tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Long-Term Follow-Up of Percutaneous Transhepatic Therapy (PTT) in Patients with Definite Benign Anastomotic Strictures after Hepaticojejunostomy
Authors: B. Schumacher, T. Othman, M. Jansen, C. Preiss, H. Neuhaus
Journal: Endoscopy (2001)

Percutaneous transhepatic therapy (PTT) is a promising minimally invasive procedure for benign stenosis of the anastomosis after hepaticojejunostomy. In this prospective study, the effectiveness and safety of this technique were investigated.Between October 1995 and May 2000 34 consecutive patients were referred for treatment of symptomatic cholestasis due to anastomotic strictures after hepaticojejunostomy. In all patients percutaneous transhepatic cholangioscopic (PTCS) drainage and bougienage of the stenosis up to 16 Fr were performed. Associated bile duct stones were fractured using PTCS laser lithotripsy and removed into the jejunum. Afterwards, patients received transhepatic drainage for 3 months initially. The tubes were replaced in case of persistent strictures every 3 months up to 1 year. Patients in whom treatment failed underwent surgery or received biliary metal stents, depending on risk factors and individual anatomy.The procedure was performed in 34 patients (mean age 57 +/- 15) with cholestasis (alkaline phosphatase 691 +/- 485 U/l, bilirubin level mean 3.2 +/- 3.1 mg/dl). The transhepatic tube was successfully positioned into the right hepatic bile duct (n = 25), into the left (n = 3), or into both (n = 3) after 4 +/- 1 sessions, except in two patients in whom an external drainage was used and another patient in whom the procedure had to be stopped due to a bleeding complication. In 14 patients bile duct stones were successfully treated by PTCS laser lithotripsy before the placement of a transhepatic tube. The 30-day morbidity and mortality rates were 23.5% and 0% respectively. In 23 patients, the transhepatic tube could be removed after 212 +/- 122 days, with no evidence of cholestasis during a further follow-up of 736 +/- 479 days. Four patients received metal stents because of persistent strictures after transhepatic intubation. Surgery had to be performed in a total of five patients, because of recurrent bile duct stones or recurrent strictures, in one patient with previous implantation of a metal stent, and in two patients with bile duct disconnection. Two patients died, one 1.5 years after surgery and one 427 days after metal stent implantation. None of these cases was related to the procedure. In two patients, the transhepatic tube is still in situ.Percutaneous transhepatic treatment of anastomotic strictures after hepaticojejunostomy is safe and highly effective in achieving internal biliary drainage. Temporary transhepatic intubation seems to be a promising minimally invasive alternative to surgery.
INITIAL EXPERIENCE WITH NR-LU-10
Authors: B. F. Byrd, A. C. Gonzalez, R. E. Jackson
Journal: Clinical Nuclear Medicine (1991)

Harrington Regional Medical Center at Amarillo. Can Cyclosporine Radioimmunoassay Measurements Be Used To Predict Nephrotoxlclty In Heart Transplant Recipients? L.A. Monroe. W.H. Moore, R.D. Dhekne, S.A. Healy. St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston.TX.
Calcium-dependent potassium channels in the heart: clarity and confusion
Authors: S. Nattel, X. Y. Qi
Journal: Cardiovascular Research (2014)

This editorial refers to ‘Critical roles of a small conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channel (SK3) in the repolarization process of atrial myocytes’ by X.-D. Zhang et al. , pp. 317–325, this issue and ‘Overexpression of KCNN3 results in sudden cardiac death’ by S. Mahida et al. , doi:10.1093/cvr/cvt262 and 

‘Overexpression of KCNN3 results in sudden cardiac death’ by S. Mahida et al ., doi:10.1093/cvr/cvt269. 

Small-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (SK) channels are widely expressed throughout the body. After initial dismissal of a functional role for SK channels in the heart,1 a series of elegant studies from the Chiamvimonvat laboratory rekindled interest,2,3 as did subsequent work suggesting that tachypaced rabbit pulmonary veins have enhanced SK channel trafficking to the cell membrane that accelerates repolarization.4 The field really got a boost from GWAS evidence, suggesting that variants in the KCNN3 gene encoding SK isoform 3 (SK3) channels are associated with the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) in man.5

Questions remain, however, about the functional role that SK currents play in cardiac electrophysiology. Recent studies of SK channels in native tissues have provided conflicting results. Two investigations …
Vitamin D suppresses the pathogenic behaviour of primary Th17 cells from patients with early rheumatoid arthritis
Authors: J. Piet van Hamburg, P. S. Asmawidjaja, N. Davelaar, F. C. Cornelissen, A. M. Mus, P. A. Bakx, E. M. Colin, H. van Leeuwen, J. M. Hazes, R. J. Dolhain, E. Lubberts
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2011)

<h3>Background and objectives</h3> Recently, the authors showed that CCR6<sup>+</sup> Th17 cells from early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients are potent inducers of a pro-inflammatory feed-back loop upon RA synovial fibroblast (RASF) interaction, including autocrine interleukin (IL)-17A production. In this study, the effect of vitamin D on this pathogenic behaviour of Th17 cells was investigated. <h3>Materials and methods</h3> Peripheral CCR6<sup>+</sup> Th17 cells of patients with early RA, CCR6<sup>+</sup> Th17/RASF co-cultures and synovial biopsies of patients with established RA, were cultured in the absence or presence of 1,25(OH)<sub>2</sub>D<sub>3</sub>, the active vitamin D metabolite and/or Etanercept. Intracellular cytokine expression was detected by flow cytometry. Cytokine and matrix metalloprotease (MMP) expression was determined by ELISA. Transcription of factors involved in Th differentiation and function was analysed by quantitative PCR analysis. <h3>Results</h3> In Th17 cultures and Th17/RASF co-cultures vitamin D suppressed the expression of IL-17A, IL-22 and IFN-γ. Furthermore, in Th17/RASF co-cultures, vitamin D induced IL-4 and IL-10 expression, which was accompanied with reduced Rorγt and induced Gata3 transcription. Moreover, vitamin D suppressed IL-6, IL-8, MMP-1 and MMP-3 expression in the Th17/RASF co-cultures and synovial biopsies. Interestingly, the enhanced autocrine production of IL-17A in Th17/RASF co-cultures was inhibited by vitamin D, but not with tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α neutralisation. Vitamin D in combination with TNF-α neutralisation has an additive effect on the suppression of Th17 activity as indicated by a significant further reduction in IL-6, IL-8, MMP-1 and MMP-3 expression in the co-cultures and IL-6 and IL-8 in the synovial biopsy cultures. <h3>Conclusions</h3> These data show that vitamin D modulates the pathogenic behaviour of Th17 cells and may have additional therapeutic potential when used in combination with TNF treatment in RA and potentially other Th17-mediated inflammatory diseases.
Interferon and ribavirin combination therapy for chronic hepatitis C in human immunodeficiency virus–infected patients with congenital coagulation disorders
Authors: Silvia Sauleda, Alberto Juárez, Juan I. Esteban, Carmen Altisent, Isabel Ruiz, Lluís Puig, Rafael Esteban, Jaime Guardia
Journal: Hepatology (2001)

We have conducted an open, prospective trial to assess the safety and efficacy of interferon alfa-2b and ribavirin in combination for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected hemophiliacs. Twenty hemophiliacs coinfected with HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV), 18 of them under highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), with a mean CD4(+) cell count of 490 +/- 176 cells/mm(3) and undetectable (n = 9) or low-level HIV RNA (<10,000 copies/mL; n = 11), were treated with interferon-alfa2b (3 MU thrice weekly) and ribavirin (800 mg/d) for 6 or 12 months according to virologic response. Patients were monitored for tolerance and response at 4, 8, 12, 24, 36, and 48 weeks during treatment and every other month thereafter. All 20 patients enrolled completed at least 6 months of treatment with no major side effect requiring treatment withdrawal, dose reduction, or modification of HAART. Overall, 8 patients (40%) achieved a sustained virologic response at the end of the 6-month post-treatment follow-up. Sustained responders had lower baseline HCV-RNA levels (5.7 +/- 0.8 vs. 6.3 +/- 0.4 log10 IU/mL, P =.041) but were otherwise similar to nonresponders. All sustained responders had a decrease in HCV-RNA level of at least 1 log per month during the first 2 months and undetectable levels at 6 months. In conclusion, our results provide evidence that combination therapy with interferon and ribavirin is safe in HIV-infected hemophiliacs with stable CD4 cell count and undetectable or low-level HIV replication, and leads to eradication of HCV in 40% of these patients.
884 INTERFERON RELATED THYROID DISEASE IN 3414 NAIVE PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC HEPATITIS C
Authors: F. Morisco, D. Amoruso, M. Tartaglione, A. De Luna, P. Andreone, C. Coppola, N. Passariello, C. Carella, A. Scuteri, C. Iannaccone, N. Caporaso
Journal: Journal of Hepatology (2009)
Acne in women
Authors: M. Ramos-e-Silva, S. Ramos-e-Silva, S. Carneiro
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (2015)

This review focuses on the subject of acne in women, a disease that is increasingly common and that can also affect men. Adult acne differs from the type of acne that occurs in teenagers, and it may persist beyond adolescence or have its onset at an older age (adult-onset acne or late acne). Acne can have a negative impact on the quality of life of patients at any age, leading to a negative body image and decrease in self-esteem, and in older patients it can result in discrimination in the workplace and in other social environments. Acne in women must be understood as a specific problem, and here we discuss the pathogenesis, clinical presentation, psychology and treatment of this very prevalent problem.
The Usefulness of Gallium-67 Citrate Scanning in Testicular Seminoma
Authors: BARBARA D. WILLAN, HEATHER PENNEY, WILLIAM R. CASTOR, DAVID G. McGOWAN
Journal: Clinical Nuclear Medicine (1987)

An analysis of 77 consecutive patients with a histoiogic diagnosis of seminoma testis, assessed and treated at the Cross Cancer Institute between 1977 and 1982, is presented. Ga-67 citrate was first used in the assessment of patients with malignant testicular tumors in 1973. Following three years of study that supported the observation of the gallium-avid nature of seminoma, gallium scans became routine in the initial staging assessment and were used also when recurrence was suspected. From 1977 through 1982, 72 patients with biopsy-proven seminoma testis were assessed initially for extent of disease by Ga-67 scanning. Comparison with intravenous pyelography and bipedal lymphography was possible for accuracy of tumor assessment. The scan sensitivity was 83%, and the specificity was 95%. During the same period, gallium was studied in nonseminomatous testicular tumors but the results were disappointing and its use was discontinued. The gallium-avid nature of seminoma testis may be useful in determining the extent of disease.
Glucosamine induces insulin resistance in vivo by affecting GLUT 4 translocation in skeletal muscle. Implications for glucose toxicity.
Authors: A D Baron, J S Zhu, J H Zhu, H Weldon, L Maianu, W T Garvey
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1995)

Glucosamine (Glmn), a product of glucose metabolism via the hexosamine pathway, causes insulin resistance in isolated adipocytes by impairing insulin-induced GLUT 4 glucose transporter translocation to the plasma membrane. We hypothesized that Glmn causes insulin resistance in vivo by a similar mechanism in skeletal muscle. We performed euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamps (12 mU/kg/min + 3H-3-glucose) in awake male Sprague-Dawley rats with and without Glmn infusion at rates ranging from 0.1 to 6.5 mg/kg/min. After 4h of euglycemic clamping, hindquarter muscles were quick-frozen and homogenized, and membranes were subfractionated by differential centrifugation and separated on a discontinuous sucrose gradient (25, 30, and 35% sucrose). Membrane proteins were solubilized and immunoblotted for GLUT 4. With Glmn, glucose uptake (GU) was maximally reduced by 33 +/- 1%, P < 0.001. The apparent Glmn dose to reduce maximal GU by 50% was 0.1 mg/kg/min or 1/70th the rate of GU on a molar basis. Control galactosamine and mannosamine infusions had no effect on GU. Relative to baseline, insulin caused a 2.6-fold increase in GLUT 4 in the 25% membrane fraction (f), P < 0.01, and a 40% reduction in the 35%f, P < 0.05, but had no effect on GLUT 4 in the 30% f, P= NS. Addition of Glmn to insulin caused a 41% reduction of GLUT 4 in the 25%f, P < 0.05, a 29% fall in the 30%f, and prevented the reduction of GLUT 4 in the 35% f. The 30%f membranes were subjected to a second separation with a 27 and 30% sucrose gradient. Insulin mobilized GLUT 4 away from the 30%f, P < 0.05, but not the 27% f. In contrast, Glmn reduced GLUT 4 in the 27%f, P < 0.05, but not the 30%f. Thus Glmn appears to alter translocation of an insulin-insensitive GLUT 4 pool. Coinfusion of Glmn did not alter enrichment of the sarcolemmal markers 5'-nucleotidase, Na+/K+ATPase, and phospholemman in either 25, 30, or 35% f. Thus Glmn completely blocked movement of Glut 4 induced by insulin. Glmn is a potent inducer of insulin resistance in vivo by causing (at least in part) a defect intrinsic to GLUT 4 translocation and/or trafficking. These data support a potential role for Glmn to cause glucose-induced insulin resistance (glucose toxicity).
Complement-mediated phagocytosis of herpes simplex virus by granulocytes. Binding or ingestion.
Authors: J A Van Strijp, K P Van Kessel, M E van der Tol, J Verhoef
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1989)

The role of complement receptors in phagocytosis of herpes simplex virus (HSV) by PMN was examined. Complement components were deposited on the surface of the virus particle in the presence or absence of specific anti-HSV antibodies. Flow cytometry was used to analyze the phagocytosis of fluorescence-labeled viruses and demonstrated that although a virion is able to associate with PMN in the presence of complement alone, the granulocyte is not triggered to mount a metabolic burst. Efficient stimulation of PMN occurs when complexes are formed consisting of virus, specific antibodies, and complement. To address the question whether the viruses were inside or outside the cell, a combined enhancement/quenching method was developed using ammonium chloride as a lysosomotropic agent and trypan blue as a quenching dye. The data indicate that Fc receptor-mediated phagocytosis by PMN results in the ingestion of all cell-associated herpes virions. Interactions of virions through PMN-complement receptors CR1 and CR3 results solely in binding to the PMN but not in internalization. Interactions via both complement and Fc receptors cause synergistic stimulation of the PMN and result in very efficient association of viruses, greater than 80% of which were inside the cell.
Prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies as assessed by a second generation enzyme immunoassay in patients on chronic hemodialysis
Authors: A. Hatzidaki, A. Katsoulidou, V. Miriagou, L. Pani, S. Voudiklari, A. Hatzakis, G. Karvountzis
Journal: Journal of Hepatology (1991)
Process quality and incidence of acute complications in a series of more than 230 000 outpatient colonoscopies
Authors: A. Crispin, B. Birkner, A. Munte, G. Nusko, U. Mansmann
Journal: Endoscopy (2009)

See also: Commentaire de travail de A. Crispin et al., pp. 1018Endoscopy 2009; 41(12): 1105-1105DOI: 10.1055/s-0032-1306759
Factor XI Deficiency
Authors: Henry B. Soloway
Journal: JAMA (1977)

To the Editor.—  The article by Jokl and Federico entitled Myositis Ossificans Traumatica: Association with Hemophilia (Factor XI Deficiency) in a Football Player (237:2215-2216, 1977) is not adequately documented as a case of factor XI deficiency.  Factor XI assays in their patient were determined to be 46% and 52%. The normal range is 50% to 185%. The dividing line between homozygotes and heterozygotes is estimated at only 10% to 20%. Before labeling this patient as having factor XI deficiency, several questions must be answered: (1) What is the upper limit of normal of the partial thromboplastin time in their laboratory? (2) What activator was used in the performance of the partial thromboplastin time? (3) Were substitution studies performed using factor XI substrate plasma? (4) Were studies performed to exclude the presence of a circulating anticoagulant? (5) Is the patient of Jewish ancestry?  In that the minimal hemostatic level of factor
A Prospective Study of Indexes Predicting the Outcome of Trials of Weaning from Mechanical Ventilation
Authors: Karl L. Yang, Martin J. Tobin
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1991)

The traditional predictors of the outcome of weaning from mechanical ventilation--minute ventilation (VE) and maximal inspiratory pressure (Plmax)--are frequently inaccurate. We developed two new indexes: the first quantitates rapid shallow breathing as the ratio of respiratory frequency to tidal volume (f/VT), and the second is termed CROP, because it integrates thoracic compliance, respiratory rate, arterial oxygenation, and Plmax.The threshold values for each index that discriminated best between a successful and an unsuccessful outcome of weaning were determined in 36 patients, and the predictive accuracy of these values was then tested prospectively in an additional 64 patients. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated, and the data were also analyzed with receiver-operating-characteristic (ROC) curves, in which the proportions of true positive results and false positive results are plotted against each other for a number of threshold values of an index; the area under the curve reflects the accuracy of the index.Sensitivity was highest for Plmax (1.00), followed closely by the f/VT ratio (0.97). Specificity was highest for the f/VT ratio (0.64) and lowest for Plmax (0.11). The f/VT ratio was the best predictor of successful weaning, and Plmax and the f/VT ratio were the best predictors of failure. The area under the ROC curve for the f/VT ratio (0.89) was larger than that under the curves for the CROP index (0.78, P less than 0.05), Plmax (0.61, P less than 0.001), and VE (0.40, P less than 0.001).Rapid shallow breathing, as reflected by the f/VT ratio, was the most accurate predictor of failure, and its absence the most accurate predictor of success, in weaning patients from mechanical ventilation.
Obesity and Liver Cancer: A Key Role for Interleukin-6 and Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3?
Authors: Christoph Roderburg, Christian Trautwein
Journal: Hepatology (2010)

Abstract Epidemiological studies indicate that overweight and obesity are associated with increased cancer risk. To study how obesity augments cancer risk and development, we focused on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the common form of liver cancer whose occurrence and progression are the most strongly affected by obesity among all cancers. We now demonstrate that either dietary or genetic obesity is a potent bona fide liver tumor promoter in mice. Obesity-promoted HCC development was dependent on enhanced production of the tumorpromoting cytokines IL-6 and TNF, which cause hepatic inflammation and activation of the oncogenic transcription factor STAT3. The chronic inflammatory response caused by obesity and enhanced production of IL-6 and TNF may also increase the risk of other cancers.
1349 VIROLOGIC RELAPSE IS HIGHLY CORRELATED WITH RESPONSE AT WEEK 4 AND 12 BUT NOT WITH IL28B GENOTYPE IN HCV GENOTYPE 1-INFECTED PATIENTS TREATED WITH PEG-INTERFERON/RIBAVIRIN
Authors: V. Weich, S. Schwendy, B. Möller, N. Dikopoulos, P. Buggisch, J. Encke, G. Teuber, T. Goeser, R. Thimme, H. Klinker, W. Boecher, E. Schulte-Frohlinde, S. Zeuzem, T. Berg, C. Sarrazin
Journal: Journal of Hepatology (2011)
Treatment of Varicose Veins in Soldiers
Authors: E. L. Farquharson
Journal: BMJ (1942)

MEDICAL OURNAL453not included in this series.Some of the cases were not completely cleared by two baths, and these had to have a third application of the treatment; a few had four applications.The numbers, however, were very small: in 28 cases three baths were required, and in 3 cases four baths.Owing to the possibility that dermatitis, present as the result of treatment, might persist, it was necessary to adopt some kind of follow-up, and the following form was forwarded to the regimental medical officer for completion seven days after the man's return to his unit.
Photochemotherapy beyond psoriasis
Authors: Barbara Honig, Warwick L. Morison, Debra Karp
Journal: Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (1994)

Photochemotherapy involves the therapeutic use of nonionizing radiation in combination with a photosensitizing chemical to trigger a photochemical reaction that mediates a beneficial effect. The successful introduction and widespread use of psoralen photochemotherapy (PUVA) in the management of psoriasis was the chief stimulus for recent interest in the therapeutic use of nonionizing radiation in various other dermatoses. This article discusses the expanding spectrum of diseases responding to PUVA therapy. More than 30 conditions such as atopic dermatitis, mycosis fungoides, vitiligo, the photodermatoses, chronic graft-versus-host disease, and granuloma annulare have been successfully treated with oral psoralen photochemotherapy. Various mechanisms of response to treatment are discussed including photoimmunologic effects, selective cytotoxicity, alterations of cell function, and stimulation of melanocytes. Finally, the limitations to the use of PUVA therapy are identified and its future use in other cutaneous and systemic diseases are discussed.
Systemic Therapy of Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphomas (Mycosis Fungoides and the Sezary Syndrome)
Authors: Paul A. Bunn
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1994)

Objective: To review recent studies of systemic therapy for mycosis fungoides and the Sezary syndrome (cutaneous T-cell lymphomas). Data Sources: English-language articles indexed in MEDLINE from 1988 through 1994. Study Selection: All therapeutic studies were selected. Data Extraction: The data were abstracted without judgments on response criteria or patient numbers. Data quality and validity were assessed by independent author reviews. Data Synthesis: No systemic therapy cures patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphomas. Single and combined chemotherapeutic agents produce high response rates. Whether any of these is preferred is not established. A randomized trial comparing combination chemotherapy plus radiation therapy with topical therapy showed no survival benefit for the combination. Several adenosine analogs and retinoids were active, but their optimal use is uncertain. Interferons are as active as chemotherapeutic agents and may be less toxic. Interferon combined with psoralen plus ultraviolet A light therapy produces high complete response rates and long-lasting remissions. Combinations with other systemic therapies do not increase response rates. Photopheresis therapy should be regarded as experimental. Promising preliminary results were seen with interleukin-2 fusion toxins and several antibody conjugates. Conclusions: Systemic therapy should be considered effective and palliative. The principles of treating all low-grade lymphomas can be applied. Randomized trials are needed to evaluate new agents (such as a comparison of psoralen plus ultraviolet light with or without interferon), and large phase II trials are needed for new agents such as photopheresis, interleukin-2 fusion toxin, temozolomide, and others.