Whether to take postmenopausal hormones is a difficult decision. Hormone use carries many benefits, including decreased risks of osteoporosis¹ and cardiovascular disease,² as well as hazards, especially an increase in the risks of breast and endometrial ...

Neutropenia and resultant infection are potentially life-threatening side effects of cancer chemotherapy. The use of dose-intensive chemotherapeutic regimens has made the management of myelosuppression increasingly important. Recombinant hematopoietic ...

Current forms of therapy can cure more than 70 percent of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. This progress is due largely to intensified regimens of induction and consolidation chemotherapy and improvements in supportive care.¹ However, ...

Most patients with acute pancreatitis have mild or occasionally subclinical disease that resolves spontaneously. About 20 percent of patients have a severe necrotizing disease with systemic or local complications.¹,² Mortality associated with severe acute ...

Figure 1. A 79-year-old man had a five-month history of dull, aching epigastric pain radiating to the back and a 16-kg (35-lb) weight loss. The pain was made worse by meals and was associated with early satiety. An upper gastrointestinal series (Panel A) ...

In the Netherlands, euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are subject to criminal prosecution, although this rarely occurs. When requested by a competent patient suffering unbearably from an irreversible illness, these practices are accepted by the ...

The inability to consume enough calories to meet energy requirements is a common threat to survival. To meet this danger, animals retard their fuel depletion by lowering their metabolic rate and changing fuel substrates. They also stimulate their feeding ...

Presentation of Case

A 57-year-old man was admitted to the hospital because of progressive edema and exertional dyspnea.

The patient had been well until eight weeks earlier, when he was admitted to this hospital because of recurrent chest pain. An ...

In this issue of the Journal, Grodstein and colleagues¹ present important data from a large study of the risks and benefits associated with postmenopausal hormone-replacement therapy. Like previous investigators, they found a significantly reduced risk of ...

Many studies have appraised the value of treatment with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) or granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in ameliorating chemotherapy-induced neutropenia. The principal aim of this treatment is to ...

After years of debate over the ethical and legal issues in physician-assisted suicide, empirical research is beginning to infuse a realistic clinical perspective into this previously theoretical controversy. Studies reveal that a host of practical issues ...

Almost every year, a Private Sector Conference is held at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. This gathering brings together a group of physicians who direct academic health centers, professional associations, and medical journals, ...

To the Editor: In his review of tobacco litigation (Jan. 23 issue),¹ Annas suggests that increasing taxes on cigarettes to fund social programs such as Medicaid is unfair to addicted smokers. However, I believe that such taxes are not only fair, but also ...

To the Editor: Whereas most studies have reported positive findings,¹ Melbye et al. (Jan. 9 issue)² reported an overall null association between induced abortion and breast cancer, on the basis of their record-linkage analysis of all Danish women born ...

To the Editor: Fölsch et al. (Jan. 23 issue)¹ concluded that in patients with acute biliary pancreatitis but without obstructive jaundice, early endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and papillotomy were not beneficial. Unfortunately, ...

To the Editor: The most common clinical presentation of primary infection with the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is a mononucleosis-like illness.¹ Other clinical manifestations include Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia,² cryptosporidiosis,³ ...

To the Editor: Foreman et al. (Jan. 16 issue)¹ report the propagation of Kaposi's sarcoma–associated herpesvirus (KSHV) from Kaposi's sarcoma–derived cell lines, using cells of the human embryonal-kidney epithelial-cell line as targets for infection. In ...

To the Editor: The Post Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Trial Investigators (Jan. 16 issue)¹ report promising results of aggressive lowering of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels with lovastatin, which reduced the progression of ...

To the Editor: Hlatky et al. (Jan. 9 issue)¹ performed a cost-effectiveness analysis of data derived from a subgroup of the Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation (BARI) study, a randomized trial comparing coronary-artery bypass surgery with ...

To the Editor: Miles and Parker (Jan. 16 issue)¹ show that women's access to health care depends crucially on their intimate and political relationships with men. Adequate access to health care for women requires that they be married to men who do not ...

In Timothy Quill's recounting of the deaths of nine patients, the final description is of the planned death of Jules: at home, surrounded by family members, and aided by a physician. It is a moving, true story, recounted in meticulous detail, from the ...

There is extensive debate in science, ethics, and public policy about gene therapy for humans. Immersed in this literature, Walters and Palmer have coauthored a book at the leading edge of the subject. Using fine illustrations and sketches, they lucidly ...

Don't be misled by the title. This book is not a series of difficult clinical cases complete with discussions and expert solutions. Rather, it is a collection of reviews that tackle “common and difficult problems that face gastroenterologists and ...

This monograph covers motility in the gastrointestinal tract, from the esophagus to the anus. The authors are among the most active clinical investigators in the field. Each chapter has 50 to 145 references, and some of the clinically oriented chapters ...

Case Records of the Massachusetts General Hospital (Case 13-1997) Case Records of the Massachusetts General Hospital, N Engl J Med 1997:336;1235-1241.. On page 1240, in Figure 6, the arrow was misplaced. The corrected figure appears below.