Coley's toxins in perspective

Article Abstract:

The bacterial toxins that surgeon William B. Coley developed for treating soft-tissue sarcomas in the 1890s merit further study and suggest how tumor necrosis factor (TNF) could be made more effective as a cancer treatment. Coley began experimenting with the toxins when he noticed that sarcoma patients with the bacterial infection erysipelas often survived longer than uninfected patients. Coley's toxins yielded an anti-cancer bacterial vaccine, but it was effective only among a small group of cancer patients. However, new research may increase the therapeutic value of the vaccine and TNF.

Health aspects, Column, Drug therapy, Bacterial toxins, Tumor necrosis factor, Bacterial vaccines, Sarcoma, Erysipelas

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The pathogenesis of atherosclerosis: a perspective for the 1990s

Article Abstract:

Half of the mortality in the US, Europe and Japan can be traced to atherosclerosis. This disease often acts as precursor to heart attack, stroke and gangrene of the extremities. Insults to the endothelium and smooth muscles of artery walls trigger an inflammatory-fibroproliferative response which then create lesions. Growth factors, cytokines and vasoregulatory molecules are also involved in the process. Diagnostic and therapeutic agents can be developed to control such lesions once the expression of genes responsible for encoding the responsible molecules is fully understood.

Heart attack, Atherosclerosis

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Putting plaids in perspective

Article Abstract:

Claims that occlusion relationships in natural scenes prompt interocular positional shifts in all two-dimensional directions are based on an incorrect understanding of stereo-occlusion geometry. This research produced ambiguous findings about the nature of the matching primitives used to establish binocular correspondence. However, it can be argued that this research is not incompatible with earlier work. Its conclusions apply to stereoscopic matching in general, rather than just to matching in apertures or transparent scenes.

Psychophysics

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