Patient power: a commentary.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to S Nowak.
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The effect of calcitonin on TRH-induced secretion of thyrotropin was studied in 15 subjects with normal thyroid function. It was found that calcitonin has no significant effect on thyrotropin secretion both in basal conditions and following stimulation with TRH.
The authors analyzed 231 patients--14% of all intracranial haematomas treated in the Department of Neurosurgery in Poznań between 1962 and 1990. The patients were divided into 3 following subgroups: I--cases of spontaneous haematomas (identified and unidentified)--30%, II--haematomas of unknown aetiology, but after mild head trauma--27%, III--traumatic haematomas--43%. Increased risk of mortality was observed in cases with intracerebral posttraumatic haematomas. These patients demonstrated diffuse cerebral oedema and multifocal contusions. In the subgroup of patients with spontaneous cerebral haematomas vascular malformation was present during operation or/and in histopathological study--65%.
An operative treatment within the spine due to the traumatic, neoplastic, vascular or other indications frequently result in complications as disturbance of the shape, flexibility, strength, mobility of the spine and injury of neural structures of a various degree. These complications may be prevented by minimizing surgical injury to the bone, ligaments, nerves and vessels and by adequate intra- and postoperative stabilization of the spine. The management will be effective only if the level, range and type of injury as well as spine tolerance against mechanical loads is diagnosed accurately. The authors included case reports.
The effect of cigarette smoking on gastric emptying (GE) of a radio-labelled solid meal was examined in 14 patients with type I gastric ulcer diagnosed at endoscopy. The patients underwent GE measurement thrice: under basal conditions and for two smoking sessions--without and after cimetidine pretreatment (2 x 400 mg orally for 2 days and 400 mg orally 1.5 h before the isotopic GE examination). Cigarette smoking significantly delayed GE--the median GE index, Ix: 0.688 min-1.10-2 (range 0.033-1.886) after smoking vs. 1.246 min-1.-2 (range 0.384-2.339) under basal conditions, p less than 0.01. The inhibitory effect of smoking on solid GE was blunted when smoking coincided with cimetidine pretreatment--the median Ix amounted to 1.069 min-1.10-2 (range 0.022-1.462) and was not significantly different from that under basal conditions.
The effect of gastric emptying of two doses (35 and 70 micrograms) of enprostil given orally was evaluated in eight patients with endoscopically confirmed duodenal ulcer. Gastric emptying of a radiolabelled solid meal was assessed with the use of a gamma camera. Enprostil dose-dependently accelerated gastric emptying of solids; the gastric emptying index, Ix, increased from 1.62 +/- 0.38 min-1.10(-2) after placebo to 2.77 +/- 0.56 min-1.10(-2) after 35 micrograms enprostil (p less than 0.05 versus placebo) and to 3.65 +/- 0.64 min-1.10(-2) after 70 micrograms enprostil (p less than 0.005 versus placebo). The fraction of the radiolabelled food retained in the stomach at the end of the gastric emptying examination (that is, after 90 min) amounted to 50.5 +/- 6.9% after placebo, 35.2 +/- 7.4% after 35 micrograms enprostil, and 24.1 +/- 8.4% after 70 micrograms enprostil. It is concluded that enprostil elicits a significant speeding up of solid-phase gastric emptying in duodenal ulcer patients.
The acetylation phenotype has been investigated in 76 patients with untreated hyperthyroidism. In 65 of these patients including 23 with fast and 42 with slow acetylation phenotype, the blood serum concentrations of thyroxine and triiodothyronine were determined before and after propranolol therapy involving propranolol administration of a dose of 160 mg per day for 6 days. The occurrence of the fast acetylation phenotype among the patients with hyperthyroidism was similar to that found in the healthy population. Propranolol therapy caused a significant decrease in the blood serum concentration of triiodothyronine only in the patients with the slow acetylation phenotype.
In two studies with a total of 16 test persons, gingival temperature being a measure of blood flow was taken in the region of the front teeth, canines and molars in defined intervals. Gingival temperature has got--like other biological criteria--a circadian rhythmic that may be both of therapeutical and methodical value.
The effects of a short-term application of various beta-adrenolytic drugs on heart rate and on the changes in subperiods of left ventricle contraction have been studied in 71 patients with untreated hyperthyroidism and in 72 patients with simple goiter. The following drugs were used: propranolol, metoprolol, atenolol, pindolol, nadolol and acebutolol. It was found that those betaadrenolytic drugs which have no sympathomimetic action cause a significant decrease in heart rate both in patients with hyperthyroidism and in those with simple goiter. The effect of these drugs on heart rate was not related to the changes in blood serum concentrations of thyroxine and triiodothyronine. None of the drugs tested influenced appreciably the contraction subperiods of left heart ventricle, both in the patients with hyperthyroidism and in those with simple goiter.
Differential diagnosis between the sino- and otogenic brain complications and tumor is the most difficult task in otology and neurosurgery. These difficulties are even greater in purulent intracranial complications of sinusitis and otitis giving the same symptoms as cerebral tumors. The illustrative case reports were described.
Discovery, nomenclature and some genetical and molecular aspect of alpha 1-antitrypsin polymorphism are discussed. Particular attention has been paid to the deficiency variants and their role in human pathology.
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The effect of cigarette smoking on gastric emptying was studied in 18 healthy volunteers by means of an isotopic method. Although the observed individual reactions were fairly variable, cigarette smoking significantly delayed gastric emptying of a solid meal. Potential mechanisms of action of cigarette smoking on gastric emptying are discussed, including the role of nicotine. The method of gastric emptying measurement was shown to be reproducible in the paired studies performed in 11 subjects.
The effect of cigarette smoking on gastric emptying (GE) of a radiolabelled solid meal was examined in 14 patients with an active duodenal ulcer. The patients underwent GE measurement thrice: under basal conditions and for two smoking sessions, without and after cimetidine pretreatment (2 X 400 mg orally for 2 days and 400 mg orally 1.5 h before the isotropic GE examination) in random order. Cigarette smoking significantly delayed GE (p less than 0.05 for both the gastric half emptying time (H) and the mean transit time (MTT90)). The inhibitory effect of smoking on GE was enhanced after cimetidine pretreatment (p less than 0.02 for H and p less than 0.004 for MTT90, respectively). Potential mechanisms and pathophysiological meaning of the findings are discussed.
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