Multicenter trial of low-dose paclitaxel in patients with advanced AIDS-related Kaposi sarcoma.

Background: Treatment options are limited for patients with advanced acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related Kaposi sarcoma (AIDS-KS) whose disease has progressed after receiving therapy with liposomal anthracyclines or combination chemotherapy with doxorubicin (Adriamycin), bleomycin, and vincristine (ABV). This study was performed to assess the safety and efficacy of a novel dose and schedule of paclitaxel in patients with AIDS-KS who failed to respond to previous systemic chemotherapy.

Methods: This was an open-label, multicenter Phase II study.

Comparison of length of hospital stay to mortality rate in a regional burn center.

Data were collected prospectively from 196 patients admitted to our regional burn center during a 10-month period. Fifteen patients died during hospitalization, for a mortality rate of 7.7%.

Stimulation of calcium uptake in cultured astrocytes by hypoosmotic stress--effect of cyclic AMP.

To investigate the role of Ca2+ in astrocyte volume regulation, we determined Ca2+ fluxes following hypoosmotic stress and how these fluxes were modified by cyclic AMP. In isoosmotic conditions treatment with dibutyryl cyclic AMP (dBcAMP) caused almost a twofold increase in 45Ca2+ uptake. Efflux studies of 45Ca2+ in dBcAMP-treated cells showed three Ca2+ compartments while only two Ca2+ compartments were identified in non-dBcAMP-treated cells.

Coronary artery diameter and coronary risk factors: a study with ultrafast computed tomography.

Coronary artery dilation has been described as an early effect of atherosclerosis. No noninvasive technique has been available to measure coronary size. In this study coronary diameters were measured in 100 asymptomatic subjects (89 men and 11 women, mean age 40 +/- 6 years) by means of ultrafast computed tomography (UFCT), with 3 mm thick ECG gated scans.

Sensitivity and specificity of transcranial Doppler ultrasonography in the detection of high-grade carotid stenosis.

We evaluated the ability of transcranial Doppler ultrasonography (TCD) of the middle cerebral artery to detect internal carotid artery luminal area stenosis of 70% or greater by comparing TCD with cerebral angiography in 79 subjects, including 22 with normal cerebral arteriograms and 57 with 30% to 100% internal carotid artery stenosis on at least one side. Of six TCD measurements assessed, the flow acceleration provided the greatest sensitivity (82%) and specificity (73%) in distinguishing 70% to 100% carotid stenosis from lesser degrees of stenosis. The overall accuracy of the flow acceleration was 78%, and the positive predictive value was 79%.

Evaluation of internal carotid artery stenosis by transcranial Doppler ultrasonography and oculopneumoplethysmography.

We compared the results of cerebral angiography, transcranial Doppler ultrasonography of the middle cerebral artery and oculopneumoplethysmography in 35 subjects. The subjects included eight with normal cerebral arteriograms and 27 with varying degrees of internal carotid stenosis. We found a statistically significant (P = .