Role of sucralfate in peptic disease.

Sucralfate, a basic aluminum salt of sucrose, was the first successful drug with a major cytoprotective mechanism of action. It binds bile acids and pepsin and adheres to both ulcerated and nonulcerated mucosa. Sucralfate stimulates the synthesis and release of gastric mucosal prostaglandins as well as bicarbonate and the epidermal growth factor which stimulates healing. Sucralfate is the safest drug available today in the treatment of dyspeptic symptoms and compared to ranitidine and cimetidine it has the following characteristics. (2) The short-term healing of duodenal ulcers is the same for sucralfate, cimetidine and ranitidine. (3) Sucralfate-treated patients have a lower recurrence rate of duodenal ulceration after healing when compared with cimetidine and the recurrence rate is not connected with the presence or absence of Campylobacter pylori.     

High technology medicine and the physician-patient relationship

While technologic problems in critical care have become highly refined with precise solutions, ethical problems and solutions have remained fairly primitive. A useful distinction between technology and techniques is made with individual technologies being the parts that make up the therapeutic techniques as a whole. The phenomena of “technical convergence” is discussed wherein we may control each part of the system, but the system itself may be out of control. This is explained in terms of the logical fallacy of composition, noting that a whole may not necessarily have the same characteristics of its parts. Resolution of some of the ethical problems in critical care is suggested through a reexamination of the physician-patient relationship. It is noted that the relationship needs to be personal-technologic rather than sociotechnologic in nature, with the former focusing solely on the best interest of the individual patient and the latter focusing more on the broader concerns of society in the allocation of limited resources. The detrimental effects for the physician as well as the patient of the shift toward the sociotechnologic relationship is explored, especially the dehumanization of the physician. A call for a reaffirmation of the traditional professional model of medicine emphasizing the best interest of patients as opposed to the more popular business model emphasizing materialism and efficiency is given.     

Expression of a dominant-negative type II transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) receptor in the epidermis of transgenic mice blocks TGF-β-mediated growth inhibition

To determine whether a functional type II receptor of transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) is required to mediate the growth inhibitory effect of TGF-β on the skin in vivo, we have generated transgenic mice that overexpress a dominant negative-type II TGF-β receptor (ΔβRII) in the epidermis. The ΔβRII mice exhibited a thickened and wrinkled skin, and histologically the epidermis was markedly hyperplastic and hyperkeratotic. In vivo labeling with BrdUrd showed a 2.5-fold increase in the labeling index over controls, with labeled nuclei occurring in both basal and suprabasal cells of transgenic epidermis. In heterozygotes, this skin phenotype gradually diminished, and by 10–14 days after birth the transgenic mice were indistinguishable from their normal siblings. However, when F₁ mice were mated to homozygosity, perinatal lethality occurred due to the severe hyperkeratotic phenotype, which restricted movement. Cultured primary keratinocytes from ΔβRII mice also exhibited an increased rate of growth in comparison with nontransgenic controls, and were resistant to TGF-β-induced growth inhibition. These data document the role of the type II TGF-β receptor in mediating TGF-β-induced growth inhibition of the epidermis in vivo and in maintenance of epidermal homeostasis.     

Family physicians' beliefs about screening for colorectal cancer using the stool guaiac slide test

The stool guaiac slide test (SGST) is a relatively recent innovation in screening for colorectal cancer. The test detects occult blood in the stool that may indicate the presence of cancer. In recent years, the SGST has been widely promoted as a screening test to aid in the detection of colorectal cancer. However, data from public and mass screening programs indicate that many people are unaware of the test and that few have actually taken it. The findings from these studies suggest that many physicians may not be using the test in their medical practices. The literature on diffusion theory suggests that acceptance of an innovation is influenced by the potential adopter's perception of the innovation's relative advantages over those of the ideas it supersedes, its perceived complexity, and its compatibility with the existing values and practices of the receiver. This research examined these factors as they relate to use of the SGST among a sample of 131 family physicians in New York State. Eighty-two percent of these physicians reported that they provide guaiac slides to at least some of their patients to collect stool specimens at home. The test was reportedly more commonly used for older patients than for younger ones. The physicians' beliefs about the relative effectiveness of the test in detecting early-stage colorectal cancer, compared with the effectiveness of alternative screening tests, and their perceptions about patients' willingness and ability to do the test at home were found to be important factors distinguishing between physicians who said they used the test and physicians who did not. The findings from this study suggest that future efforts aimed at promoting the use o1 theSGST among primary care physicians should emphasize the relative merits of the test in comparison with those of alternative screening procedures, especially with regard to its effectiveness in detecting early stage cancers, its simplicity, and its acceptance by patients.     

Diagnostic delay in symptomatic colorectal cancer

Previous research on colorectal cancer patients has suggested that considerable delay can occur once the patient has sought medical care. However, little information has been available on the possible components of this delay. In this study, detailed information on diagnostic delays was collected from 294 symptomatic patients. Of these patients, 46% reported experiencing at least one delay. Three types of diagnostic delay were identified and were associated with different lengths of delay. Of all the delays, 31% were due to difficulties in scheduling initial or subsequent office visits or laboratory tests; these were associated with an average delay of 3 weeks. Physician-related delays (e.g., misdiagnosis or observation of symptoms without specific action) comprised 46% of all diagnostic delays and resulted in an average delay of 18 weeks. The remainder of the delays were patient-related and resulted in an average delay of 12 weeks. There was no association between any of these three delay types, suggesting that attempts to reduce diagnostic delay should encompass all three types in order to be maximally effective.     

Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorder among renal transplant patients in relation to the use of mycophenolate mofetil

BACKGROUND: The introduction of increasingly effective immunosuppressants has raised the question of whether posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD), a complication of immunosuppression, would become more frequent. This study assessed the risk of PTLD in relation to immunosuppression during a period that saw the introduction and eventual market dominance of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF). METHODS: A case-control study was conducted at 23 U.S. transplant centers. All participants received a renal-only transplant on or after July 1, 1995. PTLD cases were reported by centers and confirmed by central review. The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) supplemented case ascertainment and identified controls matched on center, transplant date, and age. Center personnel abstracted risk factor and therapy data for cases and up to four controls per case. Cases and controls were compared, using a matched multivariate analysis, to assess the impact of MMF as one component of triple-therapy adjusted for other drug therapies and known risk factors. RESULTS: Data were collected for 108 PTLD cases and 404 controls. PTLD risk for individuals on triple therapy with MMF was similar to the risk experienced by individuals on triple therapy with no MMF (adjusted odds ratio=1.19; 95% CI 0.55-2.55). There was no dose response relationship between MMF and PTLD risk. CONCLUSIONS: Use of MMF was not associated with an increase in PTLD among patients who received triple immunosuppressive therapy, but an excess in risk as large as 155% or a reduction in risk by as much as 45% cannot be ruled out.     

Social environment and breast cancer. A cohort analysis of patient survival

Several crude indicators of social stress and social involvement were used to explain survival among 283 women with breast cancer. The relationships of some stress and involvement indicators to survival are apparent; the data provide evidence that social stress decreases and social involvement increases the length of time breast cancer patients survive.