tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Do lipids influence the allergic sensitization process?
Authors: Merima Bublin, Thomas Eiwegger, Heimo Breiteneder
Journal: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (2014)

Allergic sensitization is a multifactorial process that is not only influenced by the allergen and its biological function per se but also by other small molecular compounds, such as lipids, that are directly bound as ligands by the allergen or are present in the allergen source. Several members of major allergen families bind lipid ligands through hydrophobic cavities or electrostatic or hydrophobic interactions. These allergens include certain seed storage proteins, Bet v 1-like and nonspecific lipid transfer proteins from pollens and fruits, certain inhalant allergens from house dust mites and cockroaches, and lipocalins. Lipids from the pollen coat and furry animals and the so-called pollen-associated lipid mediators are codelivered with the allergens and can modulate the immune responses of predisposed subjects by interacting with the innate immune system and invariant natural killer T cells. In addition, lipids originating from bacterial members of the pollen microbiome contribute to the outcome of the sensitization process. Dietary lipids act as adjuvants and might skew the immune response toward a TH2-dominated phenotype. In addition, the association with lipids protects food allergens from gastrointestinal degradation and facilitates their uptake by intestinal cells. These findings will have a major influence on how allergic sensitization will be viewed and studied in the future.
Taste Impairment and Related Factors in Type I Diabetes Mellitus
Authors: Jean-Pierre Le Floch, Gilles Le Lievre, Jacky Sadoun, Léon Perlemuter, Roger Peynegre, Jean Hazard
Journal: Diabetes Care (1989)

To study taste in type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus, 57 consecutive diabetic outpatients (mean +/- SE duration of diabetes 11.4 +/- 0.4 yr) and 38 control subjects were screened for taste disorders with electrogustometry and chemical gustometry. Both groups were comparable for all subject characteristics except body mass index, which was higher in the diabetic group (P less than .05). A taste impairment was found in the diabetic group relative to the control group with electrogustometry (mean threshold 184.3 +/- 15.8 vs. 58.7 +/- 9.2 microA; P less than .001) and chemical gustometry (mean score 13.2 +/- 0.7 vs. 17.1 +/- 0.8; P less than .001). Hypogeusia was found among 73% of the diabetic patients versus 16% of the control subjects (P less than .001). The four primary tastes were involved in taste impairment. With multivariate analysis, taste disorders were related to diabetic status and tobacco and alcohol consumption. In the diabetic group, taste impairment was significantly associated with complications and duration of disease. With multivariate analysis, peripheral neuropathy had the strongest association with taste disorders. These results suggest that taste is impaired during the course of type I diabetes mellitus and that taste impairment could be a complication of the disease. A mechanism of the neuropathic type could be involved.
Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis Due to Pyrethrum
Authors: James E. Carlson
Journal: JAMA (1977)

PYRETHRUM, a well-known and widely used insecticide, is found in more than 2,000 insect sprays and powders.<sup>1</sup>Pyrethrum has caused cases of allergic "vasomotor" rhinitis and asthma.<sup>2</sup>We report a case of hypersensitivity pneumonitis following repeated exposures to a pyrethrumbased insecticide. <h3>Report of a Case</h3> A 24-year-old woman was admitted with a four-month history of increasing fatigability. In the month prior to admission she began having pleuritic chest pain, nonproductive cough, and shortness of breath. She admitted that, because of an overriding fear of insects in her new home, she used approximately 2 1/2 cans of a pyrethrum-based insecticide (Raid) every week for six months. She denied allergic reactions with the exception of hay fever every May and June. The patient had had tuberculosis at the age of 7 years. Her chest roentgenogram one year prior to this admission was entirely normal. On physical examination, the temperature was
Adalimumab for the Treatment of Japanese Patients With Intestinal Behçet’s Disease
Authors: Satoshi Tanida, Nagamu Inoue, Kiyonori Kobayashi, Makoto Naganuma, Fumihito Hirai, Bunei Iizuka, Kenji Watanabe, Keiichi Mitsuyama, Takuya Inoue, Yoshiaki Ishigatsubo, Yasuo Suzuki, Masakazu Nagahori, Satoshi Motoya, Shiro Nakamura, Vipin Arora, Anne M. Robinson, Roopal B. Thakkar, Toshifumi Hibi
Journal: Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology (2014)

Background & AimsBehçet's disease is a chronic, relapsing inflammatory disease that can involve the mouth, skin, eyes, genitals, and intestines. Active intestinal Behçet's disease can be complicated by gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding and perforation. We performed a multicenter, open-label, uncontrolled study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of adalimumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody against tumor necrosis factor α, in patients with intestinal Behçet's disease who were refractory to corticosteroid and/or immunomodulator therapies.MethodsThe study was conducted at 12 sites in Japan, from November 2010 through October 2012. Twenty patients were given 160 mg adalimumab at the start of the study and 80 mg 2 weeks later, followed by 40 mg every other week for 52 weeks; for some patients, the dose was increased to 80 mg every other week. A composite efficacy index, combining GI symptom and endoscopic assessments, was used to evaluate efficacy. The primary efficacy end point was the percentage of patients with scores of 1 or lower for GI symptom and endoscopic assessments at week 24. Secondary end points included complete remission and resolution of non-GI Behçet's-related symptoms.ResultsNine patients (45%) had GI symptom and endoscopic assessment scores of 1 or lower at week 24 of treatment, and 12 patients (60%) had these scores by week 52. Four patients (20%) achieved complete remission at weeks 24 and 52. Individual global GI symptom and endoscopic scores improved for most patients at weeks 24 and 52. Two thirds of patients with oral aphthous ulcers, skin symptoms, and genital ulcers, and 88% of patients with erythema nodosum had complete resolution of these conditions at week 52. A total of 9 of 13 patients (69%) taking steroids at baseline were able to taper (n = 1) or completely discontinue steroids (n = 8) during the study. No new safety signals were observed.ConclusionsAdalimumab is a potentially effective treatment for intestinal Behçet's disease in Japanese patients who are refractory to conventional treatments. ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT01243671.
Therapy-induced malignant neoplasms in Nf1 mutant mice
Authors: Richard C. Chao, Urszula Pyzel, Jane Fridlyand, Yien-Ming Kuo, Lewis Teel, Jennifer Haaga, Alexander Borowsky, Andrew Horvai, Scott C. Kogan, Jeannette Bonifas, Bing Huey, Tyler E. Jacks, Donna G. Albertson, Kevin M. Shannon
Journal: Cancer Cell (2005)
eNOS Gene Therapy Exacerbates Hepatic Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Diabetes
Authors: John W. Elrod, Mark R. Duranski, Will Langston, James J.M. Greer, Ling Tao, Tammy R. Dugas, Christopher G. Kevil, Hunter C. Champion, David J. Lefer
Journal: Circulation Research (2006)

Previous studies indicate that endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) function is impaired in diabetes as a result of increased vascular generation of reactive oxygen species. We hypothesized that eNOS gene therapy would augment NO· bioavailability and protect against hepatic ischemia-reperfusion (I-R) injury in type 2 diabetes mellitus. We developed a transgenic (Tg) diabetic mouse in which eNOS is systemically overexpressed. We also examined the effects of hepatic eNOS adenovirus therapy in diabetic mice. Diabetic (db/db) and nondiabetic mice were subjected to hepatic I-R injury. In nondiabetic mice, genetic overexpression of eNOS (both eNOS-Tg and eNOS adenovirus) resulted in hepatoprotection. In contrast, hepatic I-R injury was significantly increased in the db/db eNOS-Tg mouse, as serum alanine aminotransaminase (ALT) levels were increased by 3.3-fold compared with diabetic controls. Similarly, eNOS adenovirus treatment resulted in a 3.2-fold increase in serum ALT levels as compared with diabetic controls. We determined that hepatic eNOS was dysfunctional in the db/db mouse and increased genetic expression of eNOS resulted in greater production of peroxynitrite. Treatment with the eNOS cofactor tetrahydrobiopterin (BH 4 ) or the BH 4 precursor sepiapterin resulted in a significant decrease in serum ALT levels following I-R injury. We present clear examples of the protective and injurious nature of NO· therapy in I-R. Our data indicate that eNOS exists in an “uncoupled” state in the setting of diabetes and that “recoupling” of the eNOS enzyme with cofactor therapy is beneficial.
Wernicke's Syndrome
Authors: Haskell M. Heller
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1958)

IN 1881 Wernicke described a condition in which the patient exhibited impaired consciousness, ophthalmoplegia and ataxia. He made these observations in 2 alcoholic patients whose brains showed vascular changes, perivascular hemorrhages and parenchymatous degeneration in the periventricular gray matter.1 Subsequent investigations revealed capillary hemorrhages in the floor of the third and fourth ventricles, in the periaqueductal gray matter and at the oculomotor nuclei, the mammillary bodies and the mesiothalmic nuclei.2 Wernicke thought these changes to be inflammatory and due to an intoxicant — probably the alcohol.1 It is now generally agreed that though alcohol may be a contributing factor, the . . .
The history of mast cell and basophil research – some lessons learnt from the last century
Authors: U. Blank, F. H. Falcone, G. Nilsson
Journal: Allergy (2013)

Abstract This year (2013) marks the 50th anniversary of death of Otto Carl Willy Prausnitz (1876–1963) and Heinz Küstner (1897–1963). The two physicians, when working at the Hygiene Institute at the University of Breslau, Germany (Prausnitz was the Head of the Institute), described in 1921 what is still called today the Prausnitz–Küstner or PK reaction showing that allergy could be transferred from the allergic person by transferring serum to a healthy person. Their discovery ended the belief that an anaphylactic/allergic reaction was caused by poisons, but to the contrary showed that the presence of the hypersensitivity factor could be transferred to other people. We know now that this factor is immunoglobulin E (IgE), sensitizing mast cells and basophils to respond to an allergic stimulus. We take this occasion to retrace some of the important discoveries and lessons learnt from the last century relating to the function of these two cell types as effectors of the IgE system and the mediators they produce.
Patient-Physician Communication
Authors: Elisabeth Ihler
Journal: JAMA (2003)

THE TERM “PATIENT-PHYSICIAN COMMUNICATION” ENCOMPASSES A WIDE range of interactions. These range from physicians’ conversational style to formal techniques for coping with patients’ concerns. It has become clear that the quality and content of patient-physician interaction has important effects on both participants. For example, good communication with patients can be associated with improved treatment adherence, and physician communication styles appear to be associated with the risk of malpractice litigation. Although the actions that constitute good communication with patients are still vaguely defined in the literature, there has been a great deal of recent interest in refining methods to promote better communication between physicians and patients. This issue of MSJAMA approaches patientphysician communication from several different perspectives, reflecting both the breadth of the field and its relevance to clinical practice. Gregory Makoul summarizes recent developments in attempts to measure medical students’ communication skills in an objective way. The proposal to include a clinical skills assessment as part of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) is the first nationwide attempt to standardize and assess the clinical communication skills expected of medical graduates. The remaining articles discuss communication aspects in medical practice. Kiran and Pavi Kundhal address the growing need for physicians to understand how culture affects patients’ experience of illness. Two other articles address specific clinical situations that, while common in medical practice, are frequently difficult for clinicians to address effectively. Rebecca Gordon-Lubitz discusses issues regarding the communication of risk and risk assessment to patients. Statistical analyses and risk stratification for various treatment options is complicated information and can confuse patients trying to make decisions in the setting of illness and uncertainty. Gordon-Lubitz addresses some of these difficulties and outlines strategies that can be used to improve understanding. Similarly, Michael Hahn addresses ways in which physicians communicate with patients about advance directives. He notes some specific problems with advance directives as they are currently employed and describes approaches that may increase the use and efficacy of advanced directives. The goal of research in patient-physician communication is to find approaches to help physicians interact with patients in ways that will be beneficial for both parties, and these articles represent only a small sample of this growing field. The best methods for promoting good communication with patients are still being refined. The question of how to teach physicians to use these approaches successfully is similarly unclear. However, the need for clear and effective interactions with patients makes patient-physician communication an issue of considerable clinical importance.
TCT-820 First Approach to Stimulate Arteriogenesis using Monoclonal Antibodies: Blocking the Interferon-alpha/beta Receptor Subunit 1 Stimulates Restoration of Perfusion in a Murine Hindlimb-ischemia Model Without Affecting Atherosclerosis
Authors: Paul F. Teunissen, Marieke C. Boshuizen, Maurits Hollander, Nina W van der Hoeven, Marion Gijbels, Menno P de Winther, Anton J. Horrevoets, Niels van Royen
Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2013)
Response to Letter Regarding Article, “Maladaptive Aortic Properties in Children After Palliation of Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome Assessed by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging”
Authors: Carsten Rickers, Inga Voges, Michael Jerosch-Herold, Jürgen Hedderich, Charlotte Westphal, Chris Hart, Michael Helle, Jens Scheewe, Eileen Pardun, Hans-Heiner Kramer
Journal: Circulation (2011)

Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging"We thank Giardini et al for their insightful comments on our article. 1Although we do not disagree with their call for caution in the interpretation of aortic distensibility measurements, one should also mention that a reduction in lumen area of 20% (149/188 mm 2 ) is not sufficient to cause a significant gradient.To eliminate potential confounding from aortic coarctation, we excluded patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome with a peak-to-peak gradient across the isthmus of Ͼ5 mm Hg.Of our patient cohort, 65% underwent heart catheterization on the day after the magnetic resonance study, and the remaining patients underwent heart catheterization within 3.3Ϯ1.7 months before or after magnetic resonance imaging.Furthermore, all patients had blood pressure measurements on their right arm and leg, but none of them had a detectable pressure difference accordant with insignificant narrowing at the site of the isthmus.In our study, we also used pulse wave velocity to obtain complementary information for the assessment of aortic bioelastic properties, independent of pulse pressure estimates.Pulse wave velocity, aortic compliance, and distensibility can be linked through the Moens-Korteweg equation. 2,3Our results from the pulse wave velocity measurements, although limited to the ascending aorta, transverse arch, and proximal thoracic descending aorta, are consistent with the findings for aortic distensibility, and suggest that at least the thoracic part of the descending aorta was not significantly affected by adverse remodeling.Regarding the second point raised in the letter, we found that the stroke volumes in hypoplastic left heart syndrome, even though smaller, were not significantly different from our healthy age-and sex-matched patients (37.9Ϯ3.3 versus 44.4Ϯ9.3 mL/m 2 ; Pϭ0.15).Furthermore, it should be noted that patients with single-ventricle physiology and without aortic arch reconstruction (eg, tricuspid atresia or double-inlet left ventricle) may be an interesting, but not an ideal group for comparison, because cardiac surgery by itself may also alter the bioelastic properties of the aorta, even though the vessel may not have been injured in the first place.
Measurement of angiotensin I converting enzyme inhibition in the heart.
Authors: A Kinoshita, H Urata, F M Bumpus, A Husain
Journal: Circulation Research (1993)

Angiotensin (Ang) I converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors represent a major advance in the treatment of congestive heart failure, and tissue, rather than circulating ACE, may be their major site of action. However, assessments of tissue ACE inhibition in treated patients has not always supported this contention. In these studies, ACE activity was measured in homogenates of sampled tissue by biochemical methods. In the present study, using a model system, we have examined the validity of these tissue-sampling methods. Functional ACE activity was determined by comparing positive inotropic responses to [Pro10]Ang I in either vehicle-pretreated or ACE inhibitor-pretreated papillary muscles. [Pro10]Ang I elicits a response, which is entirely dependent on ACE-mediated conversion to Ang II. The ACE inhibitors studied were captopril, enalaprilat, lisinopril, and quinaprilat. In a parallel study, papillary muscle ACE activity was also measured in homogenates using [125I]MK-351A (a radiolabeled ACE inhibitor) binding. The studies indicate that the tissue-sampling method significantly underestimated functional ACE inhibition in hamster papillary muscles (p &lt; 0.001). Kinetic studies indicated that the half-time for the dissociation of [3H]enalaprilat and [3H]lisinopril from hamster ventricular ACE was 4.5 and 6.2 minutes, respectively. The dissociation of [3H]quinaprilat was biphasic (half-time, 47 and 90 minutes), indicating that the two active sites of somatic ACE differ in their ability to bind to this inhibitor. The rapid rate of ACE inhibitor dissociation suggests that, during the time taken to assay ACE activity biochemically, the enzyme becomes "disinhibited," leading to an underestimation of functional ACE inhibition. ACE inhibitor dissociation rates were partially predictive of the duration of functional ACE inhibition in papillary muscles; other factors that appeared to contribute were "tissue trapping" of the inhibitor and de novo synthesis of ACE in papillary muscles. Quantification of tissue ACE inhibition and its relation to drug efficacy must, therefore, involve a careful consideration of these factors to avoid artifacts in clinical decision making and in assessments of pathogenic mechanisms involved in congestive heart failure.
German court ruling on smoking in public places leads to demands for federal law
Authors: N. Stafford
Journal: BMJ (2008)

Germany’s tough laws banning most cigarette smoking in restaurants, pubs, nightclubs, and other indoor public areas are at risk of being weakened less than a year after being implemented after a ruling by the nation’s highest court.

But advocates of smoke-free areas are hoping that the ruling will prompt the federal government to pass a stronger law that will introduce a complete ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces with no exceptions.

Martina Potschke-Langer, head of the World Health Organization’s collaborating centre for tobacco control in Heidelberg, said, “I think we now have an open situation. It is a very delicate situation. The doors are open on both sides, and …
Are prototypes and exemplars used in distinct cognitive processes?
Authors: James Virtel, Gualtiero Piccinini
Journal: Behavioral and Brain Sciences (2010)

Abstract We argue that Machery provides no convincing evidence that prototypes and exemplars are typically used in distinct cognitive processes. This partially undermines the fourth tenet of the Heterogeneity Hypothesis and thus casts doubts on Machery's way of splitting concepts into different kinds. Although Machery may be right that concepts split into different kinds, such kinds may be different from those countenanced by the Heterogeneity Hypothesis.
Endothelial nitric oxide synthase G894T (Glu298Asp) polymorphism was predictive of glycemic status in a 5-year prospective study of Chinese subjects with impaired glucose tolerance
Authors: Annette W.K. Tso, Kathryn C.B. Tan, Nelson M.S. Wat, Edward D. Janus, Tai-Hing Lam, Karen S.L. Lam
Journal: Metabolism (2006)
Polymerase chain reaction fails to incriminate exogenous retroviruses HTLV-I and HIV-1 in rheumatological diseases although a minority of sera cross react with retroviral antigens.
Authors: P N Nelson, A M Lever, F E Bruckner, D A Isenberg, N Kessaris, F C Hay
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (1994)

OBJECTIVES--To investigate the presence of antibodies to HTLV and HIV retroviral antigens in the rheumatological diseases rheumatoid arthritis (RA), polymyositis/dermatomyositis (PM/DM), primary Sjögren9s syndrome (pSS), and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and to use polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to seek these exogenous retroviruses in proviral form in cellular DNA from these patients. METHODS--Thirty patients with active RA, 13 with PM, 14 with pSS and five with SLE were recruited and their sera tested for antibodies to HTLV-I in enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blot analysis. Seropositivity to HIV-1 was also sought. DNA was extracted from peripheral blood lymphocytes, synovial tissue and muscle biopsies and tested by polymerase chain reaction using consensus primers for HTLV-I and HIV-1. RESULTS--In HTLV-I ELISA, nine rheumatological sera (4/30 RA, 3/13 PM/DM and 2/5 SLE patients) were considered positive; 14 from pSS patients and 30 from normal subjects were negative. In a control group which included osteoarthritis, Crohn9s disease and bacterial endocarditis patients, only two of 80 proved positive in this system. Validation of these sera by Western blotting generally revealed weak reactivity against a variety of HTLV-I antigens. PCR of genomic DNA derived from patients9 peripheral blood mononuclear cells did not reveal the presence of HTLV-I and HIV-1 target sequences. CONCLUSIONS--This study shows that PCR precludes HTLV-I and HIV-1 infection as causative agents in these rheumatological diseases although a minority of patients possess antibodies that are weakly cross-reactive with retroviral antigens.
Treatment of Chronic Oral Candidiasis with Clotrimazole Troches
Authors: Charles H. Kirkpatrick, David W. Alling
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1978)

Twenty patients with chronic oral candidiasis were assigned by random allocation to a two-week course of either 10-mg clotrimazole buccal troches or placebo taken five times daily in a double-blind clinical trial. Each of the 10 recipients of clotrimazole had marked regression of symptoms and mucosal lesions, and in nine patients potassium hydroxide preparations and cultures of mucosal scrapings gave no evidence of candidiasis. In contrast, only one of the 10 patients receiving placebo showed any improvement. The clinical outcome in the clotrimazole-treated group was significantly more favorable (P<0.001) than in the group receiving placebo. No adverse reactions to the drug were observed. After the blind phase of their trial, 15 patients were treated with clotrimazole troches in an open trial. One to three troches per day were found adequate to sustain remissions. We conclude that clotrimazole is highly effective treatment for chronic oral candidiasis.