Endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation can be a life-saving procedure. However, the use of artificial airways may lead to infectious complications and injury to the trachea.¹–³ Noninvasive ventilation is an alternative approach that was ...

Cystic fibrosis is a recessive genetic disease caused by mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene.¹–⁴ The normal CFTR gene codes for a protein (CFTR) that plays a key part in epithelial transport of salt and water.⁵,...

Duchenne's muscular dystrophy is an X-linked disorder caused by deficiency of the protein dystrophin.¹,² In animals, myoblast transfer was shown to be a promising method of dystrophin replacement.³–⁵ The technique consists of injecting skeletal muscles ...

Among children in developing countries, diarrheal illnesses, especially those of prolonged duration, are important causes of growth retardation and death.¹–⁵ Episodes of diarrhea, which usually resolve within a few days in a healthy child, persist longer ...

Pulmonary infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in persons with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.¹–³ Although Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia has received more attention, bacterial pneumonia also occurs frequently among such ...

Figure 1. Lesions typical of atheroembolism are apparent on the feet (Panel A) of a 65-year-old man who had undergone left heart catheterization through the femoral approach four weeks earlier. Nonoliguric renal failure developed (serum creatinine, 5.5 mg ...

Polycystic ovary syndrome — in its most typical form, the association of hyperandrogenism and chronic anovulation — is one of the most common endocrine disorders. The clinical and biochemical features are heterogeneous, and there has been much debate as ...

Presentation of Case

A 69-year-old woman was admitted to the clinic because of systemic lupus erythematosus and painful lesions on the feet.

The patient had been well until eight years earlier, when she began to lose her scalp hair and a rash developed. ...

There have been a number of uncontrolled studies in which nasal or face-mask ventilation was used successfully to treat acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.¹–⁸ The concern remains, however, that when this approach is unsuccessful, ...

The application of molecular genetics to human biology has had a profound effect on our ability to understand, diagnose, and treat a variety of diseases. The identification and cloning of a number of disease-related genes has provided us with a powerful ...

Each year, millions of children die of diarrhea. Many more suffer frequent diarrheal illnesses, which stunt their growth and add to the problems of their often overburdened parents. Nonetheless, there have been substantial reductions in deaths from ...

To the Editor: As a physician with a busy general practice in obstetrics and gynecology (with a heavy emphasis on high-risk obstetrics and a special interest in infertility) and as a provider of abortion services for more than 20 years, I have a practice ...

To the Editor: In a group of patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma but without severe liver disease, Trinchet et al. (May 11 issue)¹ found that chemoembolization with Lipiodol (iodized oil) reduced tumor growth, often caused acute liver ...

To the Editor: Ochs et al. (May 4 issue)¹ reported their experience using transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic stent shunts to control refractory ascites. The shunts were successfully placed in all 50 study patients, and 74 percent had total remission ...

To the Editor: Tielsch et al. (May 4 issue)¹ are to be commended for their thorough and clinically relevant research on visual impairment in nursing home residents. But why did the authors employ a cognitive examination as a screening instrument to ...

To the Editor: Ridker and colleagues (April 6 issue)¹ demonstrated that the mutation resulting in the substitution of glutamine for arginine at position 506 in the gene coding for coagulation factor V is not associated with an increased risk of ...

To the Editor: Advocates of laparoscopic appendectomy contend that it is superior to open appendectomy because there is less morbidity, a shorter hospital stay, and faster convalescence.¹,² We collected data on 277 appendectomies (175 open and 102 ...

To the Editor: We report a case of thoracic splenosis presenting as a pleural-based mass. Thoracic splenosis is a rare condition and should be considered in any patient with a left-sided thoracic mass and a distant history of severe thoracoabdominal ...

To the Editor: To the intriguing case report by New et al. (April 20 issue)¹ of eosinophilic meningitis following the ingestion of a raw snail, a further warning should be added. The nematode parasite Angiostrongylus cantonensis can be acquired in ways ...

In 1924 the Journal began the weekly publication of the Case Records of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), with Richard C. Cabot, M.D., as editor. Since then, the clinicopathological conference (CPC), taken from the case records, has continued to ...

The publication of this fascinating biography marks the 100th anniversary of the death of Louis Pasteur on September 28, 1895. Previous accounts of Pasteur's life and work have stressed the heroic stature of the man and the grandeur of his scientific ...

Interest in medical ethics springs from many sources, and each interest group brings to the discussion of ethics its own perspective and agenda and, in some cases, its own language or jargon. Defining the foundations or essential concepts of medical ...

Since the demise of the President's Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research in March of 1983, a strange fate has attended efforts to constitute a similar body. Congress, or the President, or both are ...