1 and 2, respectively.Treatment was given every 28 days for up to six treatment cycles, depending on the response and toxicity.No rituximab maintenance was given.We analyzed their peripheral blood lymphocytes and CD4-positive T-cell counts before, during and after bendamustine treatment, the details of infectious events and their correlations.The study protocol
Nongastrointestinal Low-Grade Mucosa-Associated Lymphoid Tissue Lymphoma: Analysis of 75 Patients
Authors: Pier Luigi Zinzani, Massimo Magagnoli, Piero Galieni, Maurizio Martelli, Venerino Poletti, Francesco Zaja, Stefano Molica, Alfonso Zaccaria, Anna Maria Cantonetti, Patrizia Gentilini, Luciano Guardigni, Filippo Gherlinzoni, Michela Ribersani, Maurizio Bendandi, Patrizia Albertini, Sante Tura
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (1999)

Nongastrointestinal locations represent about 30% to 40% of all low-grade mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphomas. We report a retrospective analysis of 75 patients with nongastrointestinal low-grade MALT lymphoma, presenting their clinical, therapeutic, and follow-up data with respect to the initial location of the lymphoma.From January 1988 to October 1997, 75 patients with untreated nongastrointestinal low-grade MALT lymphoma were subjected to treatments ranging from local radiotherapy and local interferon alfa administration to chemotherapy. The lymphomas were located in the lung (19 patients), orbital soft tissue (16 patients), skin (seven patients), thyroid (seven patients), lachrymal gland (six patients), conjunctiva (six patients), salivary gland (six patients), breast (three patients), eyelid (two patients), larynx (one patient), bone marrow (one patient), and trachea (one patient).Complete and partial remissions were achieved in 59 (79%) and 16 (21%) of the 75 patients, respectively, with an overall response rate of 100%. All but two of the patients are still alive, with a median follow-up of 47 months; these two patients died from other causes. The estimated time to treatment failure rate is 30% at 5 years. In the thyroid and lachrymal gland sites, no relapses were reported.Our data regarding the largest reported series of nongastrointestinal MALT lymphomas confirm the good prognosis of this particular clinicopathologic entity and the significant efficacy of different therapeutic approaches to specific sites.
Studies of Glioma Growth in Mice. I. Experiments Concerning Glioma Growth and Hepatic Mitotic Activity
Authors: Robert H. Wilkins, Alfred S. Ketcham
Journal: JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute (1964)

Based on previous studies, 3 types of experiments were performed to investigate the relationships between hepatic mitotic activity and the growth of transplanted gliomas in C57BL/6JN mice. Intracerebral and intramuscular transplantations of cytosieved preparations of 3 different gliomas were used. Partial hepatectomy, a stimulus to mitotic activity, did not affect the growth rate of these gliomas. Furthermore, when serum from partially hepatectomized Sprague-Dawley rats was injected periodically into glioma-bearing mice, the results were no different from those after injection of control rat serum. Finally, as measured by counts of mitoses, hepatic mitotic activity in glioma-bearing mice was similar to that in control mice. Under the conditions of these experiments, no relationships could be found between glioma growth and hepatic mitotic activity.
Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole versus placebo: a double-blind comparison of infection prophylaxis in patients with small cell carcinoma of the lung.
Authors: C A de Jongh, J C Wade, R S Finley, J H Joshi, J Aisner, P H Wiernik, S C Schimpff
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (1983)

The suppression of pathogenic aerobes and the preservation of anaerobes provides a degree of infection prevention during granulocytopenia. Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMZ) suppresses Enterobacteriaceae and probably maintains colonization resistance through sparing of anaerobes. TMP/SMZ (320/1600 mg/day) treatment was compared to placebo in a double-blind, randomized trial in patients with newly diagnosed small cell carcinoma of the lung during the initial courses of chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and etoposide. Infections were evaluated as microbiologically documented, with or without bacteremia, and clinically documented and were correlated to granulocytopenia. Of the 61 patients evaluated, 32 were given TMP/SMZ and 29 were given placebo; both groups had similar characteristics with regard to disease extent, performance status, age, sex, chemotherapy, and days of granulocytopenia. Incidence of infection at less than 100 granulocytes/microliters was significantly reduced in the TMP/SMZ group (2 infections/100 days) compared to placebo (11 infections/100 days, p = 0.005). Also reduced were the number of bacteremias and the mean proportion of study time on broad-spectrum antibiotics (p less than 0.01). Compared to placebo, TMP/SMZ provided infection prophylaxis without an increase in marrow suppression among patients with small cell carcinoma of the lung receiving intensive chemotherapy.
Thymidylate Synthase Promoter Polymorphism
Authors: Franck Zinzindohoue, Jean-Marc Ferraz, Pierre Laurent-Puig
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2001)

Article Tools SPECIAL DEPARTMENTS Article Tools OPTIONS & TOOLS Export Citation Track Citation Add To Favorites Rights & Permissions COMPANION ARTICLES No companion articles ARTICLE CITATION DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2001.19.14.3442 Journal of Clinical Oncology - published online before print September 21, 2016 PMID: 11454897 Thymidylate Synthase Promoter Polymorphism Franck ZinzindohouexFranck ZinzindohoueSearch for articles by this author , Jean-Marc FerrazxJean-Marc FerrazSearch for articles by this author , Pierre Laurent-PuigxPierre Laurent-PuigSearch for articles by this author Show More Hopital Européen Georges Pompidou Assistance Publique Hopitaux de Paris, Paris, France https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2001.19.14.3442 First Page Full Text PDF Figures and Tables © 2001 by American Society of Clinical Oncology
2008 Katharine A. Lembright Award and Lecture--The Effects of Alcohol and Tobacco Smoke on the Cardiovascular System
Authors: Mariann Piano
Journal: Circulation (2008)

More than half of Americans aged 12 years or older (125 million people) report being current alcohol (ethanol) drinkers. Twenty-five percent of U.S. adults have an alcohol use problem or drinking pattern that places them at risk for developing social, psychological, and medical problems. In both sexes, long-term heavy alcohol consumption is a leading cause of a dilated cardiomyopathy (CM) phenotype, characterized by an enlarged myocardium with systolic dysfunction. The mechanisms that underlie these myocardial changes remain incompletely understood, but likely involve oxidative stress, myocyte loss, and intracellular organelle dysfunction. Interestingly, though CM occurs in women, there are discrepancies regarding the duration/amount of alcohol consumption required to produce structural and functional changes in the female myocardium.  Binge drinking is associated with a number of adverse health effects. However, there is limited information regarding the effects of binge drinking on the cardiovascular system. Binge and chronic drinking are also often accompanied by cigarette smoking; both drinking and smoking are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Of particular concern is that among U.S. college students (individuals with the highest rates of binge drinking), cigarette smoking is increasing.  This lecture will focus on the adverse effects of alcohol consumption on the cardiovascular system. Determining what cardiovascular effects are attributable to unhealthy drinking patterns, cigarette smoking, and their combination will be critical for understanding and treating cardiovascular disorders in alcohol abusers and cigarette smokers.