BACKGROUND Medical thoracoscopy has received interest in recent past for diagnostic as well as therapeutic uses. In this study we describe our experience with diagnostic medical thoracoscopy in pleural effusions of undiagnosed etiology. OBJECTIVE 1.To detect diagnostic yield of medical thoracoscopy in pleural effusions of unknown etiology. 2.To find complication rate in these patients. METH...

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a unique tissue that is able to convert chemical energy directly into heat when activated by the sympathetic nervous system. While initially believed to be of relevance only in human newborns and infants, research during recent years provided unequivocal evidence of active BAT in human adults. Moreover, it has become clear that BAT plays an important role in insuli...

Pharmacological preparations of cannabinoid compounds have a variety of therapeutic uses in medicine, including different pain syndromes, but have not been previously reported as beneficial for cluster headache. We present a patient with cluster headache who was refractory to multiple acute and preventive medications but successfully aborted his attacks with recreational marijuana use; subseque...

BACKGROUND While much progress has been made in understanding stem cell (SC) function, a complete description of the molecular mechanisms regulating SCs is not yet established. This lack of knowledge is a major barrier holding back the discovery of therapeutic uses of SCs. We investigated the value of a novel meta-analysis of microarray gene expression in mouse SCs to aid the elucidation of reg...

The anti-inflammatory cytokines are a series of immunoregulatory molecules that control the proinflammatory cytokine response. Cytokines act in concert with specific cytokine inhibitors and soluble cytokine receptors to regulate the human immune response. Their physiologic role in inflammation and pathologic role in systemic inflammatory states are increasingly recognized. Major anti-inflammato...

Patient care consists of integrated domains of care, including medical care, nursing care, and pharmaceutical care. The provision of pharmaceutical care involves not only medication therapy but decisions about medication selection, dosages, routes and methods of administration, medication therapy monitoring, and the provision of medication-related information and counseling to individual patien...

BACKGROUND Botulinum neurotoxin treatment is the most common aesthetic procedure in the United States. A number of serotypes and formulations are available worldwide. Similarities and differences among these toxins were evaluated by reviewing the existing literature. METHODS Reports of botulinum neurotoxin for aesthetic use, published in peer-reviewed literature or presented at recent profess...

Uncontrolled proliferation is the hallmark of cancer and other proliferative disorders and abnormal cell cycle regulation is, therefore, common in these diseases. Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) play a crucial role in the control of the cell cycle and proliferation. These kinases are frequently deregulated in various cancers, viral infections, neurodegenerative diseases, ischemia and some proli...

Thalidomide currently is used to treat relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma. The drug also is being actively investigated in patients newly diagnosed with multiple myeloma. The therapeutic applications of thalidomide are expected to grow as clinical trials document its activity in treating other neoplastic disorders and diseases. Healthcare providers need to be well informed of its toxiciti...

IMPORTANCE OF THE FIELD The Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK pathway is often activated by genetic alterations in upstream signaling molecules. Integral components of this pathway such as Ras and B-Raf are also activated by mutation. The Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK pathway has profound effects on proliferative, apoptotic and differentiation pathways. This pathway can often be effectively silenced by MEK inhibitors. AREAS C...