The Cytotoxic Effect of Isolated Cannabinoid Extracts on Polypoid Colorectal Tissue.

Purified cannabinoids have been shown to prevent proliferation and induce apoptosis in colorectal carcinoma cell lines. To assess the cytotoxic effect of cannabinoid extracts and purified cannabinoids on both colorectal polyps and normal colonic cells, as well as their synergistic interaction. Various blends were tested to identify the optimal synergistic effect.

A randomized crossover trial of HEPA air filtration to reduce cardiovascular risk for near highway residents: Methods and approach.

Background: Near highway residents are exposed to elevated levels of traffic-related air pollution (TRAP), including ultrafine particles, which are associated with adverse health effects. The efficacy of using in-home air filtration units that reduce exposure and potentially yield health benefits has not been tested in a randomized controlled trial.

Methods: We will conduct a randomized double-blind crossover trial of portable air filtration units for 200 adults 30 years and older who live in near-highway homes in Somerville, MA, USA.

Inhibition of mouse breast adenocarcinoma growth by ablation with intratumoral alpha-irradiation combined with inhibitors of immunosuppression and CpG.

It has been demonstrated that aggressive in situ tumor destruction (ablation) could lead to the release of tumor antigens, which can stimulate anti-tumor immune responses. We developed an innovative method of tumor ablation based on intratumoral alpha-irradiation, diffusing alpha-emitters radiation therapy (DaRT), which efficiently ablates local tumors and enhances anti-tumor immunity. In this study, we investigated the anti-tumor potency of a treatment strategy, which combines DaRT tumor ablation with two approaches for the enhancement of anti-tumor reactivity: (1) neutralization of immunosuppressive cells such as regulatory T cells (Tregs) and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and (2) boost the immune response by the immunoadjuvant CpG.

Tumor ablation by intratumoral Ra-224-loaded wires induces anti-tumor immunity against experimental metastatic tumors.

Introduction: The current systemic anti-metastatic treatment is chemotherapy. Chemotherapy reacts mostly against replicating cells, which makes this therapy not specific. Moreover, resting cancer cells will not be destroyed.

Activation of local and systemic anti-tumor immune responses by ablation of solid tumors with intratumoral electrochemical or alpha radiation treatments.

Cancer, the most devastating chronic disease affecting humankind, is treated primarily by surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Surgery and radiotherapy are mainly used for debulking the primary tumor, while chemotherapy is the most efficient anti-metastatic treatment. To control better metastatic cancer, the host immune system should be stimulated.

Muscle pain and serum creatine kinase are not associated with low serum 25(OH) vitamin D levels in patients receiving statins.

Objective: Vitamin D deficiency has been associated in some studies with nonspecific musculoskeletal pain and, more specifically, with statin-induced myalgia, which was ameliorated by high-dose vitamin D supplements. Our objective was to explore the association between vitamin D status and statin-induced myalgia and elevation of serum creatine kinase (CK).

Design: Retrospective cohort study, based on the electronic database of a health maintenance organization.

Cytotoxic effects and mechanisms of an alteration in the dose and duration of 5-fluorouracil.

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is the most routinely administered drug in the treatment of colon cancer. The main mechanism of the drug is not completely understood and its method of administration has been strongly disputed. A 24-hour infusion of 5-FU has clinically yielded better response rates and lower toxicities in comparison to bolus administration, but an exploration into possible mechanisms needs to be performed.

Contribution of heat shock proteins to cell protection from complement-mediated lysis.

The possible participation of hsc70 and hsp70 in cellular protection from complement damage was studied. Human erythroleukemia K562 cells were pretreated with reagents affecting hsc70 or hsp70, and cell sensitivity to lysis by antibody and human complement was examined. Treatment with deoxyspergualin, an hsc70 inhibitor, sensitized K562 cells to complement lysis, whereas treatment with ethanol, butanol or hemin, inducers of hsc70 synthesis, protected the cells from complement-mediated lysis.

Complications of Acute Otitis Media and Sinusitis.

Otitis media and sinusitis are clinically identifiable infections of the middle ear and sinuses. Both conditions should be regarded as dynamic processes with a clinical spectrum, which may extend from a self-limiting condition to a prolonged and sometimes complicated disease. With the advent of antibiotics, the natural course of these diseases has changed significantly.

Phonomicrosurgical management of vocal fold polyps: the subepithelial microflap resection technique.

Vocal fold polyps are typically caused by acute and chronic trauma to the microvasculature of the superficial lamina propria (SLP). Shearing stresses that are induced by hyperfunctional glottal sound production lead to bleeding into the SLP and malformed neo-vascularized masses. Because the primary process does not involve the epithelium, the authors designed a technique to resect hemorrhagic polyps by epithelial cordotomy with partial or complete preservation of the vocal fold epithelium.

Analysis of the forces and position required for direct laryngoscopic exposure of the anterior vocal folds.

The sniffing position is traditionally considered optimal for direct laryngoscopic examination of the vocal folds. This study examined head and neck positions associated with ideal exposure of the anterior glottal commissure with a variety of laryngoscopes. A prospective investigation was done in 20 patients by comparing the force required to expose the anterior vocal folds by utilizing 3 head and neck positions with 3 different-sized tubular laryngoscopes.

Prognostic factors for local control of early glottic cancer: the Rabin Medical Center retrospective study on 207 patients.

Purpose: Different radiation therapy schedules and devices have been used over the last 20 years at Rabin Medical Center in patients with early glottic cancer. The aim of the present retrospective analysis was to identify the subgroup of patients at high risk of failure of radiation treatment.

Materials And Methods: Between 1974 and 1994, 207 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the glottis, 182 Stage T1 and 25 Stage T2, underwent definitive radiation therapy.

Ectasias and varices of the vocal fold: clearing the striking zone.

Vascular malformations such as ectasias and varices (Es and Vs) are frequently encountered in patients who present with recurrent vocal fold hemorrhage and/or other traumatic vocal fold lesions. This study examined Es and Vs with regard to their anatomic presentation, phonomicrosurgical management, and treatment outcome. Forty-two patients (39 of them singers) were treated for a total of 87 Es and Vs: 67 of 87 (77%) were on the superior surface of the vocal fold and 20 of 87 (23%) were on the medial surface of the vocal fold.

Acute mastoiditis: a 10-year review.

Purpose: To study how antibiotic treatment and an early decision to aspirate subperiosteal abscesses can reduce hospitalization periods and costs in patients with acute mastoiditis.

Patients And Methods: During a 10-year period, 134 patients were diagnosed with acute mastoiditis at the Department of Ear, Nose, and Throat and Head and Neck Surgery (Kaplan Medical Center, Rehovot, Israel). The diagnoses was based on physical findings of retroauricular swelling and erythema and tenderness, with protrusion of the auricle forward and downward.

Studies on the mechanism of action of 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl-5-azacytosine (fazarabine) in mammalian lymphoblasts.

Fazarabine has shown activity in the panel of 60 cultured human tumor lines of the National Cancer Institute. COMPARE analyses relating correlation coefficients of other anticancer drugs with those of fazarabine suggest that this agent operates through a similar mode of action to that of cytarabine. Studies have been carried out both in culture and in vivo to examine the mechanism of action of fazarabine in P388 murine and Molt-4 human lymphoblasts.

Bone and joint tuberculosis--a 10-year review.

The incidence of bone and joint tuberculosis has declined ever since the advent of medical antituberculous therapy. To evaluate the evolving presentation, we undertook a 10-year review of this form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis in 7 general hospitals in Israel. Thirty-eight patients were identified on the basis of strict criteria.

Reversal of gangrenous lesions in the blue toe syndrome with lovastatin--a case report.

A seventy-six-year-old man with ischemic heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, and chronic renal failure developed bilateral cyanotic toes, which upon muscle biopsy, were shown to be caused by atheromatous emboli. The probable source was atheromatosis of the abdominal aorta. The toes became gangrenous, but surgical therapy was deferred because the patient was considered a high risk.

A case of prolonged urinary tract infection caused by Mycobacterium fortuitum.

A case of prolonged urinary tract infection caused by Mycobacterium fortuitum in a 56-year old female patient is reported. The infection, which was resistant to therapy with conventional antituberculous agents, responded well to a combination of trimethoprim, sulfamethoxazole and doxycycline.

Hyponatremia in internal medicine ward patients: causes, treatment and prognosis.

A prospective study among unselected patients hospitalized in an internal medicine ward showed that 46 patients, 6.9% of total admissions, had serum concentrations of sodium less than 132 mEq/l. In 28.

Antiarrhythmic action of naloxone: direct, non-opiate effect on the rat heart.

The opiate antagonist naloxone reduced the incidence and severity of cardiac arrhythmia induced in rats by intracarotid administration of adrenaline. Naloxone also reversed the adrenaline-induced arrhythmia in isolated heart preparations, suggesting a local antiarrhythmic action of the opiate antagonist. Similar effects were obtained with the (+) stereoisomer of naloxone which is inactive as an opiate antagonist.