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J Newcomer

Publications and source records attributed to J Newcomer.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Vaginal pain caused by laparoscopic colposuspension with tacks.

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic colposuspension is a popular surgical procedure for stress incontinence. To simplify the laparoscopic approach, many physicians have replaced laparoscopic suturing with mesh, secured with staples or tacks. CASES: Two women developed severe, shooting vaginal pain after laparoscopic colposuspension with mesh and tacks. The tacks could be palpated vaginally in both, reproducing the pain. Tack removal relieved their pain, but one had recurrent cystocele. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic colposuspension with tacks might produce shooting vaginal pain, possibly unique to tacks versus staples or sutures.

Adult↗

Pessaries for the treatment of incompetent cervix and premature delivery.

The purpose of this study was to review published articles about using pessaries in women with an incompetent cervix or who are at risk for preterm delivery. A MEDLINE search was performed from 1966 to 2000, with articles published before 1966 being extracted from the reference lists of articles obtained. Foreign articles were translated into English. Key words included pessary, incompetent cervix, and preterm labor. All studies that included patient data were included. A variety of studies suggest that pessaries can increase the percentage of full-term deliveries when used in women with an incompetent cervix or at risk for preterm delivery. When looking at women thought to have an incompetent cervix, the studies are mostly old case series. One prospective, randomized trial demonstrated no difference between women treated with a pessary and a cerclage. However, 27 weeks was the average gestational age at which therapy was started. In women at risk for preterm delivery, retrospective studies show an increase in full-term pregnancy rates with pessary use. One prospective, nonrandomized study also shows an increase in full-term pregnancy rate. However, in this study, lower risk patients received the pessary. Because of the poor nature of most of the studies, pessaries should not replace cerclage use at this time in women with an incompetent cervix. However, pessary use should be considered as adjuncts to cerclage or in women who are not candidates for cerclage. Also, pessary use may be considered in some women at risk for preterm delivery. Randomized perspective controlled trials are in progress to address the use of pessaries in these situations. Vaginal pessaries have been reported to be useful in women at risk for preterm delivery since 1959. Bedrest and cervical cerclage has become standard therapy in the United States for women with an incompetent cervix. However, cerclage is not without risk. Furthermore, advances in ultrasound have allowed us to identify women potentially at risk for preterm delivery by detecting cervical shortening before dilatation. This ability has raised questions concerning how to manage patients with subtle ultrasound changes. This article reviews the published literature concerning the use of pessaries in women with an incompetent cervix or at risk for early delivery.

Female↗

Insulin metabolism in Alzheimer's disease differs according to apolipoprotein E genotype and gender.

Higher fasting plasma insulin levels and reduced CSF-to-plasma insulin ratios, suggestive of insulin resistance, have been observed in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) who do not possess an apolipoprotein E (APOE)-epsilon4 allele. We examined the relationship of APOE and gender to peripheral insulin action and hyperinsulinemic memory facilitation in patients with AD using a sensitive measure of insulin-mediated glucose disposal. Participants were 32 patients with AD (9 without an epsilon4 allele, 23 with an epsilon4 allele) and 25 healthy age-matched adults (16 without an epsilon4 allele, 9 with an epsilon4 allele). AD subjects without an epsilon4 allele had significantly lower insulin-mediated glucose disposal rates than AD patients with an epsilon4 allele (p < 0.03), or than normal adults without an epsilon4 allele (p < 0.02). Female AD subjects showed lower insulin-mediated glucose disposal rates than did male AD subjects (p < 0.02). No significant interaction was observed between APOE group and gender, suggesting that these effects are independent. AD subjects without an epsilon4 allele also showed significant memory facilitation in the hyperinsulinemic condition (p < 0.04), whereas the AD-epsilon4 group did not. Also in the hyperinsulinemic condition, AD patients without an epsilon4 allele had lower insulin levels than patients with an epsilon4 allele (p < 0.02), and women with AD had lower insulin levels than did men with AD despite similar insulin infusion rates and body mass (p < 0.004). No gender or genotype effects were observed in either condition for normal subjects. These results provide in vivo evidence of differences in insulin-mediated energy metabolism between epsilon4 and non-epsilon4 AD, and suggest that defective insulin action may be of particular pathophysiologic significance for patients without an epsilon-4 allele.

Aged↗

Coma and thyrotoxicosis.

A patient with Graves' disease was in coma with evidence of corticospinal tract disease. Treatment with standard pharmacological measures and plasmapheresis resulted in the reduction of total thyroxine from 28.8 micrograms/dl to 10.0 micrograms/dl and of triiodothyronine from 332 ng/dl to 150 ng/dl. These laboratory findings were associated with clinical stabilization, improvement of mental status, and resolution of the findings of corticospinal tract disease. These data support previous contentions relating reversible corticospinal tract disease to thyrotoxicosis.

Adult↗

Memory improvement following induced hyperinsulinemia in Alzheimer's disease.

Dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) is accompanied by disruption in glucose regulation and utilization that may contribute to its characteristic memory impairment. Increasing glucose availability by raising plasma glucose improves memory in patients with DAT. Such memory improvement is associated with a secondary elevation in plasma insulin levels, raising the question of whether improvement is due to changes in insulin levels, independent of hyperglycemia. Distributions of insulin receptors in the hippocampus and insulin-mediated increases in glucose utilization in entorhinal cortex provide potential mechanisms for such improvement. We show that raising plasma insulin through intravenous infusion while keeping plasma glucose at a fasting baseline level produces striking memory enhancement for patients with DAT. Previous findings of hyperglycemic memory enhancement were also replicated. Patients with DAT also showed abnormal plasma levels of glucoregulatory hormones and metabolites at baseline and during metabolic manipulations. Our findings suggest that neuroendocrine factors play an important role in the pathophysiology of DAT.

Aged↗