tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Teatime for Thalassemia
Authors: Samuel Vaisrub
Journal: JAMA (1979)

As every schoolchild knows, tea played an important role in the political strategy of the American Revolution. The tea boycott and the Boston Tea Party are matters of recorded history. Less well known is the medical accompaniment to the political performance. A chorus of physicians led by the famed Dr Benjamin Rush mixed political appeals with denunciation of tea as a poison responsible for many ills.<sup>1</sup>The antitea bias, however, subsided with the end of the boycott, and many physicians, Rush included, began to find virtues in the formerly "baneful herb." No major medical virtues or banes have been attributed to tea since the Revolutionary days. Unlike coffee, which occasionally aroused medical controversy, tea was considered innocuous, innocent of either blame or praise. Recent studies, however, suggest that tea has some hitherto unsuspected pharmacologic effects. Disler et al<sup>2</sup>demonstrated that tea inhibited the absorption of nonheme iron from
Bevacizumab for the treatment of neovascular age related macular degeneration
Authors: U. Chakravarthy
Journal: BMJ (2010)

Controversy remains about the off label use of bevacizumab 

The era of biological agents for the management of neovascular age related macular degeneration was firmly ushered in when two randomised controlled clinical trials in 2007 found that ranibizumab, a monoclonal antibody to vascular endothelial growth factor, improved visual outcomes in patients with this condition.1 2 However even before the original trial data were released, ophthalmologists had already begun to treat patients with neovascular age related macular degeneration with bevacizumab (the parent molecule of ranibizumab), which is licensed for intravenous administration in advanced colorectal cancer. In the linked study (doi:10.1136/bmj.c2459), Tufail and colleagues report their findings from the ABC Trial, a multicentre randomised controlled study that compared the use of bevacizumab and ranibizumab for the treatment of neovascular (wet) age related macular degeneration.3 

Originally ophthalmologists administered bevacizumab intravenously but soon changed to intraocular delivery because of the potential for systemic adverse events.4 5 Intraocular delivery vastly reduced the dose of bevacizumab, which meant that the commercially available preparation (for intravenous use in the treatment of cancer) could be dispensed into hundreds of 1.25 mg …
Pain, control over treatment, and compliance in dialysis and transplant patients
Authors: Yitzchak M. Binik, Andrew G. Baker, Dennis Kalogeropoulos, Gerald M. Devins, Ronald D. Guttmann, David J. Hollomby, Paul E. Barré, Tom Hutchison, Michel Prud'Homme, Lise McMullen
Journal: Kidney International (1982)
Increased Expression of α-Synuclein Reduces Neurotransmitter Release by Inhibiting Synaptic Vesicle Reclustering after Endocytosis
Authors: Venu M. Nemani, Wei Lu, Victoria Berge, Ken Nakamura, Bibiana Onoa, Michael K. Lee, Farrukh A. Chaudhry, Roger A. Nicoll, Robert H. Edwards
Journal: Neuron (2010)
THE EMPLOYMENT OF PATHOLOGISTS IN CORONERS' COURTS
Authors: B. Spilsbury
Journal: BMJ (1932)

Although many fundamental facts of pathology have been established from very early times, the modern development of that branch of medicine and the immense amount of detailed pathological knowledge available at the present time dates from about the middle of the last century, when enthusiastic workers devoted their lives to the investigation of pathological problems; from these beginnings the body of pathologists arose, and the investigations, which at first were chiefly anatomical and histological, have since expanded to include the various branches of pathological and bacterio- logical work.It was only very slowly that pathological knowledge was applied to medico-legal problems, and in this country the employment of pathologists by coroners and police has developed within living memory, and is still very limited when the country generally is considered, though they are more frequently employed in London and the larger urban districts.Yet it is of even
Epidemiology of radiation-induced cancer.
Authors: E P Radford
Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives (1983)

The epidemiology of radiation-induced cancer is important for theoretical and practical insights that these studies give to human cancer in general and because we have more evidence from radiation-exposed populations than for any other environmental carcinogen. On theoretical and experimental grounds, the linear no-threshold dose-response relationship is a reasonable basis for extrapolating effects to low doses. Leukemia is frequently the earliest observed radiogenic cancer but is now considered to be of minor importance, because the radiation effect dies out after 25 or 30 years, whereas solid tumors induced by radiation develop later and the increased cancer risk evidently persists for the remaining lifetime. Current estimates of the risk of particular cancers from radiation exposure cannot be fully evaluated until the population under study have been followed at least 40 or 50 years after exposure. Recent evidence indicates that for lung cancer induction, combination of cigarette smoking and radiation exposure leads to risks that are not multiplicative but rather nearly additive.
Natural killer cells are present in the normal human lung but are functionally impotent.
Authors: B W Robinson, P Pinkston, R G Crystal
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1984)

The lung is affected by disorders in which natural killer (NK) cells are thought to play an important defensive role. This study, however, demonstrated that normal lung lymphocytes actually express very little NK cell activity (P less than 0.001 compared with blood lymphocytes). This was true independent of the NK-sensitive target used (K562, U937, MOLT-3, or Daudi). This lack of lung lymphocyte NK activity occurred even though the proportions of lymphocytes in the normal lower respiratory tract with the morphology (large granular lymphocytes) and surface antigen markers of NK cells were similar to that of blood (P greater than 0.5). Although normal lung lymphocytes bound to known NK-sensitive targets, they did not lyse these cells (P less than 0.001 compared with blood), which suggested that the lack of lung NK cell activity resulted from a relative inability of lung NK cells to destroy their targets. While the mechanisms of this functional impotence of lung NK cells are not clear, normal human alveolar macrophages and lower respiratory tract epithelial lining fluid exerted a profound suppressive effect on blood NK cell activity (P less than 0.001 for both) by inhibiting their ability to lyse target cells after binding (P less than 0.001). Though impotent initially, when incubated for 24 h in medium alone, normal lung lymphocytes demonstrated markedly enhanced NK activity (P less than 0.02), which suggested that lung NK cells do have the potential to express NK activity. Interleukin-2 (IL-2) further augmented this effect (P less than 0.05), but gamma interferon did not (P greater than 0.2). Consistent with this observation, lung lymphocytes from patients with active sarcoidosis, a disease in which lung lymphocytes are spontaneously releasing IL-2, did express NK cell activity (P less than 0.01). These studies suggest that although NK cells are present in the normal lung, they are functionally inactive, due, at least in part, to local inhibitory influences. In the presence of IL-2, however, lung NK cell activity is expressed, which suggests that lung NK cell activity can be modulated.
Antibodies to translation products of the pre-S1 and pre-S2 regions of the envelope gene of hepatitis B virus in fulminant hepatitis B
Authors: Iku Ise, Fumio Tsuda, Shinobu Aihara, Atsuhiko Machida, Emiko Takai, Hideaki Miyamoto, Yoshihiro Akahane, Yuzo Miyakawa, Makoto Mayumi
Journal: Hepatology (1988)

Sera from 11 patients with fulminant hepatitis B were tested for antibodies to translation products of the pre-S1 and pre-S2 regions of hepatitis B virus of IgM, IgA and IgG classes, as well as of IgA1, IgA2 and SIgA, with solid-phase enzyme immunoassays using native viral polypeptides. Antibodies to pre-S1 region product of IgM and/or IgA class were detected invariably in six patients who still had detectable hepatitis B surface antigen in serum at the time of clinical presentation. The remaining five patients who had lost HBsAg at presentation had antibodies to pre-S region products of various immunoglobulin classes in higher titers. The five patients with fulminant hepatitis without HBsAg had higher levels of IgA antibodies to pre-S region products than the seven patients with nonfulminant acute hepatitis B who had lost HBsAg: IgA antibody to pre-S1 region product (75.6 ± 63.8 vs. 2.9 ± 3.2, p &lt; 0.01) and IgA antibody to pre-S2 region product (28.9 ± 25.3 vs. 4.2 ± 6.9, p &lt; 0.01). IgA antibodies to pre-S1 and pre-S2 region products were invariably polymeric in fulminant hepatitis B. These findings are compatible with the hypothesis that a heightened humoral antibody response to pre-S1 and pre-S2 region products occurs early during the course of fulminant hepatitis B, participating in severe hepatic injury and early clearance of virus characteristic of this disease.
Prone Positioning in Patients With Moderate and Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome
Authors: Paolo Taccone, Antonio Pesenti, Roberto Latini, Federico Polli, Federica Vagginelli, Cristina Mietto, Luisa Caspani, Ferdinando Raimondi, Giovanni Bordone, Gaetano Iapichino, Jordi Mancebo, Claude Guérin, Louis Ayzac, Lluis Blanch, Roberto Fumagalli, Gianni Tognoni, Luciano Gattinoni, for the Prone-Supine II Study Group
Journal: JAMA (2009)

<h3>Context</h3>Post hoc analysis of a previous trial has suggested that prone positioning may improve survival in patients with severe hypoxemia and with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).<h3>Objective</h3>To assess possible outcome benefits of prone positioning in patients with moderate and severe hypoxemia who are affected by ARDS.<h3>Design, Setting, and Patients</h3>The Prone-Supine II Study, a multicenter, unblinded, randomized controlled trial conducted in 23 centers in Italy and 2 in Spain. Patients were 342 adults with ARDS receiving mechanical ventilation, enrolled from February 2004 through June 2008 and prospectively stratified into subgroups with moderate (n = 192) and severe (n = 150) hypoxemia.<h3>Interventions</h3>Patients were randomized to undergo supine (n = 174) or prone (20 hours per day; n = 168) positioning during ventilation.<h3>Main Outcome Measures</h3>The primary outcome was 28-day all-cause mortality. Secondary outcomes were 6-month mortality and mortality at intensive care unit discharge, organ dysfunctions, and the complication rate related to prone positioning.<h3>Results</h3>Prone and supine patients from the entire study population had similar 28-day (31.0% vs 32.8%; relative risk [RR], 0.97; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.84-1.13; P = .72) and 6-month (47.0% vs 52.3%; RR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.73-1.11; P = .33) mortality rates, despite significantly higher complication rates in the prone group. Outcomes were also similar for patients with moderate hypoxemia in the prone and supine groups at 28 days (25.5% vs 22.5%; RR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.89-1.22; P = .62) and at 6 months (42.6% vs 43.9%; RR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.76-1.25; P = .85). The 28-day mortality of patients with severe hypoxemia was 37.8% in the prone and 46.1% in the supine group (RR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.66-1.14; P = .31), while their 6-month mortality was 52.7% and 63.2%, respectively (RR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.53-1.14; P = .19).<h3>Conclusion</h3>Data from this study indicate that prone positioning does not provide significant survival benefit in patients with ARDS or in subgroups of patients with moderate and severe hypoxemia.<h3>Trial Registration</h3>clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00159939
EFFECTS OF CHLORPROMAZINE ON BRAIN TISSUE RESPIRATION
Authors: JOSEPH WORTIS, EUGENE JACKIM
Journal: American Journal of Psychiatry (1962)

This work demonstrates that there is a biphasic effect on brain tissue respiration with respect to time interval after chlorpromazine administration to an intact animal. The first phase, lasting about 16 hours in the rat, reflects an inhibition of respiratory activity while the second, persisting about 4 days, reflects an enhancement of respiration. It is not clear at this point whether this biphasic effect is due to a peculiarity of metabolic activity or simply represents a different rate of penetration into cortical and subcortical structures. We have demonstrated that chlorpromazine can induce opposite effects on brain tissue respiration in different parts of the brain. The hemispheres including the cerebellum show an increased respiration while the midbrain and stem show a depression of respiration following chlorpromazine administration.
Mitochondrial ATP-Dependent Potassium Channels
Authors: Yongge Liu, Toshiaki Sato, Brian O’Rourke, Eduardo Marban
Journal: Circulation (1998)

Background —Brief interruptions of coronary blood flow paradoxically protect the heart from subsequent prolonged ischemia. The basis of such endogenous cardioprotection, known as “ischemic preconditioning,” remains uncertain. Pharmacological evidence has implicated ATP-dependent potassium (K ATP ) channels in the mechanism of preconditioning; however, the effects of sarcolemmal K ATP channels on excitability cannot account for the protection. Methods and Results —We simultaneously measured flavoprotein fluorescence, an index of mitochondrial redox state, and sarcolemmal K ATP currents in intact rabbit ventricular myocytes. Our results show that diazoxide, a K ATP channel opener, selectively activates mitochondrial K ATP channels. Diazoxide induced reversible oxidation of flavoproteins with an EC 50 of 27 μmol/L but did not activate sarcolemmal K ATP channels. The subcellular site of diazoxide action is further localized to mitochondria by confocal imaging of fluorescence arising from flavoproteins and tetramethylrhodamine ethyl ester. In a cellular model of simulated ischemia, inclusion of diazoxide decreased the rate of cell death to about half of that in controls. Both the redox changes and protection are inhibited by the K ATP channel blocker 5-hydroxydecanoic acid. Conclusions —Our results demonstrate that diazoxide targets mitochondrial but not sarcolemmal K ATP channels and imply that mitochondrial K ATP channels may mediate the protection from K ATP channel openers.
Effects of Organochlorine Contaminants on Loggerhead Sea Turtle Immunity: Comparison of a Correlative Field Study and<i>In Vitro</i>Exposure Experiments
Authors: Jennifer M. Keller, Patricia D. McClellan-Green, John R. Kucklick, Deborah E. Keil, Margie M. Peden-Adams
Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives (2005)

Several laboratory and field studies indicate that organochlorine contaminants (OCs), such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and pesticides, modulate immune responses in rodents, wildlife, and humans. In the present study we examined the effects of OCs on immunity in free-ranging loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta). Mitogen-induced lymphocyte proliferation responses, lysozyme activity, and OC concentrations were measured from blood samples. Mitogens chosen in the lymphocyte proliferation assay were phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and concanavalin A (ConA) for T-lymphocyte stimulation, and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDB) for B-lymphocyte stimulation. Lysozyme activity was significantly and negatively correlated with whole-blood concentrations of 4,4 -dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (4,4 -DDE) and the sum of chlordanes. Lymphocyte proliferation responses stimulated by PHA, LPS, and PDB were significantly and positively correlated with concentrations of the sum of PCBs measured in whole blood. LPS- and PDB-induced proliferation were also significantly and positively correlated with 4,4 -DDE blood concentrations. These correlative observations in free-ranging turtles suggest that current, chronic exposure to OCs may suppress innate immunity and enhance certain lymphocyte functions of loggerhead sea turtles. To further test this hypothesis, lymphocyte proliferation was measured after in vitro exposure of peripheral blood leukocytes from 16 turtles to Aroclor 1254 (0-13.5 microg/mL) or 4,4 -DDE (0-13.4 microg/mL). Both contaminants increased PHA- and PDB-induced proliferation at concentrations below those that affected cell viability. Moreover, the concentrations that enhanced PDB-induced proliferation in vitro were similar to concentrations measured in turtles with the highest proliferative responses. The similarities between the in vitro experiments and the correlative field study suggest that OC exposure modulates immunity in loggerhead turtles.
Role of Labeled White Cell Scintigraphy With SPECT/CT in Crohn Disease
Authors: Vamsidhar Rachapalli, Nimit Goyal, Lee Bartley, Philip Facey, John I. Rees
Journal: Clinical Nuclear Medicine (2009)

Crohn disease is an inflammatory disease which may affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract, causing a wide variety of symptoms. SPECT/CT coupled with labeled white cell scintigraphy provides improved spatial localization of involved bowel segments. SPECT/CT helps to define the precise location and extent of disease to aid treatment planning, especially in patients where an accurate surgical history is not available, and allows differentiation between large and small bowel lesions. It obviates the need for delayed 24-hour planar imaging. It can also demonstrate the exact location of extraintestinal lesions, which cannot be determined on planar imaging.
Self-esteem and Depression in Adolescent Diabetic Girls
Authors: Barbara-Jean Sullivan
Journal: Diabetes Care (1978)

This investigation was designed to examine self-esteem and depression in diabetic adolescent girls. One hundred nondiabetic girls age 12—16 and 105 diabetic girls age 12—16 were administered the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory. Results indicated no significant difference between diabetic and nondiabetic girls in self-esteem scores. Diabetic girls showed significantly more depression than nondiabetic girls. Close examination of results revealed that, in fact, diabetic and nondiabetic adolescent girls were very similar. A major finding was that depression in the diabetic group was expressed primarily through physiologic symptoms of depression as seen in the vital depression scores, rather than through the pessimism, indecision-inhibition, or self-debasement measures of depression. Results were interpreted to mean that diabetic girls did not manifest deeper depression than nondiabetic girls but, rather, a greater awareness of their physiologic status. Diabetes emerged as a focus for the expression of normal adolescent conflicts. The importance of integrating developmental issues into the treatment plans for diabetic patients is emphasized.
Plasma Glucagon in Obesity
Authors: Ronald K. Kalkhoff, Ved V. Gossain, Maria L. Matute
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1973)

A PREVIOUS report in this journal described subnormal pancreatic alpha-cell function in both obese nondiabetic and diabetic subjects.1 However, others have observed in diabetic patients elevated plasma glucagon concentrations that are not decreased by coexisting obesity.2 In the present study plasma glucagon responses to a variety of challenges were assessed in obese women without diabetes. The results do not support the view that plasma glucagon is suppressed in this condition. A preliminary report of these findings has been published.3 MethodsAll volunteer subjects participating in this investigation were nondiabetic, healthy women between the ages of 18 and 35 years who . . .
Type and cause of liver disease in Korea: single-center experience, 2005-2010
Authors: Sang Soo Lee, Young-Sang Byoun, Sook-Hyang Jeong, Yeo Myung Kim, Ho Gil, Bo-Young Min, Mun Hyuk Seong, Eun Sun Jang, Jin-Wook Kim
Journal: Clinical and Molecular Hepatology (2012)

Background/Aims The aim of this study was to describe the types and causes of liver disease in patients from a single community hospital in Korea between April 2005 and May 2010. Methods A cohort of patients who visited the liver clinic of the hospital during the aforementioned time period were consecutively enrolled (n=6,307). Consistent diagnostic criteria for each liver disease were set by a single, experienced hepatologist, and the diagnosis of all of the enrolled patients was confirmed by retrospective review of their medical records. Results Among the 6,307 patients, 528 (8.4%) were classified as acute hepatitis, 3,957 (62.7%) as chronic hepatitis, 767 (12.2%) as liver cirrhosis, 509 (8.1%) as primary liver cancer, and 546 (8.7%) as a benign liver mass or other diseases. The etiologies in the acute hepatitis group in decreasing order of prevalence were hepatitis A (44.3%), toxic hepatitis (32.4%), other hepatitis viruses (13.8%), and cryptogenic hepatitis (9.1%). In the chronic hepatitis group, 51.2% of cases were attributed to viral hepatitis, 33.3% to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and 13.0% to alcoholic liver disease (ALD). Of the cirrhoses, 73.4% were attributable to viral causes and 18.1% to alcohol. Of the hepatocellular carcinoma cases, 86.6% were attributed to viral hepatitis and 11.6% to ALD. Among the benign tumors, hemangioma comprised 52.2% and cystic liver disease comprised 33.7%. Conclusions Knowledge of the current status of the type and cause of liver disease in Korea may be valuable as a basis for evaluating changing trends in liver disease in that country. Keywords: Liver disease; Diagnosis; Etiology, Korea
Roles of CD4+ and CD8+ cells, and the effect of administration of recombinant murine interferon gamma in listerial infection.
Authors: T Sasaki, M Mieno, H Udono, K Yamaguchi, T Usui, K Hara, H Shiku, E Nakayama
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (1990)

Studies were made on the effects of in vivo administration of anti-CD4 mAb, anti-CD8 mAb, or a combination of both mAbs on multiplication of bacteria, the levels of serum transaminases, and mortality in mice infected with Listeria monocytogenes. Results showed that in sublethal infection, CD8+ cells enhanced the peak of bacterial multiplication and liver cell necrosis, and CD4+ cells suppressed CD8+ cell-mediated enhancement. Results also showed that either CD4+ or CD8+ cells were necessary for, and capable of, mediating clearance of the bacteria. CD8+ cells were more efficient than CD4+ cells, but for optimal clearance both were necessary. In lethal listeriosis, treatment of mice with anti-CD8 mAb or a combination of both anti-CD4 and anti-CD8 mAbs, but not anti-CD4 mAb only, protected mice from death by decreasing multiplication of bacteria in the liver and spleen after a peak of approximately 10(8) CFU, and lowering the elevated serum levels of transaminases. These findings indicated that CD8+ cells were responsible for causing irreversible systemic Listeria infection and severe liver necrosis. In lethal listeriosis, administration of rMuIFN-gamma markedly prolonged survival by decreasing multiplication of bacteria and promoting recovery from liver necrosis.