PATIENTS with atrial fibrillation are at increased risk of having a stroke, presumably because of emboli originating in the atria.^{1 , 2} There is a clear consensus that patients with atrial fibrillation and rheumatic valvular disease should be treated with ...

DESPITE extensive progress in understanding the mechanisms of blood coagulation, the cause of deep-vein thrombosis remains obscure in the majority of cases. Acute deep-vein thrombosis is a common disorder, with an annual incidence of 1 per 1000 in the ...

CYSTIC fibrosis is an inherited disorder characterized by progressive lung disease, pancreatic insufficiency, impaired growth, elevated sweat electrolyte values, and other, less common clinical findings, including meconium ileus, nasal polyposis, and ...

PATIENTS in respiratory distress from acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease often require endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation, both to restore adequate gas exchange and to alleviate respiratory-muscle fatigue.¹ Both ...

THE hereditary elliptocytosis syndrome encompasses a heterogeneous group of inherited disorders, the common feature of which is the presence of elliptical red cells on peripheral-blood film.¹ Recently, molecular defects of spectrin and protein 4.1, the ...

THE association of eosinophilia and endomyocarditis has been well documented. A form of Löffler's endocarditis,¹ characterized by eosinophilic pancarditis, muscle necrosis, and arteritis, is usually a feature of certain systemic diseases, including the ...

APPROXIMATELY 13 million people are enrolled in institutions of higher education in the United States. Most are adolescents and young adults, a group often characterized by a new-found sense of independence, experimentation with sex and sometimes drugs, ...

Presentation of Case

A 65-year-old man was admitted to the hospital because of a persistent cough, increasing dyspnea, and bilateral pulmonary infiltrates.

There was a history of Wegener's granulomatosis 11 months earlier, with involvement of the kidneys, ...

Atrial fibrillation not related to valvular heart disease (nonvalvular atrial fibrillation) is associated with nearly half the arterial emboli presumed to be of cardiac origin. It starts at a mean age of 64 years, affects 2 to 5 percent of the general ...

The study of genetic red-cell defects is doing for the understanding of the normal erythrocyte cytoskeleton what the study of abnormal hemoglobins did for the understanding of the structural and functional relations of normal hemoglobin. The ...

In 1936, Löffler first recognized the association of a distinctive form of severe heart failure with marked eosinophilia.¹ Although the clinical picture mimicked that of constrictive pericarditis, pathological examination revealed a grossly thickened ...

To the Editor: Rudman et al. (July 5 issue)¹ reported that recombinant growth hormone decreased adipose-tissue mass and increased lean body mass and lumbar vertebral bone density in healthy men from 61 to 81 years old who had low plasma concentrations of ...

To the Editor: The article by Levine et al. (July 5 issue)¹ on differences in the quality of semen during the summer and winter misstates the demographic evidence on the seasonality of births and conceptions. Contrary to the authors' assertions, ...

To the Editor: The study reported by Koren et al. (July 5 issue) ¹ purported to show a relation between plasma concentrations of mercaptopurine and disease outcome in children with acute lymphocytic leukemia, which would be an important observation ...

To the Editor: Contrast aortography, computed tomography, and transesophageal echocardiography are the usual methods employed in diagnosing suspected acute aortic dissection.^{1 2 3} In this letter we describe the use of a new method of imaging vascular ...

To the Editor: The Sounding Board article by Cooke and Sande (Nov. 9, 1989, issue)* suggested that programs in internal medicine that involve large proportions of patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) may be at a competitive ...

To the Editor: I was amazed to read about the change in requirements for prospective authors,* especially in regard to the prerequisite that they not have any financial ties with manufacturers that either make a product or compete with a product being ...

To the Editor: I am writing to express concern about what I understand to be a standard practice of physicians in dealing with minors. Recently, I was admitted to the hospital for surgery. Before my operation, my anesthesiologist met with me (16 years ...

Asthma, long considered the result of episodic reversible airway obstruction, is now known to be caused by airway inflammation. Although the precise mechanism for such inflammation has not yet been defined, this book, composed of 11 chapters by 20 ...

Here, the author has clearly defined his goal: to write about the problem of lung cancer in language we all understand (i.e., understandable to the lay reader) in the hope of combating a malignant disease of epidemic proportions. He has managed to do this ...

The editors of this magnificent reference and practical textbook did not rest on the laurels and accolades heaped on them with the publication of the second edition in 1985. As the reviewer of that edition (N Engl J Med 1986; 314:259) and as one in the ...

Although this book is intended for a neurosurgical audience, its subject matter encompasses pathophysiology, diagnosis, and protective therapy of brain ischemia — topics of interest to neurologists and other practitioners. The 29 chapters are well ...

Despite enormous advances in the treatment of coronary artery disease and an overall decrease in mortality rates from that disease, sudden cardiac death remains a frequent, difficult, and frustrating problem. Here, the editors have gathered a group of ...

Modern medicine has done much to alter the course of cardiac disease. Because of improvement in surgical techniques, women with complex congenital heart disease survive more frequently to the childbearing years. Advances in health care have made pregnancy ...

NEW ENGLAND OCCUPATIONAL MEDICINE ASSOCIATION

The annual conference, entitled "Current Issues and Controversies in Occupational Health," will take place in Boston, Dec. 6 and 7.

Contact Daryl Bichel, Harvard ERC, 665 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115; or ...