Swiss medical weekly
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Swiss medical weekly · Feb 1977
[Pulmonary humoral immune response after exposure to carbon monoxide].
The effect of exposure to CO was studied in guinea-pigs using the plaque forming cell technique. Exposure to 200 ppm for 5 weeks was found to reduce the capacity to produce IgG and IgM in free lung cells.
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The morphological pulmonary alterations in renal transplant recipients have been investigated in the light of 62 autopsies. Apart from the predominant pulmonary edema of septic, uremic or circulatory origin, pneumonic opportunistic infections were prominent. ⋯ At autopsy, pneumocystis carinii infections appeared to be of little importance. The pathology of the pulmonary changes reflects the reduced defense inevitably following on immunosuppressive medication, which in turn is indispensable for successful transplantation.
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In a 20 year old woman, sudden death due to hemopericardium ensued on osteosynthesis with Kirschner wire of a dislocated sternoclavicular joint. The wire moved to the aorta ascendens and to the right auricle thus causing lethal bleeding into the pericardium. ⋯ Wandering after osteosynthesis due to dislocation of the sternoclavicular joint is particularly dangerous, whereas in the case of broken clavicle, dislocation of the acromioclavicular joint, fracture of the humereus or in the region of the hips, no serious complications occur as a rule. Present-day text-books on surgery do not make sufficiently detailed reference to the wandering wire syndrome.
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Clinical cases are presented on the general theme of cardiovascular syncope. A case is cited to illustrate the clinical picture of idiopathic hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy, a frequently disguised and misinterpreted cause of syncope. Chief attention is focused on the concept of fascicular heart block causing syncope. ⋯ In this context the diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic significance of His bundle electrocardiography is discussed. Finally, 2 cases are cited to illustrate the sick sinus syndrome as a major cause of syncope. The diagnostic procedure in patients with suspected lazy sinus node is discussed and the results are presented of 16 personally observed cases with this disorder.
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Swiss medical weekly · Oct 1976
[Effect of an oral contraceptive (ethinylestradiol/D-norgestrel) on growth hormone and insulin secretion].
The growth hormone, insulin and blood glucose values were measured during a glucose tolerance test in 12 women before and after 3 months' use of a contraceptive of the sequential type (11 pills containing 0.05 mg D-norgestrel and 0.05 mg ethinylestradiol and 10 pills containing 0.125 mg D-norgestrel and 0.05 mg ethinylestradiol). Neither fasting blood glucose nor glucose tolerance are altered during administration of the contraceptive steroids. On the other hand, the reactive insulin level is significantly increased in comparison to the basal value, thus showing the signs of hyperinsulinemia. ⋯ Presumably the hyperinsulinemia is an expression of decreased sensitivity of the peripheral tissue to insulin. The growth hormone, a so-called insulin antagonist, is not responsible for the "insulin resistance" observed. The values measured by us after administration of the contraceptive do not significantly differ from the basal values.