Hope and Spiritual Well-Being: Essentials for Living With AIDS

Without a cure on the horizon there is a need to identify ways to sustain hope and spiritual well-being in patients with AIDS. This article examines the impact of AIDS on the emotional and spiritual health of its victims and summarizes current research findings on spiritual well-being in the ill. It also summarizes the authors' study on hope and existential and spiritual well-being in a group of 65 adult male patients who were either serum positive for the human immunodeficient virus or who had been diagnosed with AIDS Related Complex or AIDS.     

Gold thioglucose selectively damages dorsal vagal nuclei

To characterize the lesion produced in the medulla oblongata by gold thioglucose (GTG), the present experiment quantified the medullary damage in C57B1 mice that had become obese after treatment with 800 mg/kg of GTG at 30 days of age. At the rostrocaudal level of the area postrema, the neurotoxin destroyed up to 75% of the neurons in the medial cell column of the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMX), while sparing the lateral pole of the nucleus. GTG also produced significant tissue loss in the central and commissural subnuclei of the nucleus of the solitary tract (NST). In contrast, the GTG lesion did not affect cell number in the hypoglossal nucleus or reduce the volume of the area postrema. Additional observations indicated that at 48-72 h after GTG administration the affected regions of the medulla already show advanced necrosis including cell loss and gliosis; and when the relative contributions of hypothalamic, DMX, and NST damage to the obesity that develops are evaluated statistically with partial correlational analysis, it appears the the obesity primarily correlates with the hypothalamic lesion produced by GTG.     

Adamantiades–Behçet''s disease, deep venous thrombosis and anticardiolipin antibodies: report of two cases

Vascular thrombosis was found in different proportions of patients with Adamantiades–Behçet's disease (ABD), depending on the ethnicity of the population under study. Various thrombophilic factors, including the levels of anticardiolipin antibodies (ACA), were investigated for their role in the thrombotic process with conflicting results. The prevalence of ACA varies considerably in different studies, but their presence has not been associated with increased risk for vascular thrombosis. We present two cases with ABD, deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and elevated levels of ACA that fulfil the criteria for both ABD and antiphospholipid syndrome (APS).     

Eighty-year-old men without cardiovascular disease in the community of Malmö.: Part II. Smoking characteristics and ultrasound findings,with special reference to glutathione transferase and pyridoxal-5-phosphate

Abstract. A total of 1280 80-year-old men in the community of Malmö were questioned about smoking habits and the occurrence of cardiovascular disease (CVD). After a careful medical and duplex ultrasound examination, four groups were selected for further studies: (1) no CVD, non-smokers; (2) no CVD, smokers; (3) CVD, smokers; (4) CVD, non-smokers. In total 122 individuals participated. The average tobacco consumption by smokers was 13 g d^?1 for 59 years. In the CVD group 45% of subjects had atherosclerotic symptoms at more than one site. Smoking was found to be correlated with lower extremity atherosclerosis, cholesterol and LDL cholesterol were correlated with carotid artery lesions and pathological ankle/arm index, and blood pressure was correlated with lower extremity lesions. In contrast with middle-aged populations, individuals with an increasing degree of lesions in the lower extremities had a larger percentage of high glutathione transferase activity than subjects without CVD. Smokers had significantly lower pyridoxal-5-phosphate levels than non-smokers. It is concluded that some heavy smokers might reach an advanced age in good health. Smoking was also operative as a risk indicator for lower extremity atherosclerosis in 80-year-old individuals.     

Multiple Sclerotic Fibromas in an HIV‐Positive Patient Without Evidence of Cowden''s Disease

Dermatomyositis is an inflammatory condition of the skin and muscles, and an underlying malignancy is noted in 10% or more of cases. Clinical features of dermatomyositis include increasing general fatigue and proximal (thighs and shoulders) muscle weakness accompanied by erythematous lesions of the skin. There have been several distinct types of dermatomyositis described. Here we describe a case of vesiculo‐bullous dermatomyositis, which is a rare variant of dermatomyositis. A 49‐year‐old woman was admitted to our hospital with a painful erythematous vesicular eruption of the face, trunk and extremities. In addition, edema of the face and fever were observed. Clinically, dermatomyositis was considered because of typical skin rashes (Gottron's papules, periorbital heliotrope rash and poikiloderma) and serum creatine phosphokinase level of 1,031 IU/L. A skin biopsy was performed. Microscopically, subepidermal vesiculation with marked edema was present. Lymphoplasmacytic infiltration was also observed in the upper dermis. So far only a few case reports of vesiculo‐bullous dermatomyositis have been reported in the literature. It should be kept in mind that dermatomyositis may present subepidermal vesiculation in order to avoid a misdiagnosis and unnecessary delayed treatment. Furthermore, an internal malignancy should be considered in such a variant of dermatomyositis.