tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Association of an early respiratory syncytial virus infection and atopic allergy
Authors: H. Juntti, J. Kokkonen, T. Dunder, M. Renko, A. Niinimäki, M. Uhari
Journal: Allergy (2003)

Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes postbronchiolitic wheezing but its role in allergic sensitization is controversial. The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of an early RSV infection on allergic sensitization. Methods: Seventy‐six subjects were examined 6–10 years after hospitalization for RSV infection during the first year of life. Fifty‐one subjects (68%) attended clinical studies and 25 filled in a questionnaire. The study protocol included lung function, skin‐prick and blood tests. The controls were matched for birth date and sex. Results: Eight per cent of the subjects and 37% of the controls had at least one positive skin‐prick test (SPT) (difference −35%, 95% CI −50 to −19%, P &lt; 0.0001). Allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis and asthma occurred as often in both groups, but asthma had been diagnosed significantly earlier in the subjects than in the controls [mean age 3.0 years (SD 2.6) and 5.6 years (SD 3.0), difference 2.6 years, 95% CI 0.57–4.65, P = 0.014]. In a logistic regression analysis, RSV infection was associated with negative SPTs. Conclusions: An early RSV infection results in reduction of SPT positivity but not of occurrence of atopic diseases. This finding might explain why there is less atopic sensitization in countries with a greater probability of acquiring RSV infection at an early age.
Researchers identify potential broad spectrum antiviral drug
Authors: B. Roehr
Journal: BMJ (2010)

Researchers have identified a potential new antiviral agent that is effective against common flu, rare Ebola virus, and a host of viruses in between, including HIV.

The small molecule, named LJ001, targets lipids in enveloped viruses and prevents their entry into cells during the fusion process in which a virus enters a cell, say researchers in a paper published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (doi:10.1073/pnas.0909587107). 

The research began with the screening of a library of 30 000 molecules for activity against the deadly Nipah virus by a team …
Postabsorptive respiratory quotient and insulin-stimulated glucose storage rate in nondiabetic pima indians are related To glycogen synthase fractional activity in cultured myoblasts.
Authors: D M Mott, R E Pratley, C Bogardus
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1998)

A decreased ratio of fat to carbohydrate oxidation rate (an elevated respiratory quotient) predicts the development of obesity. Skeletal muscle accounts for a major fraction of total body lipid oxidation and is the principle site for reduced glucose storage in insulin-resistant subjects. The potentially important role that muscle has in promoting obesity or insulin resistance may be based on metabolic control intrinsic to skeletal muscle. Cultured skeletal muscle provides a system to examine the importance of inherent metabolic traits in muscle biopsies from obese and insulin-resistant subjects. Glycogen synthase fractional activity (GSFA) was measured in cultured myoblasts from 21 Pima Indians characterized in vivo using indirect calorimetry and a euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp. Basal GSFA in cultured muscle cells is inversely correlated with postabsorptive respiratory quotient of the muscle donors (r = -0.66, P = 0.001) and with in vivo high dose insulin-stimulated glucose storage rates (r = 0.47, P = 0.04). These results indicate that the postabsorptive respiratory quotients and insulin-mediated glucose storage rates in vivo share a common regulatory mechanism with GSFA in cultured myoblasts. Abnormal regulation of glycogen synthase phosphorylation state may be an intrinsic defect in skeletal muscle associated with obesity and insulin resistance.
Cholecystitis With Lithiasis in a Nine-Year-Old Girl
Authors: Harold E. Stadler
Journal: JAMA (1965)

<h3>To the Editor:—</h3> Cholecystitis with cholelithiasis is unusual in children, particularly when unrelated to hemolytic disease. Fortunately, the illness is rarely of such nature that diagnostic radiography cannot be utilized in the diagnosis, though Gross<sup>1</sup>states that the "general picture often leads to the diagnosis of intestinal obstruction." Barnes<sup>2</sup>has called attention to the fact that only 500 cases of juvenile cholecystitis have been reported in the world literature since 1722. I wish to report the present case because of the diagnostic problem encountered and the paucity of clinical evidence by which a diagnosis might be established. A 9-year-old girl was admitted to the Community Hospital, Indianapolis, on July 24, 1964, with a complaint of severe, intermittent abdominal pain present for one month. The pain was not localized and was accompanied by profuse vomiting. Three days prior to admission, she had minor attacks of epigastric discomfort, but there
Possible association between Budd‐Chiari syndrome and gemtuzumab ozogamicin treatment in a patient with refractory acute myelogenous leukemia
Authors: Mevlüt Kurt, Ali Shorbagi, Kadri Altundag, Tamer Elkiran, Ibrahim Güllü, Emin Kansu
Journal: American Journal of Hematology (2005)

Abstract Gemtuzumab ozogamicin (GO; CMA‐676; Mylotarg™) is a chemotherapeutic agent approved for the treatment of CD33‐positive acute myelogenous leukemia in patients of age 60 years or older after first relapse. Hepatic veno‐occlusive disease has been reported to develop as a late complication of gemtuzumab ozogamicin treatment. A patient who developed Budd‐Chiari Syndrome with hepatic vein thrombosis following treatment with GO is presented. This complication has not been previously reported, and it deserves to be considered as a possible adverse effect of gemtuzumab ozogamicin. Am. J. Hematol. 80:213–215, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Fatal infection with Mycobacterium fortuitum associated with oesophageal achalasia.
Authors: G Varghese, R Shepherd, P Watt, J H Bruce
Journal: Thorax (1988)

Association of chronic pulmonary disease and oesophageal disorders is well recognised.Fatal infections are, however, relatively infrequent.Two previously reported fatal cases have been due to pulmonary infection with Mycobacterium fortuitum, one diagnosed at necropsy in a woman with polyarthritis and achalasia previously treated with cortico- steroids' and the second associated with cystic fibrosis,2 the duration of illness having been eight months after the isolation of the organism.The present case is unusual in that the infection occurred in an otherwise healthy woman with asymptomatic achalasia and, unlike previous cases, the illness was acute and rapidly progressive. Case reportA 29 year old school teacher presented to the hospital with a history of fever, sweating, and left sided chest pain of one week's duration.Eleven weeks previously she had had a normal delivery; she had suffered vomiting and loss of weight during her two pregnancies, but had had few symptoms after delivery.On admission she appeared ill, with a temperature of 39°C.Impaired vocal resonance and bronchial breathing were noted over the left base.The haemoglobin concentra-
P225 Inhaler use and misuse on the wards of Hospital
Authors: D Long, RB Reilly
Journal: Thorax (2013)

<h3></h3> Clinicians are aware that inhalers are often improperly used incorrectly by patients. However, it often difficult to assess, because at present there is no tool that directly quantify adherence. We designed a device, the INCA device that makes an acoustic recording each time an inhaler is used. Opening the device starts the recording, this electronic sound file is “time-stamped” which means that the timing of drug administration is recorded, while analysis of the acoustics identifies the technique of inhaler use. When the INCA device is retrieved and acoustic analysis performed, the steps involved in using the inhaler are determined. Hence, both inhaler technique and the time when the inhaler was used can be identified. Together this means gives an objective quantitative assessment of inhaler adherence. In this study we attached the INCA device to a diskus dry powder inhaler and studied inhaler use by people in Hospital who were prescribed a diskus inhaler. Initial results from three general Hospitals (n = 50) indicated that there were errors in both overuse 15% of doses, missed doses in 30% of patients and poor inhaler technique was seen in 45% of patients, in no case was it suggested that the device be changed. Overall, &lt;40% of inhaler doses were administered on time and in the correct manner. Investigation indicated that inhaler administration was not supervised which together meant that errors in inhaler use were not rectified. Subsequently we undertook an institution wide comprehensive practice change involving prescription review, changes to storage and administration policy, supervised inhaler administration to correct inhaler misuse and a follow-up when inhaler misuse persisted despite ward level instruction. Six months after the introduction of practice change a series of follow on audits were performed. One audit indicated that the storage and administration practice was adopted on the wards. The second indicated in 100 consecutive admissions that observed inhaler technique was adequate in 33% of patients on admission, improved in 33% and was unchanged by discharge in 33%. Thirdly, studies with the INCA device, (n = 40) indicated that overdosing was documented in only 2% of recordings, missed doses were reduced to 20% and 10% of patients were changed from one device to a more suitable one. Hence, data from the INCA device prompted a change in practice Improvements in inhaler use on the wards were achieved by a simple quality improvement intervention.
Transglutaminase 2: a new player in bronchopulmonary dysplasia?
Authors: Thilo J. Witsch, Gero Niess, Elpidoforos Sakkas, Tatyana Likhoshvay, Simone Becker, Susanne Herold, Konstantin Mayer, István Vadász, Jesse D. Roberts, Werner Seeger, Rory E. Morty
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2014)

Aberrant remodelling of the extracellular matrix in the developing lung may underlie arrested alveolarisation associated with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Transglutaminases are regulators of extracellular matrix remodelling. Therefore, the expression and activity of transglutaminases were assessed in lungs from human neonates with BPD and in a rodent model of BPD. Transglutaminase expression and localisation were assessed by RT-PCR, immunoblotting, activity assay and immunohistochemical analyses of human and mouse lung tissues. Transglutaminase regulation by transforming growth factor (TGF)-β was investigated in lung cells by luciferase-based reporter assay and RT-PCR. TGF-β signalling was neutralised in vivo in an animal model of BPD, to determine whether TGF-β mediated the hyperoxia-induced changes in transglutaminase expression. Transglutaminase 2 expression was upregulated in the lungs of preterm infants with BPD and in the lungs of hyperoxia-exposed mouse pups, where lung development was arrested. Transglutaminase 2 localised to the developing alveolar septa. TGF-β was identified as a regulator of transglutaminase 2 expression in human and mouse lung epithelial cells. In vivo neutralisation of TGF-β signalling partially restored normal lung structure and normalised lung transglutaminase 2 mRNA expression. Our data point to a role for perturbed transglutaminase 2 activity in the arrested alveolarisation associated with BPD.
Association of low C2 and C4 serum levels with the HLA-DW2 allele in healthy individuals.
Authors: C Nerl, H Grosse-Wilde, G Valet
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (1978)

HLA typed unrelated healthy individuals (HLA-DW2 positive n = 64, and HLA-DW2 negative n = 72) were investigated for their C2 functional activity and C4 serum protein levels. For the C2 and C4 levels a bimodal distribution was found in HLA-DW2 positive and HLA-DW2 negative individuals. HLA-DW2 positive persons had a significantly higher incidence of low C2 and C4 serum levels. Our data support the concept that genes governing C2 as well as C4 serum levels are in linkage disequilibrium with the HLA-DW2 allele of the major histocompatibility complex.
Too few people in UK at high risk of stroke are getting carotid endarterectomies
Authors: Z. Kmietowicz
Journal: BMJ (2010)

Fewer than half the people in the United Kingdom who are at high risk of having a stroke are benefiting from carotid endarterectomy to improve blood flow in the veins in their neck, an audit has shown.

Surgeons carry out only 4500 carotid endarterectomies a year in the UK, even though an estimated 10 000 patients could benefit from the operation. The number of carotid endarterectomies per head of UK population is the lowest in the developed world and a 10th of that in the United States (99 per 100 000 in California). In England the rate is 8.7 per 100 000.

Surgeons who carried out the second audit of vascular surgical services and carotid endarterectomy in the UK are calling for an …
RATES OF DISCORDANCE WITH GUIDELINE-RECOMMENDED LABORATORY TESTING AFTER INITIATION OF MINERALOCORTICOID RECEPTOR ANTAGONIST FOR HEART FAILURE
Authors: Larry A. Allen, Susan Shetterly, Pamela N. Peterson, Jerry H. Gurwitz, David H. Smith, David W. Brand, Diane Fairclough, John S. Rumsfeld, Frederick A. Masoudi, David J. Magid
Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2013)
Arthritis induced by proteoglycan aggrecan G1 domain in BALB/c mice. Evidence for t cell involvement and the immunosuppressive influence of keratan sulfate on recognition of t and b cell epitopes.
Authors: Y Zhang, A Guerassimov, J Y Leroux, A Cartman, C Webber, R Lalic, E de Miguel, L C Rosenberg, A R Poole
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1998)

Our previous work showed that the proteoglycan aggrecan can induce erosive polyarthritis and spondylitis in BALB/c mice, and that the G1 domain of the proteoglycan aggrecan (G1) is the arthritogenic region. In this study, two T cell epitopes residing on G1 within residues 70-84 (peptide G5) and 150-169 (peptide G9) were identified using synthetic peptides and aggrecan-specific T cell lines. Two G1-specific T cell hybridomas exclusively responded to peptide G5. When the G5-specific T cell line was injected intraperitoneally into BALB/c mice, it induced acute inflammatory arthritis in joints, but only in those that had been injected with the epitope recognized by these T cells. Furthermore, we also demonstrate that the keratan sulfate chain(s) (KS) on G1 possess immunosuppressive properties with respect to T and B cell epitope recognition. T cell lines that recognize both G1 and peptide G5 show an increased response to G1 after KS is removed. Antibodies in hyperimmune sera of mice immunized with G1 show increased epitope recognition (quantitative and qualitative) after KS removal before immunization. These studies reveal that a T cell line specific to an epitope on the G1 domain of aggrecan, also recognizing a corresponding mouse G1 epitope, can induce arthritis by adoptive transfer and homing to the intraarticular epitope, thereby implicating T cells in arthritis development caused by immunity to the G1 domain of aggrecan. Moreover, the presence of KS on G1 can inhibit arthritis development by suppressing T and B cell epitope recognition.
Blood Banking Automation
Authors: Carl F. W. Wolf
Journal: JAMA (1978)

THE INCOMPATIBLE blood transfusion remains a great danger in hemotherapy. It perhaps is most hazardous to the patient when it involves his receiving incompatible red blood cells. Pain, shock, chills, fever, and renal failure with acute tubular necrosis, abnormal bleeding due to disseminated intravascular coagulation, and death can result. Modern blood bank laboratory techniques readily recognize most incompatibilities in the test tube, and new automated testing equipment is further reducing the chances for technical errors. As a result, incompatible blood transfusions mostly result from human error,<sup>1</sup>which can occur from before the drawing of blood up to the moment of transfusion. Human error refers to clerical errors made identifying patient specimens; in transcribing information from the donor record to the blood-bag label, from the label to various recording sheets and logbooks, from one label to another label; and most important, in matching donor blood information with intended recipient requirements
Elevated Plaque Temperature in Non-Culprit De Novo Atheromatous Lesions of Patients With Acute Coronary Syndromes
Authors: Konstantinos Toutouzas, Maria Drakopoulou, John Mitropoulos, Eleftherios Tsiamis, Sophia Vaina, Manolis Vavuranakis, Virginia Markou, Eirini Bosinakou, Christodoulos Stefanadis
Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2006)
Blockade of Vasospastic Attacks by α <sub>2</sub> -Adrenergic but Not α <sub>1</sub> -Adrenergic Antagonists in Idiopathic Raynaud’s Disease
Authors: Robert R. Freedman, Rachel P. Baer, Maureen D. Mayes
Journal: Circulation (1995)

Background Idiopathic Raynaud’s disease is characterized by cold-induced digital vasospasms, but its origin has not been established. Previous research has shown that peripheral vascular α 2 -adrenergic receptors are hypersensitive to local cooling in these patients, but the role of α 1 -adrenergic receptors is not clear. Moreover, the role of adrenergic receptors in the production of actual vasospastic symptoms has not been investigated. Methods and Results We studied 23 patients with idiopathic Raynaud’s disease who were screened using conservative criteria. They were randomly assigned to receive brachial artery infusions of an α 1 -antagonist, an α 2 -antagonist, or both while vasospastic attacks were induced by cooling in the laboratory. Each patient’s hands were photographed, and the number of attacks in the infused hand was compared with the number in the contralateral hand. The number of fingers (mean±SEM) with attacks in infused hands was yohimbine 0.3±0.3, prazosin 2.3±0.3, and both drugs 0.6±0.2. The difference between prazosin and the other two drug groups was significant ( P &lt;.001). Conclusions These findings demonstrate that activation of α 2 -adrenergic receptors but not α 1 -adrenergic receptors is necessary for the production of vasospastic attacks in idiopathic Raynaud’s disease.
Patterns of survival in lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma/waldenström macroglobulinemia: A population‐based study of 1,555 patients diagnosed in Sweden from 1980 to 2005
Authors: Sigurdur Y. Kristinsson, Sandra Eloranta, Paul W. Dickman, Therese M‐L. Andersson, Ingemar Turesson, Ola Landgren, Magnus Björkholm
Journal: American Journal of Hematology (2012)

Clinical management of lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (LPL)/Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) has changed considerably over recent years, reflected in the use of new therapeutic agents (purine analogs, monoclonal antibodies, thalidomide- and bortezomib-based therapies). No population-based studies and few randomized trials have been performed to assess survival in newly diagnosed LPL/WM. We performed a large population-based study in Sweden including 1,555 LPL/WM patients diagnosed from 1980 to 2005. Relative survival ratios (RSRs) and excess mortality rate ratios (EMRR) were computed as measures of survival. Survival of LPL/WM patients has improved significantly (P = 0.007) over time with 5-year RSR = 0.57 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.46-0.68), 0.65 (0.57-0.73), 0.74 (0.68-0.80), 0.72 (0.66-0.77), and 0.78 (0.71-0.85) for patients diagnosed during the calendar periods 1980-1985, 1986-1990, 1991-1995, 1996-2000, and 2001-2005, respectively. Improvement in 1- and 5-year relative survival was found in all age groups and for LPL and WM separately. Patients with WM had lower excess mortality compared to LPL (EMRR = 0.38; 95% CI 0.30-0.48). Older age at diagnosis was associated with a poorer survival (P < 0.001). Taken together, we found a significant improvement in survival in LPL/WM over time. Despite this progress, new effective agents with a more favourable toxicity profile are needed to further improve survival in LPL/WM, especially in the elderly.
Multicenter survey on the outcome of transplantation of hematopoietic cells in patients with the complete form of DiGeorge anomaly
Authors: Ales Janda, Petr Sedlacek, Manfred Hönig, Wilhelm Friedrich, Martin Champagne, Tadashi Matsumoto, Alain Fischer, Benedicte Neven, Audrey Contet, Danielle Bensoussan, Pierre Bordigoni, David Loeb, William Savage, Nada Jabado, Francisco A. Bonilla, Mary A. Slatter, E. Graham Davies, Andrew R. Gennery
Journal: Blood (2010)
Relation of caffeine intake and blood caffeine concentrations during pregnancy to fetal growth: prospective population based study
Authors: D. G Cook, J. L Peacock, C. Feyerabend, I. M Carey, M. J Jarvis, H R. Anderson, J M. Bland
Journal: BMJ (1996)

<h3>Abstract</h3> <b>Objectives</b>: To examine the association of plasma caffeine concentrations during pregnancy with fetal growth and to compare this with relations with reported caffeine intake. <b>Design</b>: Prospective population based study. <b>Setting</b>: District general hospital, inner London. <b>Subjects</b>: Women booking for delivery between 1982 and 1984. Stored plasma was available for 1500 women who had provided a blood sample on at least one occasion and for 640 women who had provided a sample on all three occasions (at booking, 28 weeks, and 36 weeks). <b>Main outcome measure</b>: Birth weight adjusted for gestational age, maternal height, parity, and sex of infant. The exposures of interest were reported caffeine consumption and blood caffeine concentration. Cigarette smoking was assessed by blood cotinine concentration. <b>Results</b>: Caffeine intake showed no changes during pregnancy, but blood caffeine concentrations rose by 75%. Although caffeine intake increased steadily with increasing cotinine concentration above 15 ng/ml, blood caffeine concentrations fell. Caffeine consumption was inversely related to adjusted birth weight, the estimated effect being a 1.3% fall in birth weight for a 1000 mg per week increase in intake (95% confidence interval 0.5% to 2.1%). The apparent caffeine effect was confined to cigarette smokers, among whom the estimated effect was −1.6%/1000 mg a week (−2.9% to −0.2%) after adjustment for cotinine and −1.3% (−2.7% to 0.1%) after further adjustment for social class and alcohol intake. Adjusted birth weight was unrelated to blood caffeine concentrations overall (P = 0.09, but a positive coefficient), after adjustment for cotinine (P = 0.73), or among current smokers (P = 0.45). <b>Conclusions</b>: Smokers consume more caffeine than non-smokers. Blood caffeine concentrations during pregnancy are not related to fetal growth, but caffeine intake is negatively associated with birth weight, with this effect being apparent only in smokers. The effect remains of borderline significance after adjustment for other factors. Prudent advice for pregnant women would be to reduce caffeine intake in conjunction with stopping smoking. <h3>Key messages</h3> Blood caffeine concentrations during pregnancy are not related to birth weight Caffeine intake assessed by questionnaire is negatively associated with birth weight, with evidence that this effect is apparent only in smokers As most studies have limited power to detect an interaction between smoking and effects of caffeine intake on birth weight, a meta-analysis of existing studies is recommended It seems reasonable to advise women who smoke to reduce their caffeine intake as well as to stop smoking during pregnancy