When treated with effective multiagent chemotherapy, about two thirds of children with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia survive for long periods of time¹–⁴. Much of this success can be credited to more intensive early treatment, especially of ...

In recent years, several laboratories have developed sensitive methods to detect small numbers of residual leukemic blasts in bone marrow samples obtained during remission from patients with acute and chronic leukemia. Current strategies include ...

Despite recent advances in the treatment of esophageal carcinoma, 50 to 60 percent of patients have incurable disease at presentation. For them, only palliative therapy is possible¹,². The aim of all forms of palliative treatment is to relieve dysphagia, ...

Cystic fibrosis is the most common lethal autosomal recessive childhood disorder in the white population, occurring in approximately 1 in 2500 live births¹. Patients with cystic fibrosis have abnormal chloride conduction across the apical membrane of ...

Osteonecrosis, or nontraumatic (aseptic, avascular) bone necrosis, is a relatively common disorder estimated to account for more than 10 percent of all joint replacements¹. Although a number of clinical entities have been associated with osteonecrosis (...

Figure 1. Sting of the Fire Ant (Solenopsis).

Panel A shows the fire ant with body arched, stinging and injecting venom through the stinger (a modified ovipositor) in its distal abdomen (x30). Panel B is a scanning electron micrograph of the stinger (x90)...

The crucial differences between normal cells and cancer cells stem from discrete changes in specific genes controlling proliferation and tissue homeostasis. Over 100 such cancer-related genes have been discovered, several of which are implicated in the ...

Urinary tract infections account for more than 7 million visits to physicians' offices and necessitate or complicate well over 1 million hospital admissions in the United States annually¹,². It is helpful to categorize adult patients with urinary ...

Presentation of Case

A 71-year-old right-handed woman was admitted to the hospital because of a question of a brain tumor.

The patient had been in stable health until four months earlier, when she became aware of difficulty in concentrating. Three weeks ...

In children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), rates of complete remission ranging from 90 to 95 percent and rates of long-term disease-free survival approaching 70 percent can now be achieved. In this issue of the Journal, Rivera and colleagues¹ ...

Stenting and related techniques for palliation of esophageal cancer are being used with increasing frequency¹–⁶. Peroral stenting opens the lumen of the obstructed esophagus to a diameter sufficient to allow the pleasures and potential nutritional benefit ...

Despite objections by many professional organizations,¹–⁸ the participation of physicians and nurses in capital punishment continues and is likely to become more common in the years ahead⁹–¹¹. This participation raises important questions about the ...

To the Editor: We have three questions about the important fecal occult-blood screening study by Mandel et al. (May 13 issue)¹. First, although mortality from colorectal cancer was significantly reduced in the annually screened group, it is not clear ...

To the Editor: Busch et al. (May 13 issue)¹ fail to consider the possibility that both autologous and allogeneic blood may contain an immunosuppressive factor that could influence the rate of recurrence of colorectal cancer. Until recently, it was ...

To the Editor: We reported (Feb. 4 issue)¹ on the effect of ranitidine and amoxicillin plus metronidazole on the eradication of Helicobacter pylori and the recurrence of duodenal ulcer within one year. Ulcers recurred in 1 of 46 patients in whom H. ...

To the Editor: The conclusion of Herrstedt et al. (April 15 issue)¹ that “ondansetron plus metopimazine is a highly effective and safe antiemetic regimen that is markedly superior to treatment with ondansetron alone in patients receiving moderately ...

To the Editor: Ten years ago, we reported in the Journal¹ that about 50 percent of women with prolactin-secreting pituitary microadenomas had a recurrence of hyperprolactinemia during follow-up lasting 5 to 10 years after successful adenomectomy. These ...

To the Editor: I applaud Senator Paul Wellstone's courage in proposing a sensible and well-thought-out single-payer system to reform health care in the United States. In their article on the American Health Security Act (May 20 issue),¹ Wellstone and ...

In selecting a textbook, there are at least four questions we may consider: Is it the standard work in the field? Is it timely? What are the qualifications of the authors? How is the material presented? Although it may be unfair to compare a 1200-page ...

Pediatric emergency medicine has greatly enlarged its scope and position in pediatric care over the past decade. Emergency departments now have a heightened awareness of the special needs of children, and consequently, the approach to the evaluation and ...

“Exciting” is probably not the word to use in describing this 473-page clinical reference book, but it is certainly one of the first words that comes to mind. Sarnat has done what many clinicians have been saying for some time should be done: he has ...

This book, a comprehensive treatise on the causes, diagnosis, and management of gastrointestinal-motility disorders, consists of 19 chapters with extensive references, contained in slightly under 500 pages. The first six chapters are devoted to basic ...

This book is intended for physicians and surgeons who treat patients with inflammatory bowel disease. In the preface the editors state that their aim was “to present the state of knowledge of inflammatory bowel disease in a reasonably compact volume.” ...

Recognition of the specialty status of vascular surgery and the associated qualifying examinations have prompted the recent publication of several textbooks on vascular surgery. This new book is above average for the group.

The three different viewpoints ...