Quarterly Journal of Medicine最新文献

From January 1984 to May 1993, we observed 30 cases of postinfectious glomerulonephritis (GN)--endocapillary, exudative GN with humps (23 males, 7 females; median age 49 years; range 17-77). They represented 4.5% of all renal biopsies. Crescents were present in 9/26 who had renal biopsies (35%) and there was a mesangioproliferative pattern in 14 (54%). Seventeen of the 30 patients (57%) were alcoholics by history and biochemistry. Cirrhosis was present in 8/17 (47%), but alcoholic hepatitis in none. Nine of the 17 alcoholic (53%) but none of the non-alcoholic patients developed chronic renal failure. Adverse renal prognosis was significantly correlated to alcoholism. We conclude that (i) alcoholism is common in patients with postinfectious GN, and, (ii) alcoholism adversely affects renal prognosis in patients with postinfectious GN.

We reviewed 58 patients, 27 with murine typhus (MT) and 31 with Israeli Mediterranean spotted fever (IMSF), hospitalized at the Sheba Medical Center 1979-1988. Five patients with MT and five with IMSF had evidence of renal impairment. One patient with MT underwent a renal biopsy, and two patients with IMSF died and had autopsy examinations with histology of the kidney. The principal histopathological lesion found in those most severe cases of rickettsiosis-induced renal failure was multifocal perivascular interstitial nephritis. In contrast with previous reports, involvement of the kidneys in rickettsial infection seems to be relatively common. Early diagnosis and treatment with hydration and specific antimicrobial agents is mandatory to prevent morbidity.

Most gastroenteropancreatic tumours express somatostatin receptors, allowing imaging using radiolabelled somatostatin analogues. Octreotide can be modified by coupling a DTPA moiety to the N-terminal D-phenylalanine to allow labelling with In111. We studied the comparative effectiveness of this radiopharmaceutical in identifying tumour extent. Twenty-two patients with metastatic gastroenteropancreatic tumours were scanned using [111In-DTPA-D-Phe1]-octreotide. In 11 patients with the carcinoid syndrome, one of six primary lesions was identified by CT scanning and by [111In-DTPA-D-Phe1]-octreotide scanning. Hepatic metastases were present in all patients, 9 of whom had positive scintigraphy. Two other sites of intra-abdominal uptake and four distant sites, not previously identified, were demonstrated. Five other distant sites were confirmed to be carcinoid metastases. All 11 patients with other gastroenteropancreatic tumours had positive scans, demonstrating 7/9 primary lesions, 12 intra-abdominal lesions, including hepatic metastases in all cases, and one distant lesion, all previously identified. Thus [111In-DTPA-D-Phe1]-octreotide imaging effectively identified the extent of metastatic disease from gastroenteropancreatic tumours, and confirmed lesions whose significance was uncertain following previous imaging procedures.

Thirty-one patients with visceral leishmaniasis (VL) caused by Leishmania infantum received liposomal amphotericin B (AmBisome) in a multi-centre study. Ten immunocompetent patients (six children) received 1-1.38 mg/kg/day for 21 days, and ten (nine children) received 3 mg/kg/day for 10 days. All were cured without significant adverse events and without relapse during 12-24 months of follow-up. Eleven immunocompromised adults, including seven co-infected with HIV (four with AIDS) received 100 mg (1.38-1.85 mg/kg) daily for 21 days. All were initially considered cured, but eight relapsed clinically and parasitologically at 3-22 months. Liposomal amphotericin B is a new, safe and effective drug for the treatment of VL.

Elevated circulating insulin levels have been reported in ischaemic heart disease, and may be of aetiological importance. Previous studies have not considered the potential influence of heart failure or of previous myocardial infarction, as opposed to stable angina. We therefore measured the insulin response to a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test in five groups with normal glucose tolerance, comparing normal male controls to men with chronic stable angina, men with recent myocardial infarction (two groups, 3 weeks and 3 months post infarction), and men with chronic severe heart failure. Only patients with chronic heart failure had fasting hyperinsulinaemia, probably reflecting associated neuroendocrine abnormalities. Stimulated hyperinsulinaemia was present in all patient groups, but was less pronounced and of shorter duration in patients with angina. At 120 min, only patients with heart failure or previous myocardial infarction were hyperinsulinaemic. The degree of stimulated hyperinsulinaemia was not influenced by the presence of heart failure or by the length of time from infarction. Hyperinsulinaemia is associated with impaired peripheral muscle glucose uptake and metabolism, and might contribute to muscular fatigue on exertion in patients with previous myocardial infarction or heart failure.

We analysed sodium excretion and its circadian variation in 70 patients with nephrotic syndrome and 19 healthy controls over 1-3 days, with a regimen of bed rest and constant sodium intake around the clock. We sampled urine and blood and took their blood pressure every 3 h. We also scored 60 renal biopsies for presence of interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy. Peripheral oedema was estimated in 37 patients. Fifty-nine patients excreted > 10 mmol sodium per 24 h, in equilibrium with dietary intake. In group A (n = 24), sodium excretion followed a normal circadian rhythm, with a daytime peak. In group B (n = 35), 29 had reversed circadian rhythm with a night-time peak, and 6 had no apparent rhythm. Nephrotic syndrome was more severe in group B than in A (serum albumin 19.5 vs. 24.1 g/l, p < 0.05; oedema 7.0 vs. 3.8 kg, p < 0.01). Group B also had signs of more advanced renal disease (GFR 49 vs. 99 ml/min; number of biopsies with tubulo-interstitial damage: 20/28 vs. 4/23; p < 0.001). Reversed sodium rhythm was associated with reversed circadian rhythms for GFR, effective renal plasma flow and urine flow, and blunting or reversal of the day-night differences in blood pressure and plasma renin activity. Eleven patients had urinary sodium excretion < 1 mmol/24 h. With respect to severity of nephrosis, they resembled group B, but GFR and incidence of tubulointerstitial lesions were like group A. Half of the patients with nephrotic syndrome had reversed circadian rhythm for sodium excretion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)