tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Skin, immunity and the nervous system
Authors: L Misery
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (1997)

Connections between nerve fibres and cutaneous cells have been studied using confocal and electron microscopy. In the skin, nerve fibres may secrete neuromediators, i.e. substance P, vasoactive intestinal peptide, somatostatin, calcitonin-gene-related peptide, gastrin-releasing peptide, neuropeptide Y, peptide histidine-isoleucine, neurotensin, neurokinins A and B, bradykinin, acetylcholine, catecholamines, endorphins and enkephalins. Neurohormones such as prolactin, melanocyte-stimulating hormone and adrenocorticotrophic hormone are also expressed in the skin. Neuromediators and neurohormones may be secreted by cutaneous cells, which also express receptors. Functions of epidermal and dermal cells are modulated by these substances. Immune cells transiently present in the skin (e.g. macrophages and lymphocytes) are modulated by neuromediators through receptors. During the course of skin disorders, especially inflammatory reactions, the neuroimmunocutaneous system is destabilized. This is particularly true in psoriasis. This destabilization may be secondary, although evidence shows it can also be responsible for the induction and maintenance of the inflammatory process. The skin, the nervous system and immunity are not independent systems but are closely associated and use the same language of cytokines and neurotransmitters. A new concept is suggested: the neuroimmunocutaneous system.
Repeated partial endoscopic resections as treatment for two patients with inoperable tracheal tumours
Authors: G. Nakratzas, J. P. M. Wagenaar, M. Reintjes, E. Scheffer, J. Swierenga
Journal: Thorax (1974)

<b>Nakratzas, G., Wagenaar, J. P. M., Reintjes, M., Scheffer, E., and Swierenga, J. (1974).</b><i>Thorax</i>, <b>29</b>, 125-131. <b>Repeated partial endoscopic resections as treatment for two patients with inoperable tracheal tumours.</b> Two cases of tracheal tumour are described, one a carcinoid and the other an adenoid cystic carcinoma (cylindroma). Both patients were treated by repeated partial bronchoscopic resections. The patients are in good health nine and three years respectively after treatment.
Survival after diagnosis of dementia in primary care
Authors: E. England
Journal: BMJ (2010)

<b>Background:</b> It has been hypothesised that the rise in childhood asthma in the developed world could result at least in part from the increasing exposure of children to toxic chlorination products in the air of indoor swimming pools. <b>Objectives:</b> Ecological study to evaluate whether this hypothesis can explain the geographical variation in the prevalence of asthma and other atopic diseases in Europe. <b>Methods:</b> The relationships between the prevalences of wheezing by written or video questionnaire, of ever asthma, hay fever, rhinitis, and atopic eczema as reported by the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC), and the number of indoor chlorinated swimming pools per inhabitant in the studied centres were examined. Associations with geoclimatic variables, the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, and several other lifestyle indicators were also evaluated. <b>Results:</b> Among children aged 13–14 years, the prevalence of wheezing by written questionnaire, of wheezing by video questionnaire, and of ever asthma across Europe increased respectively by 3.39% (95% CI 1.96 to 4.81), 0.96% (95% CI 0.28 to 1.64), and 2.73% (95% CI 1.94 to 3.52), with an increase of one indoor chlorinated pool per 100 000 inhabitants. Similar increases were found when analysing separately centres in Western or Northern Europe and for ever asthma in Southern Europe. In children aged 6–7 years (33 centres), the prevalence of ever asthma also increased with swimming pool availability (1.47%; 95% CI 0.21 to 2.74). These consistent associations were not found with other atopic diseases and were independent of the influence of altitude, climate, and GDP per capita. <b>Conclusions:</b> The prevalence of childhood asthma and availability of indoor swimming pools in Europe are linked through associations that are consistent with the hypothesis implicating pool chlorine in the rise of childhood asthma in industrialised countries.
Researchers discover new mutant gene
Authors: U. Hoang
Journal: BMJ (1999)

A new mutant gene that may have a role in the development of many common cancers, including lung and breast cancer, was revealed by scientists last week.

The researchers, from the Institute of Cancer Research in Surrey and the Royal Free Hospital and University College Medical School in London, found the mutated oncogene, which they called Bcl10, in a …
Genetic discovery: the prescription for chronic pain
Authors: Ming Zheng, Gary Peltz
Journal: Genome Medicine (2010)

A recent publication that combined rat gene expression data and a human genetic association study has identified the first genetic risk factor for chronic pain in humans. In four of the five cohorts studied, there was a significant association of an allele within a gene (KCNS1) encoding a potassium channel (Kv9.1) with an increased risk for chronic pain. Identification of genetic risk factors for chronic pain could catalyze new advances in this difficult clinical area that has become a major public health problem. Genomic-medicine-based advances for chronic pain could include the development of a mechanism-based classification system for chronic pain, new treatment options, improved methods for treatment selection and targeted prevention strategies for high-risk individuals.
A memorable patient: Death in the Scottish Highlands
Authors: J. McCracken
Journal: BMJ (1997)

So many tales to tell; but I was prompted by the BMJ editorial on “Learning from asthma deaths” ( BMJ 1997;314:1427-8) to recall a harrowing incident during the summer, in the late 1950s. It was associated with a wailing howl of maternal anguish which will forever haunt me. I had only recently graduated and was working as a locum in the Scottish Highlands. I knew all about asthma. After all one of my general practitioner tutors and mentor had himself suffered from it. He was never without his rubber bulbed atomiser …
Elevated Ambient Air Zinc Increases Pediatric Asthma Morbidity
Authors: Jon Mark Hirshon, Michelle Shardell, Steven Alles, Jan L. Powell, Katherine Squibb, John Ondov, Carol J. Blaisdell
Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives (2008)

Recent studies indicate that the composition of fine particulate matter [PM <or= 2.5 microm in aerodynamic diameter (PM(2.5))] is associated with increased hospitalizations for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. The metal composition of PM(2.5) influences allergic and/or inflammatory reactions, and ambient zinc contributes to worsening pulmonary function in susceptible adults. However, information is limited concerning associations between ambient air zinc levels and health care utilization for asthma, especially among children.We aimed to investigate the relationship between outdoor ambient air PM(2.5) zinc levels and urgent health care utilization for children living in an urban area.We used a time-series study to estimate the association of ambient air PM(2.5) zinc levels with hospital admissions and emergency department (ED) utilization by children in Baltimore, Maryland, controlling for time trends. We used data from daily discharge administrative claims of ED and hospital utilization for asthma in children, 0-17 years of age for Greater Baltimore from June 2002 through November 2002. We collected ambient air PM(2.5) metal concentration data, determined by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, during the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-sponsored Baltimore Supersite project.Previous-day medium levels of zinc (8.63-20.76 ng/m(3)) are associated with risks of pediatric asthma exacerbations that are 1.23 (95% confidence interval, 1.07-1.41) times higher than those with previous-day low levels of zinc (<8.63 ng/m(3)) after accounting for time-varying potential confounders.Results suggest that high ambient air PM(2.5) zinc levels are associated with an increase in ED visits/hospital admissions for asthma on the following day among children living in an urban area.
The Investigation of Brainerd Diarrhea
Authors: Carl W. Walter
Journal: JAMA (1986)

<h3>To the Editor.—</h3> The epidemiologic extravaganza entitled "An Outbreak of a Newly Recognized Chronic Diarrhea Syndrome Associated With Raw Milk Consumption"<sup>1</sup>was dominated by a statistical analysis that ignored its barren etiologic base. Only a sparse 18 lines of text were devoted to the putative source of the infection—the dairy farm. Pertinent microbiological or veterinary expertise was evidently not involved. Pheasants, pigeons, and poultry were not investigated. Epizootic bovine chlamydial infections in dairy cattle were not considered.<sup>2</sup> The lack of a truly multidisciplinary investigation may have permitted<i>Chlamydia psittaci</i>to escape the hopper of epidemiologic analysis. Pasteurization will control milk-borne transmission, but leaves the zoonosis as a rural occupational<sup>3</sup>and community hazard.
Cushing's Disease and Basophilic Microadenomas
Authors: William H. Daughaday
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1978)

Harvey Cushing suspected that the clinical syndrome that now bears his name was caused by a secretory pituitary tumor. In 1935, when one of his patients with evidence of the disease died, Cushing was able to persuade the family to exhume the body for autopsy — remarkable evidence of the esteem in which Cushing was held by the patient's family. A circumscribed pituitary adenoma was detected. This case, together with others observed elsewhere, led Cushing to propose that the disease was the result of secretion by pituitary basophilic adenomas. The etiologic role of pituitary adenomas was soon questioned because in . . .
Abstract 104: Breast cancer stem cell extinction models: Implications for HER2 targeted therapy
Authors: Lindsay A. Riley, Hua Zhou, Kenneth Lange, Janet S. Sinsheimer, Mary E. Sehl
Journal: Cancer Research (2010)

Abstract Treatment with trastuzumab therapy has been shown to dramatically improve survival and reduce recurrence of breast cancer in patients with overexpression of HER-2/neu. A subpopulation of cells in human breast tumors has been identified with characteristics of cancer stem cells. These breast cancer stem cells (BC SCs) have been recently shown to have increased expression of HER-2/neu, suggesting that BC SCs might have a chance of being eradicated with therapy targeting HER-2. We propose a mathematical model to examine the feasibility of eradicating breast cancer stem cells with HER-2 targeted therapy. Using a linear birth-death process model, we can predict the likelihood that BC SCs have become extinct after a year of trastuzumab therapy. We examine the effects of varying degrees of HER-2/neu overexpression and susceptibility of BC SCs to trastuzumab therapy by changing the death rates under targeted therapy (see Table). We also quantify the average time to extinction of BC SCs and the average number of BC SCs remaining after a year of therapy. We conclude that trastuzumab may be effective in eradicating BC SCs in the adjuvant therapy setting, even in patients in whom the bulk of the tumor population does not overexpress HER-2/neu.BC SC population size and extinction likelihood for varying death rates.Death rate (per week)Mean extinction time (SD) (weeks)Probability of extinction in 1 year (52 weeks)0.3433 (4.1)0.9990.3038 (4.6)0.9900.2841 (5.0)0.9720.2644 (5.4)0.9220.2448 (5.9)0.7950.2253 (6.5)0.5250.2059 (7.3)0.1640.2066 (8.2)0.0060.1676 (9.4)&amp;lt;0.0001 Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 104.
Abstract 558: Targeting tumour heparanase activity using fully human monoclonal antibodies
Authors: Palaniswami Rathanaswami, Oscar Pan, Sarah Ross, Chadwick King, Ian N. Foltz, Paul Elvin
Journal: Cancer Research (2011)

Abstract Modification of heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPG) in the tumour microenvironment can have a significant influence on tumour cell behavior, tumour growth and metastasis. HSPG play an important role in shaping the integrity of the extracellular matrix, and cell surface HSPG are determinants of cell-cell interactions and receptor function. Heparanase (Hpa1), an endoglycosidase, cleaves the glycosidic bonds within heparan sulfate domains resulting in HSPG with impaired or altered functionality. Elevated expression of heparanase has been correlated with disease progression and poor survival in a number of human cancers. Using Xenomouse™ technology and immunising with recombinant human Hpa1, we have generated fully human monoclonal antibodies that bind to heparanase with high affinity (&amp;lt;100pM). A number of antibodies were shown to inhibit recombinant human, murine and cynomolgus heparanase activity in a HTRF (homogeneous time resolved fluorescence) heparan sulfate degradation assay with IC50s in the nM range (0.2-3nM) for human Hpa1. The antibodies also inhibited cell surface localised heparanase activity and appeared to interfere with secretion and activation of heparanase. Targeting heparanase activity with an inhibitory therapeutic antibody may be a promising alternative strategy to the use of heparan sulfate mimetics. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 558. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-558
The ACE Insertion/Deletion Polymorphism Is Not Associated With the Metabolic Syndrome (WHO Definition) in Brazilian Type 2 Diabetic Patients
Authors: Luciana A. Costa, Luis H. Canani, Ana L. Maia, Jorge L. Gross
Journal: Diabetes Care (2002)

The ACE gene has received substantial attention in recent years as candidate for a variety of diseases. The most common polymorphism in ACE gene is the insertion-deletion (I/D) polymorphism located in intron 16. The D allele is associated with higher levels of ACE, and it is considered to be a risk factor for development diseases such as coronary artery disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, or related complications (1). Recently, the presence of the metabolic syndrome (MS), according to World Health Organization (WHO) criteria (2), was associated with the D allele in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes (3). The authors found that patients with MS were more often carriers of the D allele (DD/ID) than the patients without the MS (58 vs. 42%, P < 0.01). The prevalence …
CONTEMPO '87 Crushes Disturbs, Saddens, Amazes, and Disappoints-Reply
Authors: Jody W. Zylke
Journal: JAMA (1988)

<h3>In Reply.</h3> —After nine issues, starting in 1978, CONTEMPO has evidently become a tradition for our readers. Responding to queries about specialties that were not represented has become a tradition for the editor. The purpose of CONTEMPO is to provide an overview of advances in various medical specialties. It would be impossible to include every specialty every year. Failure to include a specialty does not suggest that that specialty is less important or has had fewer significant advances in the last year than others. The facts of life are that pages are limited. As the EDITORIAL<sup>1</sup>in the 1987 issue notes, "Because of space limitations, not all areas of medicine can be included each year; those that cannot will be rotated on a two- to five-year cycle." Physical medicine and rehabilitation is on a two-year cycle and was last included in 1986. As a medical subspecialty, rheumatology has been
Rupture of the Esophagus
Authors: Harold L. Bushey
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1956)

RUPTURE of the esophagus was first described by Boerhaave1 in 1724, and his description of the symptoms is still appropriate today. However, before 1946 there were few reports of this catastrophic event, and no survivors except 2 mentioned by Graham.2 Since that time, early diagnosis and specific treatment have saved a significant percentage. The importance of early diagnosis and prompt surgery was emphasized by Kinsella et al.,3 who pointed out that 13 of 53 untreated patients were dead within less than twelve hours of the onset of symptoms, and only 8 survived for at least forty-eight hours. A few have . . .
Sex Hormones and Sexual Behavior
Authors: Jean D. Wilson
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1979)

In certain animals the effects of gonadal steroids on sexual behavior are mediated directly by the central nervous system: however, in humans the degree to which sexual identity or sexual role behavior is directly determined by endocrine function is unclear. Furthermore, the relative importance of hormonal versus psychiatric, social, and cultural factors as determinents of sexual identify is in dispute. The findings of Imperato-McGinley and her associates, published in this issue, tend to support the theory that hormonal factors are of primary importance in determining male sexual identity. Patients with a deficiency of steroid 5alpha-reductase have decreased digydrotestosterone production during fetal development, and are thus born with female-like external genital organs. Generally they are raised as females but during childhood and puberty normal testerone activity takes place; therefore, at puberty the majority of these individuals assume a male identity. This identity change was attributed to androgen activity. Studies of this nature contribute to our understanding of the role of hormones; however, it must be kept in mind that the study provides only circumstantial evidence and that the findings do not rule out the possible influence of psychological, social, or cultural factors on sexual role behavior. For example, male pseudohermaphradites are frequently born with clitoromegaly, and during childhood this may introduce feelings of uncertainty as to sexual identity. Nor is it clear that the change to male identity is the result of the direct effect of testosterone on the central nervous system; the enlargement of accessory male organs at puberty may itself influence sexual role behavior.
58. Oncolytic Measles Virus Delivery by Infected Cell Carriers–A Strategy To “By-Pass” the Pre-Existing Humoral Immune Response
Authors: Ianko D. Iankov, Boris R.A. Blechacz, Guy E. Griesmann, Mark J. Federspiel, Stephen J. Russell
Journal: Molecular Therapy (2006)

Attenuated measles virus (MV) propagates selectively in human tumor cells and phase I clinical trials are currently underway to test their oncolytic activity. However, rapid antibody-mediated neutralization of the therapeutic viruses in blood or peritoneal fluid poses a major threat to the success of the approach. Classical and alternative complement pathway activation also contributes to complete virus neutralization in the plasma. Viremia during natural measles infection is exclusively cell-associated such that live MV can be isolated only from infected PBMC and not as cell-free virions from serum samples.
Development of “orphan drugs” in Europe is too slow
Authors: Roger Dobson
Journal: BMJ (2006)

The development in Europe of “orphan drugs”—drugs for serious but rare conditions—is progressing too slowly, a research study has found.

Of 255 products designated in four years by the European Union as “orphan drugs,” and therefore entitled to special grants, only 18 were eventually approved, say researchers in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology (2006;61:355-60). They say that the low rate may be at least in part because of a paucity of European funds for companies willing to develop orphan drugs, and they call for urgent action.

“There is an urgent need to establish …
Colonic Histoplasmosis in AIDS
Authors: M. J. Martín Relloso, P. Sánchez-Fayos, A. González Guirado, L. Rico, J. C. Porres
Journal: Endoscopy (2005)

Figure 1 a - c A 23-year-old man was admitted with diffuse, intermittent abdominal pain and diarrhea. Antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) were positive. Colonoscopic examination showed geographic ulcerations along the whole length of the colon, but predominantly in the right colon, with clear, regular margins, some deep and large, with denuded mucosa at the bottom, and some partially covered with a mucopurulent exudate.
ABC of sexually transmitted diseases. Genital skin and other conditions.
Authors: M W Adler
Journal: BMJ (1984)

Lichen sclerosis et atrophicusLichen planus Psariasis and dermatitisSeveral skin and other conditions may affect the genital area but are not Dermatitis sexually transmitted.Because of their anatomical site patients with these Traurnocele N conditions seek medical advice in the fear that they have acquired a sexually Lymphocele transmitted disease.Peyronie's disease Lichen sclerosis et atrophicusLichen sclerosis et atrophicus is a rare disease that may occur in any age group but usually in those aged 30-60 years.The aetiology is unknown.The skin in the affected areas is atrophic, with white plaques and eventual contraction of tissues.When localised to the male genitals the condition is called balanitis xerotica obliterans.In men the major sites affected are the glans penis, urethral meatus, with extension into the terminal urethra, and the prepuce.In women the changes are found on the vulva, vaginal introitus, clitoris, perineum, and anus.Clinicalfeatures-Men with this condition may present with penile pain and irritation, urethral discharge, and in the later stages of the disease
No Asylum: State Psychiatric Repression in the Former USSR
Authors: Burton C. Einspruch
Journal: JAMA (1997)

Subsequent to the death of Stalin and the execution of Levrenti Beria, the inhumane head of the KGB, Soviet leadership under the helm of Premier Khrushchev confronted the embarrassing repatriation of thousands of prisoners who had been sentenced to serve time in the Gulag. The Gulag was an amorphous series of detention, work reform, and prison camps, which dotted some of the bleakest horizons of the remote, frequently barren, semiarctic regions of the Soviet Union. It hosted a wide array of miserable souls ranging from ordinary grifters to luminaries. The return of these exiles, however, did not herald an end to the pervasive repression of the Soviet political system, but merely signaled a change in the style of how suppressive policies of the post-Stalin era could best be hidden. Gulag excesses were attributed to the Stalin era, while the terror used to handle any opposition was transformed into less visible
Reply to Jin-Yi Li, Zilian Cui, Xiao Feng Gao, et al's Letter to the Editor re: Markus J. Bader, Christian Gratzke, Michael Seitz, et al. The “All-Seeing Needle”: Initial Results of an Optical Puncture System Confirming Access in Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy. Eur Urol 2011;59:1054–9
Authors: Mahesh Desai, Christian Gratzke, Michael Seitz, Rajan Sharma, Christian G. Stief, Markus J. Bader
Journal: European Urology (2011)
C7-02: Bronchial preneoplasia: MDm2 overexpression occurs before p14ARF and NPM aberrant expressions
Authors: Celine Mascaux, Francoise Bex, Benoit Martin, Annick Haller, Francesco Feoli, Karen Willard-Gallo, Vincent Ninane, Jean-Paul Sculier
Journal: Journal of Thoracic Oncology (2007)