Thrombophilic factors and their relation to thromboembolic and other clinical manifestations in Behçet's disease.

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of thrombophilic factors known to induce intravascular clotting and to assess their relationship with thromboembolic complications and the other clinical manifestations in Behçet's disease (BD).

Methods: Twenty-five patients with established BD were studied. Twenty patients with rheumatic conditions not known to be associated with venous or arterial thromboembolic phenomena served as controls.

Activation of endothelium by immunotherapy with interleukin-2 in patients with malignant disorders.

Treatment with intravenous recombinant human interleukin-2 (rh IL-2) is frequently accompanied by the capillary leak syndrome and disturbances of the coagulation system. Although the exact mechanisms are still not fully understood, the involvement of the endothelium is proven. This investigation aimed to elucidate more precisely the role of the endothelium in the generation of IL-2-based side-effects.

Improved respiratory CO2-He analysis for peripheral airways impairment detection. Utilization possibilities of a new computerized system in preventive medicine studies.

The authors illustrate the application possibilities in occupational and preventive medicine of a recently computerized system for the evaluation of peripheral ventilatory non-homogeneities with or without alveolar air trapping. The method consists of an improved individual multiple breath by breath test utilizing the analysis of the respiratory gases CO2 and He. It is based on the results of previous experimental measurements performed simultaneously in different pulmonary sectors an depends on the technical possibility of signalizing out-of-phase expired CO2-He mixtures at the end of the inert gas clearance when in subjects with peripheral respiratory disorders the two gases CO2 and He arrive at the mouth at different times, during the same expiration and cause different, opposite signals.

Venous thromboembolism, factor V Leiden, and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase in a sickle cell anemia patient.

Vaso-occlusive crisis is the most common cause of morbidity in patients with sickle cell anemia (SCA). Central nervous system involvement that leads to hemiplegia is the most frequent neurological complication in those patients. Peripheral deep venous thromboembolism was not reported in SCA patients.

Negative chronotropic effects of fentanyl attenuate beneficial effects of dobutamine on oxygen metabolism: hemodynamic and pharmacokinetic interactions.

Opioids are well known to cause cardiovascular depression. The aim of the present investigation was to determine whether an interaction of opioid derivatives with catecholamines might be involved in these hemodynamic alterations. Six comatose patients were enrolled into a prospective, nonrandomized pilot trial.

Pseudomonas osteomyelitis of the symphysis pubis after inguinal hernia repair.

Osteitis pubis (OP) is a term used to describe an entity characterised by severe pelvic pain, a wide-based gait and bony destruction of the margins of the pubic symphysis. It is usually assumed that OP is a non-infectious, self-limiting, relatively benign condition. Infectious osteomyelitis of the symphysis pubis (IOSP) is very unusual and the clinical presentation can resemble OP.

Quality of life in systemic lupus erythematosus: a controlled study.

Objective: To assess the quality of life (QOL) of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to compare it with that of healthy women and patients with primary fibromyalgia (FM).

Methods: QOL was evaluated using the QOL scale, which includes 16 items, each scored on a 7 point scale. Healthy controls were chosen from hospital personnel.

[Purpura--an unusual presentation of Takayasu arteritis].

Takayasu arteritis is an uncommon vasculitis, often referred to as aortic arch syndrome. It is most prevalent in young women. Physical findings such as the combination of pulseless arms and carotid bruits suggest the diagnosis.

Analysis of microdialysates from cancer patients by capillary electrophoresis.

Microdialysis (MD) is an innovative clinical technique for measuring interstitial tissue pharmacokinetics and plasma-to-tissue transfer rates of drugs in humans. However, microdialysis requires the availability of specialized analytical techniques. Capillary electrophoresis (CE), which enables concentration measurements of small volume samples, theoretically constitutes an ideal analytical technique for measuring drug concentrations in microdialysates.

Resistance to 5-fluorouracil.

1. Primary and secondary resistance to the widely used antimetabolite 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) are common phenomena in cancer chemotherapy. Because 5-FU still remains the agent of choice in the treatment of, for example, colorectal cancer, circumvention of resistance is of vital importance.

Interstitial methotrexate kinetics in primary breast cancer lesions.

The transfer of cytotoxic agents across the tumor endothelium into the interstitial tumor space is considered a critical step in clinical resistance of solid tumors to antineoplastic chemotherapy. However, experimental data on drug transfer from the blood into the interstitium of solid tumors are scarce. Therefore, in this study, we used an innovative technique, in vivo microdialysis, for measuring interstitial tumor pharmacokinetics and plasma-to-tumor transfer rates of methotrexate (MTX) in breast cancer patients.

[Bromocriptine for refractory rheumatoid arthritis].

In recent years prolactin (PRL) has emerged as an important immunomodulator in various autoimmune disorders. Bromocriptine (BRC) is a dopamine agonist that suppresses secretion of PRL. Good clinical response to BRC has been reported in patients with psoriatic arthritis, Reiter's syndrome, and systemic lupus erythematosus.

Malabsorption in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objective: To screen patients with SLE for malabsorption.

Methods: Twenty-one patients fulfilling the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria for SLE were enrolled in the study. Patients were screened for malabsorption by the D-Xylose test (DXT) and by microscopic examination of the stool for fat droplets.

Transcription and activity of 5-fluorouracil converting enzymes in fluoropyrimidine resistance in colon cancer in vitro.

Cellular resistance to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is not completely understood. Since 5-FU shares the pyrimidine pathway with the physiological pyrimidines, we investigated the relationship between fluoropyrimidine metabolism, nucleic acid uptake and cytotoxicity of 5-FU in eight colon tumour cell lines including 5-FU-resistant subclones. The cytotoxicity of 5-FU was increased up to 423-fold when the anabolites 5-fluorouridine (FUrd), 5-fluorodeoxyuridine (FdUrd), and 5-fluorodeoxyuridine monophosphate (FdUMP) were compared with the parent drug in vitro.

Strategies for assessing pain and pain exaggeration: controlled studies.

Objective: To compare structured with intuitive methods of detecting exaggerated pain, in 2 randomized studies, with masked observers, and to compare properties of measures of relative tenderness, as surrogates for measures of pain.

Methods: Pairs of experienced rheumatologists assessed tenderness and behavior in subjects who were either giving honest responses (Not Acting) or exaggerating their tenderness while hiding the deception (Acting). In Study 1 (20 subjects) the assessments of behavior were descriptive only; for Study 2 (25 subjects) a prestructured format was developed.

5-fluorouracil kinetics in the interstitial tumor space: clinical response in breast cancer patients.

Several anticancer drugs fail to exhibit sufficient activity against solid tumors in vivo despite effective inhibition of tumor cell growth in vitro. This may be due to impaired drug transfer from plasma into solid tumors. The present study, therefore, aimed at measuring interstitial tumor 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) pharmacokinetics and 5-FU transfer rates from plasma into the tumor interstitium in breast cancer patients.

Failure of manual massage to alter limb blood flow: measures by Doppler ultrasound.

The ability of manual massage to alter muscle blood flow through three types of massage treatments in a small (forearm) and a large (quadriceps) muscle mass was tested in 10 healthy individuals. A certified massage therapist administered effleurage, petrissage, and tapotement treatments to the forearm flexors (small muscle mass) and quadriceps (large muscle mass) muscle groups in a counterbalanced manner. Limb blood flow was determined from mean blood velocity (MBV) (pulsed Doppler) and vessel diameter (echo Doppler).

The in vitro effects of interleukin-12 upon tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes derived from renal cell carcinoma.

Clinical trials utilising interleukin (IL)-2 with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) have demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Several cytokines, as well as growth factors have demonstrated modulatory effects upon the biological properties of TIL from RCC, suggesting a potentially important role for cytokines other than IL-2 in the development of active and tumor-specific TIL. IL-12 was recently characterized as a natural-killer-cell-stimulatory factor or cytotoxic-T-cell-maturation factor.

Exposure of oncologic nurses to methotrexate in the treatment of osteosarcoma.

Methotrexate is a therapeutic agent used widely for osteosarcoma. We used an extremely sensitive high-performance liquid-chromatography assay to evaluate 112 urine samples obtained from 28 hospital employees during high-dose therapy with methotrexate and during routine care of patients. The highest cumulative urinary excretion was observed when methotrexate infusions were handled in a workbench from which a portion of filtered air was emitted into the room.

Alcohol dependence: is carbohydrate-deficient transferrin a marker for alcohol intake?

We investigated %CDT (carbohydrate-deficient transferrin) in 92 ethanol-intoxicated alcohol-dependent patients after consecutive admission to hospital and followed the for 28 days under controlled conditions. At admission, 63% (58 patients) showed elevated CDT (> 2.5%) and 34 patients (37%) had normal CDT levels (< 2.