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Biomedical subjects

Gideon Y Stein

Publications and source records attributed to Gideon Y Stein.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

Trends in admissions to internal medicine wards in a community hospital in Israel.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological studies are useful both for investigating possible etiologic factors and for determining the extent of health provisions required. In an attempt to improve the quality of care, we have analyzed the trends of admissions to the four internal medicine wards in a community hospital in Israel. METHODS: Data was collected on admission to all of the internal medicine wards of Hasharon Hospital, Rabin Medical Center, Petach-Tikva, Israel, from 1999 to 2004, including discharge diagnosis, duration of stay, and mortality. The data source was the "Bina" data warehouse system of Clalit Health Services. RESULTS: The yearly admission rate was 10,482+/-386. Ninety-six percent of the admissions were of Jews and 3% were of Arabs. Most of the patients were older than 75 years (43.1%); 23.6% were between 65 and 74 years of age. The readmission rate was 7.4% within 1 week and 16.3% within 1 month. The three most common discharge diagnoses, not including pre-existing illnesses, were: coronary artery disease-related (21.9%), heart failure (5.4%), and pneumonia (5.6%). The average duration of stay was 4.6+/-0.1 days. Patients admitted for newly diagnosed malignancy, pneumonia, or CVA had a longer duration of stay (7.1, 6.8, and 6.5 days, respectively). There was a steady decline in mortality from 4.5% in 1999 to 4.2% in 2004. CONCLUSION: In the 5-year period studied, there was a changing trend in mortality rate, hospital duration rate, and patient age.

Journal Article↗

In vivo direct molecular imaging of early tumorigenesis and malignant progression induced by transgenic expression of GFP-Met.

The tyrosine kinase receptor Met and its ligand, hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF), play an important role in normal developmental processes, as well as in tumorigenicity and metastasis. We constructed a green fluorescent protein (GFP) Met chimeric molecule that functions similarly to the wild-type Met receptor and generated GFP-Met transgenic mice. These mice ubiquitously expressed GFP-Met in specific epithelial and endothelial cells and displayed enhanced GFP-Met fluorescence in sebaceous glands. Thirty-two percent of males spontaneously developed adenomas, adenocarcinomas, and angiosarcomas in their lower abdominal sebaceous glands. Approximately 70% of adenocarcinoma tumors metastasized to the kidneys, lungs, or liver. Quantitative subcellular-resolution intravital imaging revealed very high levels of GFP-Met in tumor lesions and in single isolated cells surrounding them, relative to normal sebaceous glands. These single cells preceded the formation of local and distal metastases. Higher GFP-Met levels correlated with earlier tumor onset and aggressiveness, further demonstrating the role of Met-HGF/SF signaling in cellular transformation and acquisition of invasive and metastatic phenotypes. Our novel mouse model and high-resolution intravital molecular imaging create a powerful tool that enables direct real-time molecular imaging of receptor expression and localization during primary events of tumorigenicity and metastasis at single-cell resolution.

Animals↗

HGF/SF increases tumor blood volume: a novel tool for the in vivo functional molecular imaging of Met.

Molecular functional and metabolic imaging allows visualization of disease-causing processes in living organisms. Here we present a new approach for the functional molecular imaging (FMI) of endogenous tyrosine kinase receptor activity using Met and its ligand, hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF), as a model. HGF/SF and Met play significant roles in the biology and pathogenesis of a wide variety of cancers and, therefore, may serve as potential targets for cancer prognosis and therapy. We have previously shown that Met activation by HGF/SF increases oxygen consumption in vitro and results in substantial alteration of blood oxygenation levels in vivo, as measured by blood oxygenation level-dependent magnetic resonance imaging. Using contrast medium (CM) ultrasound imaging, we demonstrate here that HGF/SF induces an increase in tumor blood volume. This increase is evident in small vessels, including vessels that were not detected before HGF/SF treatment. The specificity of the effect was validated by its inhibition using anti-HGF/SF antibodies. This change in tumor hemodynamics, induced by HGF/SF and measured by CM ultrasound, is further used as a tool for Met FMI in tumors. This novel noninvasive molecular imaging technique may be applied for the in vivo diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy of Met-expressing tumors.

Animals↗

Resting anal pressure following hemorrhoidectomy and lateral sphincterotomy.

PURPOSE: The role of high anal pressure in the pathophysiology of hemorrhoids and anal fissures is debated. We compared resting anal pressures following left lateral sphincterotomy and hemorrhoidectomy in a prospective manometric study with emphasis on the recovery of the internal anal sphincter activity. METHODS: Included in the study were 38 patients with third-degree or fourth-degree symptomatic hemorrhoids who underwent hemorrhoidectomy, 50 patients with anal fissure who underwent sphincterotomy, and 12 healthy patients who served as controls. All patients with anal fissure or hemorrhoids underwent periodic manometric evaluation: 1 month before surgery and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery. The control group had three manometric evaluations 6 months apart. RESULTS: Baseline pressure measurement in the fissure group was significantly higher than in the hemorrhoid group, which was significantly higher than in the control group (138 +/- 28.4 mmHg vs. 108.4 +/- 23 mmHg vs. 73 +/- 5.9 mmHg, P < 0.0001). Twelve months after surgery, anal resting pressure remained significantly lower than the baseline measurements in both the fissure (110 +/- 18.2 vs. 138 +/- 28.4, P < 0.0001) and hemorrhoid groups (103.6 +/- 21.5 vs. 108 +/- 23, P < 0.0001), but both remained higher than the control group (103.6 +/- 21.5 mmHg vs. 73 +/- 5.9 mmHg, P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Resting pressure is elevated in hemorrhoid and anal fissure patients. After surgery the anal resting pressure is reduced but is still higher than in the control group. Further studies are required to investigate the protective effect of postsurgical reduction of anal resting pressure against recurrence.

Adult↗

Internal anal sphincter function following lateral internal sphincterotomy for anal fissure: a long-term manometric study.

BACKGROUND: Anal fissure is a common and painful disorder. Its relation to hypertonic anal sphincter is controversial. The most common surgical treatment of chronic anal fissure is lateral internal sphincterotomy. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate long-term manometric results of sphincter healing following lateral internal sphincterotomy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between 2000 and 2003, 50 patients with anal fissure were included in this study and underwent sphincterotomy; 12 healthy patients served as controls. All patients with anal fissure underwent manometric evaluation using a 6-channel perfusion catheter. All patients were examined 1 month before surgery and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months following surgery. The control group had 3 manometric evaluations 6 months apart. RESULTS: The mean basal resting pressure before surgery was 138 +/- 28 mm Hg. One month after surgery, the pressure dropped to 86 +/- 15 mm Hg (P < 0.0001) and gradually rose to a plateau at 12 months (110 +/- 18 mm Hg, P < 0.0001). At 12 months, the manometric pressure was significantly lower than the baseline (P < 0.0001). However, manometric measurements in the fissure group were still significantly higher than in the control group (110 +/- 18 versus 73 +/- 4.8 mm Hg, P < 0.0001). All patients were free of symptoms at the 12-month follow-up. CONCLUSION: Lateral internal sphincterotomy caused a significant decline in the resting anal pressure. During the first year following surgery, the tone of the internal anal sphincter gradually increased, indicating recovery, but still remained significantly lower than before surgery. However, postoperative resting pressures were higher than those in the control, and no patient suffered any permanent problems with incontinence, so this decrease may not be clinically significant.

Adult↗

PET-CT imaging of combined brachial and lumbosacral neurolymphomatosis.

Neurolymphomatosis is a rare manifestation of progressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. A 44-yr-old man with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma presented with unilateral progressive peripheral sensorimotor neuropathy after the 7th cycle of R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone) therapy. No pathology in the nervous system was evident by computerized tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head, spinal axis and plexuses and by repeated analysis of cerebrospinal fluid. However, the hybrid modality of positron emission tomography (PET) of fluorinated deoxyglucose (FDG) combined with CT scan (PET-CT) showed unilateral involvement of both the brachial and lumbosacral nervous plexuses. A complete recovery of neurological manifestations and normalization of PET-CT followed intensive chemotherapy with autologous stem cell transplantation. The diagnosis and localization of neurolymphomatosis may be supported by PET-CT imaging.

Adult↗

[Acute hepatic failure as a presenting sign of breast carcinoma].

Acute liver failure is most commonly caused by either viral infections or drug toxicity. The liver is a common site of metastatic spread of cancer. Nevertheless, metastatic carcinoma of the breast is a rare cause of acute hepatic failure and only 0.44% of cases with fulminant liver failure are manifestations of malignancy, mostly hematological. There are very few reports of acute liver failure due to breast cancer and the prognosis in these cases is bad. This is a case history of a young patient with acute hepatic failure as a presenting symptom for metastatic breast carcinoma, which deteriorated rapidly to a fatal outcome. This case is unique, since only one of 7 cases published so far has no prior breast malignancy history and thus should accentuate the sometimes evasive, yet often fatal nature of advanced breast cancer in women.

Adult↗

Treatment of resistant thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura with rituximab and cyclophosphamide.

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is an uncommon acquired disease in adults, especially young women, characterized by fever, neurologic manifestations, microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, and renal dysfunction. Treatment with plasmapheresis has increased the survival rate from 10% to greater than 90%. Still, a subset of patients with resistant TTP fail to respond to plasmapheresis or remain dependent on this procedure. We report such a patient who was successfully treated with rituximab and cyclophosphamide. She has now been disease free for more than 6 months. This novel treatment modality for TTP has been described for only a few patients. A well-controlled clinical trial is warranted to determine the role and place of this therapeutic approach in the management of TTP.

Adult↗