Vascular injury: mechanisms and manifestations
Article Abstract:
High blood pressure (hypertension), stroke, and atherosclerosis (fatty deposits in the blood vessels) are common among older people. They are caused by different processes, but a decreased ability to regulate free calcium plays a role in all these conditions. The involvement of free calcium begins during formation of lesions, and once the plaques (fatty deposits) appear, calcium apatite accumulates to form the fibrous cap. To investigate the benefits of calcium antagonists for hypertension, slowing atherosclerosis, and reducing the incidence of stroke, experiments were designed to test the effects of the calcium channel blocker amlodipine on rabbits and rats. After a treatment period with high cholesterol, rabbit aortas were studied for the formation of plaques. In hypertensive stroke-prone rats, blood pressures were recorded, and hearts were examined to determine if there was evidence of enlargement. Amlodipine, which was administered throughout both these trials, appeared to have a protective effect on blood vessels, reducing plaque formation in rabbits and prolonging survival in stroke-prone rats. Just how amlodipine accomplishes this is not clear; this, and other possible effects of calcium antagonists, needs to be investigated. Amlodipine did protect the arteries in these animal studies, and if it has the same effect in humans, will be useful in the treatment of elderly patients with hypertension, and those at risk for stroke and blood vessel disease. One of the more valuable aspects of the drug is that it continues to be effective over a long period because it remains attached to its receptor. This means that it continues to act after it is has been cleared from the blood. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: American Journal of Medicine
Subject: Health care industry
ISSN: 0002-9343
Year: 1991
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Pulmonary manifestations in Sweet's syndrome: first report of a case with bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia
Article Abstract:
Sweet's syndrome is a disorder characterized by fever, painful plaques on the limbs, face, and neck, and increased levels of neutrophils (a type of white blood cell associated with inflammation) in blood and tissues, such as skin and lung. In many previously reported cases, underlying malignancies (especially hematologic) have been present along with lung disease. A case is described of a 58-year-old man with Sweet's syndrome who had bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (BOOP), but no malignancy was detected during a six-year follow-up. He was initially examined after having a dry cough, night sweats, and fever over a one-month period. A skin rash then developed on the scalp, nose, trunk, and arms. The white blood cell levels was mildly elevated and he had mild anemia. X-rays showed infiltrates in a lung lobe, and edema (fluid accumulation) was present. The patient deteriorated, and lung samples were analyzed. White blood cells were present, and bronchioles and alveolar ducts (smaller airways) were blocked with these and other cells. No infective organisms were found. Steroid therapy led to resolution of the skin and other lesions, and the medication was discontinued over a two-year period. This case of Sweet's syndrome was unusual in that it was characterized by BOOP and no associated hematologic malignancies were detected. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: American Journal of Medicine
Subject: Health care industry
ISSN: 0002-9343
Year: 1991
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Use of immunosuppressive agents in the treatment of severe ocular and vascular manifestations of Cogan's syndrome
Article Abstract:
Cogan's syndrome is a rare disease characterized by the following abnormalities: interstitial keratitis, or inflammation of the cornea, which is the covering on the front portion of the eyeball; tinnitus, a ringing or tinkling sound in the ear; vertigo or dizziness; and often deafness. Eye disease in Cogan's syndrome may also involve inflammation of other portions of the eye, such as the iris or conjunctiva, and can progress to a more severe vision-threatening stage. Cogan's syndrome may also be associated with vasculitis, or inflammation of the blood vessels, which occurs in about 10 percent of patients. Out of 43 patients with Cogan's syndrome examined between 1977 and 1989, four cases are described. These cases include one patient with vision-threatening inflammatory eye disease, two patients with large-vessel vasculitis, and one patient with both disorders. The patients were successfully treated with a combination of immunosuppressive agents, which are drugs that suppress the immune or natural defense system, and corticosteroids. Immunosuppressive therapy included combinations of prednisone and cyclophosphamide or prednisone and cyclosporin A. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: American Journal of Medicine
Subject: Health care industry
ISSN: 0002-9343
Year: 1990
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