Fractional flow reserve (FFR) is a measure of the functional significance of a coronary stenosis. In this study, the use of FFR, as compared with angiography alone, in guiding the placement of coronary stents resulted in the use of fewer stents and better clinical outcomes.

It is known that the use of typical antipsychotic agents (e.g., haloperidol) is associated with an increased risk of sudden cardiac death. This study shows that the same association applies to the newer atypical antipsychotic agents (e.g., risperidone) and is dose-related.

Among couples undergoing up to six cycles of in vitro fertilization (IVF) at one large infertility center, the overall live-birth rate was 72% with an optimistic analysis (assuming that women lost to follow-up had the same chance of pregnancy as women who continued treatment) and 51% with a conservative analysis (assuming that there were no live births among women lost to follow-up). These rates decreased significantly with increasing maternal age.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is an important cause of bacterial meningitis. Since the introduction of the heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine PCV7, rates of pneumococcal meningitis have decreased substantially in the United States, from 1.13 cases to 0.79 case per 100,000 persons between 1998–1999 and 2004–2005; rates of disease from serotypes covered by the vaccine decreased the most, and rates from those not covered increased.

In this open-label, nonrandomized trial, Latino and non-Latino white patients with chronic hepatitis C (genotype 1) were treated with peginterferon alfa-2a and ribavirin for 48 weeks. The sustained virologic response rate was lower among Latino patients than among non-Latino patients (33% vs. 49%). The difference in response was not explained by differences in adherence to treatment or in baseline characteristics of the patients.

This review emphasizes the participation of estrogen and inflammation in the development of endometriosis. A feedback cycle in which prostaglandins and aromatase activity are prominent allows for the persistence of endometriotic tissue. Knowledge of this cycle has important implications for the treatment of endometriosis.

A 25-year-old man was transferred to the emergency department of this hospital because of pain and swelling of the right hand and hypotension. His hand was mottled and swollen, with a black eschar on the dorsum, and soft-tissue swelling extended up the proximal forearm. Vigorous fluid resuscitation and norepinephrine were required for hemodynamic support.

Molecules that are involved in the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and that are known to promote metastasis also have a role in oncogenesis.

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