Therapeutische Umschau. Revue thérapeutique
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Review Case Reports
[Hypercalcemia in sarcoidosis--case report, prevalence, pathophysiology and therapeutic options].
Hypercalcemia is a highly prevalent complication of sarcoidosis. A medical history of a patient with sarcoidosis is shown as case report. Depending on the population studied about 2-63% of sarcoidosis patients show hypercalcemia. ⋯ Glucocorticosteroids act by inhibition of the overly 1alpha-hydroxylase activity of macrophages. Alternatively, treatment with chloroquine or ketoconazole can be established. If isolated hypercalciuria without hypercalcemia is present with evidence for recurrent nephrolithiasis, patients can be treated with a thiazide diuretic.
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Dysphagia can be caused by a number of disorders such as benign or malignant obstruction of the esophagus, inflammatory alterations of the mucosa or primary esophageal motility disorders. Endoscopic evaluation is recommended for all patients to exclude malignancy and to establish or confirm a diagnosis. This article provides an overview of the most frequent inflammatory and functional esophageal disorders causing dysphagia. ⋯ Eosinophilic esophagitis is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the esophagus diagnosed histologically. The main symptom of eosinophilic esophagitis is dysphagia for solid food with imminent risk of food impaction. Systemic or topical corticosteroids are the therapy of choice.
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An essay with personal touch on the interaction between patients and professionals seen from the perspective of an anonymous writer that is presumably preoccupied with midlife reflections.
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Review Comparative Study
[Tyrosine kinase inhibitors for the treatment of CML].
Chronic myelogenous leukemia is characterized by the Philadelphia-chromosome, a shortened chromosome 22 which is the result of a reciprocal translocation between chromosome 9 and 22. The fusion gene is called BCR-ABL. After transcription and translation the constitutively activated p210 BCR-ABL oncoprotein is formed. ⋯ Additional BCR-ABL independent chromosomal abnormalities are common in advanced phase CML and result in resistance to imatinib. BCR-ABL kinase-domaine mutations are frequently found in imatinib resistant patients and confer diminished sensitivity to imatinib. Second generation, more powerful ABL kinase inhibitors, which are effective against most of the known mutations are currently tested in clinical trials.
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Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in Switzerland. The nihilism that dominated the treatment of these patients for decades has been replaced by a measure of enthusiasm, given recent therapeutic advances. New anticancer drugs such as irinotecan and oxaliplatin have changed the standard chemotherapy treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. ⋯ Inhibition of the epidermal growth factor receptor in the clinic has provided proof of principle that interruption of signal transduction cascades in patients has therapeutic potential. Angiogenesis, especially the vascular endothelial growth factor pathway, has been proven to be another highly successful molecular target. In this article, we will review molecular targets, which are under active clinical investigation in colon cancer.