Continuous systemic 5-fluorouracil infusion in refractory prostatic cancer

Twenty patients with metastatic prostatic cancer were treated on an ambulatory basis with continuous 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) infusion 250-300 mg/M2 per day through a chronic indwelling central venous catheter. All patients had symptomatic, progressive disease despite previous standard therapies. Partial remission was seen in 2 of 20 patients (10%), stable disease in 9 of 20 (45%), and progressive disease in 9 of 20 (45%); mean duration of benefit in responding and stable disease patients was six months. Improvement in pain and ECOG performance status were seen in most of the patients in the responding and stable disease categories. Forty percent of the patients experienced no significant drug toxicity; treatment interruption was necessary for stomatitis in 6 patients (30%), hand/foot syndrome in 3 patients (15%), and diarrhea in 1 patient (5%). No significant myelosuppression or other significant organ toxicities were encountered. Continuous systemic venous infusion of 5-FU may provide significant palliative effect for some patients with symptomatic, refractory carcinoma of the prostate.

[Severe hard tooth structure decay following full body radiotherapy prior to bone marrow transplantation]

A case of severe hard tooth structure decay in a patient aged 31 following bone marrow transplantation is presented. So far tooth decay of such severity was only found in connection with radiotherapies for oral and maxillofacial malignomas. Scanning electron micrographs of 4 extracted teeth reveal different degrees of enamel and dentine decay. Major areas of exposed dentine, particularly at the buccal and incisal surfaces where the enamel has broken off in splinters, show massive growth of bacteria. The dentinoenamel junction is also extensively involved. Implications for dental care of bone marrow transplant patients during and after treatment are being discussed.

Is parental age related to the risk of Alzheimer's disease?

Advanced maternal and paternal age were investigated as putative risk factors for AD in 198 clinically diagnosed Alzheimer patients and in 198 randomly selected healthy controls. No significant differences in average age of fathers and of mothers at birth of the subject were observed. The risk of AD was not significantly different across categories of maternal and paternal age. The association with parental age was not different for sporadic and familial AD. These findings do not support the view of a maternal or paternal age effect on AD.

[Determinants for myocardial hypertrophy in mild essential hypertension. The effect of sodium chloride on left-ventricular hypertrophy]

The impact of clinical parameters on the pathogenesis of myocardial hypertrophy was examined in 75 male patients with mild essential hypertension. Clinical parameters were age, body weight, sodium excretion (as an estimate for dietary salt intake), systolic and diastolic blood pressure at work, casual blood pressure, resting and stress blood pressure during mental stress test and physical exercise. Left ventricular mass as a parameter for the degree of left ventricular hypertrophy was assessed by 2-D guided M-mode echocardiography. Left ventricular mass correlated with body weight (r = 0.47, p less than 0.002), with body mass index (r = 0.48, p less than 0.001), with systolic blood pressure at the worksite (r = 0.28, p less than or equal to 0.05), and systolic blood pressure at rest (r = 0.35, p less than or equal to 0.01), whereas no correlation was found between casual or stress blood pressure readings during physical exercise and mental stress with the degree of left ventricular hypertrophy. Sodium excretion was related to the end-diastolic diameter of the left ventricle (r = 0.33, p less than or equal to 0.01) and to left ventricular mass (r = 0.35, p less than or equal to 0.01). Multiple regression analysis revealed that sodium excretion over 24 hours, systolic blood pressure at the worksite and body mass index were independent determinants of left ventricular mass. Thus, dietary salt intake was found to modulate the degree of left ventricular hypertrophy independently of the pressure load imposed on the myocardium.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Periotest method for the quantitative assessment of occlusal loads]

Using a serial periotest unit we determined the periotest values for disclusion, slight centric occlusion, maximum intercuspation and axially in 102 subjects with a total of 1769 teeth in periodontally healthy dentitions. All teeth were grouped according to the criteria presence or lack of antagonist contact in maximum intercuspation, excentric abrasion facets and occlusal restorations, and statistically evaluated. The difference-normal range for physiologic occlusal loads can be assessed by comparative periotest measurements in disclusion and maximum intercuspation. Thus we have, for the first time, a quantitative, objectifiable parameter for the assessment of the "dimension of occlusion", which at the same time provides information on the functional load on the periodontia of antagonists. Premolar teeth with occlusal restorations tended to have significantly greater differences in the periotest values than teeth with natural occlusal surfaces. By comparing these values with the normal range of differences in the periotest value, a high degree of precision can be achieved in adjusting occlusal restorations. Axial measurements revealed a markedly higher shock absorbing capacity of the periodontia than horizontal measurements.

Relation of hemodynamic reaction during stress to left ventricular hypertrophy in essential hypertension

To elucidate the impact of increased afterload during physical and mental stress on myocardial hypertrophy, a homogeneous population of 73 patients with untreated mild-to-moderate essential hypertension were enrolled in the current study. Left ventricular mass and cross-sectional area, both determined by 2-D guided M-mode echocardiography, were related to blood pressure measured at rest as well as during various stress situations. Left ventricular mass and cross-sectional area correlated with systolic pressure at work site (r = 0.28 and r = 0.23 respectively, P less than .05) and systolic pressure at complete rest (r = 0.35 and r = 0.33, P less than .01). Neither the response in blood pressure to mental arithmetic or a bicycle exercise test performed in the laboratory, nor blood pressure during both stress tests were significantly related to the degree of left ventricular hypertrophy. In addition, patients with a hyperreactive response to mental arithmetic or to the physical stress test did not disclose a greater left ventricular mass than normoreactors. Examining the hemodynamic response pattern during mental arithmetic, we found that patients with vasoconstriction during mental stress had a greater left ventricular mass than individuals with vasodilation during mental stress (244 +/- 73 v 204 +/- 53 g, P less than .05), but this was due to the impact of obesity on left ventricular mass (analysis of covariance: F = 2.1, P = NS). Thus, blood pressure at work site and at rest, but not blood pressure during mental or physical stress, nor the response of blood pressure to both stress tests, was linked to the degree of left ventricular hypertrophy.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Significance of microproteinuria for early detection of hypertension-induced end organ damage]

To investigate the clinical importance of microproteinuria, we examined the prevalence of microproteinuria and its relation to cardiac structural adaptation in 80 male, middle-aged patients with essential hypertension. Patients with secondary causes of hypertension were ruled out. 14 out of 80 hypertensives (18 percent) were found to have microproteinuria defined as "negative" for urinary protein excretion in the conventional test, but "positive" (above the upper normal limit) in the 24-hour urine samples. Patients with microproteinuria had a similar age and body weight, but a higher systolic and diastolic pressure (161 +/- 14/104 +/- 12 vs 148 +/- 14/97 +/- 9 mmHg, p less than 0.02) and greater creatinine clearance (163 +/- 36 vs 136 +/- 33 ml/min, p less than 0.01) than those with normal protein excretion. Also, hypertensives with microproteinuria had a greater left ventricular mass (241 +/- 57 vs 207 +/- 45 g, p less than 0.05) and greater cross sectional area (22.2 +/- 2.8 vs 20.5 +/- 2.9 cm2, p less than 0.05) evaluated by 2-D guided M-mode echocardiography than the control group. A positive Sokolow-index was more prevalent in patients with microproteinuria than in those without (x2 = 6.2, p less than 0.02). Patients with essential hypertension and microproteinuria (prevalence 21 per cent) were characterized by a higher arterial pressure, by a higher degree of echocardiographic and electrographic evidence of left ventricular hypertrophy. Thus, microproteinuria might serve as a marker for early target organ damage in essential hypertension.

Periotest--a dynamic procedure for the diagnosis of the human periodontium

The Periotest is a new instrument for the diagnosis of periodontal diseases. The Periotest value depends to some extent on tooth mobility, but mainly on the damping characteristics of the periodontium. The Periotest measures the reaction to a reproducible impact applied to the tooth crown.

Efficacy of long-term antihypertensive therapy with enalapril

We examined whether long-term antihypertensive monotherapy with enalapril decreased clinical casual blood pressure (BP) as well as BP at work and during stress, and whether this angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor had an adverse effect on the physiologic hemodynamic pattern during experimental mental stress. Seventeen male patients with hitherto untreated mild-to-moderate essential hypertension (mean age: 47 +/- 8 years) had 24-hour BP monitored noninvasively with the Physioport system before and during treatment with enalapril (5-10 mg/day) for 6 months. They also had a mental stress test, physical exercise test, and the cold pressor test before and after therapy. After the diagnostic observation period, average clinical casual BP was 150 +/- 12/102 +/- 7 mg Hg. Average BP at work, stress BP during all types of stimulation in the laboratory, and clinical casual BP significantly decreased during monotherapy with enalapril. Neither the circadian rhythm nor the hemodynamic pattern during mental stress was significantly altered by enalapril. BP increases during emotional stress were not significantly attenuated by the ACE inhibitor. These results demonstrated that enalapril effectively lowers BP without altering the physiologic hemodynamic pattern during emotional stress.

History of dementia and Parkinson's disease in 1st-degree relatives of patients with Alzheimer's disease

We assessed the family history of dementia and Parkinson's disease in 198 Dutch patients with Alzheimer's disease diagnosed before the age of 70 years, and in 198 age- and sex-matched healthy population controls. Of the Alzheimer patients, 48% had at least 1 1st-degree relative with dementia, compared with 19% of the controls. There were 24 patients and 1 control with 2 or more 1st-degree relatives with dementia, yielding a relative risk of 40.0. More Alzheimer patients than controls had a 1st-degree relative with Parkinson's disease, with a relative risk of 2.9. This study strongly confirms earlier findings of familial aggregation of Alzheimer's disease and provides evidence for familial aggregation of Alzheimer's disease with Parkinson's disease. The latter may point at a joint etiology of these diseases.

Action of the major protease from Entamoeba histolytica on proteins of the extracellular matrix

The action of the major protease from the parasitic protozoon Entamoeba histolytica, a cysteine protease of Mr 27,000-29,000, on some important proteins of the extracellular matrix has been studied. The isolated protease degraded the extracellular matrix proteins from human tissue collagen type IV and V as well as laminin and fibronectin with different velocities and specificities under native conditions. Whereas the degradation of fibronectin and laminin proceeded rapidly, yielding distinct fragment patterns, the breakdown of the collagen types happened more slowly and incompletely. The digestion of the denatured isolated alpha 2-chain of bovine collagen type I was very fast and unspecific requiring only 1/10 of the enzyme activities as compared with the other substrates mentioned above. Nearly 85% of the overall proteolytic activity of a soluble fraction of E. histolytica was strongly inhibited by antibodies against the purified histolytic protease as well as by cystatin from chicken egg white, a specific protein inhibitor of cysteine proteases. We conclude that the histolytic protease represents by far the highest portion of soluble proteolytic activity in E. histolytica which is sufficient to destroy the extracellular matrix of the host.

Efficacy of four antihypertensive drugs (clonidine, enalapril, nitrendipine, oxprenolol) on stress blood pressure

The impact of 4 antihypertensive drug regimens on blood pressure (BP) during everyday life stress and on BP during experimental stress in the laboratory was examined in an open clinical study. Sixty middle-aged men with mild-to-moderate essential hypertension never previously treated were treated either with low-dose clonidine (n = 10), oxprenolol (n = 20), nitrendipine (n = 20) or enalapril (n = 10). Before therapy, all 4 groups did not differ in age, weight, degree of obesity, BP at work site and casual BP measured in the outpatient clinic. After 6 months of effective therapy (casual BP within the normotensive range), casual diastolic BP was identical among the 4 groups, whereas systolic BP was lower in patients treated with clonidine or oxprenolol than in those who received enalapril. A disparate pattern of antihypertensive efficacy among the 4 groups emerged when stress BP was compared, with average ambulatory BP higher in patients receiving clonidine or enalapril than in those who had oxprenolol or nitrendipine. During ambulatory BP monitoring, patients treated with oxprenolol had the lowest level at each level of physical activity and self-reported emotional arousal. During bicycle exercise, patients receiving clonidine had the highest increase in systolic BP and those administered oxprenolol the lowest, whereas the BP response during mental stress was similar among all 4 therapeutic groups. The analysis of the hemodynamic response pattern during mental stress unmasked further disparities. Oxprenolol provoked an abnormal hemodynamic response during mental stress tests (increase in total peripheral resistance), whereas nitrendipine and enalapril preserved the physiological hemodynamic profile (decrease of total peripheral resistance).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Disparities in blood pressure control under various antihypertensive regimens

Ambulatory blood pressure recordings and stress blood pressures during exercise were compared among hypertensive patients effectively treated with oxprenolol, nitrendipine, enalapril or low-dose clonidine. After 6 months of therapy, the means of blood pressure at rest and casual diastolic pressure were nearly identical among the four therapeutic groups. Although all pressures fell to within the normotensive range, casual systolic pressures were lower in patients treated with sympatholytic agents than in those taking enalapril. In contrast, average ambulatory blood pressure was less controlled in patients given clonidine or enalapril than in those given oxprenolol or nitrendipine. During physical stress patients taking clonidine showed the highest stress blood pressures and those taking oxprenolol the lowest pressures. The study demonstrated that although blood pressure was reduced to within the normotensive range in all four therapeutic groups, analysis of values of ambulatory blood pressure and stress blood pressure during physical activity showed a disparate pattern of antihypertensive efficacy.

Continuous systemic 5-fluorouracil infusion in advanced colorectal cancer: results in 91 patients

Ninety-one patients with metastatic colorectal cancer were treated with continuous ambulatory 5-fluorouracil (5FU) infusion 250-300 mg/m2/day through a chronic indwelling central venous catheter. Twenty-six of the 91 patients (29%) had received previous bolus 5FU. Fifty-eight of the 91 patients (64%) had two or more sites of disease, and 74 of 91 patients (81%) had liver metastases. Results were complete remission in 5 of 91 (6%), partial remission in 25 of 91 (27%), stable disease in 33 of 91 (36%), and progressive disease in 28 of 91 (31%), for an overall response rate of 30 of 91 (33%); median duration of response was 7 months. Twenty-six of 65 previously untreated patients (40%) experienced objective response. Median survival from initiation of treatment for all patients was 11 months. Forty-one percent of patients experienced no significant toxicity and were able to continue therapy without treatment interruption. Toxicities necessitating treatment interruption included stomatitis in 35 patients (39%), hand-foot syndrome in 33 patients (36%), and diarrhea in 10 patients (11%). No significant myelosuppression or serious catheter-related complications were encountered. We conclude that continuous systemic venous infusion of 5FU produces a higher response rate than traditional bolus 5FU schedules, with apparent enhancement of survival and easily managed toxicity.

Sodium intake modulates left ventricular hypertrophy in essential hypertension

In order to assess the impact of dietary sodium intake on the degree of left ventricular hypertrophy, we determined posterior wall thickness, relative wall thickness and left ventricular mass by two-dimensionally guided M-mode echocardiography, and related these parameters to sodium excretion over 24 h. There was no restriction on sodium intake. The first cohort comprised 43 subjects (residents of New Orleans) with mild to moderate essential hypertension who had not been treated for at least 4 weeks; in this cohort sodium excretion correlated with posterior wall thickness (r = 0.64, P less than 0.001), relative wall thickness (r = 0.67, P less than 0.001) and left ventricular mass (r = 0.37, P less than 0.02). A stepwise multiple regression analysis confirmed that sodium excretion was a determinant of posterior wall thickness (P less than 0.02) and relative wall thickness (P less than 0.05) independently of age, arterial pressure and body weight. The second cohort comprised 60 white male patients (residents of Bonn) with mild essential hypertension who had never been treated in the past; in this cohort sodium excretion correlated with diastolic diameter (r = 0.36, P less than 0.001) and with left ventricular mass (r = 0.35, P less than 0.001). Sodium excretion and systolic pressure emerged as independent variables (P less than 0.02) for left ventricular mass as evaluated by multiple regression analysis. These results identify dietary sodium intake as an independent powerful determinant of left ventricular hypertrophy in two disparate patient cohorts. Thus, for a similar haemodynamic load, sodium intake might accelerate, and conversely salt restriction mitigate, cardiac structural adaptation in patients with essential hypertension.

Hemodynamic response patterns to mental stress: diagnostic and therapeutic implications

Stress has been identified as contributing to the development of cardiovascular disease. The pathophysiologic link between stress and disease still remains unclear. Because experimental stress testing in the laboratory permits the examination of the underlying mechanism for stress-induced blood pressure, analyses of cardiovascular reactivity during emotional stress could be of particular clinical importance. The analyses of pooled data during the past 6 years (n = 298, age from 20 to 60 years, normotensive subjects as well as patients with borderline and mild essential hypertension) reveal that stress-induced changes in stroke volume and especially in total peripheral resistance are crucial parameters to analyze the hemodynamic stress response. However, neither those simple nor complex response patterns such as "hot reactor" describe clinically distinct subgroups of persons. When physiologic testing was repeated in hypertensive patients after effective long-term antihypertensive therapy with clonidine, oxprenolol, nitrendipine, or enalapril, no attenuation of the stress-induced increase in blood pressure was found in any of these groups. However, heart rate reactivity and stress-induced changes in total peripheral resistance were altered significantly by oxprenolol and nitrendipine. The beta-adrenoceptor blocker decreased heart rate reactivity and increased reactivity of peripheral resistance; the calcium antagonist decreased stress-induced changes in peripheral resistance and increased the heart rate response. The centrally acting sympatholytic regimen and the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor had no impact on the hemodynamic response pattern during emotional challenge.

Giant colonic diverticula--three distinct entities. Report of a case

A case report and review of the literature support a new theory that giant colonic diverticula are three distinct pathologic entities. The three types can be separated by histologic type.

Impact of antihypertensive therapy on blood pressure reactivity during mental stress

The effects of baseline antihypertensive drugs or sympatholytic agents on the characteristic hemodynamic response pattern (i.e. increase in blood pressure and heart rate, decrease in total peripheral resistance) during emotional stress were examined. Middle aged male caucasian patients with hitherto untreated mild essential hypertension were given nitrendipine 10-20 mg per day, oxprenolol 160 mg per day or clonidine 75-300 micrograms per day until casual blood pressure was below 140/90 mmHg for at least three months. Blood pressure, heart rate and stroke volume was assessed, at rest and during emotional stress, before and during effective antihypertensive therapy. The increase in systolic pressure during stress was not attenuated by any of the drugs. Heart rate reactivity was lowest when patients received oxprenolol, but peripheral resistance during emotional stress was significantly increased. Clonidine had no unfavorable effects on the hemodynamic pattern during emotional stress but nitrendipine decreased peripheral resistance even more than the decrease in resistance observed during stress before initiation of therapy. If one accepts that antihypertensive therapy should not alter a physiological hemodynamic pattern to an unphysiological response, psychophysiological examinations seem to be valid in selecting suitable patients for the different alternatives in antihypertensive therapy.

Conservative treatment of occlusal dysfunctions

The paper discusses 20 years of experience with a physiotherapeutic programme that can be used in the initial therapy of myoarthropathies of the temporomandibular joint of both psychosomatic and artificial occlusal origin. The principle is to re-train the masticatory musculature, which has become incoordinated as a result of occlusal parafunctions. The therapy aims to treat symptomatic problems. It can be used with a high success rate in functional disturbances of the stomatognathic system of psychosomatic, artificial occlusal and external traumatic origin.