No abstract available.
Child* ; Humans

Osteoporosis, a disease characterized by low bone mass and microarchitectural deterioration of bone tissue leading to enhanced bone fragility and fracture risk, is a major public health problem. The diagnostic methods for osteoporosis include simple radiography, bone scan, DXA (Dual energy X-ray Absortiometry) and biochemical markers of bone turnover. Optimal treatment and prevention of osteoporosis require modification of risk factors, particularly smoking cessation, adequate physical activity, and attention to diet, in addition to pharmacologic intervention. The estrogens and raloxifene both prevent bone loss in postmenopausal women, and the estrogens probably also decrease the risk of first fracture. There is good evidence that raloxifene prevents further fractures in postmenopausal women who already have had fractures and some evidence that estrogen does as well. Bisphosphonate prevents bone loss and reduces fractures in healthy and osteoporotic postmenopausal women and in osteoporotic men as well. Risedronate is more potent and has fewer side effects than alendronate and reduces the incidence of fractures in osteoporotic women. Calcitonin increases bone mineral density in early postmenopausal women and men with idiopathic osteoporosis, and also reduces the risk of new fractures in osteoporotic women. All of the agents discussed above prevent bone resorption, whereas teriparatide and strontium increase bone formation and are effective in the treatment of osteoporotic women and men. New avenues for targeting osteoporosis will emerge as our knowledge of the regulatory mechanisms of bone remodeling increases, although issues of tissue specificity may remain to be addressed.
Absorptiometry, Photon ; Alendronate ; Biomarkers ; Bone and Bones ; Bone Density ; Bone Remodeling ; Bone Resorption ; Calcitonin ; Diet ; Estrogens ; Etidronic Acid ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Motor Activity ; Organ Specificity ; Osteogenesis ; Osteoporosis ; Public Health ; Raloxifene Hydrochloride ; Risk Factors ; Smoking Cessation ; Strontium ; Teriparatide ; Risedronate Sodium

No abstract available.
Fluoroimmunoassay* ; Immunoenzyme Techniques*

The development of tophi in th absence of prior episodes of gauty arthritis is unusual. We report a case of extensive tophi in a 31 year-old man, whose initial skin lesion had started without arthritis.
Adult ; Arthritis ; Gout* ; Humans ; Skin

No abstract available.
Cholesterol* ; Granuloma* ; Temporal Bone*

No abstract available.

PURPOSE: Allelic loss on chromosome 18q is a hallmark of presence of a tummor represser gene. Recently, DPC4 (deleted in pancreatic carcinoma, locus 4), a candidate tumor suppressor gene, has been localized at 18q21. Inactivation of DPC4 gene was reported in pancreatic carcinomas, coloretal carcinomas, and prostatic carcinomas. The aim of the present study was to determine if it might be altered in stomach cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We tested for DPC4 gene mutations and allelic status at 18q21 using a modified 'cold SSCP' method in 48 primary gastric carcinoma and correlated the findings with various clinicopathologic characteristics of the patients. RESULTS: The frequency of mutations in primary gastric cancer was 27.1% (13/48). Mutations of exon 1, 8, 10 were found in 2 (4.1%), 4 (8.2%) and 7 cases (14.6%), respectively. DNA sequencing of 13 cases with DPC4 mutations identified six cases (46.1%) with substitution, four cases with deletion (30.7%), and two cases (23.1%) with insertion. No significant difference was observed in the frequency of DPC4 mutations in terms of other various clinicopathologic characteristics. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that DPC4 mutations may play a significant role in the establishment and progression of the primary gastric cancer.
Exons ; Genes, Tumor Suppressor ; Humans* ; Loss of Heterozygosity ; Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Stomach Neoplasms* ; Stomach*

No abstract available.
Eyelids* ; Sarcoidosis* ; Skin

No abstract available.
Animals ; Calcium ; Rats* ; Urinary Bladder*

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of oral Tamoxifen only versus L-Carnitine plus Tamoxifen in patients with Peyronie's disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All 45 patients with Peyronie's disease, diagnosed using accepted definitions, were randomized into two groups and treated for 3 months with Tamoxifen only(40 mg/day)(n=17) or a combination ofL-Carnitine(2 g/day) and Tamoxifen(40 mg/day)(n=28). A medical history was obtained, and a physical examination was performed. Plaque size, pain, erectile function(IIEF score), and penile curvature were assessed. Both before and after therapy, the differences between the 2 groups were compared using independent-sample t-test with p<0.05 considered significant. RESULTS: The mean age of the 45 patients was 52.1 years, and no severe adverse events occurred in either group. In the Tamoxifen only group, the mean decrease of plaque-length was 0.46+/-0.88 mm, and mean reduction in the pain rating scale was 0.44+/-0.53. In the L-Carnitine and Tamoxifen group, mean decrease of plaque-length was 1.57+/-0.92 mm, and mean reduction in the pain rating scale was 1.27+/-0.96. Based on IIEF scores, the improvement of erectile function was 0.88+/-0.64 in the Tamoxifen only group and 1.56+/-0.75 in the L-Carnitine and Tamoxifen group. The degree of penile curvature was also measured, and the reduction of curvature angle was 9.17+/-4.92 degrees in the Tamoxifen only group and 9.55+/-6.50 degrees in the L-Carnitine and Tamoxifen group. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed significantly greater improvements in plaque size, pain, erectile function, and curvature in patients with Peyronie's disease who were treated with L-Carnitine and Tamoxifen compared with those treated with Tamoxifen only.
Carnitine* ; Humans ; Male ; Penile Induration* ; Physical Examination ; Tamoxifen*