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August 8, 2002  Vol. 347 No. 6

Perspective
382-383

Botulinum toxin is in the news these days. First came September 11 and fears of chemical terrorism. One gram of this “most poisonous poison” could kill a million people were it not for problems of delivery. Then, in April 2002, the Food and Drug ...

Original Articles
385-394

In a study of 377 patients with newly acquired human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in 10 cities in North America, the prevalence of antiretroviral-drug resistance increased from 3.4 percent in 1995 through 1998 to 12.4 percent in 1999 through 2000. The frequency of multidrug resistance at presentation also increased, from 1.1 percent to 6.2 percent. After initial antiretroviral therapy was administered, it took longer to achieve viral suppression in those who were infected with resistant virus, and the time to virologic failure in these patients was shorter.

395-400

Intramuscular injection of botulinum toxin type A has been used to treat patients with spasticity after a stroke, but its efficacy remains uncertain. In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving patients with spasticity after a stroke, one-time injections of botulinum toxin A into wrist and finger muscles with high flexor tone reduced muscle tone and improved functional disability over a 12-week period. There were no major adverse effects of botulinum toxin injections.

401-407
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Classic cystic fibrosis is an autosomal recessive disorder that is caused by loss-of-function mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene. Clinical manifestations in the airways, pancreas, male reproductive tract, and sweat glands that resemble those occurring in classic cystic fibrosis have been observed in patients with mutations that reduce, but do not eliminate, the function of CFTR protein. This study included 30 patients who had no identifiable CFTR mutations and who had some features of cystic fibrosis but did not meet a clinical definition of classic cystic fibrosis. The authors conclude that this variant phenotype derives from factors other than mutations in the CFTR gene.

408-415

Invasive aspergillosis is a major infectious complication in patients with prolonged neutropenia and in transplant recipients, and for decades, amphotericin has been the standard treatment. This randomized, unblinded trial involving 391 patients compared voriconazole with amphotericin as the initial treatment for invasive aspergillosis. Those treated with voriconazole had a significantly better response rate and improved survival at 12 weeks (70.8 percent vs. 57.9 percent, P=0.02).

Images in Clinical Medicine
416
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Figure 1. A 54-year-old man with a long history of Crohn's disease presented with abdominal pain, low-grade fevers, fatigue, and pneumaturia. Several enterocutaneous fistulas as well as worsening of perianal disease had recently developed. Computed ...

Review Article
417-429

Clinical experience has suggested that Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis constitute distinct, if not discrete, entities. However, whether these conditions are fundamentally different or are part of a mechanistic continuum is a question with both conceptual and practical implications for management. This review summarizes current understanding of the mechanisms underlying the major forms of inflammatory bowel disease and discusses approaches to therapy.

Case Records of the Massachusetts General Hospital
430-436

Presentation of Case

A 48-year-old man was admitted to the Ambulatory Disease Service of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary because of severe chronic oral lesions.

For several years, the patient had taken ibuprofen because of pain in the back and ...

Editorials
438-439

In the resource-rich countries, a remarkable success story has emerged during the past decade in the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections. There has been strikingly reduced morbidity and mortality among patients treated with potent ...

439-442

    Cystic fibrosis is a heterogeneous recessive genetic disorder with pathobiologic features that reflect mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene. Classic cystic fibrosis reflects two loss-of-function mutations in the ...

    Correspondence
    443-445

    To the Editor: Studies of health care use after the September 11 terrorist attacks would complement surveys such as the one by Galea et al. (March 28 issue).1 We used the Electronic Surveillance System for the Early Notification of Community-based ...

    445-446

    To the Editor: Garrigue et al. (Feb. 7 issue)1 showed that atrial pacing resulted in a significant improvement in the frequency of apnea in patients being treated for bradyarrhythmia. We believe that this finding speaks both to the importance of ...

    446

    To the Editor: The impressive effects of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor STI571 (imatinib mesylate) in chronic myeloid leukemia were confirmed in the large trial by Kantarjian et al. (Feb. 28 issue).1 We would like to report a new side effect of the drug.

    ...

    446-448
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    To the Editor: In the review of celiac sprue by Farrell and Kelly (Jan. 17 issue),1 the suggested diagnostic approach and the information in Table 2 (positive and negative predictive values of diagnostic serologic tests) may be misleading. For ...

    448-449

    To the Editor: Johnson et al. (March 21 issue)1 address the mechanism of salt-sensitive hypertension but omit the most perplexing step: how sodium retention increases blood pressure. Figure 3 of their article shows an arrow from sodium retention to ...

    449-450

    To the Editor: We were disappointed that the use of pulsed high-dose dexamethasone in patients with chronic, refractory immune thrombocytopenic purpura was not mentioned in the review article on this condition by Cines and Blanchette (March 28 issue).1 ...

    450-452

    To the Editor: Dr. Tsai (March 28 issue)1 rightly questions the policy of excluding family members when resuscitation efforts are under way in an emergency room. However, she does not address several important issues. First, there are risks to the family ...

    452-453

    To the Editor: Treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) with fludarabine results in a higher remission rate and longer progression-free survival than do alkylating agents.1 Patients who have no response to fludarabine have a dismal prognosis, with ...

    Book Reviews
    454

    Headaches and migraines occur in a large proportion of children. Up to 10 percent of 5-to-15-year-olds have been reported to have migraines, and up to 28 percent of girls between the ages of 15 and 19 appear to have migraines. In addition, by the age of 5,...

    454-455

    This new textbook focuses on providing a “precise and practical” framework for the evaluation and treatment of abnormal nutritional states in infants in industrialized countries. Many traditional textbooks deal with abnormal nutritional states mainly from ...

    455-456

    This book is based on presentations at the third biennial International Forum on Pediatric Pain, held at White Point Beach, Nova Scotia, Canada, in September 2000. It covers topics ranging from hyperalgesia and allodynia models in rat pups to pain ...

    Correction
    458

    Pure Red-Cell Aplasia and Recombinant Erythropoietin Correspondence, N Engl J Med 2002:346;1584-1586.. On line 6 of the second paragraph of the response by Casadevall and Mayeux, the statement that “2 received Neorecormon exclusively” should have read “1 ...