tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
NATRIURETIC PEPTIDE-GUIDED THERAPY IN CHRONIC HEART FAILURE: A META-ANALYSIS OF 2,876 PATIENTS IN 13 RANDOMIZED TRIALS
Authors: Gianluigi Savarese, Maria Prastaro, Giuseppe Rengo, Dario Leosco, Bruno Trimarco, Pasquale Perrone-Filardi
Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2013)
Effects of Inhaled Furosemide on Exertional Dyspnea in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Authors: Kian-Chung Ong, Ai-Ching Kor, Wai-Fung Chong, Arul Earnest, Yee-Tang Wang
Journal: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (2004)

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of inhaled furosemide on the sensation of dyspnea produced during exercise in patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In a double-blind, randomized, crossover study we compared the effect of inhaled furosemide on dyspneic sensation during exercise testing with that of placebo. Spirometry and incremental and constant-load exercise testing were performed after inhalation of placebo or furosemide on 2 separate days in 19 patients with moderate or severe COPD. Subjects were asked to rate their sensation of respiratory discomfort using a 100-mm visual analog scale. There was significant improvement in mean FEV1 and FVC after inhalation of furosemide (p = 0.038 and 0.005, respectively) but not after placebo. At standardized exercise time during constant-load exercise testing but not during incremental exercise, the mean dyspneic visual analog scale score was lower after inhalation of furosemide compared with placebo (33.7 ± 25.2 vs. 42.4 ± 24.0 mm, respectively, p = 0.014). We conclude that inhalation of furosemide alleviates the sensation of dyspnea induced by constant-load exercise testing in patients with COPD and that there is significant bronchodilation after inhalation of furosemide compared with placebo in these patients.
ROLE OF LATE GADOLINIUM ENHANCEMENT CARDIOVASCULAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE IN THE RISK STRATIFICATION OF HYPERTROPHIC CARDIOMYOPATHY
Authors: Tevfik Fehmi Ismail, Andrew Jabbour, Amy Mallorie, Thomas Cowling, Bibek Das, Ankur Gulati, Ricardo Wage, Dudley Pennell, Sanjay Prasad
Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2012)
Age and Comorbidities Are Effect Modifiers of Gender Disparities in Renal Transplantation
Authors: Dorry L. Segev, Lauren M. Kucirka, Pooja C. Oberai, Rulan S. Parekh, L. Ebony Boulware, Neil R. Powe, Robert A. Montgomery
Journal: Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (2009)

Women have less access to kidney transplantation than men, but the contributions of age and comorbidity to this disparity are largely unknown. We conducted a national cohort study of 563,197 patients with first-onset ESRD between 2000 and 2005. We used multivariate generalized linear models to evaluate both access to transplantation (ATT), defined as either registration for the deceased-donor waiting list or receiving a live-donor transplant, and survival benefit from transplantation, defined as the relative rate of survival after transplantation compared with the rate of survival on dialysis. We compared relative risks (RRs) between women and men, stratified by age categories and the presence of common comorbidities. Overall, women had 11% less ATT than men. When the model was stratified by age, 18- to 45-yr-old women had equivalent ATT to men (RR 1.01), but with increasing age, ATT for women declined dramatically, reaching a RR of 0.41 for those who were older than 75 yr, despite equivalent survival benefits from transplantation between men and women in all age subgroups. Furthermore, ATT for women with comorbidities was lower than that for men with the same comorbidities, again despite similar survival benefits from transplantation. This study suggests that there is no disparity in ATT for women in general but rather a marked disparity in ATT for older women and women with comorbidities. These disparities exist despite similar survival benefits from transplantation for men and women regardless of age or comorbidities.
Reducing Cardiovascular Disease
Authors: Peter J. Neumann, Joshua T. Cohen
Journal: Diabetes Care (2008)

One of the enduring myths in health care is that prevention saves money. The intuition behind the idea appears unassailable: if we spend a little money on preventive measures, we can avoid the expensive complications of disease. The maxim “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” coined by Benjamin Franklin and listed in the Dictionary of Cultural Literacy (1), seems self-evident such that it does not warrant serious challenge. The “prevention saves money” argument is popular with many politicians and health policy makers. For example, the recent Presidential primary season witnessed pledges from many candidates not only to improve health care but also to save money by spending more on prevention (2).

Careful analysis has shown that while preventive care sometimes saves the health system money, usually it does not (3). Economic evaluations tend to conclude that although preventing the need for treatment can offset some costs from avoidable illness, the overall costs can be substantial because of the number of people who must undergo preventive measures (2). Moreover, prevention does not avert death; it only postpones it. As people age, their health costs increase. Therefore, activities and programs that achieve savings by preventing a fatal disease can lead to downstream health care costs as the people who would otherwise die grow older.

Of course, this result does not mean that as a society we should not invest in prevention …
Case-control study of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia acquisition in cystic fibrosis patients
Authors: V. Marchac, A. Equi, C. Le Bihan-Benjamin, M. Hodson, A. Bush
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2003)

The aims of this case-control study were to describe the characteristics of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients who isolated Stenotrophomonas maltophilia in sputum, to determine risk factors for acquisition, to assess persistence of the organism and clinical outcomes postacquisition. Data were collected from 1991–1999. CF patients and controls (who had never isolated S. maltophilia ) were matched for age (±1 yr), sex and forced expiratory volume in one second (±10%). Data were collected from the year prior and for 2 yrs postacquisition of S. maltophilia . The prevalence of S. maltophilia increased from 3.3% to 15%. Factors associated with S. maltophilia acquisition were more than two courses of intravenous antibiotics, isolation of Aspergillus fumigatus in sputum and oral steroid use. The effect of A. fumigatus was independent of steroid use. Clinical status did not change postacquisition. The majority of patients cleared the organism from the sputum. Long-term infection or an accelerated deterioration in lung function or nutrition is not likely post- Stenotrophomonas maltophilia acquisition in cystic fibrosis. This is the first documentation of an association between Aspergillus fumigatus isolation and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia acquisition in cystic fibrosis, independently of steroid therapy.
Hepatocyte Growth Factor Suppresses Vascular Medial Hyperplasia and Matrix Accumulation in Advanced Pulmonary Hypertension of Rats
Authors: Masamichi Ono, Yoshiki Sawa, Shinya Mizuno, Norihida Fukushima, Hajime Ichikawa, Kazuhiko Bessho, Toshikazu Nakamura, Hikaru Matsuda
Journal: Circulation (2004)

Background— Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a progressive disease characterized by raised pulmonary vascular resistance, thought to be curable only through lung transplantation. Pathophysiologically, proliferation of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells triggers pulmonary arterial stenosis and/or regurgitation, especially in advanced PH. Methods and Results— Using a rat model of advanced pulmonary vascular disease produced by injecting monocrotaline, we show that hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) targets pulmonary arterioles and blocks the progression of PH. In these rats, endogenous HGF production was dramatically downregulated during developing experimental PH, but c-Met/HGF receptor was abundant in the medial layers of pulmonary arterioles. HGF gene transfection 2 weeks after the monocrotaline injection resulted in milder medial hyperplasia in lung arterioles and inhibited overgrowth of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells. Notably, exogenous HGF reduced lung expression levels of endothelin-1 and transforming growth factor-β, which are critically involved in PH-linked fibrogenic events. Overall, medial wall thickening of pulmonary arteries was almost completely prevented by HGF, and the total collagen deposition in the lung decreased; both effects contributed to the suppression of pulmonary artery hypertension. Conclusions— Our results suggest that the loss of endogenous HGF may be a feature of the pathogenesis of PH and that HGF supplementation may minimize pathological lung conditions, even advanced PH.
Immunotherapy of Advanced Breast Cancer With a Heterophilic Ganglioside (NeuGcGM3) Cancer Vaccine
Authors: Adriana Carr, Edmundo Rodríguez, María del Carmen Arango, Rolando Camacho, Marta Osorio, Mariano Gabri, Guido Carrillo, Zolidina Valdés, Yanín Bebelagua, Rolando Pérez, Luis Enrique Fernández
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2003)

Purpose: A heterophilic ganglioside cancer vaccine was developed by combining NeuGcGM3 with the outer membrane protein complex of Neisseria meningitidis to form very small size proteoliposomes (VSSP). A phase I clinical trial was performed to determine safety and immunogenicity of this vaccine. Patients and Methods: Stage III to IV breast cancer patients received up to 15 (200 μg) doses of the vaccine by intramuscular injection. The first five doses (induction phase) were given at 2-week intervals, with the remaining treatment (maintenance) administered on a monthly basis. Results: Twenty-one patients, 11 of whom had metastatic disease, were included. Main toxicities included erythema and induration at the injection site, sometimes associated with mild pain, and low-grade fever (World Health Organization grades 1 and 2). All treated patients who completed the induction phase developed anti-NeuGcGM3 antibody titers between 1:1,280 and 1:164,000 immunoglobulin G (IgG), and 1:640 and 1:164,000 IgM. Noteworthy specific IgA antibodies were induced by vaccination in all stage III patients and in three stage IV patients. Serum antibody levels were higher in the stage III patients, with the larger increases observed after week 32. The antiganglioside IgG subclasses were mainly IgG1 and IgG3. Hyperimmune sera increased complement-mediated cytotoxicity versus P3X63 myeloma cells and a marked IgG differential reactivity against human mammary ductal carcinoma samples. Conclusion: NeuGcGM3/VSSP/Montanide ISA 51 is an unusual immunogenic ganglioside vaccine and also seems to be safe in this small trial. Immunologic surrogates of activity indicate that this reagent warrants further investigation.
Boxing headguard performance in punch machine tests
Authors: Andrew S McIntosh, Declan A Patton
Journal: British Journal of Sports Medicine (2015)

Background The paper presents a novel laboratory method for assessing boxing headguard impact performance. The method is applied to examine the effects of headguards on head impact dynamics and injury risk. Methods A linear impactor was developed, and a range of impacts was delivered to an instrumented Hybrid III head and neck system both with and without an AIBA (Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur)-approved headguard. Impacts at selected speeds between 4.1 and 8.3 m/s were undertaken. The impactor mass was approximately 4 kg and an interface comprising a semirigid ‘fist’ with a glove was used. Results The peak contact forces were in the range 1.9–5.9 kN. Differences in head impact responses between the Top Ten AIBA-approved headguard and bare headform in the lateral and forehead tests were large and/or significant. In the 8.3 m/s fist-glove impacts, the mean peak resultant headform accelerations for bare headform tests was approximately 130 g compared with approximately 85 g in the forehead impacts. In the 6.85 m/s bare headform impacts, mean peak resultant angular head accelerations were in the range of 5200–5600 rad/s 2 and almost halved by the headguard. Linear and angular accelerations in 45° forehead and 60° jaw impacts were reduced by the headguard. Conclusions The data support the opinion that current AIBA headguards can play an important role in reducing the risk of concussion and superficial injury in boxing competition and training.
Serum levels of soluble IL-2 receptor, IL-12, IL-18, and IFN-γ in patients with acute graft-versus-host disease after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation
Authors: Hiroyuki Nakamura, Keiko Komatsu, Masako Ayaki, Shinichiro Kawamoto, Masaki Murakami, Nobuhiko Uoshima, Toshinari Yagi, Taro Hasegawa, Masato Yasumi, Takahiro Karasuno, Hirofumi Teshima, Akira Hiraoka, Tohru Masaoka
Journal: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (2000)
Patterns of Obesity Development before the Diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes: The Whitehall II Cohort Study
Authors: Dorte Vistisen, Daniel R. Witte, Adam G. Tabák, Christian Herder, Eric J. Brunner, Mika Kivimäki, Kristine Færch
Journal: PLoS Medicine (2014)

Background Patients with type 2 diabetes vary greatly with respect to degree of obesity at time of diagnosis. To address the heterogeneity of type 2 diabetes, we characterised patterns of change in body mass index (BMI) and other cardiometabolic risk factors before type 2 diabetes diagnosis. Methods and Findings We studied 6,705 participants from the Whitehall II study, an observational prospective cohort study of civil servants based in London. White men and women, initially free of diabetes, were followed with 5-yearly clinical examinations from 1991–2009 for a median of 14.1 years (interquartile range [IQR]: 8.7–16.2 years). Type 2 diabetes developed in 645 (1,209 person-examinations) and 6,060 remained free of diabetes during follow-up (14,060 person-examinations). Latent class trajectory analysis of incident diabetes cases was used to identify patterns of pre-disease BMI. Associated trajectories of cardiometabolic risk factors were studied using adjusted mixed-effects models. Three patterns of BMI changes were identified. Most participants belonged to the “stable overweight” group (n = 604, 94%) with a relatively constant BMI level within the overweight category throughout follow-up. They experienced slightly worsening of beta cell function and insulin sensitivity from 5 years prior to diagnosis. A small group of “progressive weight gainers” (n = 15) exhibited a pattern of consistent weight gain before diagnosis. Linear increases in blood pressure and an exponential increase in insulin resistance a few years before diagnosis accompanied the weight gain. The “persistently obese” (n = 26) were severely obese throughout the whole 18 years before diabetes diagnosis. They experienced an initial beta cell compensation followed by loss of beta cell function, whereas insulin sensitivity was relatively stable. Since the generalizability of these findings is limited, the results need confirmation in other study populations. Conclusions Three patterns of obesity changes prior to diabetes diagnosis were accompanied by distinct trajectories of insulin resistance and other cardiometabolic risk factors in a white, British population. While these results should be verified independently, the great majority of patients had modest weight gain prior to diagnosis. These results suggest that strategies focusing on small weight reductions for the entire population may be more beneficial than predominantly focusing on weight loss for high-risk individuals. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary
Electrophysiological and mathematical characteristics of the escape rhythm during complete AV block
Authors: F. URTHALER, C. R. KATHOLI, J. MACY, T. N. JAMES
Journal: Cardiovascular Research (1974)

Journal Article Electrophysiological and mathematical characteristics of the escape rhythm during complete AV block Get access FERDIN URTHALER, FERDIN URTHALER From the Cardiovascular Research and Training Centre, University of Alabama School of Medicine, Birmingham, Alabama 35294, USA Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar CHARLES R. KATHOLI, CHARLES R. KATHOLI From the Cardiovascular Research and Training Centre, University of Alabama School of Medicine, Birmingham, Alabama 35294, USA Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar JOSIAH MACY, JR, JOSIAH MACY, JR From the Cardiovascular Research and Training Centre, University of Alabama School of Medicine, Birmingham, Alabama 35294, USA Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar THOMAS N. JAMES THOMAS N. JAMES From the Cardiovascular Research and Training Centre, University of Alabama School of Medicine, Birmingham, Alabama 35294, USA Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Cardiovascular Research, Volume 8, Issue 2, March 1974, Pages 173–186, https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/8.2.173 Published: 01 March 1974
Married couples' risk of same disease: cross sectional study
Authors: J. Hippisley-Cox
Journal: BMJ (2002)

<h3>Abstract</h3> <b>Objective:</b> To determine whether people whose marital partners have depression, diabetes, hypertension, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, hyperlipidaemia, peptic ulcer disease, or asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are at increased risk of the same disease. <b>Design:</b> Cross sectional study. <b>Setting:</b> 10 practices from the Trent Focus Collaborative Research Practice Network. <b>Participants:</b> 8386 married couples (16 772 individuals) from a population of 29 014 participants aged 30-74 years. <b>Outcomes:</b> Risk of disease in participants whose marital partner had that disease compared with those whose partner did not. <b>Results:</b> After both partners9 age, smoking, and obesity and which general practice they attend were adjusted for, participants whose marital partner had asthma, depression, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, and peptic ulcer disease were at increased risk of having the same disease. The adjusted odds ratios were 1.69 (95% confidence interval 1.43 to 2.98) for asthma, 2.08 (1.71 to 2.54) for depression, 1.32 (1.04 to 1.67) for hypertension, 1.44 (1.19 to 1.75) for hyperlipidaemia, and 2.01 (1.48 to 2.73) for peptic ulcer disease. <b>Conclusion:</b> Partners of people with specific diseases are at increased risk of the disease themselves—at least 70% increased risk for asthma, depression, and peptic ulcer disease. This implicates shared environmental causes in some diseases in addition to any genetic or distant exposure or shared behaviours with respect to seeking health care.
EULAR/PRINTO/PRES criteria for Henoch-Schonlein purpura, childhood polyarteritis nodosa, childhood Wegener granulomatosis and childhood Takayasu arteritis: Ankara 2008. Part I: Overall methodology and clinical characterisation
Authors: N. Ruperto, S. Ozen, A. Pistorio, P. Dolezalova, P. Brogan, D. A. Cabral, R. Cuttica, R. Khubchandani, D. J. Lovell, K. M. O'Neil, P. Quartier, A. Ravelli, S. M. Iusan, G. Filocamo, C. S. Magalhaes, E. Unsal, S. Oliveira, C. Bracaglia, A. Bagga, V. Stanevicha, S. M. Manzoni, P. Pratsidou, L. Lepore, G. Espada, I. K. Paut, F. Zulian, P. Barone, Z. Bircan, M. d. R. Maldonado, R. Russo, I. Vilca, K. Tullus, R. Cimaz, G. Horneff, J. Anton, S. Garay, S. Nielsen, G. Barbano, A. Martini
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2010)

To report methodology and overall clinical, laboratory and radiographic characteristics for Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP), childhood polyarteritis nodosa (c-PAN), c-Wegener granulomatosis (c-WG) and c-Takayasu arteritis (c-TA) classification criteria.The preliminary Vienna 2005 consensus conference, which proposed preliminary criteria for paediatric vasculitides, was followed by a EULAR/PRINTO/PRES - supported validation project divided into three main steps. Step 1: retrospective/prospective web-data collection for HSP, c-PAN, c-WG and c-TA, with age at diagnosis <or=18 years. Step 2: blinded classification by consensus panel of a subgroup of 280 cases (128 difficult cases, 152 randomly selected) enabling expert diagnostic verification. Step 3: Ankara 2008 Consensus Conference and statistical evaluation (sensitivity, specificity, area under the curve, kappa-agreement) using as 'gold standard' the final consensus classification or original treating physician diagnosis.A total of 1183/1398 (85%) samples collected were available for analysis: 827 HSP, 150 c-PAN, 60 c-WG, 87 c-TA and 59 c-other. Prevalence, signs/symptoms, laboratory, biopsy and imaging reports were consistent with the clinical picture of the four c-vasculitides. A representative subgroup of 280 patients was blinded to the treating physician diagnosis and classified by a consensus panel, with a kappa-agreement of 0.96 for HSP (95% CI 0.84 to 1), 0.88 for c-WG (95% CI 0.76 to 0.99), 0.84 for c-TA (95% CI 0.73 to 0.96) and 0.73 for c-PAN (95% CI 0.62 to 0.84), with an overall kappa of 0.79 (95% CI 0.73 to 0.84).EULAR/PRINTO/PRES propose validated classification criteria for HSP, c-PAN, c-WG and c-TA, with substantial/almost perfect agreement with the final consensus classification or original treating physician diagnosis.
Follicular lymphoma with a novel t(14;18) breakpoint involving the immunoglobulin heavy chain switch mu region indicates an origin from germinal center B cells
Authors: James A. L. Fenton, Jan-Willem Vaandrager, Wilhelmina M. Aarts, Richard J. Bende, Karel Heering, Martin van Dijk, Gareth Morgan, Carel J. M. van Noesel, Ed Schuuring, Philip M. Kluin
Journal: Blood (2002)
Aptamer-targeted inhibition of mTOR in T cells enhances antitumor immunity
Authors: Alexey Berezhnoy, Iris Castro, Agata Levay, Thomas R. Malek, Eli Gilboa
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (2013)

Recent studies have underscored the importance of memory T cells in mediating protective immunity against pathogens and cancer. Pharmacological inhibition of regulators that mediate T cell differentiation promotes the differentiation of activated CD8(+) T cells into memory cells. Nonetheless, pharmacological agents have broad targets and can induce undesirable immunosuppressive effects. Here, we tested the hypothesis that aptamer-targeted siRNA inhibition of mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) function in CD8(+) T cells can enhance their differentiation into memory T cells and potentiate antitumor immunity more effectively than the pharmacologic inhibitor rapamycin. To specifically target activated cells, we conjugated an siRNA targeting the mTORC1 component raptor to an aptamer that binds 4-1BB, a costimulatory molecule that is expressed on CD8(+) T cells following TCR stimulation. We found that systemic administration of the 4-1BB aptamer-raptor siRNA to mice downregulated mTORC1 activity in the majority of CD8(+) T cells, leading to the generation of a potent memory response that exhibited cytotoxic effector functions and enhanced vaccine-induced protective immunity in tumor-bearing mice. In contrast, while treatment with the general mTORC1 inhibitor rapamycin also enhanced antigen-activated CD8(+) T cell persistence, the cytotoxic effector functions of the reactivated memory cells were reduced and the alloreactivity of DCs was diminished. Consistent with the immunological findings, mice treated with rapamycin, but not with 4-1BB aptamer-raptor siRNA, failed to reject a subsequent tumor challenge.