tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Effects of inhibition of sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium uptake on contraction in myocytes isolated from failing human ventricle
Authors: K Davia, C H Davies, S E Harding
Journal: Cardiovascular Research (1997)

There has been debate regarding the level of sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ ATPase protein in heart failure. We have used the SR Ca2+ ATPase inhibitor thapsigargin to investigate the functional contribution of this uptake system to contraction and relaxation in myocytes from failing and non-failing human ventricle.Myocytes were isolated from 28 failing and 18 non-failing ventricles and stimulated at 0.2 Hz, 32 degrees C in Krebs-Henseleit solution. Contraction amplitude and speed were compared before and after treatment with 1 mumol/l thapsigargin for 20 min to deplete SR Ca2+ stores.Initial beat duration was longer in myocytes from failing hearts. Addition of thapsigargin significantly prolonged the beat in myocytes from both groups, but the increase was greater in non-failing hearts (beat duration increased by 0.79 +/- 0.12 s in myocytes from non-failing hearts compared with 0.37 +/- 0.12 s in those from failing, P < 0.02). The contraction amplitude increased at high stimulation frequencies in myocytes from non-failing hearts (from 2.6% shortening at 0.1 Hz to 4.6% at 1 Hz, P < 0.001, n = 9), but not in those from failing hearts (1.8% at 0.1 Hz compared with 1.7% at 1 Hz, n = 5). Thapsigargin abolished the positive staircase in the non-failing, but had no effect in the failing group. Contraction amplitude following a rest interval was significantly depressed relative to steady-state levels in myocytes from the non-failing hearts (44.8 +/- 10.3% at 3 min), but not in failing (102 +/- 18%, P < 0.01 compared to non-failing at 3 min). Following thapsigargin treatment, there were no longer significant differences between failing and non-failing myocytes in the time course of the beat, frequency response or post-rest behaviour.The differences between myocytes from failing and non-failing hearts were reduced by inhibition of SR function. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the initial differences had been due to decreased SR Ca2+ uptake.
Subnormal Pancreatic Polypeptide and Epinephrine Responses to Insulin-Induced Hypoglycemia Identify Patients with Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus Predisposed to Develop Overt Autonomic Neuropathy
Authors: FRANK P. KENNEDY
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1988)

Sixteen patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus with no current evidence of autonomic dysfunction underwent an insulin tolerance test during which plasma pancreatic polypeptide and epinephrine responses were determined. Compared to 11 age- and weight-matched nondiabetic volunteers, 9 diabetic subjects had subnormal plasma pancreatic polypeptide responses (n = 6) or plasma epinephrine responses (n - 8). When autonomic function was reassessed 2 to 3 years later by standard cardiovascular reflex tests and clinical examination, 8 of 9 diabetic subjects with subnormal hormonal responses to hypoglycemia developed either abnormal cardiovascular reflexes (6 of 9) or overt symptoms consistent with diabetic autonomic neuropathy (6 of 9), whereas none of the subjects with previously normal plasma pancreatic polypeptide and epinephrine responses did (P less than 0.01). Diminished pancreatic polypeptide and epinephrine responses to hypoglycemia can predict the development of overt autonomic neuropathy in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus; identification of patients with a predilection to develop autonomic neuropathy may permit earlier treatment.
Densitometrically observed differences in elastic recoil of the three main coronary arteries after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty
Authors: Benno J. Rensing, Patrick W. Serruys, Kevin J. Beatt, Harry Suryapranata, Gert Jan Laarman, Pim J. de Feyter
Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology (1990)
Appraisal of gut lavage in the study of intestinal humoral immunity.
Authors: S O'Mahony, J R Barton, S Crichton, A Ferguson
Journal: Gut (1990)

Direct investigation of intestinal humoral immunity requires collection of intestinal secretions or mucosal biopsy specimens, or both. A non-invasive technique of gut lavage, with a polyethyleneglycol electrolyte lavage solution as a means of collecting intestinal secretions for immunoglobulin and antibody studies, was evaluated. Fifty patients were studied--25 immunologically normal patients or volunteers, 15 patients with untreated coeliac disease, and 10 patients with active Crohn9s disease. Protease inhibitors were added promptly to samples to prevent proteolysis of immunoglobulin content. Treated lavage samples were assayed by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay for immunoglobulin and antibody content. Studies of serial lavage specimens showed that early, faecally contaminated specimens contained negligible quantities of immunoglobulin, but once the specimens became clear a steady state was reached, with little variation in immunoglobulin content between serial specimens and with a uniform dilution (around 20%) of the ingested polyethyleneglycol. Gut lavage fluid IgA was predominantly secretory, comprising 92%, 81.6%, and 76.7% respectively of the total IgA gut lavage fluid content in the control, coeliac, and Crohn9s groups. High values of total IgM and IgA and IgM antigliadin antibodies were detected in the coeliac group, and high values of IgG in the Crohn9s disease group. This method of gut lavage is not only an effective bowel cleanser, but also a noninvasive means of obtaining intestinal secretions for the study of humoral immunity in gastrointestinal disease.
Activation of lymphoma-associated MyD88 mutations via allostery-induced TIR-domain oligomerization
Authors: Monika Avbelj, Olaf-Oliver Wolz, Ota Fekonja, Mojca Benčina, Matej Repič, Janez Mavri, Jens Krüger, Charlotta Schärfe, Magno Delmiro Garcia, Gabriela Panter, Oliver Kohlbacher, Alexander N. R. Weber, Roman Jerala
Journal: Blood (2014)
Heterogeneity of alveolar macrophages in experimental silicosis.
Authors: S Hildemann, C Hammer, F Krombach
Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives (1992)

The alveolar macrophage (AM) population has been shown to be heterogeneous in composition as well as in function. The aim of our study was to assess morphological and functional features of AM in an experimental model of quartz-induced lung fibrosis by flow cytometric methods. Twelve cynomolgus monkeys were exposed 8 hr/day, 5 days/week for 26 months to either normal atmosphere (n = 5) or 5 mg/m3 DQ12 less than 5 microns quartz dust (n = 7). After 20 months of exposure, we studied AM phagocytosis by incubating bronchoalveolar lavage cells with fluorescent polystyrene microspheres (mean diameter 1.91 microns). Using a fluorescence-activated cell sorter analyzer, AM subpopulations were identified via their volume/side scatter properties. After selective electronic "gating" of the AM populations, both the percentage of phagocytic AM and the mean number of ingested microspheres per AM were determined. In addition, a phagocytic index (microspheres/AM x % phagocytic AM x 10(-2) and a hypothetical total phagocytic capacity of one lung (phagocytic index x total number of AM x 10(-6) were calculated. The total bronchoalveolar lavage cell counts rose (75.6 +/- 11.3 x 10(6) versus 10.1 +/- 0.8 x 10(6)) significantly after quartz exposure. In contrast, the percentage of phagocytic AM was significantly (p less than 0.05) reduced (43.5 +/- 5.0% versus 74.2 +/- 1.4%). Flow cytometric measurements revealed the appearance of an AM subpopulation characterized by size/granularity features identical to blood monocytes. Only minimal numbers of these cells were found under normal conditions, but they constituted 50% of the entire AM population in the quartz group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Prevention of Congenital Syphilis
Authors: H. Hunter Handsfield
Journal: JAMA (1984)

Congenital infection with<i>Treponema pallidum</i>is the most serious form of syphilis. Following the introduction of widespread serological testing of pregnant women and other public health control measures, the United States' incidence of congenital syphilis in infants younger than 1 year of age underwent a dramatic and gratifying decline to a low of 115 reported cases in 1978.1 Subsequently, however, the number of reported cases rose to 159 in 1982 and 158 in 1983, a 38% increase that parallels a striking rise in primary and secondary syphilis in women, from 5,331 to 9,082 reported cases.<sup>1</sup>These numbers undoubtedly underestimate the true magnitude of the problem, because of misdiagnosis and the occurrence of undocumented cases manifested by spontaneous abortion or stillbirth. Moreover, the importance of congenital syphilis is magnified beyond its numbers because of its high morbidity and mortality, because it selectively affects socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, because its victims are
HIV/AIDS Early Treatment Controversy Cues New Advice but Questions Remain
Authors: Marsha F. Goldsmith
Journal: JAMA (1993)

IN THE ATMOSPHERE of confusion about how best to treat people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that was engendered by reports at the Ninth International Conference on AIDS, held last month in Berlin, Germany, a panel convened by a US government agency met 2 weeks later in Bethesda, Md, to consider all the evidence and suggest a new, state-of-the-art, therapeutic approach. At what point physicians should reach into their scant antiretroviral armamentarium for one of the three drugs approved to intervene in the natural history of infection with the virus was the issue addressed by a group of nongovernmental experts on the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The panel's 18 members convened for 3 days at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and issued somewhat cautious and necessarily complicated new recommendations— the first since 1990—for treating persons with the disease. While there is no regulatory authority behind
Choline pathways during normal and stimulated renal growth in rats.
Authors: G H Bean, L M Lowenstein
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1978)

Cellular membrane synthesis occurs during normal and stimulated renal growth. Choline in the kidney is utilized as a precursor for membrane synthesis via the choline kinase reaction. We investigated choline phosphorylation during normal and stimulated renal growth. Rapidly growing neonatal rat kidneys contained relatively high levels of choline kinase activity (61 pmol phosphorylcholine/min per mg protein). Choline kinase activity and phosphorylcholine production then fell gradually over the 1st mo of life; by 1 mo phosphorylcholine production was 34 pmol phosphorylcholine/min per mg protein. Choline kinase activity increased by 27% (P less than 0.001) in 28-day-old rats when renal growth was stimulated by contralateral nephrectomy; the increase occurred within 2 h after surgery. Thus, changes in the activity of this important enzyme in the initiation of membrane synthesis is associated both with normal renal development and with adaptation to nephron loss. The findings further suggest that the cell membrane may be involved in the initiation of compensatory renal growth.
On the Air-Cells of the Lungs
Authors: T. Williams
Journal: BMJ (1857)

and pyloric orifices were not at all involved in the cdisease.TFhe liver, spleen, and left kidney were healthy; but several cysts appeared upon the other kidney.CASE II.J. L., aged 56, a greengrocer, who worked hard and had had a good deal of mental worry, came into the Hospital on the 18th of April, 1855.He was in good lhealth until eighteen months ago, when he began to experience occasional "twinges " of paiin in his stomnach, and during the past three mnonths they had attacked him more frequently.A fortnight before his admission he vomited for the first tirne; and a week later he suffered incessantly from hiccough and eructations.He was pallid and emaciated; the bowels were confined.;pulse small and thready; skin cold; and he was unable to lie down, owing to the constant ertietation.April 19th.At night he vomited nearly three quarts of thin wateiy fluid.A dose of aloes and senina was ordered for the mnorning; andI then he commenced taking the nitrate of bis- muth with magnesia.April 20th.Very low spirited.The sickness returned at intervals.Brandy was ordered; and a blister put on the epi- gastrium.April 24th.Somewhat easier.The vomiting ceased on the 22nd.AIn enema ever-y evening kept the bowels gently open; whilst a few drops of chloroform added to the mixture acted almost magically in relieving the epigastric paini.
THE SURGICAL TREATMENT OF INTESTINAL OBSTRUCTIONS.
Authors: H. O. MARCY
Journal: JAMA (1883)

[Presented to the Section on Surgery and Anatomy, Cleveland, June, 1883.] It may be accepted as an undisputed fact that our operative art has won its greatest triumphs during the last decade in the field of abdominal surgery. The peritonæal cavity is no longer the “terra incognita” of the surgeon, and its invasion is not attended with the fears or dangers of even a very recent period. The removal of ovarian tumors is not invested with serious dangers. Hysterectomy is considered a justifiable operation in quite a variety of diseases. Kidneys are extirpated, with a fair showing of success. Biliary calculi are not exempt from surgical interference. Gun-shot wounds of the abdomcn and intestines are no longer treated with opium, and death awaited as almost certain, but the injured portions are, so far as possible, restored in their continuity or resected; and the removal of malignant growths involving the digestive
Macrocytosis and Cobalamin Deficiency in Patients Treated with Sunitinib
Authors: Silke Gillessen, Lukas Graf, Wolfgang Korte, Thomas Cerny
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (2007)

To the Editor: Sunitinib malate is a multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor approved for the treatment of advanced renal-cell carcinoma. We report on an asymptomatic increase in the mean corpuscular volume of erythrocytes and cobalamin deficiency in six patients with metastatic renal-cell carcinoma who were treated for more than 5 months with sunitinib as part of a clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of continuous daily administration of the drug. The starting dose of sunitinib was 37.5 mg daily; three patients required a dose reduction to 25 mg, and one patient had a dose escalation to 50 mg daily. An . . .
Blocking activity of mite‐specific IgG antibodies studied by skin tests
Authors: G. PECQUET, M. MURRIETA, V. MICHELEN, F. LEYNADIER, J. DRY, M. ALLARY, G. FABRE, J. SAINT‐BLANCARD
Journal: Allergy (1989)

The aim of the study was to determine whether IgG antibodies from patients on specific immunotherapy could inhibit skin test reactivity of allergens when mixed with them prior to testing. In a preliminary double‐blind study, mite extracts were incubated with glycero‐saline solution or non‐specific IgG and used in testing 15 patients. Wheal and flare diameters produced with the two mite extracts did not differ significantly. In a second double‐blind study with 15 other patients, skin tests using mite extracts incubated with either non‐specific IgG or specific IgG showed significantly decreased diameters when mite extracts were preincubated with specific IgG. This result, in vivo , confirms the antigen neutralizing capacity of specific IgG demonstrated in vitro.
Tranquilizers in the Treatment of the Cardiac Neurotic Patient and the Subsequent Alteration of Complaints
Authors: W. Schüffel, Cornelia Schaumburg
Journal: Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics (1970)

51 cardiac neurotic patients were administered a new benzodiazepin derivate (Dikalium-Chlorazepat) over a three-week period under the conditions of a double-blind trial. The scores of the heart items on the recently developed Zenz list of somatic complaints were significantly (P = 0.005) reduced in the drug group whereas the scores of the other items on the same list remained stable. However there was no significant (P = 0.44) difference between the desire for continuation and terminating the treatment. The following conclusions seem to be applicable: Cardiac neurotic patients react according to mechanisms which are recognised in psychophysiology as certain kinds of stereotypy. They seem to experience less stressful events when under the influence of Dikalium-Chlorazepat. Experiencing less somatic complaints and possibly less stress when under drug does not necessarily mean that the therapeutic situation is regarded as positive. A critical double-blind study has to be able to account for the subjective meaning of the therapeutic criteria being applied.
P13.26 * LINEAR ACCELERATOR RADIOSURGERY FOR THE TREATMENT OF NEUROFIBROMATOSIS TYPE 2 RELATED VESTIBULAR SCHWANNOMAS
Authors: O. Zemskova, O. Chuvashova
Journal: Neuro-Oncology (2014)

BACKGROUND: Approaches in management of neurofibromatosis type 2 related vestibular schwannomas (VS-NF2) are still controversial. All modern treatment options are less effective in controlling VS-NF2 than sporadic VS. Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) can be an alternative to surgery for VS-NF2. We analyzed the efficacy and side effects of SRS in treatment of patients with VS-NF2. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From 2010 till 2013 SRS was applied in twelve patients with 15 VS-NF2. Two patients were previously microsurgical operated with complete and partial removal of VS-NF2. SRS was performed by means of “Trilogy” Linear accelerator (“Varian”, USA) using stereotactic system “Brain Lab” (Germany). Median prescription dose and tumor volume were 12.5Gy (range 12.0-13.0) and 3.564cm3 (range 0.226-8.258), respectively. RESULTS: Twelve patients with 15 VS-NF2 were treated by SRS. Median follow up time was 21 months (from 6 to 35 months). In ten patients follow up was at least 12 months. Tumor growth control was achieved in fourteen (93%) tumors at the moment of the latest MRI. In seven patients after SRS no negative changes in neurological status were seen, in four of them positive changes in neurological status were seen. In three patients with VS-NF2 transitory hearing impairment appeared after SRS. No cases of resistant neuropathic trigeminal pain, considerable facial paresis and occlusive hydrocephalus after SRS were noticed. CONCLUSION: SRS is an effective non-invasive method of treatment of patients with multifocal intracranial lesions associated with NF2 and can be performed as alternative or combined treatment for selected patients.
THE RAPID SHALLOW BREATHING RESULTING FROM PULMONARY CONGESTION AND EDEMA
Authors: Edward D. Churchill, Oliver Cope
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (1929)

These experiments record the effects of the experimental production of pulmonary congestion and edema in a lung completely isolated from the general circulation, but with an intact nerve supply. The resulting changes are: a slowing of the heart rate, a fall in systemic blood pressure and a temporary inhibition of respiration succeeded by rapid shallow breathing. The pulse rate and blood pressure show a rapid and spontaneous return to initial conditions. The respirations show a partial but not a complete return to their former rate and depth. The effects on respiration are similar to those described by Dunn and Binger and Moore which follow multiple embolism of the pulmonary circuit with starch granules. The alterations in the pulse rate and blood pressure are characteristic of the effects of vagal stimulation. A chemical effect on the respiratory center is excluded by the nature of the preparation. These results, therefore, add further evidence to support the hypothesis that the rapid shallow breathing attending congestion and edema of the lungs is due to the stimulation of nerve endings in the lungs.
Doctors’ versus patients’ global assessments of treatment effectiveness: empirical survey of diverse treatments in clinical trials
Authors: Evangelos Evangelou, Georgios Tsianos, John P A Ioannidis
Journal: BMJ (2008)

<b>Objective</b> To examine whether doctors' global assessments of treatment effects agree with patients' global assessments. <b>Design</b> Survey of trials included in systematic reviews of treatments for diverse conditions. <b>Data sources</b> Cochrane database of systematic reviews. <b>Data extracted</b> Data on patients' global assessments and on doctors' global assessment for the same treatment against the same comparator. <b>Main outcome measures</b> Relative odds ratio (ratio of odds ratios of global improvement with the experimental intervention versus control according to doctors compared with patients), and improvement rates according to doctors and patients. <b>Results</b> Doctors' global assessments were compared with patients' global assessments for 63 different treatment comparisons (240 trials) in 18 conditions. The summary relative odds ratio across the comparisons was not significant (0.98, 95% confidence interval 0.88 to 1.08; I<sup>2</sup>=0%, 95% confidence interval 0% to 30%). In 62 of the 63 comparisons the effects of treatment rated by patients and by doctors did not differ beyond chance, but for single comparisons the confidence intervals were large. Rates of improvement on average did not differ between doctors' assessments and patients' assessments (summary relative odds ratio 0.98, 0.88 to 1.06; I<sup>2</sup>=0%, 0% to 24%). <b>Conclusion</b> Doctors' global assessments of the effects of treatments are on average similar to those of patients.
Response to Cundy
Authors: David M. Nathan, Matthew Davis, Patricia Cleary, John Lachin
Journal: Diabetes Care (2001)

We thank Dr. Cundy (1) for his interest in and careful reading of the article of the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) Research Group that focused on the risk for developing progressive retinopathy during and after pregnancy (2). Given the relatively small number of women who became pregnant ( n = 180) and the even smaller number of pregnant women who developed severe retinopathy in the DCCT (defined as proliferative or severe nonproliferative retinopathy, n = 13), we were hesitant to make any specific recommendations that could potentially jeopardize patient safety. Moreover, both the frequent follow-up of DCCT volunteers with standardized research-quality stereoscopic fundus photography and the …