tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
New guidance on donating organs is issued amid fears of attempts to profit from giving
Authors: M. Limb
Journal: BMJ (2012)

The UK Human Tissue Authority has issued fresh guidance for people donating organs for transplantation, amid concern that there is now a “higher risk” of people trying to profit from supplying them.

The new framework for assessment of directed altruistic donations was published on 10 September.1

In the guidance the authority describes the steps it will take to ensure that people are not pressured or coerced into donating organs, are not seeking reward, and have the capacity to give consent.

While most donors act to benefit the health of the recipient, says the authority, “we cannot ignore the rare, but very serious cases …
ANTIPNEUMOCOCCIC SERUM TREATMENT OF PNEUMONIA, WITH REPORT OF CASES.
Authors: G. E. TYLER
Journal: JAMA (1901)

DISCOVERY.  In 1888 Netter rendered mice and rabbits immune to pneumonia by injecting them with a fluid prepared from the dried spleen of infected animals. Later he used an old pneumococcus pleuritic exudate, and still later the sputum of a pneumonia patient after the crisis.  Foa was able to produce, in animals, an immunity lasting several months, by injecting a serum made by a precipitation of a bouillon culture of the pneumococcus with ammonium sulphate and repeated filtration. His method was to inject the filtrate intravenously into rabbits for three or four days. Later he made an extract of the muscles and viscera of a rabbit, dead of pneumonia; precipitated it in the same way, used it in the same manner, and was able to produce the same immunity; though a similar extract from a healthy rabbit produced no effect.  Klemperer Brothers experimented with a pneumococcus pleuritic exudate which was
Proximal tubular injury in Chinese herbs nephropathy: Monitoring by neutral endopeptidase enzymuria
Authors: Joëlle L. Nortier, Monique M. Deschodt-Lanckman, Sylvie Simon, Nathalie O. Thielemans, Eric G. de Prez, Michel F. Depierreux, Christian L. Tielemans, Claude Richard, Robert R. Lauwerys, Alfred M. Bernard, Jean-Louis Vanherweghem
Journal: Kidney International (1997)
Investigators should be trained to "think dirty" about cause of death, Shipman report says
Authors: C. Dyer
Journal: BMJ (2003)

The creation of a team of coroners' investigators trained to “think dirty” about the causes of death, and new powers for coroners to order raids on premises such as GPs' surgeries to seize documents or drugs, were among radical reforms to the coroners' system in England and Wales recommended this week by the official inquiry into the crimes of the serial killer Dr Harold Shipman.



Harold Shipman: responsible for 215 deaths

Credit: MANCHESTER POLICE/AP



Dame Janet Smith, the appeal court judge heading the inquiry, said that the 100 year old system for death registration and the procedures for …
Risk management and precaution: insights on the cautious use of evidence.
Authors: Steve E Hrudey, William Leiss
Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives (2003)

Risk management, done well, should be inherently precautionary. Adopting an appropriate degree of precaution with respect to feared health and environmental hazards is fundamental to risk management. The real problem is in deciding how precautionary to be in the face of inevitable uncertainties, demanding that we understand the equally inevitable false positives and false negatives from screening evidence. We consider a framework for detection and judgment of evidence of well-characterized hazards, using the concepts of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value that are well established for medical diagnosis. Our confidence in predicting the likelihood of a true danger inevitably will be poor for rare hazards because of the predominance of false positives; failing to detect a true danger is less likely because false negatives must be rarer than the danger itself. Because most controversial environmental hazards arise infrequently, this truth poses a dilemma for risk management.
Effective contribution of transplanted vascular progenitor cells derived from embryonic stem cells to adult neovascularization in proper differentiation stage
Authors: Takami Yurugi-Kobayashi, Hiroshi Itoh, Jun Yamashita, Kenichi Yamahara, Hideyo Hirai, Takuya Kobayashi, Minetaro Ogawa, Satomi Nishikawa, Shin-Ichi Nishikawa, Kazuwa Nakao
Journal: Blood (2003)
Agents with Selective Estrogen Receptor (ER) Modulator Activity Induce Apoptosis<b><i>In vitro</i></b>and<b><i>In vivo</i></b>in ER-Negative Glioma Cells
Authors: Ai-Min Hui, Wei Zhang, Wei Chen, Dan Xi, Benjamin Purow, Glenn C. Friedman, Howard A. Fine
Journal: Cancer Research (2004)

Abstract Tamoxifen, a member of the selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) family, is widely used in the treatment of estrogen receptor (ER)-expressing breast cancer. It has previously been shown that high-dose tamoxifen has cytotoxic activity against glioma cells, but whether this effect is drug specific or represents a general property of SERMs is unknown. In this study, we demonstrate that tamoxifen and CC-8490, a novel benzopyranone with SERM activity, induce glioma cell apoptosis in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Moreover, administration of tamoxifen and CC-8490 suppresses tumor growth in vivo and extends animal survival in glioma xenograft models. None of the eight glioma cell lines examined express either ER-α or -β, suggesting the mechanism for tamoxifen– and CC-8490–induced glioma cell apoptosis is independent of the ER signaling pathway. Complementary DNA microarray expression profiling allowed us to identify a subset of genes specifically regulated by tamoxifen and CC-8490, and not by other apoptotic stimuli, including nuclear factor (NF)-κB with its target genes IEX-3, SOD2, IL6, and IL8. We demonstrate that suppression of NF-κB activation markedly enhances SERM-induced apoptosis, suggesting a role for NF-κB in protecting glioma cells from SERM-induced cytotoxicity. These findings demonstrate for the first time that a SERM other than tamoxifen can induce glioma cell apoptosis in vitro and in vivo and that the clinical efficacy of SERMs for the treatment of malignant gliomas could potentially be enhanced by simultaneous inhibition of the NF-κB pathway.
Intimal Thickening After Ligature of Arteries An Electron-Microscopic Study
Authors: ROBERT C. BUCK
Journal: Circulation Research (1961)

Concentric thickening of the tunica intima was observed in a short length of common carotid artery which had been tied off between two ligatures, and also in the pieces immediately proximal and distal to the doubly ligated part. The thickening was not due to hyperplasia of endothelial cells; in fact, the endothelium in the doubly ligated part was necrotic a short time after ligature. This piece then became lined with macrophage-like cells, thought to be derived from monocytes of the blood contained in the lumen. These cells retained quantities of colloidal thorium dioxide which had been given intravenously just be fore applying the ligatures. On the other hand, the thickening of the intima seen in the doubly ligated segment, as well as in the adjoining lengths of artery, was principally due to the growth of a cell derived from the smooth muscle of the tunica media, for which the term "myo-intimal" cell is suggested.
Most patients with isolated subsegmental pulmonary embolism do not need anticoagulants
Authors: S. Haldar, A. Garg, S. Barden, G. Burkill, N. Marchbank
Journal: BMJ (2013)

We agree with Wiener and colleagues that widespread use of computed tomography (CT) pulmonary angiography is partly responsible for the overdiagnosis of pulmonary embolism.1

In a recent year long study of CT pulmonary angiography in our acute trust, we reviewed all patients reported as having isolated subsegmental pulmonary embolism (ISSPE). All scans originally reported as showing ISSPE were reviewed by two chest radiologists, who rejected the diagnosis if it was not visible on multiplanar reformats.

During this period, 91.7% (1317/1435) of studies were technically adequate. Of these, 21% had a positive …
Ecumenicalism in Medicine and Science — Its Urgent Need
Authors: Irvine H. Page
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1977)

I use the word "ecumenical" in its broadest sense to mean a uniting of the forces in medicine and science that could deliver a convincing political clout. I have seemed to oppose government tirelessly, and tiresomely, and I know many do not approve. But the more I have lived with the problem of government intervention and discussed it, especially with my British and Swedish friends, the more convinced I am that the medical community faces a threat far more serious than it recognizes. Government control will gradually encompass the practice of medicine and the course of scientific research. This process . . .
Trial Registration Report Card
Authors: Jeffrey M. Drazen, Alastair J.J. Wood
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (2005)

but the choices are increasingly complex.Fortunately, we have the results of large, prospective, well-designed, and well-executed clinical trials, such as BIG 1-98, to facilitate our recommendations.We await longer follow-up from all the studies to enable us to offer patients sound advice regarding the benefits and long-term risks of aromatase inhibitors.Meanwhile, all the evidence points to aromatase inhibitors as critically important for improving the outcome among postmenopausal women with breast cancer who have positive or negative lymph nodes and who are at a substantial risk for recurrent disease.No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.
Clinical importance of persistence of anticardiolipin antibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus.
Authors: Y Ishii, K Nagasawa, T Mayumi, Y Niho
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (1990)

The clinical importance of IgG anticardiolipin antibodies was investigated in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). IgG anticardiolipin antibodies were found in 69 of 155 (44.5%) patients with SLE. Serial measurements of IgG anticardiolipin antibodies allowed the patients to be classified into two groups: group A, persistently positive for IgG anticardiolipin antibodies; group B, positive only in active phases. The IgG anticardiolipin antibody titre in group A was significantly higher than in group B. The incidence of thromboses, spontaneous abortions, and lupus anticoagulant in group A was significantly higher than in group B (p less than 0.05). By contrast, the incidence of renal diseases and anti-dsDNA antibodies in group B was significantly higher than in group A (p less than 0.05). This study showed that group A formed a separate subgroup of patients with SLE who had a high risk of thromboses and spontaneous abortions despite having milder disease activity.
Thiodiglycolic acid as a possible causative agent of fixed drug eruption provoked only after continuous administration of S-carboxymethyl-l-cysteine: case report and review of reported cases
Authors: A. Adachi, Y. Sarayama, H. Shimizu, Y. Yamada, T. Horikawa
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (2005)

Conflict of interest: None declared Sir, A provocation test of a fixed drug eruption (FDE) usually induces an erythematous response at the previously affected sites following a single, normal dose and the response is typically observed within 24 h.1, 2 We recently experienced two cases of FDE induced by S‐carboxymethyl‐L‐cysteine (SCMC) and found that in both cases it required the intake of the agent for more than two consecutive days to elicit the eruption. Similar observations have been described in the Japanese literature, although the reason is so far unknown.3, 4 We therefore characterized this feature of SCMC‐induced FDE and we discuss its possible aetiology. Two Japanese females (patient 1: 32 years old, patient 2: 8 years old) who had histories of a fixed drug eruption two days after consecutive ingestions of SCMC, were examined by oral challenge tests and patch tests. Oral challenge tests were performed with the consent of the patients and the parents. In both cases, skin eruptions were not induced by a single challenge of the usual dose of SCMC when it was given either in the morning or in the evening and the skin observed for 1 week. However, if SCMC was consecutively taken at night and three times on the following day, erythema developed by the morning of the third day. We performed patch tests with SCMC and its metabolites, S‐methyl‐L‐cysteine (SMC) (Sigma Chemical Co, Poole, Dorset, U.K.) and thiodiglycolic acid (TDA) (Sigma Chemical Co.). Both 1% and 10% concentrations of TDA showed positive patch tests at the affected skin sites in both patients. Neither SCMC nor SMC elicited any positive findings. Five healthy volunteers did not show a positive response to any of the three chemicals. Lymphocyte transformation tests for SCMC, SMC and TDA were negative in both patients.
SOME POINTS IN THE ETIOLOGY OF PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS.
Authors: FRANK S. PARSONS
Journal: JAMA (1895)

In considering the subject of pulmonary tuberculosis, and in endeavoring to support a theory deduced from etiologic facts, which tends to show that the almost universally accepted germ cause of this disease is quite secondary in its influence, it must be admitted that, while it is evident to my mind the ground taken is not irrelevant, much opposition is to be expected. Most physicians recognize, in certain individuals, a pre-tubercular condition ; meaning by this term that in such persons who subsequently develop tuberculosis an abnormal condition exists, which, while symptomatic or suggestive of consumption, does not give that evidence of the disease which renders the diagnosis absolute;<i>i. e.</i>, the demonstration of tubercle bacilli. It can not be denied that the tubercle bacillus plays an important part in the phenomenal expression, if not in the etiology of tuberculosis, but facts are daily being brought to light which tend
Medical Ethics' Assault on Medical Values
Authors: Grant E. Steffen
Journal: JAMA (1984)

<h3>To the Editor.—</h3> Drs Clement and Sider claim in their article entitled "Medical Ethics' Assault Upon Medical Values" that the principle of autonomy "is an inappropriate foundation on which to build medical ethics." I think that they are wrong and that they make several errors in their argument for a clinical ethic. First, they state that "philosophic autonomy is based entirely in formal logic." This simply is not true. Autonomy is a respected and necessary principle in utilitarianism, that branch of philosophical thought most removed from formalism. John Stuart Mill, one of the most influential philosophers of the 19th century, was a utilitarian and argued vigorously for autonomy on the grounds that promoting autonomy would maximize the benefits of everyone concerned. Surely, one cannot label Mill a formalist or claim that his arguments are without content, a deficiency the authors attribute to formalism. Second, they state that observing the principle
A Statewide Mass Measles Immunization Program
Authors: Earl B. Byrne, Beryl J. Rosenstein, Alexander A. Jaworski, Rudolf A. Jaworski
Journal: JAMA (1967)

Increased demand for medical services and school absenteeism related to vaccine reactions following a oneday mass measles immunization program in Rhode Island were studied. Measles virus vaccine, live, attenuated (Schwarz) was used. Nearly 60% of susceptible children (30,647) were immunized. Increased demand for medical services averaged less than one telephone call per day per physician during the week when most reactions occurred. For two weeks preceding immunization, however, many physicians experienced a sharp increase in calls from parents requesting immunization histories of their children. School absenteeism among those vaccinated was higher by 3.5% throughout the state, except in certain communities where epidemic influenza B morbidity was reaching peak levels. Here, absenteeism patterns were reversed. Interferon induced in those vaccinated by the measles virus vaccine is suggested as an explanation for the apparent protective effect against influenza B.
ADAM8 as a Novel Serological and Histochemical Marker for Lung Cancer
Authors: Nobuhisa Ishikawa, Yataro Daigo, Wataru Yasui, Kouki Inai, Hitoshi Nishimura, Eiju Tsuchiya, Nobuoki Kohno, Yusuke Nakamura
Journal: Clinical Cancer Research (2004)

We have been investigating genes involved in pulmonary carcinogenesis by examining gene expression profiles of non-small-cell lung cancers to identify molecules that might serve as diagnostic markers or targets for development of new molecular therapies. A gene encoding ADAM8, a disintegrin and metalloproteinase domain-8, was selected as a candidate for such molecule. Tumor tissue microarray was applied to examine expression of ADAM8 protein in archival lung cancer samples from 363 patients. Serum ADAM8 levels of 105 lung cancer patients and 72 controls were also measured by ELISA. A role of ADAM8 in cellular motility was examined by Matrigel assays.ADAM8 was abundantly expressed in the great majority of lung cancers examined. A high level of ADAM8 expression was significantly more common in advanced-stage IIIB/IV adenocarcinomas than in adenocarcinomas at stages I-IIIA. Serum levels of ADAM8 were significantly higher in lung cancer patients than in healthy controls. The proportion of the serum ADAM8-positive cases defined by our criteria was 63% and that for carcinoembryonic antigen was 57%, indicating equivalent diagnostic power of these two markers. A combined assay using both ADAM8 and carcinoembryonic antigen increased sensitivity because 80% of the lung cancer patients were then diagnosed as positive, whereas only 11% of 72 healthy volunteers were falsely diagnosed as positive. In addition, exogenous expression of ADAM8 increased the migratory activity of mammalian cells, an indication that ADAM8 may play a significant role in progression of lung cancer.Our data suggest that ADAM8 should be useful as a diagnostic marker and probably as a therapeutic target.
Visceral Disease in Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer
Authors: Carmel J. Pezaro, Aurelius Omlin, David Lorente, Daniel Nava Rodrigues, Roberta Ferraldeschi, Diletta Bianchini, Deborah Mukherji, Ruth Riisnaes, Amelia Altavilla, Mateus Crespo, Nina Tunariu, Johann S. de Bono, Gerhardt Attard
Journal: European Urology (2013)
Prospective randomised study of preoperative endoscopic sphincterotomy versus surgery alone for common bile duct stones.
Authors: J P Neoptolemos, D L Carr-Locke, D P Fossard
Journal: BMJ (1987)

One hundred and twenty patients with known common bile duct stones were entered into a prospective randomised study of preoperative endoscopic sphincterotomy and stone clearance (group 1) versus surgery alone (group 2). Five patients were incorrectly entered; the 55 patients randomised to group 1 and the 60 randomised to group 2 were well matched with respect to clinical features and biochemical and medical risk factors. In group 1 endoscopic stone clearance was successful in 50 patients (91%); five of these patients refused elective surgery, though this was subsequently necessary in one. In group 2 common bile duct stones were cleared surgically in 54 of 59 patients (91.5%); one patient was treated by endoscopic sphincterotomy alone because of a myocardial infarct. The overall major complication rate in group 1 was 16.4% and included two deaths; in group 2 this was 8.5% and included one death. The minor complication rate in group 1 was 16.4% and that in group 2 13.6%. These differences in outcome were not significant. Despite a significant reduction in total hospital stay of patients in group 1, these results do not support the routine use of preoperative endoscopic sphincterotomy in patients having biliary surgery for stones in the common bile duct.
In Vivo Downregulation of T Helper Cell 1 Immune Responses Reduces Atherogenesis in Apolipoprotein E-Knockout Mice
Authors: E. Laurat, B. Poirier, E. Tupin, G. Caligiuri, G.K. Hansson, J. Bariéty, A. Nicoletti
Journal: Circulation (2001)

Background — A chronic immune response involving proinflammatory T helper cell 1 (Th1) lymphocyte activation occurs in the atherosclerotic lesion, but whether this activation is protective or deleterious remains unclear. Methods and Results — We modulated the immune response of the atherosclerosis-prone apolipoprotein E-deficient (apoE −/− ) mouse. Eight-week-old apoE −/− mice were treated daily with pentoxifylline (PTX), a known inhibitor of the Th1 differentiation pathway, or PBS (control) for 4 weeks or 12 weeks. Twelve-week PTX treatment reduced atherosclerotic lesion size by 60% ( P &lt;0.01). PTX-treated mice developed lesions that were limited to the degree of fatty streaks. In contrast, control mice developed mature fibrofatty atherosclerotic lesions. In parallel, the proportion of interferon (IFN)-γ-producing Th1 splenic lymphocytes was significantly reduced by PTX, and lesion size was correlated to the proportion of IFN-γ + T cells. In vitro addition of PTX to cultured spleen cells did not modify the production of IFN-γ but increased the production of IL-10 by T cells, indicating that PTX does not suppress IFN-γ production but rather blocks Th1 polarization while promoting Th2 polarization. Conclusions — Thus, PTX protected mice from atherosclerosis by reducing the Th1 polarization of T helper lymphocytes. This study demonstrates that the Th1 immune response associated with atherosclerosis is deleterious and that a modulation of the Th1 differentiation pathway may provide a new pharmacological tool to treat this disease.
Motivational Intervention to Reduce Cannabis Use in Young People with Psychosis: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Charles Bonsack, Silvia Gibellini Manetti, Jérôme Favrod, Yves Montagrin, Jacques Besson, Pierre Bovet, Philippe Conus
Journal: Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics (2011)

&lt;i&gt;Background:&lt;/i&gt; Cannabis use has a negative impact on psychosis. Studies are needed to explore the efficacy of psychological interventions to reduce cannabis use in psychosis. Our aim is to study the efficacy of a specific motivational intervention on young cannabis users suffering from psychosis. &lt;i&gt;Methods:&lt;/i&gt; Participants (aged less than 35 years) were randomly assigned to treatment as usual (TAU) alone, or treatment as usual plus motivational intervention (MI + TAU). TAU was comprehensive and included case management, early intervention and mobile team when needed. Assessments were completed at baseline and at 3, 6 and12 months follow-up. &lt;i&gt;Results:&lt;/i&gt; Sixty-two participants (32 TAU and 30 MI + TAU) were included in the study. Cannabis use decreased in both groups at follow-up. Participants who received MI in addition to TAU displayed both a greater reduction in number of joints smoked per week and greater confidence to change cannabis use at 3 and 6 months follow-up, but differences between groups were nonsignificant at 12 months. &lt;i&gt;Conclusions:&lt;/i&gt; MI is well accepted by patients suffering from psychosis and has a short-term impact on cannabis use when added to standard care. However, the differential effect was not maintained at 1-year follow-up. MI appears to be a useful active component to reduce cannabis use which should be integrated in routine clinical practice.