Clinical study of botulinum-A toxin in the treatment of sialorrhea in children with cerebral palsy.

Objective: To assess the safety and efficacy of intraglandular (parotid and submandibular) botulinum-A toxin (BTX-A) in the treatment of sialorrhea in children with cerebral palsy (CP).

Study Design: Prospective, open-label, dose-escalation study.

Setting: Tertiary care Children's Hospital.

Use and perceptions of antibiotics for upper respiratory infections among college students.

Background: Upper respiratory infections (URIs) are mainly viral in nature, rendering antibiotics ineffective. Little is known about what college students believe concerning the effectiveness of antibiotics as a treatment for URIs.

Methods: Students (n=425) on 3 college campuses were surveyed using a survey describing 3 variations in presentation of an uncomplicated URI.

Compliance issues related to the selection of antibiotic suspensions for children.

Objective: To evaluate the palatability, cost and other compliance issues as variables in the selection of antibiotic suspensions for children.

Methods: Eighty-six physicians and health care personnel randomly sampled amoxicillin (used as a standard for comparison) and 11 other antibiotics, evaluating them in categories of appearance, smell, texture, taste and aftertaste. Overall scoring was then adjusted for cost, duration of therapy and dosing intervals.

The Internet for Louisiana physicians.

Fewer than 50% of Louisiana physicians actively use the Internet, and many of them confine their usage to e-mailing among family and friends. The purpose of this article is to acquaint the reader with many of the benefits of exploiting the incredible potential of this technological invention. I provide addresses and information about sites that I believe warrant usage by our colleagues.

Abortifacients: toxidromes, ancient to modern--a case series and review of the literature.

Between 1998 and 1999, four women presented to an emergency department after having attempted a nonmedical abortion. All four reported turning to pharmacologically induced abortion because their access to health care was limited by lack of insurance and resources. These cases serve as a reminder that self-induced abortion remains a significant health problem for women, a problem that emergency physicians as toxicologists should be aware of.

Association of Mycobacterium leprae with human endothelial cells in vitro.

Endothelial cell infection by Mycobacterium leprae has long been described histologically in all types of leprosy and in some of the acute reactions occurring in this disease. Recent evidence from experimental lepromatous neuritis indicates that M. leprae colonizes endothelial cells of epineural blood vessels even in sites of minimal infection, suggesting that interaction between these cells and M.

The STS National Database: current changes and challenges for the new millennium. Committee to Establish a National Database in Cardiothoracic Surgery, The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.

Background: The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) established the National Database (NDB) for Cardiac Surgery in 1989. Since then it has grown to be the largest database of its kind in medicine. The NDB has been one of the pioneers in the analysis and reporting of risk-adjusted outcomes in cardiothoracic surgery.

CD2 (OKT11) augments CD3-mediated intracellular signaling events in human T lymphocytes.

CD2 (LFA-2) is expressed on thymocytes, natural killer cells, and virtually all peripheral T cells. CD2 binds to its primary ligand CD58 (LFA-3) on antigen presenting cells (APC) and stabilizes the T cell-APC interaction; this stable interaction then optimizes Ag-specific T-cell activation. We assessed whether CD2-cross-linking by mAb augments the process of T-cell stimulation through the TCR/CD3 complex.

p53 tumor suppressor gene mutations in transformed cutaneous T-cell lymphoma: a study of 12 cases.

The transformation of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (t-CTCL) is an uncommon phenomenon that is associated with histopathologic changes and follows an aggressive course. The factors contributing to this transformation are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to analyze the p53 status in t-CTCL and to correlate it with disease outcome.

Natural history of intestinal microsporidiosis among patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus.

A chart review of 73 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients with enteric microsporidiosis was conducted to define the natural history of microsporidiosis. A substantial proportion of patients remained symptomatic after 6 months (54.8% with persistent diarrhea and 51.

Multiple myeloma metastatic to the thigh: successful treatment with radiation therapy.

A 64-year-old man with metastatic multiple myeloma in the thigh was treated with radiation therapy. After a total dose of 30 Gy/10 fractions, significant resolution of the tumor in the thigh was observed. This case confirms the accepted dictum that multiple myeloma is a radioresponsive neoplastic disorder.

Tuberculosis in Louisiana: an update.

The incidence of tuberculosis in the United States declined steadily until 1985 when increases were seen, in part due to the AIDS epidemic. Although the decline resumed in 1992, tuberculosis remains a public health problem in Louisiana and nationally. In Louisiana in 1997, HIV infection was present in 14% of persons with tuberculosis whose HIV status was known.

Coexistent minocycline-induced systemic lupus erythematosus and autoimmune hepatitis.

Objectives: This study was performed to raise awareness among rheumatologists about two autoimmune disorders associated with long-term minocycline therapy that can coexist in the same patient. We provide an update on the occurrence of these disorders, their main characteristics, and the current knowledge of potential pathogenic mechanisms.

Methods: We searched the medical literature in English indexed in MEDLINE from 1966 through April 1998 for the term minocycline combined with each of the following: autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), chronic hepatitis, lupus, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), anti-myeloperoxidase (anti-MPO), arthritis, vasculitis, and toxicity.

Triosephosphate isomerase deficiency in a child with congenital hemolytic anemia and severe hypotonia.

A discussion of a 5-year-old child with congenital hemolytic anemia and severe hypotonia caused by triosephosphate (TPI) deficiency is presented. The complexities in the diagnosis and management of this condition is discussed and the relevant literature is reviewed.