Fixed-dose combination therapy in the United States, Britain and Israel.

Background: Fixed dose combination therapy varies among countries.

Objective: To compare the list of fixed-dose combination therapies used in the USA, UK and Israel.

Methods: The total list of drugs and FDC drugs were counted manually from a list of generic names.

Heredity in Parkinson's disease: new findings.

Multiple factors have been hypothesized over the last century to be causative or contributory for Parkinson's disease. Hereditary factors have recently emerged as a major focus of Parkinson's disease research. Until recently most of the research on the etiology of Parkinson's disease concentrated on environmental factors, and the possibility that genetic factors contribute significantly to the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease has been neglected.

[Surgery of the carotid body tumors].

Carotid body tumor is a rare tumor of obscure origin, usually benign, and commonly present as a non-painful cervical mass. Resection is the treatment of choice. When the tumor is very adherent to the carotid artery, it may be necessary to also resect the artery and to reconstruct the arterial continuity using a saphenous or synthetic interposition graft.

Abolition of pentagastrin-stimulated alkaline tide using the carbonic anhydrase inhibitor acetazolamide.

Background: Alkaline tide is the transient increase in blood and urine pH following stimulation of gastric acid secretion. It is attributed to HCO3- release from parietal cells in parallel with H+ secretion. The enzyme carbonic anhydrase is thought to be responsible for HCO3- production from CO2 and OH- in the parietal cell.

Hospitalization for general medical conditions among diabetic patients in Israel.

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a serious, costly and growing public health problem. Very few studies have been published on the economic impact of diabetes in Israel.

Objective: To estimate health fund expenditures and rates of hospitalization for general conditions among the diabetic population in Israel.

Isokinetic strength and endurance of the knee extensors and flexors in trans-tibial amputees.

Significant levels of muscular fatigue alter the co-ordination patterns and the ability to accomplish proper daily functions, especially in patients with initial low levels of strength. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the strength and endurance of the quadriceps and hamstring muscles in trans-tibial amputees. Concentric strength and endurance of the thigh muscles were measured bilaterally by an isokinetic dynamometer.

[Malignant eccrine poroma--a rare occurrence].

Malignant eccrine poroma (MEP) is rare and both clinical and histologic diagnosis is often difficult. Therefore, diagnosis is sometimes delayed or even incorrect. We report a case in a 70-year old man with MEP of the leg.

[Information provided in writing for "informed consent" in clinical trials].

The Helsinki Declaration contains recommendations guiding physicians who conduct clinical trials. One is that the requirement for informed consent is essential for approval of a trial. An important component of the informed consent doctrine is that all data required for the participant's decision must be provided.

The distribution of pemphigus vulgaris-IgG subclasses and their reactivity with desmoglein 3 and 1 in pemphigus patients and their first-degree relatives.

Background: Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) autoantibodies (PV-IgG) have been found in 40-70% of sera of first-degree relatives of pemphigus patients.

Objectives: To determine the possible role of PV-IgG subclasses in the pathogenesis of the disease.

Patients And Methods: Study groups comprised 25 PV patients, 55 unaffected family members and 56 sera of healthy individuals.

[129 liver surgeries--five years of experience in a surgery department].

Major hepatic resections have been associated with significant morbidity and mortality. In the past decade or so this has changed and such procedures are now done in increasing numbers. In the past 5 years we operated on 129 patients with benign or malignant hepatic lesions (75 females, 54 males; age-range 14-84).

[Popliteal vascular trauma].

6 cases of popliteal vascular trauma are presented, 3 due to posterior dislocation of the knee and 3 due to crush injury. The patients were referred from another hospital and some had undergone unnecessary angiography when ischemia was present, leading to delay in surgery. All patients presented with distal ischemia and underwent reconstructive surgery; 2 subsequently underwent below-knee amputation because of irreversible ischemia and sepsis.

[Kimura's disease and angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia-- on disease with different expressions?].

Kimura's disease is a rare angiolymphoid proliferative disorder of soft tissue characterized by subcutaneous swelling and a predilection for the head and neck. There are usually enlarged regional lymph nodes, eosinophilia and elevated sedimentation rate and IgE levels. A 26-year-old women with subcutaneous masses in the submandibular area is reported.

[Preservation of the great posterior auricular nerve during superficial parotidectomy].

Sensory loss in the operative area after superficial parotidectomy is one of the complications which disturbs the patient. The greater auricular nerve, which stems from the cervical plexus, supplies sensation to the area. Sacrifice of the nerve during superficial parotidectomy causes sensory loss in the area.