The New England journal of medicine
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The highest morbidity worldwide from fish poisoning results from the ingestion of spoiled scombroid fish, such as tuna and mackerel, and its cause is not clear. Histamine could be responsible, because spoiled scombroid fish contain large quantities of histamine. Whether histamine is the causative toxin, however, has remained in question. To address this issue, we investigated whether histamine homeostasis is altered in poisoned people. ⋯ Scombroid-fish poisoning is associated with urinary excretion of histamine in quantities far exceeding those required to produce toxicity. The histamine is most likely derived from the spoiled fish. These results identify histamine as the toxin responsible for scombroid-fish poisoning.
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Insulin resistance and the concomitant compensatory hyperinsulinemia have been implicated in the pathogenesis of hypertension. However, reports on the relation between insulin and blood pressure are inconsistent. This study was designed to investigate the possibility of racial differences in this relation. ⋯ The relations between insulinemia, insulin resistance, and blood pressure differ among racial groups and may be mediated by mechanisms active in whites, but not in Pima Indians or blacks.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
A controlled trial of interferon gamma to prevent infection in chronic granulomatous disease.
Chronic granulomatous disease is an uncommon inherited disorder of phagocytes in which defective production of the reactive intermediates of oxygen predisposes patients to recurrent and severe pyogenic infections. Evidence from in vitro and in vivo studies indicates that interferon gamma can partially correct the metabolic defect in phagocytes. We assessed the efficacy of interferon gamma in decreasing the frequency of serious infections in patients with this disease. ⋯ For patients with chronic granulomatous disease, interferon gamma therapy is an effective and well-tolerated treatment that reduces the frequency of serious infections.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Treatment of gram-negative bacteremia and septic shock with HA-1A human monoclonal antibody against endotoxin. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. The HA-1A Sepsis Study Group.
HA-1A is a human monoclonal IgM antibody that binds specifically to the lipid A domain of endotoxin and prevents death in laboratory animals with gram-negative bacteremia and endotoxemia. ⋯ HA-1A is safe and effective for the treatment of patients with sepsis and gram-negative bacteremia.