Cancer risk after evaluation for infertility

To evaluate cancer risk by various causes of infertility, the authors conducted a retrospective cohort study among 2,335 women evaluated for infertility at the Mayo Clinic between 1935 and 1964. Most cancers occurred at expected frequencies, with the exception of cancers of the thyroid (standardized incidence ratio (SIR) = 2.6) and other endocrine glands (SIR = 6.7), although analyses were based on small numbers. Patients with progesterone deficiencies (31 per cent of the study subjects) had a 20 per cent higher cancer risk than did those with other causes of infertility, with excesses deriving primarily from cancers of the lung, cervix, ovary, and thyroid and from melanoma. Breast cancer risk, however, was not elevated in either patients with progesterone deficiencies (SIR = 0.9) or patients with other causes of infertility (SIR = 1.0). Examination of other parameters of infertility, including age at evaluation, type of infertility (primary vs. secondary), and years of attempted conception, showed no elevated risks of breast cancer in any subgroup. These results fail to support previous studies that have linked progesterone deficiencies among infertile women to elevated breast cancer risk. However, the data suggest a possible involvement of a progesterone deficiency in the etiology of other cancers, particularly thyroid cancer and melanoma.     

Spontaneous fractures of the lesser metatarsals secondary to an amputated hallux and peripheral neuropathy

A general overview of the literature concerning the development of diabetic neuropathic arthropathy is discussed. A case report is presented dealing with spontaneous fractures of the lesser metatarsal in a patient with an amputated hallux and peripheral neuropathy secondary to diabetes mellitus.     

The role of alpha 2-adrenoceptors in the mechanism of action of antidepressant drugs

Chronic treatment of rats with imipramine or electroconvulsive shock evokes a significant decrease in binding of [3H]-clonidine to homogenates from the rat brain cerebral cortex. The decrease in binding is accompanied with a functional hyposensitivity of alpha 2-adrenoceptors as measured by attenuation of several central effects of clonidine (e.g. attenuation of clonidine-induced hypothermia, sedation, inhibition of noradrenaline formation). The influence of these antidepressants on alpha 2-adrenoceptors may be of importance in the context of data showing that prolonged treatment with these drugs attenuates the cAMP formation after noradrenergic stimulation, and that the alpha 2-adrenoceptors together with beta-adrenoceptors contribute to the formation of the second messenger. The prolonged administration of imipramine and electroshock, as well as other antidepressant treatments, e.g. administration of the monoamine oxidase inhibitor pargyline or atypical antidepressants such as trazodone, mianserin citalopram, fluoxetine, inhibit the interaction between beta- and-alpha-adrenoceptors (with the alpha 2-subtype playing a major role) and may thus contribute to the phenomenon known as the beta-adrenoceptor down-regulation. The inhibition of the interaction between alpha and beta-adrenoceptors by antidepressants may occur in multiple ways: 1. by lowering the number of beta-adrenoceptors; 2. by lowering the number of alpha 2-receptors (e.g. after imipramine or ETC); 3. by a shift of alpha 2 receptors to a higher affinity state, which represents a desensitized form of the receptor (e.g. decrease in Kd after imipramine or citalopram); 4. by a shift to an antagonist preferring state of the receptor (e.g. after treatment with fluoxetine or trazodone); 5. by a combination of the mentioned above. The functional interaction between alpha and beta adrenoceptors is presumably not dependent upon the integrity of the noradrenergic system, as it not only occurs but also is enhanced in reserpinized or 6OHDA treated rats.     

Circulating immune complex levels in patients with schistosomiasis and complications

Circulating immune complexes (CIC), adult schistosome antibody, and total immunoglobulin concentrations were estimated in sera from 35 chronic Schistosoma mansoni patients with different infection intensities and different pathological complications. High CIC levels were present in about one-third (10/35) of the sera. Most of the patients (9/10) with elevated CIC levels also had hepatomegaly or hepatosplenomegaly. This finding is significant in the pathogenesis of schistosomal liver fibrosis and may also apply to other liver diseases, especially cirrhosis. No correlation was found between infection intensity as judged by stool egg counts and CIC levels. A reverse relationship was observed between the level of anti-adult worm IgG and CIC levels. CIC levels were elevated within 7 and 28 days after treatment in most patients. Hypergammaglobulinaemia was detected in most sera.     

Culture and disease

Both art and the kinds of life styles which predispose one to disease reflect the culture of an era. Might the history of art give some insight into the origins of behaviors which are conducive to particular diseases? An attempt is made to answer this question by looking at the perception of time and space in modern and contemporary art and in the behaviors which lead to coronary proneneses and anorexia nervosa.