A 64-year-man with cranial-nerve palsies and a positive test for antinuclear cytoplasmic antibodies

Article Abstract:

A 64-year-old man was admitted to a hospital with chronic sinusitis and headache, facial weakness and hearing loss on the right side of his head. CT scans of his head showed destruction of the right temporal bone, which makes up the temples. Tests of blood and cerebrospinal samples revealed no evidence of bacterial or fungal infection. His physicians suspected some type of vasculitis, which is an inflammation of blood vessels. He had tested positive for antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA), which is characteristic of these disorders. A biopsy of his facial sinuses revealed that he had a type of vasculitis called Wegener's granulomatosis.

Diagnosis, Wegener's granulomatosis

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The X Factor

Article Abstract:

Information technology may revolutionize communications between doctors and their patients. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan described information technology as the "X factor" which may explain the continued growth of the US economy. Intel Chairman Andrew Grove, diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1990, explores the impact of information technology, such as email and the Internet, on the practice of medicine. Doctors and patients can exchange questions and answers by electronic mail, patients can research diseases on the Internet, and medical personnel can exchange patient information rapidly and electronically.

Social aspects, Column, Information technology, Physician and patient, Physician-patient relations, Beliefs, opinions and attitudes, Information services, Grove, Andrew S.

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Clearing the cornea with nerve growth factor

Article Abstract:

Nerve growth factor may effectively heal neurotrophic corneal ulcers, an eye disease caused by loss of nerve function which can lead to vision loss. Nerve growth factor may not only stimulate the growth of nerve fibers in the cornea, but may also promote the growth of corneal cells. As such, it may be useful in corneal ulcers caused by herpes simplex infection, other infectious organisms, and those which result from contact lens use.

Editorial, Physiological aspects, Cornea, Nerve growth factor, Corneal ulcers

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