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April 29, 2004  Vol. 350 No. 18

Perspective
1811-1812

In this issue of the Journal, Osterholm and Norgan (pages 1898–1901) present a convincing argument that physicians and other health care professionals, as health advocates, should also be advocates for the irradiation of foods to prevent the transmission ...

1812-1814

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the first successful kidney transplantation from a living donor to his identical twin. Over the ensuing five decades, kidney transplantation has progressed from an experimental procedure to a widely accepted ...

1814-1816

Clinical medicine is in the midst of a revolution that is being driven by an increasing understanding of the human genome and advances in molecular biotechnology. This revolution promises to transform clinical practice from population-based risk ...

1817-1818

Pancreatic beta cells, the insulin-releasing cells of the islets of Langerhans, are electrically excitable cells. They sense fluctuations in the plasma glucose concentration and convert the signal into a change in electrical activity that modulates ...

Original Articles
1819-1827

In this large, multicenter, randomized trial comparing laparoscopic mesh and open mesh repair of inguinal hernias, men randomly assigned to laparoscopic repair had a higher rate of recurrence at two years and a higher rate of complications than those assigned to open repair. Subgroup analyses revealed a significantly higher recurrence rate after laparoscopic repair than after open repair of primary hernias (the majority of the hernias studied), but not of recurrent hernias.

1828-1837

The expression of 36 genes that have been linked to the outcomes in diffuse large-B-cell lymphoma was studied with the use of real-time polymerase chain reaction in biopsy specimens of the lymphoma. The pattern of expression of a group of 6 of the 36 genes correlated significantly with survival.

1838-1849

This study shows that some patients with permanent neonatal diabetes have an activating mutation in the gene encoding Kir6.2, a subunit of the ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channel. Such mutations are predicted to reduce membrane depolarization in response to ATP and thereby insulin secretion from pancreatic beta cells. Three patients with mutant Kir6.2 secreted insulin in response to a sulfonylurea, which stimulates insulin secretion independently of ATP, suggesting a strategy for treatment.

1850-1861

Protease-sparing regimens are often used in the initial treatment of HIV-1 infection. This double-blind trial was stopped after an interim analysis showed poorer virologic responses with the triple-nucleoside-analogue regimen of zidovudine, lamivudine, and abacavir than with regimens containing efavirenz, a nonnucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitor, plus two or three nucleoside analogues.

Review Articles
1862-1871

Fibromuscular dysplasia is a noninflammatory process that may be difficult to distinguish from vasculitis. It develops in the middle and distal arterial segments, and especially in younger patients, it may cause renovascular hypertension, stroke, and cranial-nerve palsies. Treatment increasingly involves the use of percutaneous angioplasty.

1872-1880

    This survey of the cellular and anatomical sites of infection by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) discusses the mechanisms of attachment of the virus to cells, the cellular receptors through which the virus enters cells, and the all-important reservoir of HIV, which persists despite antiretroviral therapy.

    Images in Clinical Medicine
    1881
    • Free Full Text

    A 53-year-old woman was admitted because of progressive right-sided hemiparesis and aphasia. A computed tomographic (CT) scan of the brain revealed a space-occupying supratentorial lesion. A biopsy through a burr hole led to the histologic diagnosis of ...

    e16
    • Free Full Text

    A 47-year-old man had respiratory failure complicating pneumonia. Mechanical ventilation with positive end-expiratory pressure was initiated.

    Case Records of the Massachusetts General Hospital
    1882-1893

      A 66-year-old man developed progressive left-sided weakness over a two-month period. He was a renal-transplant recipient and had alcoholic cirrhosis, diabetes, and coronary artery disease. Magnetic resonance imaging studies showed, on T2-weighted images, a hyperintense lesion in the left frontal white matter, which gradually enlarged. New lesions developed in the right frontal area and brain stem. A diagnostic procedure was performed.

      Editorial
      1895-1897

      An abdominal-wall hernia occurs when the abdominal contents protrude through a congenital or acquired defect in the supportive tissues. Although hernias can develop in many locations, including areas weakened by surgical incisions, they are most commonly ...

      Sounding Board
      1898-1901

        Foodborne disease leads to about 325,000 hospitalizations and 5000 deaths each year in the United States. The irradiation of food could sharply reduce the incidence of foodborne disease, but currently it is rarely performed. This article examines the reasons for the slow growth in the use of food irradiation. Like pasteurization, irradiation is an effective strategy to improve food safety.

        Clinical Implications of Basic Research
        1902-1903

        A recent study shows that the mouse 12/15-lipoxygenase gene contributes to variation in bone mass and that inhibiting its protein product results in increased bone mineral density and strength.

        Correspondence
        1904-1905

        To the Editor: Gibot et al. (Jan. 29 issue)1 state that in mechanically ventilated patients, detection of soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells (sTREM-1) may be useful for diagnosing or ruling out bacterial pneumonia. The 148 patients ...

        1906

        To the Editor: Domené et al. (Feb. 5 issue)1 describe a boy with homozygous inactivation of the IGFALS gene, which encodes the acid-labile subunit (ALS) of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) who had delayed puberty and moderate growth impairment. ...

        1906-1908

        To the Editor: We would like to comment on the definitions and classification used in the comprehensive review of the Budd–Chiari syndrome by Menon et al. (Feb. 5 issue).1 Agreement on a uniform nomenclature is an essential requirement for clinical ...

        1908-1910

        To the Editor: Greene and Ecker's interesting exploration of difficulties in risk–benefit analyses with regard to therapeutic abortions (Jan. 8 issue)1 is, unfortunately, flawed by the use of disparate comparisons. For example, they cite sources that use ...

        1910-1912

        To the Editor: We suggest two additions to the list of challenges facing the innovative “payment-for-performance” initiatives described by Epstein et al. (Jan. 22 issue).1 Current payment-for-performance programs focus on underused services such as ...

        1912

        To the Editor: Mello et al. (Feb. 5 issue)1 describe initiatives to control states' expenditures for drugs, including multiple mechanisms for forcing physicians to obtain approval to prescribe drugs. Physicians working to provide appropriate treatment ...

        1912-1913

        To the Editor: In our review article (Aug. 1, 2002, issue),1 we provided an algorithm for the treatment of pit-viper envenomations with Crotalidae Polyvalent Immune Fab — Ovine (CroFab, Protherics). We now must express our concern that treatment based on ...

        1914-1915

        To the Editor: Low-molecular-weight heparin remains the anticoagulant of choice for pregnant women with previous thromboembolic events. Fondaparinux (Arixtra, Sanofi-Synthelabo) is a chemically synthesized derivative of the natural pentasaccharide ...

        Book Reviews
        1916-1917

        Marton Lanyi, whose career is filled with important contributions to mammographic diagnosis based on insight, fascinating case material, and elegant histopathologic correlation of imaging findings, has written Mammography: Diagnosis and Pathological ...

        1917

        “There had to be a very special reason for doctors to agree to spend their nights in a laboratory observing the brain waves of a sleeping person.” So Peretz Lavie writes in Restless Nights, his authoritative, highly readable, and personal narrative of the ...

        1918

        Until recently, most children with congenital heart disease (corrected or uncorrected) did not survive past childhood or adolescence. As a result, general internists or cardiologists trained to care for adults had little, if any, need to be knowledgeable ...