Steroid Allergy in a Patient With Behçet's Disease.

Immediate hypersensitivity reactions to systemic steroids are reported rarely in the literature. The authors present a case of Behçet's disease-associated panuveitis in a patient with skin test confirmed immunoglobulin E-mediated allergy to methylprednisolone and reported allergic reaction to prednisone. The patient tolerated prednisolone eyedrops for his anterior segment disease, as well as oral prednisolone for systemic therapy. This case demonstrates a challenge to conventional treatment, as it involves a hypersensitivity that is rarely reported. It also highlights class differences in corticosteroids with regard to immune reactivity. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina. 2021;52:447-449.].

A phase II study of pemetrexed as second-line chemotherapy for the treatment of metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC); Hoosier Oncology Group GU03-67.

BACKGROUND: No standard therapy exists for post-docetaxel castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) patients. This trial aimed to determine the safety and efficacy of pemetrexed in post-docetaxel CRPC patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: CRPC patients with progression after docetaxel (Taxotere) therapy received pemetrexed (500 mg/m2) i.v. every 3 weeks. The primary end point was prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response. A pharmacogenetic analysis of the reduced folate carrier-1 gene (RFC1) G80A polymorphism was also carried out. RESULTS: Forty-nine patients were enrolled: median age 68 years, median baseline PSA 72 ng/ml, and median Karnofsky performance status of 90. Grade 3 or 4 toxicity occurred in 20 (43%) and four patients (8%), respectively. Confirmed >50% PSA decline occurred in four patients (8%), stable PSA lasting at least 12 weeks in 10 patients (20%). A significant relationship was observed between time from prior docetaxel therapy and overall survival. Pharmacogenetic analyses of RFC1 G80A genotype frequencies showed no relationship between genotypes and clinical efficacy. CONCLUSIONS: Pemetrexed treatment of CRPC patients after docetaxel therapy was associated with only modest clinical activity. Further investigation of pemetrexed as a single agent in a nonenriched CRPC population is unlikely to add significant clinical benefit over that seen with traditional second-line chemotherapy agents such as mitoxantrone.

Extended heat-fluctuation theorems for a system with deterministic and stochastic forces.

Heat fluctuations over a time tau in a nonequilibrium stationary state and in a transient state are studied for a simple system with deterministic and stochastic components: a Brownian particle dragged through a fluid by a harmonic potential which is moved with constant velocity. Using a Langevin equation, we find the exact Fourier transform of the distribution of these fluctuations for all tau. By a saddle-point method we obtain analytical results for the inverse Fourier transform, which, for not too small tau, agree very well with numerical results from a sampling method as well as from the fast Fourier transform algorithm. Due to the interaction of the deterministic part of the motion of the particle in the mechanical potential with the stochastic part of the motion caused by the fluid, the conventional heat fluctuation theorem is, for infinite and for finite tau, replaced by an extended fluctuation theorem that differs noticeably and measurably from it. In particular, for large fluctuations, the ratio of the probability for absorption of heat (by the particle from the fluid) to the probability to supply heat (by the particle to the fluid) is much larger here than in the conventional fluctuation theorem.

Power and heat fluctuation theorems for electric circuits.

Using recent fluctuation theorems from nonequilibrium statistical mechanics, we extend the theory for voltage fluctuations in electric circuits to power and heat fluctuations. They could be of particular relevance for the functioning of small circuits. This is done for a parallel resistor and capacitor with a constant current source for which we use the analogy with a Brownian particle dragged through a fluid by a moving harmonic potential, where circuit-specific analogs are needed on top of the Brownian-Nyquist analogy. The results may also hold for other circuits as another example shows.

Extension of the fluctuation theorem.

Heat fluctuations are studied in a dissipative system with both deterministic and stochastic components for a simple model: a Brownian particle dragged through water by a moving potential. An extension of the stationary state fluctuation theorem is derived. For infinite time, this reduces to the conventional fluctuation theorem only for small fluctuations; for large fluctuations, it gives a much larger ratio of the probabilities of the particle to absorb rather than supply heat. This persists for finite times and should be observable in experiments similar to a recent one carried out by Wang et al.

Stationary and transient work-fluctuation theorems for a dragged Brownian particle.

Recently Wang et al. carried out a laboratory experiment, where a Brownian particle was dragged through a fluid by a harmonic force with constant velocity of its center. This experiment confirmed a theoretically predicted work related integrated transient fluctuation theorem (ITFT), which gives an expression for the ratio for the probability to find positive or negative values for the fluctuations of the total work done on the system in a given time in a transient state. The corresponding integrated stationary state fluctuation theorem (ISSFT) was not observed. Using an overdamped Langevin equation and an arbitrary motion for the center of the harmonic force, all quantities of interest for these theorems and the corresponding nonintegrated ones (TFT and SSFT, respectively) are theoretically explicitly obtained in this paper. While the TFT and the ITFT are satisfied for all times, the SSFT and the ISSFT only hold asymptotically in time. Suggestions for further experiments with arbitrary velocity of the harmonic force and in which also the ISSFT could be observed, are given. In addition, a nontrivial long-time relation between the ITFT and the ISSFT was discovered, which could be observed experimentally, especially in the case of a resonant circular motion of the center of the harmonic force.

Combined anti-microtubule therapy: a phase II study of weekly docetaxel plus estramustine in patients with metastatic breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Docetaxel and estramustine exert anti-tumor effects by inhibiting microtubule function. In vitro data suggest synergism with this combination. This phase II study evaluated the response rate and toxicity of docetaxel and estramustine in patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients were treated with docetaxel 35 mg/m(2) on day 2 and estramustine phosphate 280 mg p.o. tds days 1-3 weekly for 3 of 4 weeks, for a maximum of six treatment cycles. RESULTS: Thirty-nine patients were enrolled between August 1999 and March 2001; 36 were eligible. Of 31 evaluable patients, responses were observed in 15 patients (47%); two patients (6%) obtained a complete response. Median time to treatment failure was 6 months; median survival was 1 year. Thromboembolic toxicity occurred in 11% of patients: three experienced deep venous thromboses and one had a fatal pulmonary embolism. Myelosuppression was minimal with this regimen. CONCLUSIONS: Despite modest activity in metastatic breast cancer, the toxicity observed with the combination of estramustine and docetaxel precludes the routine use of this combination in the treatment of breast cancer. Further studies using this compound in metastatic breast cancer are not warranted.

Altretamine for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma. A Hoosier Oncology Group trial.

Thirty patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma were treated on a phase 11 trial with altretamine. Altretamine was administered orally at a dosage of 260 mg/m2 days 1 through 14 with cycles repeated every 28 days. Nausea and vomiting were the most common toxicities. Ten percent (3 of 30) experienced Grade 3 gait abnormalities. None of the thirty evaluable patients achieved a complete or partial response. In summary, altretamine did not show antitumor activity in the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma.

Kinetic approach to the Gaussian thermostat in a dilute sheared gas in the thermodynamic limit.

A dilute gas of particles with short range interactions is considered in a shearing stationary state. A Gaussian thermostat keeps the total kinetic energy constant. For infinitely many particles it is shown that the thermostat becomes a friction force with constant friction coefficient. For finite number of particles N, the fluctuations around this constant are of order 1/squareroot[N], and distributed approximately Gaussian with deviations for large fluctuations. These deviations prohibit a derivation of fluctuation-dissipation relations far from equilibrium, based on the fluctuation theorem.

Management strategies and outcomes of germ cell tumor patients with very high human chorionic gonadotropin levels.

PURPOSE: To determine the therapeutic results in advanced germ cell tumor (GCT) patients with initial human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) elevation greater than 50,000 mIU/mL and to document the levels of hCG decline and subsequent plateau and outcome of this patient population. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of 41 patients who presented to Indiana University (IU) with hCG levels greater than 50,000 mIU/mL between December 1976 and August 1996. All patients had received cisplatin-containing regimens and were monitored with serial hCG levels. RESULTS: Twenty-two of 41 (53.7%) patients continuously show no evidence of disease (NED) and eight additional patients (19.5%) are currently NED with salvage therapy. Only two of 41 patients had a normal hCG level at the start of the fourth and final course of cisplatin combination chemotherapy. Eight additional patients showed normalized hCG levels 1 month later. Seven of these 10 are continuously NED and three are currently NED with salvage therapy. Thirty-one patients had an abnormal hCG greater than 1 month after they completed primary chemotherapy; 15 of these patients (48%) are continuously NED despite no further therapy and five additional patients (16%) are currently NED with salvage therapy. Overall, there was an initial rapid decline in hCG followed by a plateau after the first two courses of therapy. CONCLUSION: Less than 10% of patients who present with hCG levels greater than 50,000 mIU/mL will have a normal hCG at the institution of the fourth and final course of chemotherapy. However, 22 of 41 (53.7%) are continuously NED despite no further therapy. We feel that the optimal strategy for such patients is monthly observation with initiation of salvage therapy if and when there is serologic progression.

Benign hematologic neoplasm associated with mediastinal mature teratoma in a patient with Klinefelter's syndrome: a case report.

An 18-year-old male with Klinefelter's syndrome presented with a mature teratoma of the mediastinum. He was treated with debulking surgery and brief cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Ten years later, he presented with paraplegia and was found to have an isolated epidural mass. The mass was composed of mature histiocytoid cells reminiscent of those seen in malignant histiocytosis. There was no evidence of medullary dissemination and there was no evidence of recurrence of the germ cell tumor. He received local radiation therapy and a single course of leukemic induction. He remains well 4 years later. This case represents a localized variant of the diffuse histiocytic malignancies associated with malignant mediastinal germ cell tumors.

[Changes in absenteeism trends in selected disease groups (data based on a 10-year observation)]. / Zmiany w obrazie absencji chorobowej w wybranych grupach schorzen na podstawie 10-letniej obserwacji.

Sickness absenteeism has been exhibiting, for many years now, constantly increasing trends. A particularly rapid increase in absenteeism has been that due to diseases of the circulatory and musculoskeletal systems. The object was to follow the changes in absenteeism parameters due to those two groups of diseases. The analysis was based on absenteeism data from two precision industry plants collected over 10 years. Study I involved 6509 persons, whereas study II--11 068. In groups homogeneous in respect to sex, age, and occupational exposure changes in the following absenteeism parameters were compared: (1) % of those absent for some cause, (2) average number of days per 1 absenteeism case, (3) average number of cases per 1 patient, (4) average number of days per 1 patient annually. It has been demonstrated that the increase in absenteeism rates in the groups of diseases concerned resulted mainly from prolongation of an average duration of absenteeism case.

[Benz(a)pyrene content in the salt samples obtained from the borehole waters of the Krasnodar deposit]. / O soderzhanii benz(a)pirena v obraztsakh soli, poluchaemoi iz burivykh vod Krasnodarskogo mestorozhdeniia.

Benz(a)pyrene content in the samples of salt obtained from water ground of the Krasnodar field was assayed by means of the spectral fluorescent method. The table salt "Extra" manufactured by the Slavyansk salt-works supplying the trade network (GOST 13830-68) served as control. 15 samples (60 reference standards) were examined. It was established that 3 of 5 tested samples obtained from purified concentrated brine of water ground of the Krasnodar field contained benz(a)pyrene in an amount of 0.0351 microgram/kg up to 0.16 microgram/kg. Benz(a)pyrene (0.104 microgram/kg) was detected in 1 of 4 tested samples of the salt "Extra". It is concluded that tested salt samples obtained from concentrated brine of water ground of the Krasnodar field contain an insignificant amount of benz(a)pyrene.

[Cause of the change in the type of structural chromosomal mutations in the cell transition from the G1 to the S phase]. / O prichine izmeneniia tipa strukturnykh mutatsii khromosom pri perekhode kletok ot G1- k S-faze.

Cessation of exchange interactions among chromosomes and change of the chromosome type of aberrations for chromatid type were found on the model of the Crepis capillaris germinating seeds sychronized with 5-fluor-2-desoxyuridine at the end of G1-beginning of S-phase and then exposed to X-ray irradiation.