Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to D Ashinsky.
Hemochromatosis is a multisystem disease caused by deposition of iron in tissues and organs. If the disease is discovered early, treatment with phlebotomy increases patient survival time. Because hemochromatosis may be inherited, family members of patients should be examined.
The physician's index of suspicion for infection with Listeria monocytogenes should be elevated if a patient presents with symptoms of meningitis and has impaired cell-mediated immunity. Although diagnosis is aided by detection of an elevated white blood cell count and protein level in the cerebrospinal fluid, it requires isolation of the organism from the cerebrospinal fluid. Appropriate antibiotic treatment leads to recovery in most cases.
Dyspnea is the most common symptom of primary pulmonary hypertension, an often fatal disease that has no apparent cause. Decreased cardiac output, congestive heart failure, and increased systemic venous pressure occur as the disease progresses. Use of oxygen therapy and vasodilators improves the prognosis in some patients. Those with little hope for long-term survival may benefit from heart and lung transplantation.
Eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome has been linked to ingestion of tryptophan, but the exact cause of this recently recognized syndrome is unclear. As in other reported cases, the disease in the patient described here developed while she was taking tryptophan. Although eosinophilia resolved following glucocorticoid therapy, the disease in this patient continues to progress.