Medical treatment of severe ulcerative colitis

Approximately 15% of patients with ulcerative colitis have a severe attack requiring hospitalization at some time during their illness. This treatment leads to a remission in 60–80% of patients and non-responders may require a total colectomy. Mortality in severe episodes of ulcerative colitis decreased from 31–61% in the 1950s to 5–9% in the 1960s thanks to the introduction of steroids and to a policy of early colectomy. Recently, some new drugs have been shown to be effective in the treatment of severe steroid-refractory ulcerative colitis. This review concentrates on the clinical evaluation, prognostic factors and new developments in medical therapy in severe ulcerative colitis. A retrospective evaluation of a consecutive series of patients with severe ulcerative colitis admitted to a Gastroenterology Department in Torino, Italy, is also reported.     

CT-pathologic correlations in Hodgkin''s disease and non-Hodgkin''s lymphoma

In order to assess its potential uses in the staging and treatment planning of lymphoma, CT was performed in 27 newly diagnosed, previously untreated patients with Hodgkin's disease or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma; 18 staging laparotomies provided pathologic correlations. CT detected and defined disease in areas not well evaluated by conventional techniques (high para-aortic, mesenteric, splenic hilar nodes). CT interpretation of splenic size and weight correlated well with splenic weight confirmed at pathology. Nodules were identified in several spleens containing foci of lymphoma.     

Iopamidol and meglumine diatrizoate: comparison of effects on patient discomfort during aortofemoral arteriography

Iopamidol was compared with Renografin-60 (meglumine diatrizoate, Squibb) in a controlled, randomized double-blind study of 40 patients undergoing peripheral arteriography for arteriosclerotic occlusive disease to determine which agent caused less discomfort. Each patient was evaluated for objective signs of discomfort and subjective feelings of pain and heat. Monitoring was achieved by multiple physical examinations, chemical tests, electrocardiograms, and intra-arterial pressure recordings. It is concluded that iopamidol is safe and causes significantly less patient discomfort than Renografin-60.     

Leucine metabolism in IDDM. Role of insulin and substrate availability

The effect of insulin on plasma amino acid concentrations and leucine metabolism was examined in 18 healthy nondiabetic young volunteers and in 7 subjects with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) with the euglycemic insulin-clamp technique (40 mU.m-2.min-1) in combination with [1-14C]leucine. All diabetic subjects were studied while in poor metabolic control (fasting glucose 13.3 +/- 1.1 mM; HbA1c 10.8 +/- 0.2%) and again after 2 mo of intensified insulin therapy (fasting glucose 7.2 +/- 0.5 mM; HbA1c 8.0 +/- 0.2%). Insulin-mediated total-body glucose uptake in poorly controlled diabetic subjects (3.6 +/- 0.5 mg.kg-1.min-1) was significantly reduced compared with control subjects (7.5 +/- 0.2 mg.kg-1.min-1; P less than .001) and improved slightly after insulin therapy (4.8 +/- 0.3 mg.kg-1.min-1; P less than .05), although it still remained significantly lower than in control subjects (P less than .01). During the insulin-clamp study performed in subjects with poorly controlled IDDM, endogenous leucine flux (ELF), leucine oxidation (LO), and nonoxidative leucine disposal (NOLD) all decreased (50.1 +/- 2.0 to 26.4 +/- 0.4; 9.2 +/- 0.4 to 6.0 +/- 0.3; 40.9 +/- 2.0 to 20.4 +/- 2.0 mumol.m-2.min-1, respectively) to the same extent as in control subjects. After 2 mo of intensified insulin therapy, the effect of acute hyperinsulinemia on ELF, LO, and NOLD was comparable to that of control subjects, whereas insulin-stimulated glucose metabolism was still impaired. To examine the effect of substrate availability on leucine turnover, well-regulated IDDM and control subjects underwent a repeat insulin-clamp study combined with a balanced amino acid infusion designed to increase circulating plasma amino acid levels approximately twofold. Under these conditions, NOLD was equally enhanced above baseline in both control and IDDM subjects (P less than .01), whereas ELF was inhibited to a greater extent (P less than .01) than during the insulin clamp performed without amino acid infusion (control vs. diabetic subjects, NS). In conclusion, insulin-mediated glucose metabolism is severely impaired in subjects with both poorly controlled and well-controlled IDDM, whereas the effect of acute insulin infusion on leucine turnover is normal, and combined hyperaminoacidemia/hyperinsulinemia stimulated NOLD to a similar extent in both IDDM and control subjects.