Gene therapy in humans: a new era begins

Article Abstract:

Gene therapy is a revolutionary new method of treating certain hereditary disorders. It consists of the introduction of genetic material into a patient through some intermediary, such as a blood cell, with specific genes incorporated in it. In September of 1990, a young girl with an inherited immune deficiency received her own blood cells that had been altered to include the genes that were not functioning in her. Thus far, her progress has been good, and a second patient has been similarly treated. The introduction of these genes took place after a virus was altered to contain the genes in question, and then inserted into the patient's own cells, essentially infecting them. Experimental studies are exploring the possibility of inserting the genetic material without the virus intermediary. The research currently underway to map the human genome, the genetic material of humans, will help to understand the limits and possibilities of gene therapy. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Methods, Gene therapy, editorial

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Myocardial stunning after electroconvulsive therapy

Article Abstract:

Labetalol may prevent myocardial stunning after electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Labetalol is used to treat high blood pressure, and myocardial stunning refers to a reversible dysfunction of the heart muscle. The first reported case of myocardial stunning as a complication of ECT involves A 77-year-old woman with no prior history of heart disease who underwent ECT for major depression. A electrocardiogram (ECG) taken before ECT was normal but one taken immediately after was abnormal, and the heart muscle was dysfunctional for four days following treatment. Despite preventative nitrate therapy, myocardial stunning occurred again when the patient repeated ECT six months later. Before the third ECT session, the patient received labetalol and no myocardial stunning was observed. The patient was given labetalol during the following five ECT sessions and had no complications, suggesting labetalol may be effective in preventing myocardial stunning associated with ECT.

Complications and side effects, Physiological aspects, Electroconvulsive therapy, Electroshock, Heart muscle, Myocardium, Labetalol

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Whether albumin therapy improves or worsens survival of critically ill patients is not known

Article Abstract:

Intravenous albumin does not appear to benefit critically ill patients, according to researchers who reviewed 55 studies covering 3,504 patients. Albumin is a protein that occurs naturally in the blood, but supplemental albumin is often given to critically ill patients to increase abnormally low blood volume, blood proteins, or blood pressure.

Care and treatment, Critically ill, Albumin

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