tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
The additional value of a night splint to eccentric exercises in chronic midportion Achilles tendinopathy: a randomised controlled trial
Authors: R J de Vos, A Weir, R J A Visser, ThC de Winter, J L Tol
Journal: British Journal of Sports Medicine (2006)

Aim: To assess whether the use of a night splint is of added benefit on functional outcome in treating chronic midportion Achilles tendinopathy. Methods: This was a single-blind, prospective, single centre, randomised controlled trial set in the Sports Medical Department, The Hague Medical Centre, The Netherlands. Inclusion criteria were: age 18–70 years, active participation in sports, and tendon pain localised at 2–7 cm from distal insertion. Exclusion criteria were: insertional disorders, partial or complete ruptures, or systemic illness. 70 tendons were included and randomised into one of two treatment groups: eccentric exercises with a night splint (night splint group, n = 36) or eccentric exercises only (eccentric group, n = 34). Interventions: Both groups completed a 12-week heavy-load eccentric training programme. One group received a night splint in addition to eccentric exercises. At baseline and follow-up at 12 weeks, patient satisfaction, Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment–Achilles questionnaire (VISA-A) score and reported compliance were recorded by a single-blind trained researcher who was blinded to the treatment. Results: After 12 weeks, patient satisfaction in the eccentric group was 63% compared with 48% in the night splint group. The VISA-A score significantly improved in both groups; in the eccentric group from 50.1 to 68.8 (p = 0.001) and in the night splint group from 49.4 to 67.0 (p&lt;0.001). There was no significant difference between the two groups in VISA-A score (p = 0.815) and patient satisfaction (p = 0.261). Conclusion: A night splint is not beneficial in addition to eccentric exercises in the treatment of chronic midportion Achilles tendinopathy.
Direct and Differential Suppression of Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cell Subsets by Sunitinib Is Compartmentally Constrained
Authors: Jennifer S. Ko, Patricia Rayman, Joanna Ireland, Shadi Swaidani, Geqiang Li, Kevin D. Bunting, Brian Rini, James H. Finke, Peter A. Cohen
Journal: Cancer Research (2010)

The antiangiogenic drug sunitinib is a receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor with significant, yet not curative, therapeutic effects in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Sunitinib is also an immunomodulator, potently reversing myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC) accumulation and T-cell inhibition in the blood even of nonresponder RCC patients. We observed that sunitinib similarly prevented MDSC accumulation and restored normal T-cell function to the spleens of tumor-bearing mice, independent of the capacity of sunitinib to inhibit tumor progression (RENCA>CT26>4T1). Both monocytic and neutrophilic splenic MDSC were highly repressible by sunitinib. In contrast, MDSC within the microenvironment of 4T1 tumors or human RCC tumors proved highly resistant to sunitinib and ambient T-cell function remained suppressed. Proteomic analyses comparing tumor to peripheral compartments showed that granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) predicted sunitinib resistance and recombinant GM-CSF conferred sunitinib resistance to MDSC in vivo and in vitro. MDSC conditioning with GM-CSF uniquely inhibited signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT3) and promoted STAT5 activation. STAT5ab(null/null) MDSC were rendered sensitive to sunitinib in the presence of GM-CSF in vitro. We conclude that compartment-dependent GM-CSF exposure in resistant tumors may account for the regionalized effect of sunitinib upon host MDSC modulation and hypothesize that ancillary strategies to decrease such regionalized escape will enhance the potency of sunitinib as an immunomodulator and a cancer therapy.
Conservative Party proposes a public health commission
Authors: Susan Mayor
Journal: BMJ (2004)

The UK Conservative Party has suggested setting up an independent public health commission to improve coordination of national approaches to reducing problems such as smoking and obesity.

Outlining the party's public health strategy last week, the shadow health secretary, Andrew Lansley, said: “The government has failed to make public health a priority. Existing strategies are fragmented and contradictory.”

He continued: “To ensure a coordinated approach nationally and across government we will bring in a Public Health Act to establish a public health commission. This will be an independent body that will have a similar role, although on public …
Iodlne-131, Thalltum-201, and Technetlum-99m MIBI Imaging for Residual, Recurrent and Metastatic Disease in Follow-up of Thyroid Cancer Patients
Authors: A. J.B. McEwan, I. Akram, M. E. Hoskinson
Journal: Clinical Nuclear Medicine (1994)

1Department of Nuclear Medicine, Cross Cancer Institute 2 Department of Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, University of Alberta 3 University of Alberta Hospitals; Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
EFFECT OF HEPARINOID AND SPIROLACTONE ON THE RENAL EXCRETION OF SODIUM AND ALDOSTERONE
Authors: V. Cejka, L.A. De Vries, M.E. Smorenberg-Schoorl, J.J. Van Daatselaar, J.G.G. Borst, C.L.H. Majoor
Journal: The Lancet (1960)
Neutrophil histamine contributes to inflammation in mycoplasma pneumonia
Authors: Xiang Xu, Dongji Zhang, Hong Zhang, Paul J. Wolters, Nigel P. Killeen, Brandon M. Sullivan, Richard M. Locksley, Clifford A. Lowell, George H. Caughey
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (2006)

Mycoplasmas cause chronic inflammation and are implicated in asthma. Mast cells defend against mycoplasma infection and worsen allergic inflammation, which is mediated partly by histamine. To address the hypothesis that mycoplasma provokes histamine release, we exposed mice to Mycoplasma pulmonis, comparing responses in wild-type and mast cell–deficient KitW-sh/KitW-sh (W-sh) mice. Low histamine levels in uninfected W-sh mice confirmed the conventional wisdom that mast cells are principal sources of airway and serum histamine. Although mycoplasma did not release histamine acutely in wild-type airways, levels rose up to 50-fold above baseline 1 week after infection in mice heavily burdened with neutrophils. Surprisingly, histamine levels also rose profoundly in infected W-sh lungs, increasing in parallel with neutrophils and declining with neutrophil depletion. Furthermore, neutrophils from infected airway were highly enriched in histamine compared with naive neutrophils. In vitro, mycoplasma directly stimulated histamine production by naive neutrophils and strongly upregulated mRNA encoding histidine decarboxylase, the rate-limiting enzyme in histamine synthesis. In vivo, treatment with antihistamines pyrilamine or cimetidine decreased lung weight and severity of pneumonia and tracheobronchitis in infected W-sh mice. These findings suggest that neutrophils, provoked by mycoplasma, greatly expand their capacity to synthesize histamine, thereby contributing to lung and airway inflammation.
Abstract 2223: Genome-wide analysis of copy number alterations and gene mutations in testicular germ cell cancer
Authors: Yusuke Sato, Aiko Sato-Otsubo, Yasunobu Nagata, Kenichi Yoshida, Yuichi Shiraishi, Hiromichi Suzuki, Masashi Sanada, Haruki Kume, Satoru Miyano, Yukio Homma, Seishi Ogawa
Journal: Cancer Research (2014)

Abstract Introduction and Objective Testicular germ cell cancer (TGCC) is the most common solid malignancy among young adult males. Cure could be obtained by intensive chemotherapy combined with retroperitoneal lymph node dissection, but often with substantially compromised quality of life. As for the common genetic lesions, somatic mutations and amplifications of KIT are found in about 20%-30% of cases with TGCCs. However, the molecular pathogenesis of TGCC is still poorly understood. In this study, to obtain a better understanding of the genetic basis of TGCC and to identify druggable molecular targets, we performed whole exome sequencing as well as SNP array-based copy number analysis in TGCC. Methods All cases underwent high orchiectomy and were histologically diagnosed as TGCC. Genomic DNA was extracted from fresh frozen specimens of TGCC. Whole exome sequencing was performed for paired tumor/normal DNA from 10 TGCC patients, in which target exomes were captured using SureSelect Human All Exon V5 (Agilent Technologies) and subjected to massively parallel sequencing on the Illumina platform (HiSeq2000). Copy number variants were also interrogated in 40 TGCCs (25 seminomas and 15 non-seminomas) using Affymetrix 250K NspI array. Results TGCC genome was triploid in most cases with high level amplification in12p. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of chromosome 4 was frequently observed in both seminoma and non-seminoma, whereas 11q deletion was found predominantly in cases with seminoma. In addition, we identified recurrent focal amplifications involving 4q12 and 22q11, from which KIT and MAPK1 were identified, respectively. In whole exome sequencing, 15 somatic mutations were detected per sample on average, which was relatively lower than other solid malignancies. When combined the results of copy number analysis with those of whole-exome sequencing, genes involved in RAS signaling pathway and chromatin modification were frequently altered in TGCC. Conclusions Our comprehensive analyses revealed genomic aberrations of TGCC in terms of copy number alterations and gene mutations. Mutated/amplified KIT and MAPK1 and other RAS pathway gene could be potential targets of small molecule inhibitors for therapeutics. Citation Format: Yusuke Sato, Aiko Sato-Otsubo, Yasunobu Nagata, Kenichi Yoshida, Yuichi Shiraishi, Hiromichi Suzuki, Masashi Sanada, Haruki Kume, Satoru Miyano, Yukio Homma, Seishi Ogawa. Genome-wide analysis of copy number alterations and gene mutations in testicular germ cell cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 2223. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-2223
Manifestation of Pulmonary Hypertension During REM Sleep in Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome
Authors: MAFUMI NIIJIMA, HIROSHI KIMURA, HIDENORI EDO, TOSHIHIDE SHINOZAKI, JIAN KANG, SHIGERU MASUYAMA, KOICHIRO TATSUMI, TAKAYUKI KURIYAMA
Journal: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (1999)

The effect of sleep stage change on pulmonary circulation has not been well documented in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). We investigated whether or not stage-specific change can affect pulmonary artery pressure (Ppa) in patients with OSAS. Thirty-one patients with OSAS underwent right cardiac catheterization in the daytime and the following night, including 19 patients in whom Ppa could be measured throughout non–rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Ten of the 19 patients had daytime pulmonary hypertension (PH) defined by a mean Ppa (Ppa) ⩾ 20 mm Hg. Then we analyzed Ppa response to hypoxia spontaneously occurring during the period of sleep apnea. The slopes of the regression lines between arterial oxygen saturation measured by pulse oximeter (SpO2 ) and Ppa curves were almost the same in both NREM and REM patient groups with or without daytime PH, whereas the response curve was significantly shifted upward in REM compared with NREM patients with daytime PH. Furthermore, Ppa was elevated more markedly in association with REM burst, phasic REM, compared with tonic REM. We conclude that vascular tone of pulmonary artery could be elevated in association with REM sleep which is independent of the degree of hypoxia, and that this state-specific change is manifested in patients with daytime PH.
Why age matters in healthcare
Authors: D. Spence
Journal: BMJ (2010)

In the darkness we went out to take down the plastic. I pushed off the concrete block that was anchoring the sheeting on the low roof. As the sheeting was caught by the wind I shouted a warning into the drowning wind. I found my brother lying, bloodied, but he breathed. I dragged him inside. Mum cleaned his head wound and put him to bed. Next morning he went to school as usual. Our health experiences prejudice our view of healthcare, something medical education can never undo. Does age also prejudice our perceptions of health?

As children we are weapons in support of our parents’ health beliefs. Visits, interventions, and …
PROFILING SERUM MARKERS OF INFLAMMATION AND FIBROSIS ACROSS THE SPECTRUM OF HYPERTENSIVE HEART DISEASE; TIMP1 AND MMP9 IDENTIFY AN AT-RISK ASYMPTOMATIC GROUP
Authors: Patrick Collier, Chris J. Watson, Victor Voon, Dermot Phelan, Aftab Jan, George Mak, Ramon Martos, John A. Baugh, Mark T. Ledwidge, Kenneth M. McDonald
Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2011)
The GMC's paradoxical behaviour
Authors: P. T. Wilmshurst
Journal: BMJ (2012)

Advice from the General Medical Council (GMC) on “Protecting children and young people” is at variance with its conduct, and the response of the medical establishment is muddled.1 The GMC destroyed the careers of paediatricians who exposed child abuse, but it allowed about 100 doctors who were convicted of accessing child pornography on the internet to remain on the medical …
Epidermolytic hyperkeratosis (bullous congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma). Genetic linkage to chromosome 12q in the region of the type II keratin gene cluster.
Authors: L Pulkkinen, A M Christiano, R G Knowlton, J Uitto
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1993)

Epidermolytic hyperkeratosis (EHK) is an autosomal dominant genodermatosis characterized by hyperkeratosis and blistering of the skin. Histopathology demonstrates suprabasilar blister formation with aggregation of tonofilaments. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the EHK phenotype is linked to one of the suprabasilar keratins (KRT10 or KRT1) present in the types I and II keratin gene clusters in chromosomes 17q and 12q, respectively. For this purpose, Southern hybridizations were performed with DNA from a large kindred with EHK, consisting of 11 affected individuals in three generations. Segregation analysis with markers flanking the keratin gene clusters demonstrated linkage (Z = 3.61 at theta = 0) to a locus on 12q, while markers on 17q were excluded. These data implicate KRT1, the type II keratin expressed in suprabasilar keratinocytes, as a candidate gene in this family with EHK.
Uses of Cardiac Catheterization in Acquired Heart Disease
Authors: Arthur Selzer, Forrest M. Willett, Donald J. McCaughey, Thomas V. Feichtmeir
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1957)

Pressure Gradients and ResistancesExperimental demonstration of a pressure gradient can be made easily if a constricting band is placed on the aorta or the pulmonary artery. When the degree of constriction exceeds a certain critical level, the pressure rises proximally to the constriction and falls distally to it; a difference in systolic pressure has been caused by the introduction of a resistance to the flow of blood. Thus a pressure gradient is caused by loss of pressure energy consumed in overcoming the resistance. Pressure gradients in the circulatory system can be divided into two types: a physiologic pressure gradient . . .
Is the multidrug resistance an ATP channel? Abraham EH, Prat AG, Gerweck L, Seneveratne T, Arceci RJ, Kramer R, Guidotti G, Cantiello HF. The multidrug resistance (mdr1) gene product functions as an ATP channel. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1993;90: 312–316
Authors: I Arias
Journal: Hepatology (1993)
Autoimmunity associated with immunotherapy of cancer
Authors: Sally M. Amos, Connie P. M. Duong, Jennifer A. Westwood, David S. Ritchie, Richard P. Junghans, Phillip K. Darcy, Michael H. Kershaw
Journal: Blood (2011)

In this age of promise of new therapies for cancer, immunotherapy is emerging as an exciting treatment option for patients. Vaccines and cytokines are being tested extensively in clinical trials, and strategies using monoclonal antibodies and cell transfer are mediating dramatic regression of tumors in patients with certain malignancies. However, although initially advocated as being more specific for cancer and having fewer side effects than conventional therapies, it is becoming increasingly clear that many immunotherapies can lead to immune reactions against normal tissues. Immunotoxicities resulting from treatment can range from relatively minor conditions, such as skin depigmentation, to severe toxicities against crucial organ systems, such as liver, bowel, and lung. Treatment-related toxicity has correlated with better responses in some cases, and it is probable that serious adverse events from immune-mediated reactions will increase in frequency and severity as immunotherapeutic approaches become more effective. This review introduces immunotherapeutic approaches to cancer treatment, provides details of toxicities arising from therapy, and discusses future potential ways to avoid or circumvent these side effects.
The Double Burden of HIV Infection and Tuberculosis in Sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Gernard I. Msamanga, Wafaie W. Fawzi
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1997)

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that by June 1996 14 million people were living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in sub-Saharan Africa. Although it contains only 10 percent of the world's population, sub-Saharan Africa is home to about 65 percent of all the world's HIV-infected people. In several urban centers, more than 10 percent of the asymptomatic adults and about 15 to 30 percent of the women attending prenatal-care clinics are infected. A 1994 paper reported that in rural Uganda more than 80 percent of the deaths among men and women 25 to 44 years of age were . . .
THE RED CROSS SOCIETY OF JAPAN.
Authors: N. SENN
Journal: JAMA (1904)

When the writer made the trip around the world in 1901 it was not difficult to foretell that war between Russia and Japan was only a question of a few years. All through Russia and Siberia active preparations were being made for the inevitable conflict. Japan was ready at that time to meet its formidable foe. The strained relations between the two countries continued longer than I had reason to anticipate from what I saw and heard on both sides. The desperate struggle for supremacy in the far East has commenced, and from present indications it threatens to develop into what historians of the future will describe as the great war of the twentieth century. We physicians are less interested in the political aspects of this war than in the treatment of the sick and wounded on both sides. Russia has always been the staunch friend of the United States
Gastric Concretion Forming around a Suture Nidus and Mimicking a Gastric Polyp on Radiographs
Authors: D.K. Rex, G.A. Lehman
Journal: Endoscopy (1985)

A small gastric mass was detected by upper GI X-ray series and found at endoscopy to be a concretion hanging from a suture at a previous gastrostomy site. The suture was clipped and the concretion was removed endoscopically. Sutures protruding into the gastric lumen may serve as a nidus for the formation of concretions and because of their fixed position, these masses may mimic neoplasms on upper GI X-rays.
Alan James Franklin
Authors: N. Speight
Journal: BMJ (2004)

Consultant paediatrician Chelmsford 1972-95 (b London 1933; q University College Hospital, London, 1960), died from prostate cancer on 18 November 2003.​2003.




Figure 1




Alan Franklin developed special interests in food allergy, diet, and behaviour, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). He made a major contribution to the welfare of young people with ME/CFS through his support for the main charities in this area, through committee work, in medical education, and in his willingness to see young people for second opinions from outside his area. An avid steam train enthusiast, he participated in the rebuilding of the Ffestiniog steam railway in north Wales. He leaves a wife, Ursula; three children; and two grandchildren.
Gram-negative bacteremia produces both severe systolic and diastolic cardiac dysfunction in a canine model that simulates human septic shock.
Authors: C Natanson, M P Fink, H K Ballantyne, T J MacVittie, J J Conklin, J E Parrillo
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1986)

A canine sepsis model that simulates the human cardiovascular response to septic shock was produced in 10 conscious unsedated dogs by implanting an Escherichia coli-infected clot into the peritoneum, resulting in bacteremia. By employing serial, simultaneous measurements of radionuclide scan-determined left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF) and thermodilution cardiac index (CI), the end-diastolic volume index (EDVI) was calculated (EDVI = stroke volume index divided by EF). By using three different methods of quantifying serial ventricular performance (EF, shifts in the Starling ventricular function curve using EDVI vs. stroke work index, and the ventricular function curve response to volume infusion), this study provides evidence (P less than 0.01) that septic shock produces a profound, but reversible, decrease in systolic ventricular performance. This decreased performance was not seen in controls and was associated with ventricular dilatation (P less than 0.01); the latter response was dependent on an adequate volume infusion. Further studies of EDVI and pulmonary capillary wedge pressure during diastole revealed a significant, though reversible, shift (P less than 0.001) in the diastolic volume/pressure (or compliance) relationship during septic shock.
Spend less on drug enforcement and more on treating hepatitis C, say campaigners
Authors: Z. Kmietowicz
Journal: BMJ (2013)

Governments around the world are being called on to redirect resources away from the “war on drugs” and into public health schemes for preventing and treating hepatitis C infection.

In a report published on 30 May the Global Commission on Drug Policy, a panel of 22 political and cultural leaders, estimated that 10 million of the 16 million people who inject drugs around the world are infected with hepatitis C.1

Research has consistently shown that harsh drug laws, including imprisonment of drug users, forced drug users away from public health services and into hidden environments where the risk of infection with hepatitis C and HIV became markedly raised.

The report described the billions of dollars spent each year on arresting and punishing drug users as “a gross misallocation of limited resources.” Because of such policies, very few countries had reported significant declines in …
Letter: Prazosin in treatment of hypertension.
Authors: Y K Seedat, R Bhoola, J G Rampono
Journal: BMJ (1975)

have been reported,' but complete obstruc- tion is unusual.We feel that the reason for its occurrence in the case reported here is the unusual length of aorta involved, which prevented any displacement of the oeso- phagus.Unless the existence of this phenomenon is appreciated it may lead to a mistaken diagnosis of achalasia or carcinoma of the oesophagus.-Weare, etc.,
Czech doctors win wage increases after three year campaign
Authors: N. Stafford
Journal: BMJ (2011)

Hospital doctors in the Czech Republic have agreed to a wage settlement after a long and bitter battle in which nearly a quarter of the country’s 16 000 doctors threatened to quit and leave the country unless they received pay rises.

The settlement was approved by the government on 23 February, after which doctors who had tendered resignations which were due to be effective from 1 March withdrew them. Under the settlement doctors’ pay will rise by around a third in March, according to Claude Wetzel, president of the European Federation of Salaried Doctors, which has supported the Czech doctors.

The pay increase will work …