Mayo Clinic proceedings
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Neuroepidemiology has been important in providing clues about the cause and pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis. In this review, we update the incidence and prevalence rates of multiple sclerosis in Olmsted County, Minnesota, and examine the potential role of viruses, exposure to animals, toxins, trauma, and diet in the development of this disease. Diseases of probable autoimmune nature have also been linked to multiple sclerosis. These descriptive data may contribute to the formulation of testable specific hypotheses about the pathogenesis and treatment of multiple sclerosis and other demyelinating diseases.
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Mayo Clinic proceedings · Jun 1989
Role of preoperative cessation of smoking and other factors in postoperative pulmonary complications: a blinded prospective study of coronary artery bypass patients.
The association between preoperative smoking cessation and postoperative pulmonary morbidity was studied prospectively in 200 consecutive patients undergoing an elective coronary artery bypass surgical procedure. Detailed respiratory, cardiovascular, and smoking histories were elicited. Preoperative arterial blood gas analyses and bedside spirometry were performed. ⋯ Patients who had stopped smoking for more than 6 months had rates similar to those who had never smoked (11.1% and 11.9%, respectively). Preoperative pulmonary dysfunction, increased pack-years of smoking, prolonged surgical time, and the use of enflurane were independently associated with postoperative pulmonary morbidity (P less than 0.05). We concluded that smoking cessation should occur at least 2 months preoperatively to maximize the reduction of postoperative respiratory complications.
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We reviewed the medical records of 70 patients with systemic cancer in whom a subdural hematoma (SDH) developed. Among patients with a solid tumor, trauma and use of anticoagulants were common causes of SDH, and these patients had a relatively favourable outcome. Among patients with a hematologic cancer and in the rest of the patients with a solid tumor, coagulopathies and dural metastatic involvement were the most common causes of SDH. Recurrent SDH and death due to SDH were common in the latter group.
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Multiple sclerosis, an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system, is characterized by primary destruction of myelin. This review covers recent advances in neuropathology, immunogenetics, neuroimmunology, and neurovirology that have provided insights regarding its pathogenesis. ⋯ A paradigm for induction of primary demyelination is proposed in which immune cells recognize "foreign" antigens on the surface of oligodendrocytes in the context of major histocompatibility complex gene products. The final result of this scheme may be "dying-back gliopathy," the alteration being noted first in the most distal extension of the oligodendrocyte--that is, the myelin sheaths.