The Fontana paradoxical reflex?

This commentary describes the "deflation cough" caused by deep lung deflations. Deflation cough is a paradoxical reflex similar to that described by Henry Head in 1889 for lung inflations that probably is mediated by the same sensors and afferent fibers in the lungs and activated by gastroesophageal reflux. We discuss how this reflex must be self-limiting, the general role of paradoxical reflexes in the body, and the possible clinical significance of deflation cough.     

Is fibromyalgia a generalized reflex sympathetic dystrophy?

Fibromyalgia and reflex sympathetic dystrophy share defining characteristics, namely chronic pain and allodynia, as well as other important clinical features such as onset after trauma, female predominance, paresthesias, vasomotor instability, response to sympathetic blockade and anxiety/depression. Recent research using heart rate variability analysis demonstrated that patients with fibromyalgia have changes consistent with relentless circadian sympathetic hyperactivity. I propose that fibromyalgia is a sympathetically maintained pain syndrome in which ongoing sympathetic hyperactivity sensitises the primary nociceptors and induces widespread pain and allodynia.     

Are there clinical features of a sensitized cough reflex?

Cough reflex hypersensitization is a key feature in patients with troublesome cough. The clinical consequence of this hypersensitive state is typified by bouts of coughing often triggered by low threshold stimuli encountered by the patient during normal daily activities including exposure to aerosols, scents and odours, a change in air temperature and when talking or laughing. These features are often perceived by cough patients to be the most disruptive aspect of their condition and undoubtedly contribute to impaired quality of life. Patients with troublesome cough may describe a range of additional symptoms and sensations including an ‘urge to cough’ or the feeling of an ‘itch’ at the back of the throat, or a choking sensation and occasionally chest pain or breathlessness. It is uncertain if these features arise due to the processes responsible for cough reflex sensitization or as a direct consequence of the underlying cough aetiology. In an attempt to understand the clinical features of a sensitized cough reflex, the spectrum of symptoms typically described by cough patients will be reviewed and possible underlying mechanisms considered. Since an intact cough reflex is crucial to airway protection, anti-tussive treatment that attenuates the hypersensitive cough state rather than abolishing the cough reflex completely would be preferable. Identifying such agents remains a clinical, scientific and pharmacological challenge.     

Peripheral reflex feedbacks in chronic heart failure: Is it time for a direct treatment?

Despite repeated attempts to develop a unifying hypothesis that explains the clinical syndrome of heart failure (HF), no single conceptual paradigm for HF has withstood the test of time. The last model that has been developed, the neurohormonal model, has the great virtue of highlighting the role of the heart as an endocrine organ, as well as to shed some light on the key role on HF progression of neurohormones and peripheral organs and tissues beyond the heart itself. However, while survival in clinical trials based on neurohormonal antagonist drugs has improved, HF currently remains a lethal condition. At the borders of the neurohormonal model of HF, a partially unexplored path trough the maze of HF pathophysiology is represented by the feedback systems. There are several evidences, from both animal studies and humans reports, that the deregulation of baro-, ergo- and chemo-reflexes in HF patients elicits autonomic imbalance associated with parasympathetic withdrawal and increased adrenergic drive to the heart, thus fundamentally contributing to the evolution of the disease. Hence, on top of guideline-recommended medical therapy, mainly based on neurohormonal antagonisms, all visceral feedbacks have been recently considered in HF patients as additional potential therapeutic targets.     

Simple cardiovascular reflex tests in prediction of sudden death after myocardial infarction: which method to prefer?

BACKGROUND: Some evidence exists that heart rate response to simple provocative maneuvers may predict sudden cardiac death (SD) after myocardial infarction (MI). However optimal test has not been not established yet. Aim of this study was to compare prognostic value of different noninvasive reflex tests after MI. METHODS: Four reflex tests were consecutively performed in 188 patients on days 4-11 of MI (68% men, age 34-75 years, 93.6% on beta-blockers, without heart failure NYHA IV on the day of tests). Time- and frequency domain heart rate variability measures were obtained during 5 min at active standing and at bed rest with controlled breathing 6 and 15 per minute. In addition difference between average maximal and minimal heart rate at first minute of breathing 6 per minute (HRD) and Valsalva ratio (VR) were calculated. ROC analysis was used to determine cut-off values of studied measures for dichotomization of patients into those with low- and high-risk of SD and these values were used in logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: During follow up for 2.1+/-0.8 years there were 9 SD. Univariate predictors of SD were follows: HRD <3.36; VR <1.13; pNN 50 <2.5, total spectral power <1021 ms(2), LF power <229 ms(2) and HF power <65 ms(2) at active standing; pNN 50 <2.3, LF power <129 ms(2) and HF power <111 ms(2) during controlled breathing 15 per minute. HF power <65 ms(2) during active standing (OR 28.8, 95% CI 4.1-104.2; p=0.0001, positive predictive value 29.4%) and VR <1.13 (OR 6.0, 95% CI 1.02-34.3; p=0.04, positive predictive value 11.5%) were independent predictors of SD. For combination of these parameters OR increased to 34.9 (95% CI 6.7-181.6; p<0.001), positive predictive value to 50%. CONCLUSION: Among simple noninvasive reflex tests in this small group of patients with routine beta-blockers use and without severe heart failure active standing with calculation of HF power seems preferable method for prediction of SD after MI. Its predictive value may be enhanced by combination with Valsalva ratio.     

Palliative treatment of coronary “atherosclerotic cancer” by drug-eluting or bare-metal stents: From oculo-stenotic reflex period to age of precision medicine

Medications and treatments are said to have a palliative effect if they relieve symptoms without having a curative effect on the underlying disease such as atherosclerosis or cancer. Some authors speculated that atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (CAD) could be considered a “cancer of the coronary arterial wall”. Although the percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has proven to be effective in decreasing mortality rates among patients with acute coronary syndromes, the previous meta-analyses of PCI versus optimal medical therapy for stable CAD have not been able to demonstrate a reduction in major adverse cardiac outcomes. However, few cardiologists discussed the evidence-based benefits of angiogram and PCI for stable CAD, and some implicitly or explicitly overstated the benefits. Recently, the precision medicine is defined as an evidence-based approach that uses innovative tools and biological and data science to customize disease prevention, detection, and treatment, and improve the effectiveness and quality of patient care. Providing patients with accurate and complete information appears to be an effective way to combat the reliance on the oculostenotic reflex. The foundation of precision medicine is the ability to tailor therapy based upon the expected risks and benefits of treatment for each individual patient. As said by Doctor William Osler, “The good physician treats the disease; the great physician treats the patient who has the disease.”     

莫把"适应证"和"禁忌证"误用为"适应症"和"禁忌症"

“适应症”和“禁忌证”是医涫上刊和药品说明书中常用的词语，然而常误用为“适应症”和“禁忌症”，我国最权威的文字工具书《辞海》（1989年版）是这样注释的；     

"新世界"教我"成医"

我患糖尿病已经十多年了,常言说“久病成医”,我并非如此,常在病魔面前不知所措,可以说是糖尿病盲。由于缺乏综合治疗,我的病日趋严重,到2006年8月住进了医院。在住院治疗中,