Freezing cold injury.

The pathogenesis of freezing cold injuries (FCI) is not yet entirely understood. Two possible hypothesis emerge: 1) Injury is a direct result of cryogenic insult to the cells. 2) Injury is secondary to vascular stasis which leads to anoxia.

Alcohol and cold.

Alcohol is a dominant cause of death in urban hypothermia. Drinking alcohol gives a pleasant feeling of warmth. However, experimental studies on humans during relatively short exposure to moderate cold have given inconsistent results concerning heat balance.

Human physiology under cold exposure.

In order to minimize heat loss cold stress induces peripheral vasoconstriction via the sympathetic nervous system. This effect is most pronounced in the extremities. Vasoconstriction does not appear in the head-neck region--a fact of great importance in emergency situations.

Parathyroid surgery in Scandinavia.

A review of the organization and practice of parathyroid surgery in Scandinavia indicated that it was undertaken in about half of the surgical clinics. About half of these clinics treated only primary hyperparathyroidism (HPT), and in the great majority all parathyroid operations were done by one or two surgeons. The results of surgical treatment were compared in two large Scandinavian series of primary HPT, one based on a general survey of parathyroid surgery in 1975, and the other on results obtained during 1971-1980 in centres specializing in endocrine surgery (Bergen, Stockholm, Uppsala).

Characteristic changes in psychiatric symptoms, cortisol and melatonin but not prolactin in primary hyperparathyroidism.

Psychiatric symptoms in primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) are usually characterized as depressive. In this study 13 patients with PHPT and six control patients with atoxic nodular goiter underwent psychiatric ratings with the comprehensive psychopathological rating scale (CPRS) the day before surgery. The 21 items in this scale were grouped into clusters.

Fine-needle biopsy cytology and DNA analysis. Their place in the evaluation and treatment of patients with thyroid neoplasms.

Fine-needle aspiration allows sampling of tissues without surgical biopsy. This technique provides accuracy, speed, patient acceptance, and individual cells for the study of neoplasia. When this procedure is combined with DNA analysis, it is possible to obtain preoperatively additional diagnostic and prognostic information superior to that obtained by clinical and morphologic methods alone.

Radiation therapy in operable breast cancer: results from the Stockholm trial on adjuvant radiotherapy.

In a randomized trial, 960 women with Stage 1-3 operable breast cancer were treated by a modified radical mastectomy alone, or by the same procedure, preceded or followed by radiotherapy (4500 rad to the breast/chest wall, and internal mammary, axillary and supraclavicular lymph nodes). Up to ten years after treatment, there is an increasing gap between the recurrence-free survival of the irradiated patients and the surgical controls. Between the two types of radiotherapy, there was no difference.

Selective venous sampling for localization of hyperfunctioning parathyroid glands.

Selective venous sampling with parathyroid hormone assay was used in 46 patients with primary hyperparathyroidism. All patients had previously been operated on in the neck region. In 80 per cent of the patients the method correctly located the position of the hyperfunctioning gland(s).

Prognostic value of nuclear DNA content in follicular thyroid tumours.

The prognostic value of nuclear DNA content in follicular thyroid tumours was studied in 65 patients. Forty-six (20 with follicular carcinoma and 26 with follicular adenoma) were alive at least 10 years after diagnosis, and 19 had died of follicular thyroid carcinoma 2 months to 13 years after diagnosis. DNA was measured in morphologically identified single tumour cells either on material from fine-needle aspiration biopsy or on histologic sections from the primary tumours.