tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Asthma: Prevalence, Pathogenesis, and Prospects for Novel Therapies
Authors: Prescott G. Woodruff
Journal: JAMA (2001)

The Increasing Prevalence of Asthma The prevalence of asthma has increased sharply in the United States and around the world in the past 30 years. In the United States, data from the National Health Interview Survey show that the annual prevalence of asthma increased from 3.1% in 1980 to 5.4% in 1994. A review of studies performed in 17 countries during the 1960s and repeated in the 1990s confirms an international increase in asthma prevalence. Although the increasing prevalence of asthma is a global phenomenon, the scope of the problem differs greatly among countries. The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood, which examined the prevalence of asthma in 56 different countries in the 1990s, found that prevalence ranged from 2% to 3% in Eastern Europe, Indonesia, Greece, Uzbekistan, India, and Ethiopia to 20% in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. The finding that affluent countries have higher asthma prevalence rates than poor countries has prompted speculation about the effects of affluence, modernization, or “western lifestyle” on risk factors for asthma. Until very recently, asthma mortality has risen in conjunction with increasing prevalence. Mortality data from 10 countries fromthemid-1970stothemid1980s uniformly demonstrated increasing mortality. In the United States, asthma mortality more than doubled from 8 per 1 million population in 1977 to 20 per 1 million in 1989. Notably, asthma mortality disproportionately affects certain segments of US society. African Americans have higher ageadjusted asthma mortality than whites (38.5 vs 15.1 per 1 million in 19931995) and more numerous emergency departmentvisitsandhospitalizations for asthma. In Hispanic populations, asthma mortality is high among those of Puerto Rican heritage (40.1 per 1 million), but not those of Cuban or Mexican heritage (15.8 and 9.2 per 1 million, respectively). It is not known whether high mortality among African Americans and Puerto Rican Americans relates solely to societal factors (access to education, health care, medications, or insurance) or whether specific environmental or genetic influences differentiallyaffect theseethnicgroups.Fortunately, for reasons that are unclear, overall asthma mortality in the United States stabilized at 20 to 21 per 1 million persons between 1989 and 1997.
F-18 FDG PET/CT Imaging of a Parapharyngeal Hemangioma
Authors: Devaki S. Surasi, Sara Meibom, Gregory Grillone, Rathan M. Subramaniam
Journal: Clinical Nuclear Medicine (2010)

Tumors of the parapharyngeal space (PPS) are uncommon, comprising 0.5% of all head and neck neoplasms. Hemangiomas are responsible for <1% of all such tumors occurring in the PPS. We present the case report of a 55-year-old woman who presented with sensorineural hearing loss. She was evaluated with an magnetic resonance imaging, which showed an incidental finding of a mass in the right PPS. Tagged red blood cell scan showed increased and progressive attenuation in the lesion, which is diagnostic of hemangioma. PET/CT showed minimal background uptake. This added confidence to the diagnosis, and thus avoided an invasive biopsy.
Uniting Public Health and Medicine
Authors: Paul Ambrose
Journal: JAMA (1997)

The vicissitudes of modern medicine are making many resident physicians apprehensive. Residents can scarcely pass the day without hearing about changing practice environments and the  skills and competencies needed to practice medicine in the 21st century. A pervasive motif in such discussions is the doctor-panel relationship; that is, the set of responsibilities that physicians have to a defined population, or panel, of patients under their care. The concept of population-based health care is new to many clinicians. It is an interdisciplinary approach to health care that considers a broad range of health determinants within a financial framework. This approach strives to find the most cost-effective means of improving health outcomes at the population level. The growth of managed care is one factor driving the discussion, as large systems of providers look to population-based health care as a way of managing costs.  As population-based approaches evolve in health systems, clinicians
Recalcitrant Urinary-Tract Infections
Authors: Lewis J. Griffith
Journal: JAMA (1965)

MORE FREQUENT recognition of urinary-tract infections has occurred in recent years. Unsuspected serious kidney infections have often been discovered only when severe renal damage was found at autopsy.<sup>1</sup>The frequency of cures of severe genitourinary-tract infections has not paralleled the increasing numbers of antibacterial agents available for treatment. The experience of most clinicians and microbiologists indicates that the causative agents of such infections are resistant to a larger spectrum of antibacterial drugs.<sup>2</sup>It is neither surprising nor uncommon to encounter strains of<i>Pseudomonas, Proteus</i>, and<i>Aerobacter</i>which are resistant to all antibiotics tested by the disk sensitivity method. When such a situation arises, the availability of an antimicrobial agent which could safely reach bactericidal levels in the patient, even though a sensitivity test showed a significant degree of resistance, would be highly desirable. Intravenous oxytetracycline hydrochloride (Terramycin) appears to possess some of the desirable characteristics for such therapy.
Moderate Exercise Increases Platelet Function in Type I Diabetic Patients Without Severe Angiopathy and in Good Control
Authors: Mariella Trovati, Giovanni Anfossi, Roberto De Facis, Elena Mularoni, Paola Massucco, Franco Cavalot, Serenella Burzacca, Luigi Mattiello, Pietro Greco Lucchina
Journal: Diabetes Care (1992)

The aim of this study was to investigate whether a 45-min moderate exercise, performed postprandially with a timing that partially prevented the risk of hypoglycemia, was able to modify platelet function in patients affected by insulin-dependent (type I) diabetes mellitus without severe late complications and in a good metabolic control.We submitted 6 male type I diabetic patients (27.2 +/- 3.4 yr; body mass index, 21.4 +/- 0.6 kg/m2; HbA1c, 7.6 +/- 0.9%) on a daily three-insulin injection regimen, without severe late complications of diabetes, to a 45-min moderate exercise (about 50% of maximal oxygen consumption) with a cycle ergometer, beginning 180 min after breakfast and 195 min after a subcutaneous shot of regular insulin. Serial venous blood samples were conducted to measure plasma glucose, free insulin, counterregulatory hormones (glucagon, growth hormone, cortisol, and catecholamines), platelet sensitivity to ADP, platelet activating factor and collagen, and plasma concentrations of the platelet-specific protein beta-thromboglobulin (a marker of the platelet release reaction in vivo).Exercise was accompanied by a decrease of plasma glucose (from 5.9 +/- 1.2 to 4.6 +/- 1 mmol/L, P = 0.067) and free insulin (from 180 +/- 36 to 114 +/- 30 pmol/L, P = 0.003), and by a significant increase of growth hormone (from 5 +/- 1 to 15 +/- 4 micrograms/L, P = 0.045), cortisol (from 240 +/- 30 to 406 +/- 69 nmol/L, P = 0.018), epinephrine (from 1005 +/- 240 to 5143 +/- 1753 pmol/L, P = 0.077), and norepinephrine (from 5.04 +/- 1.08 to 13.48 +/- 2.98 nmol/L, P = 0.009). Platelet sensitivity to the agonists and plasma concentrations of beta-thromboglobulin increased during the exercise period. In particular, ADP ED50 reached during exercise 61 +/- 16% of basal values (P = 0.048), platelet activating factor ED50 reached 73 +/- 11% (P = 0.043), and collagen ED50 reached 68 +/- 9% (P = 0.008). beta-Thromboglobulin rose from 24 +/- 2 to 32 +/- 3 micrograms/L (P = 0.007).Moderate exercise enhances platelet function in type I diabetic patients without severe angiopathy and in a good metabolic control.
Psychiatric aspects of heart transplantation: preoperative evaluation and postoperative sequelae.
Authors: F M Mai, F N McKenzie, W J Kostuk
Journal: BMJ (1986)

The contribution of a liaison psychiatrist to a cardiac transplant programme is described. Ninety one patients were referred to the transplant unit for assessment over four years, and of these, 86 were assessed by the psychiatrist. A high prevalence of preoperative anxiety and depression was found. Thirty four transplants were performed on 33 patients during the study and 22 patients survived. Six patients developed transient delirious episodes during the first 10 postoperative days, three showed symptoms of considerable anxiety, and three developed social and behavioural problems during the convalescent period. Subjects with higher scores on the somatic scale of the general health questionnaire showed increased postoperative mortality. In conclusion, the liaison psychiatrist is useful in evaluating and managing heart transplant patients before and after operation.
Largest retailer in US enters healthcare reform debate
Authors: F. Charatan
Journal: BMJ (2009)

On 1 July Walmart, the US retail chain with 1.4 million employees, sent a letter to President Barack Obama supporting a change in the law that would require employers to provide healthcare insurance to their workers.

The letter was signed not only by Mike Duke, Walmart’s chief executive, but also by Andrew Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, and John Podesta, chief executive of the …
Hydroxyurea-Induced Leg Ulceration in 14 Patients
Authors: Patricia J. Best
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1998)

Background: Hydroxyurea is an antineoplastic agent commonly used to treat myeloproliferative disorders and other nonneoplastic conditions. Objective: To further define the typical features of hydroxyurea-related cutaneous ulcers of the leg. Design: Retrospective, descriptive study of the medical records of patients who developed leg ulcers while receiving hydroxyurea therapy. Setting: A tertiary care medical center. Patients: Patients with myeloproliferative disorders who were treated with hydroxyurea. Results: 14 patients with extremely painful leg ulcers were identified. The most common ulcer site was the malleoli. Multiple ulcers were seen in 64% of patients. Patients had received hydroxyurea for an average of 6 years before ulcers developed. All ulcers healed after discontinuation of hydroxyurea treatment, and 2 patients developed ulcers after treatment was restarted. Conclusion: Hydroxyurea induces painful leg ulcers that are usually difficult to treat and require cessation of hydroxyurea therapy.
Scimitar Syndrome
Authors: Vladimiro L. Vida, Massimo A. Padalino, Giovanna Boccuzzo, Erjon Tarja, Hakan Berggren, Thierry Carrel, Sertaç Çiçek, Giancarlo Crupi, Duccio Di Carlo, Roberto Di Donato, José Fragata, Mark Hazekamp, Viktor Hraska, Bohdan Maruszewski, Dominique Metras, Marco Pozzi, Rene Pretre, Jean Rubay, Heikki Sairanen, George Sarris, Christian Schreiber, Bart Meyns, Tomas Tlaskal, Andreas Urban, Gaetano Thiene, Giovanni Stellin
Journal: Circulation (2010)

Background— Scimitar syndrome is a rare congenital heart disease. To evaluate the surgical results, we embarked on the European Congenital Heart Surgeons Association (ECHSA) multicentric study. Methods and Results— From January 1997 to December 2007, we collected data on 68 patients who underwent surgery for scimitar syndrome. Primary outcomes included hospital mortality and the efficacy of repair at follow-up. Median age at surgery was 1.4 years (interquartile range, 0.46 to 7.92 years). Forty-four patients (64%) presented with symptoms. Surgical repair included intraatrial baffle in 38 patients (56%; group 1) and reimplantation of the scimitar vein onto the left atrium in 21 patients (31%; group 2). Eight patients underwent right pneumectomy, and 1 had a right lower lobe lobectomy (group 3). Four patients died in hospital (5.9%; 1 patient in group 1, 2.6%; 3 patients in group 3, 33%). Median follow-up time was 4.5 years. There were 2 late deaths (3.1%) resulting from severe pulmonary arterial hypertension. Freedom from scimitar drainage stenosis at 13 years was 83.8% in group 1 and 85.8% in group 2. Four patients in group 1 were reoperated, and 3 patients (2 in group 1 [6%] and 1 in group 2 [4.8%]) required balloon dilation/stenting for scimitar drainage stenosis. Conclusions— The surgical treatment of this rare syndrome is safe and effective. The majority of patients were asymptomatic at the follow-up control. There were a relatively high incidence of residual scimitar drainage stenosis that is similar between the 2 reported corrective surgical techniques used.
Effect of interferon administration on serum hepatitis C virus RNA in patients with chronic hepatitis C
Authors: Kazuaki Chayama, Satoshi Saitoh, Yasuji Arase, Kenji Ikeda, Toyomi Matsumoto, Yoko Sakai, Mariko Kobayashi, Masamitsu Unakami, Tsuto Morinagaa, Hiromitsu Kumada
Journal: Hepatology (1991)

Hepatitis C virus RNA as detected by reverse transcription and nested polymerase chain reaction was monitored in 16 patients with chronic hepatitis C treated with interferon. Hepatitis C virus RNA became undetectable after 4 to 8 wk of interferon administration in 13 of the 16 patients. During 6 mo of follow-up, 5 of the 13 patients who became negative for hepatitis C virus RNA after interferon administration remained negative, and all five continued to have normal ALT levels. Repeat liver biopsy in these five patients revealed histological improvement. Antibody to hepatitis C virus, which was initially positive in all treated patients, fell to undetectable levels in three of the five patients. In contrast, aminotransferase levels rose again in all eight patients who had become hepatitis C virus RNA negative but had again exhibited hepatitis C virus RNA after completion of therapy. In 16 untreated patients, hepatitis C virus RNA remained detectable. These results indicate that detection of hepatitis C virus RNA may be useful as a marker of viral replication in chronic hepatitis C; they also suggest that interferon should again be administered to patients who become hepatitis C virus RNA negative on treatment but again exhibit this marker of viral replication when treatment is stopped.
Prediction of long-term clinical outcome with final translesional pressure gradient during coronary angioplasty.
Authors: J M Hodgson, S Reinert, A S Most, D O Williams
Journal: Circulation (1986)

The final translesional pressure gradient measured during coronary angioplasty correlates with immediate angiographic and clinical results. Whether the pressure gradient is of value in predicting late clinical outcome has not been determined. We therefore obtained complete follow-up information on 159 patients with single-vessel disease who underwent successful coronary angioplasty. Mean follow-up time was 15 +/- 10 months. The occurrence of repeat angioplasty, coronary bypass surgery, recurrent anginal chest pain, or a positive postangioplasty stress test were considered clinical events indicative of late failure. Of the variables age, gender, initial and final translesional pressure gradient, extent of initial and final arterial narrowing, site of dilatation, type of balloon catheter used, number of inflations, and maximal inflation pressure, only the final translesional pressure gradient was predictive of late failure when analyzed by multivariate techniques. Thus, the final translesional pressure gradient is of value in predicting both immediate and late outcome after coronary angioplasty.
STANDARDIZATION OF DIGITALIS
Authors: P. J. Hanzlik
Journal: JAMA (1934)

<h3>To the Editor:—</h3> Recent correspondence inThe Journal(March 17, p. 862; April 14, p. 1246) regarding the standardization of digitalis leaves impressions that are likely to increase the dilemma of manufacturers. Pharmacologists are largely responsible for introducing, and carrying on the principal investigations in, bio-assays, but the practice of bio-assay is chiefly the concern of manufacturers of pharmaceutic products. The latter require simple, reasonably accurate and economical methods that will give reproducible results. Such methods will increase the popularity and promote the use of bio-assays. There is no doubt of the frog method being simple, but there is serious doubt of its giving accurate and dependable results. Moreover, frogs are practically unobtainable in arid and semitropical regions and importations are costly, so that an assay on frogs may actually be more expensive than on cats. However, cats too are difficult to obtain in sufficient quantities almost everywhere. Of course,
Whipworm genome and dual-species transcriptome analyses provide molecular insights into an intimate host-parasite interaction
Authors: Bernardo J Foth, Isheng J Tsai, Adam J Reid, Allison J Bancroft, Sarah Nichol, Alan Tracey, Nancy Holroyd, James A Cotton, Eleanor J Stanley, Magdalena Zarowiecki, Jimmy Z Liu, Thomas Huckvale, Philip J Cooper, Richard K Grencis, Matthew Berriman
Journal: Nature Genetics (2014)

Whipworms are common soil-transmitted helminths that cause debilitating chronic infections in man. These nematodes are only distantly related to Caenorhabditis elegans and have evolved to occupy an unusual niche, tunneling through epithelial cells of the large intestine. We report here the whole-genome sequences of the human-infective Trichuris trichiura and the mouse laboratory model Trichuris muris. On the basis of whole-transcriptome analyses, we identify many genes that are expressed in a sex- or life stage-specific manner and characterize the transcriptional landscape of a morphological region with unique biological adaptations, namely, bacillary band and stichosome, found only in whipworms and related parasites. Using RNA sequencing data from whipworm-infected mice, we describe the regulated T helper 1 (TH1)-like immune response of the chronically infected cecum in unprecedented detail. In silico screening identified numerous new potential drug targets against trichuriasis. Together, these genomes and associated functional data elucidate key aspects of the molecular host-parasite interactions that define chronic whipworm infection.
Role of catalytic and lysine-binding sites in plasmin-induced neutrophil adherence to endothelium.
Authors: S K Lo, T J Ryan, N Gilboa, L Lai, A B Malik
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1989)

Plasmin resulted in increased neutrophil adherence to cultured ovine pulmonary artery endothelial cell monolayers in a concentration-dependent manner (10(-12)-10(-7) M). The adherence response increased fivefold above baseline within 60 min after addition of plasmin (10(-8) M) and the response persisted up to 30 min after removal of plasmin. The neutrophil adherence was mediated by the action of plasmin on neutrophils rather than endothelial cells. The response was the result of an increase in functional activity of CD18 neutrophil cell surface adhesive glycoprotein. Neutrophil adherence was inhibited by pretreatment of neutrophils with MAbs IB4 and 60.3 targeted against the beta chain of the CD18, whereas control isotypic MAb 60.5 against HLA class I antigen had no effect. The plasmin catalytic site was not involved in the response. Lys-plasminogen had reduced adherence-promoting activity relative to plasmin, whereas glu-plasminogen had no effect. Elastase-derived plasminogen fragments corresponding to kringle 1+2+3 and kringle 4 (both of which contained the lysine-binding sites) possessed neutrophil adherence-promoting activities similar to plasmin, whereas miniplasminogen (which contains the catalytic site but no lysine-binding sites) had minimal effect, indicating the involvement of lysine-binding sites in the response. Blocking lysine-binding sites of plasmin and elastase-derived plasminogen fragments with tranexamic acid (IC50 of 5 mM) inhibited neutrophil adherence. A monospecific polyclonal antibody against the lysine-binding sites also reduced the neutrophil adherence-promoting activity of plasmin. The results indicate that plasmin induces neutrophil adherence to the endothelium and that the effect is mediated by lysine-binding sites on plasmin.
Community acquired viral hepatitis B and C in the United States.
Authors: M J Alter
Journal: Gut (1993)

In the United States, most reported cases of hepatitis B occur in adults as a result of behavioural, lifestyle, or occupational exposures, but a significant number of children also become infected in well defined settings. Although only 1-3% of acute hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections occur in children under 5 years of age, they account for 20-30% of all chronic infections. A new strategy for HBV prevention in the USA includes integration of HBV vaccine into childhood immunisation schedules. Vaccination strategies that target high risk groups have not been effective. To determine the frequency and severity of community acquired chronic hepatitis C, patients with acute non-A, non-B hepatitis identified in four sentinel counties in the United States were followed prospectively. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection was found in 106 (82%) of 130 patients. Ninety three per cent of the HCV positive patients had a risk factor for their infection: 59% parenteral, 6% sexual or household, and 28% low socioeconomic level. Chronic hepatitis developed in 62%, independently of the risk factor for infection. HCV-RNA persisted in most patients, including those with biochemical resolution of their hepatitis. This study suggests that HCV may be a major cause of liver disease and persistent viraemia in the United States.
Cocaine-Induced Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy
Authors: DANIEL GAY, AMOLAK SINGH
Journal: Clinical Nuclear Medicine (2000)

Reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) usually follows traumatic injuries or neurologic disorders. The authors report a rare case of RSD that followed intraarterial administration of cocaine in a patient with a history of intravenous drug abuse. The cocaine was self-administered inadvertently into the femoral artery rather than the femoral vein. Despite the intense pain, swelling, and dermatologic changes that followed, the diagnosis of RSD was not considered until scintigraphic studies suggested it. A combination of normal radiographs, a normal leukocyte study, and an abnormal bone scan in the region of tenderness and swelling excluded other possibilities and suggested RSD. In our patient, RSD was likely caused by an ischemic autonomic injury from the vasoconstrictor action of cocaine. Clinical follow-up and relief using phentolamine, an α-adrenergic blocker and vasodilator, made the diagnosis of RSD most likely.
AN IMPROVED PETRI DISH HOLDER.
Authors: HAROLD O. RUH
Journal: JAMA (1907)

Any one who has attempted bacteriologic work, involving the use of a large number of Petri dishes, has regretted the lack of a satisfactory Petri dish holder. No holder, satisfactory for the various procedures of sterilization, storage, plating and incubation is on the market. To supply this defect there has been designed the holder here presented. The figure is self-explanatory. The instrument is made of heavy tin, galvanized iron, or other material that will withstand an ordinary amount of heat and moisture, and is made with pressed joints, without solder. The apparatus has been found satisfactory, so far as tested.
Treatment of relapsed acute myeloid leukemia after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation with chemotherapy followed by G-CSF-primed donor leukocyte infusion: a high incidence of isolated extramedullary relapse
Authors: S-J Choi, J-H Lee, J-H Lee, S Kim, M Seol, Y-S Lee, J-S Lee, W-K Kim, H-S Chi, K-H Lee
Journal: Leukemia (2004)