[Waste in the American Healthcare System]
KERN Dávid
APRIL 01, 2009
Lege Artis Medicinae - 2009;19(03)
KERN Dávid
APRIL 01, 2009
Lege Artis Medicinae - 2009;19(03)
Lege Artis Medicinae
Lege Artis Medicinae
[Anemia observed in patients with infectious, inflammatory, or neoplastic diseases and persisting for more than one month is called anemia of chronic disease. The term anemia of chronic disease is far from perfect, the terms of anemia of inflammation, cytokine-mediated anemia, and anemia of defective iron reuse are also used. Anemia of chronic disease is more common than any other anemia syndrome - apart from anemia caused by iron deficiency secondary to blood loss. Erythrocytes usually are normocytic, but hypochromia and microcytosis may also be observed. In almost every case, this type of anemia is hypo-regenerative. Characteristic laboratory findings include hypoferremia, hyperferritinemia, and hypotransferrinemia. Cause of this anemia is complex; pathogenesis of this anemia includes moderate shortening of erythrocyte survival, blunted response to erythropoietin, reduced medullar erythropoiesis, and limited medullar iron availability. In addition to treating the underlying pathology, treatment opportunities are recombinant human erythropoietin, transfusions, and intravenous iron.]
Lege Artis Medicinae
[Neuropathic pain is a chronic pain disorder due to a primary lesion and/or dysfunction of the peripheral or central nervous system. This tormenting condition causes a lot of distress to the patients, impairs their quality of life, and demands significant expenses. Chronic neuropathic pain is frequently under-diagnosed and mistreated. Explanations for these problems are the complex underlying pathomechanism, variability of symptoms, difficulties in diagnosis, and the differences between the treatment of this and other painful disorders. In addition, comorbid conditions such as anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders are often overlooked. Apart from the diagnostic difficulties, also treatment is usually unsatisfactory. Frequently NSAIDs are used, but they are usually not effective. Undoubtedly, even with the use of evidence-based treatment - such as duloxetine and pregabalin - complete pain relief is not always possible. Lack of proper medical education also contributes to problems in diagnosis and treatment. In western countries, diabetes is the most common cause of polyneuropathy. Painful diabetic neuropathy is the most intensely studied neuropathic pain condition; a lot of evidence comes from randomized controlled trials of this type of neuropathy. The same drugs as in the case of other neuropathic pain conditions are used for the symptomatic treatment of painful diabetic neuropathy. Etiological therapy is based on the best achievable glycemic control. A combination of etiological and symptomatic therapy can be a future treatment, but proving this will require further studies.]
Lege Artis Medicinae
Although vertigo is one of the most common complaints, intracranial malignant tumors rarely cause sudden asymmetry between the tone of the vestibular peripheries masquerading as a peripheral-like disorder. Here we report a case of simultaneous temporal bone infiltrating macro-metastasis and disseminated multi-organ micro-metastases presenting as acute unilateral vestibular syndrome, due to the reawakening of a primary gastric signet ring cell carcinoma. Purpose – Our objective was to identify those pathophysiological steps that may explain the complex process of tumor reawakening, dissemination. The possible causes of vestibular asymmetry were also traced. A 56-year-old male patient’s interdisciplinary medical data had been retrospectively analyzed. Original clinical and pathological results have been collected and thoroughly reevaluated, then new histological staining and immunohistochemistry methods have been added to the diagnostic pool. During the autopsy the cerebrum and cerebellum was edematous. The apex of the left petrous bone was infiltrated and destructed by a tumor mass of 2x2 cm in size. Histological reexamination of the original gastric resection specimen slides revealed focal submucosal tumorous infiltration with a vascular invasion. By immunohistochemistry mainly single infiltrating tumor cells were observed with Cytokeratin 7 and Vimentin positivity and partial loss of E-cadherin staining. The subsequent histological examination of necropsy tissue specimens confirmed the disseminated, multi-organ microscopic tumorous invasion. Discussion – It has been recently reported that the expression of Vimentin and the loss of E-cadherin is significantly associated with advanced stage, lymph node metastasis, vascular and neural invasion and undifferentiated type with p<0.05 significance. As our patient was middle aged and had no immune-deficiency, the promoting factor of the reawakening of the primary GC malignant disease after a 9-year-long period of dormancy remained undiscovered. The organ-specific tropism explained by the “seed and soil” theory was unexpected, due to rare occurrence of gastric cancer to metastasize in the meninges given that only a minority of these cells would be capable of crossing the blood brain barrier. Patients with past malignancies and new onset of neurological symptoms should alert the physician to central nervous system involvement, and the appropriate, targeted diagnostic and therapeutic work-up should be established immediately. Targeted staining with specific antibodies is recommended. Recent studies on cell lines indicate that metformin strongly inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition of gastric cancer cells. Therefore, further studies need to be performed on cases positive for epithelial-mesenchymal transition.
Lege Artis Medicinae
[Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are among the most frequently used pharmaceuticals. Nevertheless, a number of studies emphasized that NSAIDs were damaging not only the gastrointestinal (GI), but also the cardiovascular (CV) system, could increase the blood pressure, the frequency of coronary events (angina, myocardial infarction) and stroke incidence, as well as they might deteriorate renal functions. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) did not find evidence that administering NSAIDs could increase the risk of developing COVID-19 or worsened the condition of COVID-19 patients. However, unwanted effects of specific drugs differ substantially in their occurrence and seriousness as well. It seemed to be for a long time that the NSAIDs provoked higher GI-risk was closely related to the COX1/COX2 selectivity, like the cardiovascular (CV) risk to the COX2/COX1 selectivity, however, the recent data did not prove it clearly. Based on the available literature while pondering the gastrointestinal and cardiovascular adverse events, among all NSAIDs the aceclofenac profile seemed to be the most favourable.]
Clinical Neuroscience
Interest in the hippocampal formation and its role in navigation and memory arose in the second part of the 20th century, at least in part due to the curious case of Henry G. Molaison, who underwent brain surgery for intractable epilepsy. The temporal association observed between the removal of his entorhinal cortex along with a significant part of hippocampus and the developing severe memory deficit inspired scientists to focus on these regions. The subsequent discovery of the so-called place cells in the hippocampus launched the description of many other functional cell types and neuronal networks throughout the Papez-circuit that has a key role in memory processes and spatial information coding (speed, head direction, border, grid, object-vector etc). Each of these cell types has its own unique characteristics, and together they form the so-called “Brain GPS”. The aim of this short survey is to highlight for practicing neurologists the types of cells and neuronal networks that represent the anatomical substrates and physiological correlates of pathological entities affecting the limbic system, especially in the temporal lobe. For that purpose, we survey early discoveries along with the most relevant neuroscience observations from the recent literature. By this brief survey, we highlight main cell types in the hippocampal formation, and describe their roles in spatial navigation and memory processes. In recent decades, an array of new and functionally unique neuron types has been recognized in the hippocampal formation, but likely more remain to be discovered. For a better understanding of the heterogeneous presentations of neurological disorders affecting this anatomical region, insights into the constantly evolving neuroscience behind may be helpful. The public health consequences of diseases that affect memory and spatial navigation are high, and grow as the population ages, prompting scientist to focus on further exploring this brain region.
Lege Artis Medicinae
[Hungarian professional periodicals started quite late in European context. Their publishing, editing and editorial philosophy were equally influenced by specific historical and political situations. Certain breaking points of history resulted in termination of professional journals (War of Independence 1848-1849, First and Second World Wars), however there were periods, which instigated the progress of sciences and founding of new scientific journals. Both trends were apparent in years after the fall of former Hungarian regime in 1990. The structure of book and journal publishing has changed substantially, some publishers fell “victim” others started successfully as well. The latters include the then-established publishing house Literatura Medica and its own scientific journal, Lege Artis Medicinae (according to its subtitle: New Hungarian Medical Herald) issued first in 1990. Its appearance enhanced significantly the medical press market. Its scientific publications compete with articles of the well-established domestic medical journals however its philosophy set brand-new trends on the market. Concerning the medical community, it takes on its problems and provides a forum for them. These problems are emerging questions in health care, economy and prevention, in close interrelation with system of public health institutions, infrastructure and situation of those providing individual health services. In all of them, Lege Artis Medicinae follows consequently the ideas of traditional social medicine.]
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Clinical Neuroscience
Alexithymia is associated with cognitive impairment in patients with Parkinson’s disease3.
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Clinical Neuroscience
Cases of inborn errors of metabolism diagnosed in children with autism2.
Clinical Neuroscience
[The first Hungarian patient with Guillain-Barre syndrome after COVID-19]3.
Clinical Neuroscience
Retinal morphological changes during the two years of follow-up in Parkinson’s disease4.
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