Transplantation of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells from placental blood, also called umbilical-cord blood, from unrelated donors can restore the function of bone marrow and sustain hematopoietic recovery in both related and unrelated recipients.¹–^...

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, a disseminated thrombotic microangiopathy, was initially described by Moschcowitz in 1924.¹ Three decades later, Gasser et al.² reported a similar disorder in children that they called the hemolytic–uremic syndrome. ...

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura is characterized by widespread platelet thrombi in arterioles and capillaries.¹,² Despite therapeutic advances,³ the age-adjusted mortality associated with the disease nearly tripled from 1971 to 1991.⁴ Among those who ...

Epinephrine remains the first-line adrenergic agent used for cardiac arrest, but the dose remains controversial.¹–³ Almost all experimental studies suggest that high-dose epinephrine is more effective than the currently recommended doses; higher doses ...

Figure 1. In 1992, a T₁-weighted magnetic resonance imaging study detected a macroadenoma of the pituitary (arrowhead in Panel A) in a 41-year-old man with transient right-sided weakness. He had no symptoms of pituitary dysfunction, and the results of ...

Carbon monoxide intoxication continues to be one of the most common causes of morbidity due to poisoning in the United States.¹,² It may be intentional or accidental, and exposure may be lethal. Approximately 600 accidental deaths due to carbon monoxide ...

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the Western world. Because breast cancer is estrogen-dependent, reducing estrogen secretion by oophorectomy, hypophysectomy, or adrenalectomy can cause the cancer to regress. The need for these surgical ...

Presentation of Case

An 11-year-old girl was admitted to the hospital because of fever, hypotension, and azotemia.

The patient had been in excellent health until four days earlier, when fever, headache, sore throat, stiffness of the neck, abdominal pain, ...

During the past decade the use of placental blood as a source of transplantable hematopoietic stem cells has been accelerating. Initially, the placental blood was obtained from siblings, but now recipients of transplants from unrelated donors (allogeneic ...

In 1924, Dr. Eli Moschcowitz described the abrupt onset of petechiae and pallor, followed rapidly by paralysis, coma, and death, in a 16-year-old girl.¹ Terminal arterioles and capillaries in the doomed teenager were occluded by hyaline thrombi, later ...

A variety of congenital cardiovascular abnormalities are the principal causes of sudden death in young competitive athletes,¹–⁵ and some of these tragedies have been widely publicized.⁶ The identification of important cardiovascular abnormalities in ...

To the Editor: The studies by Steere et al.¹ and Sigal et al.² (July 23 issue) suggest that the vaccine consisting of recombinant Borrelia burgdorferi outer-surface protein A is well tolerated and efficacious and “provides an important new public health ...

To the Editor: The study by Agnelli et al. (July 9 issue)¹ of the efficacy of enoxaparin (a low-molecular-weight heparin) plus graded compression stockings as prophylaxis against deep-vein thrombosis in neurosurgical patients is both sound and timely. ...

To the Editor: We disagree with several of the conclusions of Tybjærg-Hansen et al. (May 28 issue)¹ concerning the clinical significance of mutations in the apolipoprotein B gene with respect to lipoprotein metabolism. First, the failure to identify ...

To the Editor: The study by Liefers et al. (July 23 issue)¹ demonstrated the prognostic importance of micrometastases detected by the use of a tissue-specific reverse-transcriptase–polymerase-chain-reaction assay (PCR) in patients with colorectal cancer. ...

Editor's note: We have received inquiries about possible financial conflicts of interest with respect to an article published in the Journal five years ago, “Prophylactic Administration of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Immune Globulin to High-Risk Infants ...

To the Editor: There is strong evidence that people who receive medical treatment in a timely manner have improved health outcomes.¹,² Thus, delays in seeking medical care because of concern about cost can have serious effects. This consideration was ...

Retrovirology is a mature yet rapidly evolving field, and this excellent book provides a very complete approach, integrating all the scientific aspects of the topic except epidemiology. Retrovirology started with the discovery at the turn of the century ...

This book is ostensibly a personal account of the “grunt work” of field research — the experience behind the relatively sterile papers that appear in our medical, public health, and anthropologic journals. Who has not dreamed of venturing into the last ...

Extremely user-friendly, yet comprehensive and thoroughly updated, Scientific American Medicine on CD is the electronic counterpart of the well-known Scientific American Medicine. This CD-ROM contains the full text as well as every illustration, table, ...