Physical activity and reduced occurrence of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus

Article Abstract:

Non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) is a metabolic disease characterized by a decreased sensitivity of the body's tissues to the actions of the pancreatic hormone insulin, as well as impaired secretion of this hormone. NIDDM is associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease, vascular disease, kidney failure, and blindness. Important risk factors for the development of NIDDM are a family history and obesity. Physicians often advocate physical exercise for NIDDM patients to ameliorate the effects of this disease. To determine whether physical exercise has any effect in delaying or preventing the onset of NIDDM, 5,990 male alumni of the University of Pennsylvania (matriculating between the years of 1928 and 1947) completed two questionnaires separated by 14 years (1962 and 1976) concerning their lifestyle, family history, and health. Two hundred two respondents (3.4 percent) developed NIDDM. The incidence of NIDDM was inversely related to the amount of leisure-time physical activity (walking, stair climbing, and vigorous sports); the more active a subject was, the less likely that he would develop NIDDM. This association remained when statistical adjustment was made for obesity, high blood pressure (hypertension), and parental history of hypertension. The protective effect of exercise was most pronounced in those subjects at greatest risk for developing NIDDM, such as obese individuals (particularly those who had gained a large amount of weight since college), those with hypertension, or a family history of NIDDM. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Health aspects, Prevention, Obesity, Type 2 diabetes, Exercise

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A 49-year-old woman with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and severe dyspnea during plasmapheresis and transfusion

Article Abstract:

A woman was admitted to a hospital after suffering a stroke. During the medical examination, her doctors noticed small hemorrhages on her skin. Her blood platelet count was also very low and she was diagnosed with thrombocytopenic purpura. She received blood transfusions, but developed difficulty breathing. A chest X-ray revealed fluid in her lungs and she had to be placed on a ventilator. Her condition soon stabilized and she was removed from the ventilator. Her lung disease was attributed to the transfusion and she ultimately recovered.

Case studies, Blood transfusion, Thrombocytopenic purpura

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The pathogenesis of acute pulmonary edema associated with hypertension

Article Abstract:

Many patients with fluid in their lungs caused by hypertension may have diastolic heart failure, according to a study of 38 patients. During diastolic heart failure, the heart pumps enough blood but does not relax sufficiently in between contractions. This differs from systolic heart failure, which is caused by an inability to pump enough blood to support most organs.

Research, Heart failure, Complications

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