tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Frequency of chondrocalcinosis of the knees and avascular necrosis of the femoral heads in gout: a controlled study.
Authors: A Stockman, L.G Darlington, J.T Scott
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (1980)

An association between urate gout and chondrocalcinosis has been suggested in several studies, but the situation remains ill-defined because of lack of appropriate controls, small numbers of patients studied, or retrospective investigation. An association has also been claimed between gout and avascular necrosis of the femoral head. 138 patients with gout and 142 non-gouty control subjects were carefully matched for age and x-rays were taken of the knees and pelvis. Chondrocalcinosis of the knees was detected in 8 patients with gout (5.8%), no cases being found in the control group. The difference is significant (P less than 0.025). Deposits were linear or irregular. Six of the 8 patients gave a history of acute synovitis of the knees; fluid had been aspirated in 2 of them, urate crystals being found in one and no crystals in the other. Six of 8 patients showed evidence of chondrocalcinosis elsewhere. No association was apparent between chondrocalcinosis and the presence of tophaceous deposits or renal impairment, though the duration of gout appeared to be longer in the patients with chondrocalcinosis than in the other gout patients and osteoarthrosis of the knees commoner. There was no evidence of other metabolic disorders commonly associated with chondrocalcinosis. No cases of avascular necrosis of the femoral head were found.
Serial viral infections in infants with recurrent respiratory illnesses
Authors: T. Jartti, W-M. Lee, T. Pappas, M. Evans, R. F. Lemanske, J. E. Gern
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2008)

To better understand the viral aetiology of recurrent and prolonged illnesses, nasal secretions were prospectively collected from 285 infants at increased risk of developing asthma. Of these, 27 infants had recurrent (at least five) moderate-to-severe respiratory illnesses (MSIs). The viral aetiology of the 150 MSIs and 86 scheduled visits was analysed by molecular diagnostics. The demographic and clinical data were compared with infants who had 0-4 MSIs. Frequently ill infants had higher exposure to other children and more wheezing illnesses than less symptomatic children. Viruses were detected in 136 (91%) out of 150 MSIs, 14 (67%) out of 21 mild illnesses and 29 (45%) out of 65 asymptomatic visits. Human rhinovirus was the most common aetiological agent (61, 43 and 35% in MSIs, mild illnesses and asymptomatic visits, respectively). Mixed viral infections were generally associated with more severe illnesses (27, 0 and 5%, respectively). Among the 27 frequently ill infants, only eight (5.3%) out of 150 MSIs were prolonged (> or =2 weeks duration). Considering all samples, detection of the same virus strain > or =2 weeks apart was unusual (5.3% of all 244 positive findings). Human rhinovirus infections occur early, pervasively and repetitively in these high-risk infants. Infants with prolonged or recurrent respiratory illnesses most often have a series of infections rather than persistent infection with one virus strain.
Surgical Prevention of Cancer
Authors: Monica M. Bertagnolli
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2005)

There have been many recent advances in cancer prevention, including improved understanding of cancer biology, better characterization of premalignant disease, significant advances in cancer surveillance, and identification of effective chemoprevention regimens. Despite this, surgery remains the best option for many individuals at high risk of cancer. Like all prevention modalities, surgical prevention involves balancing the factors governing cancer risk with the benefits and risks of treatment. The issues governing decision making for surgical prevention vary widely among different cancer types, and include consideration of the age and level of cancer risk of the individual, the effectiveness of cancer surveillance for the particular organ at risk, the aggressiveness of the cancer once present, and the morbidity of surgery. This article briefly reviews the use of surgery to prevent some of the most common epithelial malignancies, as well as some of the genetic cancer syndromes for which surgery plays an important role in improving survival.
DNA Array-Based Gene Profiling in Tumor Immunology
Authors: Simone Mocellin, Ena Wang, Monica Panelli, Pierluigi Pilati, Francesco M. Marincola
Journal: Clinical Cancer Research (2004)

Abstract Recent advances in tumor immunology have fostered the clinical implementation of different immunotherapy modalities. However, the alternate success of such regimens underscores the fact that the molecular mechanisms underlying tumor immune rejection are still poorly understood. Given the complexity of the immune system network and the multidimensionality of tumor–host interactions, the comprehension of tumor immunology might greatly benefit from high-throughput DNA array analysis, which can portray the molecular kinetics of immune response on a genome-wide scale, thus accelerating the accumulation of knowledge and ultimately catalyzing the development of new hypotheses in cell biology. Although in its infancy, the implementation of DNA array technology in tumor immunology studies has already provided investigators with novel data and intriguing hypotheses on the cascade of molecular events leading to an effective immune response against cancer. Although the principles of DNA array-based gene profiling techniques have become common knowledge, the need for mastering this technique to produce meaningful data and correctly interpret this enormous output of information is critical and represents a tremendous challenge for investigators. In the present work, we summarize the main technical features and critical issues characterizing this powerful laboratory tool and review its applications in the fascinating field of cancer immunogenomics.
Acceptability and accuracy of a non-endoscopic screening test for Barrett's oesophagus in primary care: cohort study
Authors: S. R. Kadri, P. Lao-Sirieix, M. O'Donovan, I. Debiram, M. Das, J. M. Blazeby, J. Emery, A. Boussioutas, H. Morris, F. M. Walter, P. Pharoah, R. H. Hardwick, R. C. Fitzgerald
Journal: BMJ (2010)

<b>Objectives</b> To determine the accuracy and acceptability to patients of non-endoscopic screening for Barrett’s oesophagus, using an ingestible oesophageal sampling device (Cytosponge) coupled with immunocytochemisty for trefoil factor 3. <b>Design</b> Prospective cohort study. <b>Setting</b> 12 UK general practices, with gastroscopies carried out in one hospital endoscopy unit. <b>Participants</b> 504 of 2696 eligible patients (18.7%) aged 50 to 70 years with a previous prescription for an acid suppressant (H<sub>2</sub> receptor antagonist or proton pump inhibitor) for more than three months in the past five years. <b>Main outcome measures</b> Sensitivity and specificity estimates for detecting Barrett’s oesophagus compared with gastroscopy as the ideal method, and patient anxiety (short form Spielberger state trait anxiety inventory, impact of events scale) and acceptability (visual analogue scale) of the test. <b>Results</b> 501 of 504 (99%) participants (median age 62, male to female ratio 1:1.2) successfully swallowed the Cytosponge. No serious adverse events occurred. In total, 3.0% (15/501) had an endoscopic diagnosis of Barrett’s oesophagus (≥1 cm circumferential length, median circumferential and maximal length of 2 cm and 5 cm, respectively) with intestinal metaplasia. Compared with gastroscopy the sensitivity and specificity of the test was 73.3% (95% confidence interval 44.9% to 92.2%) and 93.8% (91.3% to 95.8%) for 1 cm or more circumferential length and 90.0% (55.5% to 99.7%) and 93.5% (90.9% to 95.5%) for clinically relevant segments of 2 cm or more. Most participants (355/496, 82%, 95% confidence interval 78.9% to 85.1%) reported low levels of anxiety before the test, and scores remained within normal limits at follow-up. Less than 4.5% (2.8% to 6.1%) of participants reported psychological distress a week after the procedure. <b>Conclusions</b> The performance of the Cytosponge test was promising and the procedure was well tolerated. These data bring screening for Barrett’s oesophagus into the realm of possibility. Further evaluation is recommended.
Laparoscopic Uterosacral Nerve Ablation for Alleviating Chronic Pelvic Pain&lt;subtitle&gt;A Randomized Controlled Trial&lt;/subtitle&gt;
Authors: Jane Daniels
Journal: JAMA (2009)

A I N I N women is as common as asthma and chronic back pain, 1,2 is one of the most difficult and perplexing of women's health problems, and has a multifactorial etiology. 3Chronic pelvic pain has a major effect on health-related quality of life, work attendance and productivity, 4 and health care use, accounting for 40% of referrals for diagnostic laparoscopy, 5 and is an important contributor to health care expenditures. 6reatments for chronic pelvic pain are often unsatisfactory. 7As part of the evaluation and management phase, patients often undergo diagnostic laparoscopy 8 but actionable pathology is found only occasionally. 9,10Negative findings at laparoscopy and during follow-up with ultrasound may provide re-
High throughput digital quantification of mRNA abundance in primary human acute myeloid leukemia samples
Authors: Jacqueline E. Payton, Nicole R. Grieselhuber, Li-Wei Chang, Mark Murakami, Gary K. Geiss, Daniel C. Link, Rakesh Nagarajan, Mark A. Watson, Timothy J. Ley
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (2009)

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is characterized by the t(15;17) chromosomal translocation, which results in fusion of the retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARA) gene to another gene, most commonly promyelocytic leukemia (PML). The resulting fusion protein, PML-RARA, initiates APL, which is a subtype (M3) of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In this report, we identify a gene expression signature that is specific to M3 samples; it was not found in other AML subtypes and did not simply represent the normal gene expression pattern of primary promyelocytes. To validate this signature for a large number of genes, we tested a recently developed high throughput digital technology (NanoString nCounter). Nearly all of the genes tested demonstrated highly significant concordance with our microarray data (P < 0.05). The validated gene signature reliably identified M3 samples in 2 other AML datasets, and the validated genes were substantially enriched in our mouse model of APL, but not in a cell line that inducibly expressed PML-RARA. These results demonstrate that nCounter is a highly reproducible, customizable system for mRNA quantification using limited amounts of clinical material, which provides a valuable tool for biomarker measurement in low-abundance patient samples.
Characterization of the immunoglobulin heavy chain complementarity determining region (CDR)-III sequences from human B cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells.
Authors: H Kiyoi, T Naoe, K Horibe, R Ohno
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1992)

Sequence analysis of the immunoglobulin heavy chain complementarity determining region (CDR)-III of B-lineage cells at various stages has provided important insights concerning B cell maturation and selection. Knowledge of human CDR-III sequences has been relatively limited compared with that of the murine system. We analyzed the CDR-III sequences of B cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (pre-B ALL) cells in 23 newly diagnosed and 10 relapsed patients, in order to elucidate the organization of CDR-III in B cell precursors. We found a very low frequency of somatic mutations in D and JH regions, preferential use of DLR, DXP, DHQ52, and DN elements, and of 3' side JH segments, and no predominant usage of D coding frames. Unusual joinings such as VH-D-D-JH and VH-JH were observed in three, and one sequences, respectively. We compared the CDR-III sequences derived from 10 patients between diagnosis and relapse. Two of them had three spots of mutated nucleotides at relapse, all of which were found in the N region near the D segments. Our data showed the possibility of somatic mutation at relapse, in addition to developmentally regulated rearrangement of the immunoglobulin gene at the stage of B cell precursors.
Increased Persistency in Medication Use by U.S. Medicare Beneficiaries With Diabetes Is Associated With Lower Hospitalization Rates and Cost Savings
Authors: Bruce C. Stuart, Linda Simoni-Wastila, Lirong Zhao, Jennifer T. Lloyd, Jalpa A. Doshi
Journal: Diabetes Care (2009)

OBJECTIVE To assess the relationship between annual fills for antidiabetes medications, ACE inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs), and lipid-lowering agents on hospitalization and Medicare spending for beneficiaries with diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Using Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey data from 1997 to 2004, we identified 7,441 community-dwelling beneficiaries with diabetes, who contributed 14,317 person-years of data for the analysis. We used multivariate regression analysis to estimate the effect of persistency in medication fills on hospitalization risk, hospital days, and Medicare spending. RESULTS For users of older oral antidiabetes agents, ACE inhibitors, ARBs, and statins, each additional prescription fill was associated with significantly lower risk of hospitalization, fewer hospital days, and lower Medicare spending. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest an economic case for promoting greater persistency in use of drugs with approved indications by Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes; however, additional research is needed to corroborate the study's cross-sectional findings.
Methotrexate in the treatment of pemphigus vulgaris: experience in 23 patients
Authors: K.D. Tran, J.E. Wolverton, N.A. Soter
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (2013)

The standard treatment for patients with pemphigus vulgaris has long consisted of high‐dose glucocorticoids. Studies regarding the use of methotrexate in pemphigus vulgaris date back to 1968, but few have quantitatively described a steroid‐sparing effect conferred by methotrexate. We sought to evaluate the efficacy of methotrexate in 23 patients with pemphigus vulgaris, using the drug's steroid‐sparing effect as the primary indicator of clinical improvement. We investigated whether methotrexate could be used as monotherapy in some patients. Retrospective chart review was used to analyse the records of patients with pemphigus vulgaris treated with methotrexate at the New York University Langone Medical Center for at least three consecutive months between 2000 and 2012. Diagnosis was made by tissue biopsy and either direct or indirect immunofluorescence tests and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. Improvement in clinical symptoms was observed in 91% of patients. Sixteen patients (70%) were eventually weaned completely off prednisone, with a mean time to discontinuation of 18 months. In total 23% of patients enjoyed a partial steroid‐sparing effect, requiring a mean maintenance dose of prednisone of 6·75 mg daily. Two patients (9%) developed possible adverse events requiring cessation of the drug, and one patient received no therapeutic benefit from the drug. Methotrexate is a useful and well‐tolerated therapy with considerable steroid‐sparing effect in patients with pemphigus vulgaris. It may be considered a first‐line adjuvant therapy in the treatment of this difficult disease.
α1-antitrypsin deficiency and PI typing in patients with chronic urticaria
Authors: H.M.G. DOEGLAS, E.C. KLASEN, E. BLEUMINK
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (1985)

A group of 281 patients with chronic urticaria was classified into various subtypes and compared with 357 healthy controls for PI types of α1‐antitrypsin. Total α1‐antitrypsin was measured by the Mancini technique, and PI types were determined by isoelectric focusing. The MZ phenotype and the Z gene frequency were significantly more frequent in the urticaria group. The Z gene predominated in the groups with cold urticaria and acquired angio‐oedema. The total group of chronic urticaria patients showed a significant decrease in total α1‐antitrypsin compared with the control group (P < 0.03). Deficiencies in α1‐antitrypsin may predispose to the development of certain types of urticaria and angio‐oedema.
Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity and Sedentary Time and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Children and Adolescents
Authors: Ulf Ekelund
Journal: JAMA (2012)

<h3>Context</h3>Sparse data exist on the combined associations between physical activity and sedentary time with cardiometabolic risk factors in healthy children.<h3>Objective</h3>To examine the independent and combined associations between objectively measured time in moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary time with cardiometabolic risk factors.<h3>Design, Setting, and Participants</h3>Pooled data from 14 studies between 1998 and 2009 comprising 20 871 children (aged 4-18 years) from the International Children's Accelerometry Database. Time spent in MVPA and sedentary time were measured using accelerometry after reanalyzing raw data. The independent associations between time in MVPA and sedentary time, with outcomes, were examined using meta-analysis. Participants were stratified by tertiles of MVPA and sedentary time.<h3>Main Outcome Measures</h3>Waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, fasting triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and insulin.<h3>Results</h3>Times (mean [SD] min/d) accumulated by children in MVPA and being sedentary were 30 (21) and 354 (96), respectively. Time in MVPA was significantly associated with all cardiometabolic outcomes independent of sex, age, monitor wear time, time spent sedentary, and waist circumference (when not the outcome). Sedentary time was not associated with any outcome independent of time in MVPA. In the combined analyses, higher levels of MVPA were associated with better cardiometabolic risk factors across tertiles of sedentary time. The differences in outcomes between higher and lower MVPA were greater with lower sedentary time. Mean differences in waist circumference between the bottom and top tertiles of MVPA were 5.6 cm (95% CI, 4.8-6.4 cm) for high sedentary time and 3.6 cm (95% CI, 2.8-4.3 cm) for low sedentary time. Mean differences in systolic blood pressure for high and low sedentary time were 0.7 mm Hg (95% CI, −0.07 to 1.6) and 2.5 mm Hg (95% CI, 1.7-3.3), and for high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, differences were −2.6 mg/dL (95% CI, −1.4 to −3.9) and −4.5 mg/dL (95% CI, −3.3 to −5.6), respectively. Geometric mean differences for insulin and triglycerides showed similar variation. Those in the top tertile of MVPA accumulated more than 35 minutes per day in this intensity level compared with fewer than 18 minutes per day for those in the bottom tertile. In prospective analyses (N = 6413 at 2.1 years’ follow-up), MVPA and sedentary time were not associated with waist circumference at follow-up, but a higher waist circumference at baseline was associated with higher amounts of sedentary time at follow-up.<h3>Conclusion</h3>Higher MVPA time by children and adolescents was associated with better cardiometabolic risk factors regardless of the amount of sedentary time.
Letter: Haemophilus influenzae meningitis in adults.
Authors: D C Turk
Journal: BMJ (1974)

and transient swelling of face, body, and limbs (1); hypopyon of left eye (1); acute monarticular arthritis (1); and sulphonamide crystalluria (1).Of the 12 meningococcal isolates obtained so far only one has shown sulphonamide resistance employing standard disc diffusion methods.Three of the four most recent strains have been found to be groupo I meningococci, the fourth belonging to group C. The minimum inhibitory concentration of the group B strains to sodium sulpha- diazine was 16 Mg/ml, and in two of them it was 0 4 ,ug/ml to benzylpenicillin.Follow- up studies on six patients (including four infants less than 1 year of age) 4-10 weeks after discharge showed no evidence of residual damage.-Weare, etc.,
Evaluating Once- and Twice-Daily Self-Monitored Blood Glucose Testing Strategies for Stable Insulin-Treated Patients With Type 2 Diabetes
Authors: Richard M. Hoffman, Jayendra H. Shah, Christopher S. Wendel, William C. Duckworth, Karen D. Adam, Syed U. Bokhari, Cheri Dalton, Glen H. Murata
Journal: Diabetes Care (2002)

OBJECTIVE—To evaluate once- and twice-daily self-monitored blood glucose testing strategies in assessing glycemic control and detecting hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia in patients with stable insulin-treated type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—Subjects with stable insulin-treated type 2 diabetes monitored blood glucose four times daily (prebreakfast, prelunch, predinner, and bedtime) for 8 weeks. We correlated mean blood glucose values with HbA1c measured after 8 weeks and determined the number of hypoglycemic (≤3.33 mmol/l) and hyperglycemic (≥22.20 mmol/l) readings captured at the various testing times. RESULTS—A total of 150 subjects completed the monitoring period; their average age was 67 years, 90% were men, and the mean HbA1c at baseline was 8.0 ± 1.8%. The overall correlation of glucose testing and HbA1c was 0.79 (P &amp;lt; 0.0001). Mean blood glucose values for each of the four once-daily testing strategies were significantly correlated with HbA1c (r = 0.65–0.70, P &amp;lt; 0.0001), as were mean blood glucose values for each of the six twice-daily testing strategies (r = 0.73–0.75, P &amp;lt; 0.0001). The prebreakfast/prelunch measurements captured the largest proportion (63.6%) of the hypoglycemic readings, the predinner/bedtime measurements captured the largest proportion (66.2%) of hyperglycemic readings, and the prelunch/predinner measurements captured the largest proportion (57.7%) of all out-of-range readings. CONCLUSIONS—Twice-daily testing strategies, particularly prelunch/predinner, effectively assess glycemic control and capture a substantial proportion of out-of-range readings. However, personal testing strategies will vary depending on an individual’s risk for hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia.
Tubular antigen-derivatized cells induce a disease-protective, antigen-specific, and idiotype-specific suppressor T cell network restricted by I-J and Igh-V in mice with experimental interstitial nephritis.
Authors: E G Neilson, E McCafferty, R Mann, L Michaud, M Clayman
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (1985)

The nephritogenic effector T cell response producing interstitial nephritis in mice can be largely inhibited by the adoptive transfer of suppressor T cells before or after the induction of disease. These suppressor T cells are harvested from donor mice primed with tubular antigen-derivatized syngeneic lymphocytes, and two subsets of suppressor cells can be characterized within this donor cell population. The first suppressor cell in this network is an L3T4+, I-J+, RE-Id+ cell (Ts-1). Ts-1 cells are antigen-binding suppressor cells that inhibit afferent phase immune responses and, in the presence of tubular antigen, specifically induce Lyt-2+, I-J+ cells (Ts-2) that are antiidiotypic (RE-Id-binding) suppressors. The Ts-2 cell is functionally restricted in its suppressive effect by I-J and Igh-V gene products, and acts on the effector limb of the cell-mediated anti-tubular basement membrane immune response. These studies provide an experimental basis for further efforts to use immunoregulatory modulation in the control of autoimmune renal disease.