Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to A Thanos.
Abnormal connections between the ascending aorta and the cardiac chambers are rare. Most are due to ruptured aneurysms of the sinus of Valsalva. Congenital fistulae between the aorta and left atrium are described. We report a case of native tricuspid valve endocarditis associated with a fistula between the right atrium and the aorta.
Decomposition of the pesticide methidathion on and in soultanina (Thomson seedless) grapes was studied. Vines, uncovered and covered were sprayed with the pesticide. Samples were collected and analyzed in regular time intervals. Two lots were collected, the first of them, 2 h after spraying and the second 20 days later, and were stored in a commercial refrigerated room. Degradation of the pesticide was studied for about 50 days for the grapes on the vines and 130 days for the grapes stored in the refrigerated room. The half-life of the pesticide methidathion was found to be 5 days for the uncovered vines, 7 days for the covered vines and 64 days for the grapes stored in the refrigerator.
A case-control study of prostate cancer (PC) was undertaken in Athens, Greece. Cases were 320 patients with histologically confirmed incident disease, whereas controls were 246 patients without history or symptomatology of benign prostatic hyperplasia, treated in the same hospitals as the cases for minor diseases or conditions. Cases and controls had similar distributions with respect to height, body mass index, sibship size and birth order in the parental family, marital status and number of offspring in the subject's own family and a long series of previous surgical operations and medical diagnoses, including diabetes mellitus, hepatitis and sexually transmitted diseases. There was also no evidence for a positive association between vertex baldness, tobacco smoking and drinking of coffee or alcoholic beverages, on the one hand, and PC, on the other. There was evidence, however, that some aspect of urban life may increase the risk for PC and a suggestion that sexual activity in early adulthood may be inversely associated with this risk.
In this paper we present the principles of a new platform developed for handling ECG signals in a telemedicine setting. We focus on three basic services: an ECG file management system (acquisition, storage, transmission); ECG-oriented teleconferencing; and realtime transmission of ECGs over the telephone network. This work has been carried out in the context of national and EU-sponsored projects. Its main purpose was to help patients from remote or isolated areas, like small islands, with insufficient health-care services, to get appropriate and experienced medical care directly from large central hospitals. We present the design and the basic operations of the ECG handling system.
Twelve consecutive patients with carcinoma in situ (CIS) and 17 with T1G3 transitional cell cancer of the bladder were given intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) therapy after transurethral resection of all visible lesions. BCG (150 mg in 50 ml normal saline) was given once weekly for 12 weeks and then once monthly for 6 months. The median follow-up was 2.5 years in the CIS group and 3 years in the T1G3 group, with cystoscopy, cytology and random biopsies performed every 3 months. Two of the 12 CIS tumours relapsed, with stage progression (T2G3). Of the 17 T1G3 transitional cell cancers, two relapsed with Ta-1, G1-2 and four progressed to T2-3G3 requiring cystectomy (3) or irradiation (1). One of these four patients died of metastatic disease. BCG therapy thus was effective in preventing progression CIS, but less useful for such purpose in T1G3 transitional cell tumours, for which it cannot be recommended as standard treatment.
We report on 3 patients with the rare syndrome of diabetes insipidus, diabetes mellitus, optic atrophy, neurosensory deafness, atony of the urinary tract and other abnormalities (DIDMOAD or Wolfram's syndrome). All 3 patients had diabetes mellitus, optic atrophy, deafness and dilatation of the urinary tract. In 2 patients there was diabetes insipidus. The possibility of anatomical outlet obstruction or a neurogenic bladder was eliminated radiologically and urodynamically, and dilatation of the urinary tract was considered to be either a consequence of high diuresis associated with diabetes insipidus or a degenerative process affecting the central and peripheral nervous system, which can explain all of the manifestations of the syndrome except diabetes mellitus. A significant improvement in bilateral urinary tract distention was achieved by bladder drainage in the first 2 cases, while desmopressin therapy dramatically decreased the daily urinary output.
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We report on 8 patients who presented with acute abdominal pain, palpable mass and a rapid decrease in hemoglobin. Intravenous pyelogram, ultrasound and computed tomography had been performed but the underlying cause of the perirenal hematoma couldn't be detected. Surgical exploration was decided and 6 total and 2 partial nephrectomies were performed. The pathological report revealed 4 adenocarcinomas and 4 angiomyolipomas. The possibility of spontaneous rupture of the kidney in the evaluation of cases of acute abdomen is particularly stressed.
We report on 5 patients who presented with acute onset of abdominal pain, a palpable mass, and a rapid decrease in hemoglobin. All 5 patients had been entirely free of urological symptoms until shortly before hospitalization. Spontaneous rupture of a kidney with an underlying pathological condition was found in all cases. In 2 cases the underlying lesion was renal cell carcinoma, while in the other 3 cases the lesion was a renal angiomyolipoma, a polycystic kidney and hydronephrosis secondary to UPJ obstruction, respectively. The importance of considering the possibility of spontaneous rupture of the kidney in the evaluation of cases of an acute abdomen is stressed.
Three cases of vesicouterine fistuli secondary to cesarean section are reported. The first 2 cases presented as vaginal urinary incontinence and cyclic hematuria, whereas the last case presented as bloody urinary loss from the vagina in the immediate postoperative period. The treatment was surgical in the former 2 cases and conservative in the latter case. The literature is briefly reviewed, and the treatment options are discussed.
One hundred patients suffering from cancer of the bladder were treated by external beam irradiation, 400 cGy twice a week to a total dose of 4800 cGy. One half of the patients were randomized to receive the electron affinic sensitizer agent, misonidazole, at a dose of 1 gr/m2 and a total dose of 12 gr/m2. There was no statistically significant difference in tumor responses and in recurrence--free survival time between the patients who received irradiation and misonidazole as compared to those who received irradiation and placebos.
A patient developed a spontaneous communication between the left kidney pelvis and the descending colon following a lithiasic pyonephrosis. Signs of sepsis were present and diagnosis was based on urological findings only. Treatment consisted of left nephrectomy combined with a colectomy and an end-to-end anastomosis of the large intestine. The published literature is reviewed.