Journal of investigative medicine : the official publication of the American Federation for Clinical Research
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Clinical Trial
Effects of carbon monoxide poisoning on neutrophil responses in patients treated with hyperbaric oxygen.
Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning can cause tissue injury. Neutrophil granulocytes have been proposed to contribute to the injury, which may be ameliorated by hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) treatment. We sought to assess the relationship between acute CO poisoning and blood neutrophil count, plasma cytokine, and cortisol responses, as well as the mechanism behind the observed beneficiary effects of HBO2 treatment. ⋯ CO poisoning was associated with discrete changes of blood neutrophil counts, cortisol, and G-CSF plasma concentrations. HBO2 treatment modulated neutrophil generation of H2O2 and surface expression of CD18. These changes may be part of the cascade of events leading to the sequelae of CO poisoning and their attenuation by HBO2.
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Newer concepts in the management of severe sepsis and, in particular, in the understanding of the relationship between proinflammatory and procoagulant activities during severe infection have led to the introduction of activated protein C (drotrecogin) into the therapeutic program. The combination of effective antimicrobial therapy, aggressive supportive care, and efforts to antagonize procoagulants and inhibitors of fibrinolysis was used in this study. ⋯ Those patients with infections caused by gram-positive organisms seemed to have a better prognosis than those with gram-negative infections, perhaps because their illnesses are less complicated by local disease. Although our study is small, it suggests that activated protein C will have a significant beneficial effect on the future treatment of severe sepsis and can reduce the mortality rate significantly. Further improvement in survival rates will require more effective treatment of local disease and associated noninfectious ailments.
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Reviewed are data on gluconeogenesis (GNG) and glycogenolysis (GL) obtained in healthy volunteers and diabetic patients with newer, quantitative methods. Specifically addressed are effects of overnight and prolonged fasting, of acute changes in serum insulin and plasma free fatty acid (FFA) levels, as well as acute changes of combined FFA and insulin levels on GNG and GL in nondiabetic subjects and of abnormalities in GNG and GL in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
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Biography Historical Article
Issues in developing the medical scientist, part 1: interview with Dr. Robert W. Schrier, MD.