The American Journal of the Medical Sciences

Our medical research library holds 9 studies published in The American Journal of the Medical Sciences (1965–2023). Each entry links to the study's record on PubMed and, where there is one, to the publisher's page and a free full text. 6 have an abstract, the authors' own summary as PubMed records it: open "Abstract" to read it. For 1 study PubMed has no abstract for, we give the abstract printed in the article or, where there is none, a summary we wrote from it, each labeled as such.

About the journal

• Publisher: Elsevier
• Published: 1827 to the present, United States
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0002-9629 (print), 1538-2990 (electronic)
• Continues: Philadelphia Journal of the Medical and Physical Sciences
• Absorbed: Philadelphia Monthly Journal of Medicine and Surgery
• Absorbed: American Medical Recorder
• Its record in the NLM Catalog

2020s

• Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma. C.P. Chun, L.X. Song, H.P. Zhang, et al. 2023;365(1):99-103. Case report · Review PubMed · Publisher

  Abstract

  Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare, life-threatening malignant tumor. We present a report of a rare case of a 67-year-old male patient with MPM and severe abdominal pain, bloating, and bloody ascites as manifestations. The diagnosis was confirmed by cytology of ascites aspiration fluid and further verified by laparoscopic exploratory biopsy. The characteristics of signs and clinical manifestations in this case are less common. As everyone knows, asbestos exposure is usually associated with pleural mesothelioma, but only 6%-10% of malignant mesothelioma cases originate from the peritoneum, which is far less than pleural mesothelioma. Generally, its non-specificity provides a huge challenge to medical professionals in its diagnosis, and this is also the main reason for delayed diagnosis. Patients should be vigilant, even though no clear risk factor is observed.

  Copyright © 2022 Southern Society for Clinical Investigation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

2010s

• The Effects of Pleural Plaques on Longitudinal Lung Function in Vermiculite Miners of Libby, Montana. K.A. Clark, J.J. Flynn, W.J.J. Karmaus, et al. 2017;353(6):533-542. PubMed · Publisher

  Abstract

  Background: This study was conducted to assess associations of pleural plaques (PP) and longitudinal lung function in vermiculite miners of Libby, Montana who are occupationally exposed to asbestos. High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) was used to identify asbestos-related findings in former Libby vermiculite miners. We investigated annual lung function decline in miners with PP only and compared them to miners with normal HRCT findings.

  Materials And Methods: HRCTs from 128 miners were categorized into the following 4 diagnostic groups: (1) normal computed tomography scan (n = 9); (2) PP only (n = 72); (3) PP and interstitial fibrosis (n = 26) and (4) additional HRCT abnormalities (n = 21) such as rounded atelectasis, diffuse pleural thickening, pleural effusions or pulmonary nodules or tumor >1cm in diameter. Random intercept and slope linear mixed-effect regression models identified differences in lung function decline between miners with asbestos-associated outcomes and those with normal HRCT. Models were adjusted for follow-up time, body mass index, smoking status, latent exposure period and employment years. Interactions for smoking status with age and smoking status with pleural plaque severity were examined.

  Results: Miners with PP only did not have an accelerated decline in lung function between 40 and 80 years. Miners with PP and additional HRCT abnormalities displayed significantly accelerated declines in forced expiratory volume in 1 second and diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide (P = 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively). Plaque severity did not affect lung function decline. However, smokers with extensive plaques displayed accelerated loss in diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide and forced expiratory volume in 1 second when compared to nonsmoking miners with mild plaque formation.

  Conclusions: PP alone did not significantly affect lung function decline in vermiculite miners of Libby, Montana.

  Published by Elsevier Inc.

• Missed opportunities to counsel patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma about causation and potential compensation. W.G. Kuschner, R. Varma, R. Flores, et al. 2012;343(3):206-9. PubMed · Publisher

  Abstract

  Introduction: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a lethal malignancy strongly associated with occupational exposure to asbestos. The aims of this study were to assess the quality of counseling provided to patients with MPM about the causation of MPM and the potential for compensation.

  Methods: The authors conducted a structured retrospective chart review of patients with a diagnosis of MPM. They abstracted demographic data, occupational and environmental history and exposure data. They also searched for documentation of patient education and counseling.

  Results: The authors identified 16 patients with a new diagnosis of MPM during the study period. A job title was documented at least once in the records of 12 (75%) patients. Documentation of occupational exposure to asbestos was found in the records of 12 (75%) patients. Two patients (13%) were presumed to have had bystander exposure to asbestos. Education about MPM causation and counseling about opportunities for compensation were documented in the record of 1 patient (6%).

  Conclusions: Among patients with MPM, documentation of some elements of an occupational history, including an occupational asbestos exposure history, was common. Advice to pursue compensation for potential occupation related MPM was rare. Physicians may be missing opportunities to provide beneficial information to patients with newly diagnosed MPM regarding potential legal redress and compensation.

• Unilateral hyperhidrosis in malignant mesothelioma. W.Y. Lee, M. Greenstone. 2011;342(4):332. Case report PubMed · Publisher

  Summary

  This short illustrated report described a case of one-sided excessive sweating (unilateral hyperhidrosis) in a patient with malignant pleural mesothelioma. An 81-year-old man with asbestos pleural plaques presented with left-sided chest pain. A chest radiograph showed irregular left-sided pleural thickening highly suspicious of mesothelioma. Computerized tomography of the chest showed changes of malignant pleural thickening in the left lung, and thoracoscopic biopsy confirmed the diagnosis. He received prophylactic radiotherapy to the thoracoscopic site and was not considered suitable for surgery or chemotherapy. Six months later he presented with profuse sweating on the left side of the chest only, which meant he had to change his clothing frequently. Streaks of salt crystals from his sweat were visible on the left side of his pyjamas. The sweating was treated conservatively, and the patient died from the mesothelioma a few months later. The authors stated that a literature review found only 4 previously published case reports of this association. They noted that the sweating is usually on the same side as the tumor and is thought to result from direct tumor involvement of the sympathetic chain. In earlier reports, radiotherapy had little or no effect on the sweating in 2 cases, and thalidomide was reported to have a good effect in 1 case. The authors concluded that unilateral hyperhidrosis in mesothelioma usually signifies advanced disease and has a poor prognosis.

  PubMed has no abstract for this study, and the article doesn't print one. We wrote this summary from the full article with the help of AI. It is not the authors' wording.

2000s

• Pulmonary crystal-storing histiocytoma in a patient without a lymphoproliferative disorder. W.S. Lee, S.R. Kim, H. Moon, et al. 2009;338(5):421-4. Case report PubMed · Publisher

  Abstract

  Pulmonary crystal-storing histiocytoma is a very rare disorder and is characterized by infiltration of histiocytes with intracytoplasmic accumulation of crystallized immunoglobulins. It is usually associated with lymphoproliferative diseases or plasma cell dyscrasia. Here, we report a case of pulmonary crystal-storing histiocytoma in a 64-year-old man, presenting as a chronic pulmonary consolidation in the lung exposed to asbestos. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgical biopsy displayed sheets of large, epithelioid histiocytes filled with a large number of needle-like crystals, showing the accumulation of crystallized polyclonal immunoglobulins. This lesion was consistent with crystal-storing histiocytosis or crystal-storing histiocytoma. With extensive clinical work-up, the current case was not associated with lymphoproliferative diseases. Herein, we present this extremely rare entity of pulmonary pathology, a pulmonary crystal-storing histiocytoma arising in the lung exposed to asbestos, and demonstrate the clinical, radiologic, and pathologic features of the tumor.

• Malignant pleural mesothelioma. R.S. Hughes. 2005;329(1):29-44. Review PubMed · Publisher

  Abstract

  Malignant pleural mesothelioma is an uncommon tumor; only about 3000 cases are diagnosed annually in the United States. Cases were described early in the 20th century, but their relationship to asbestos exposure was not documented until 1960. Since then, the incidence has appeared to increase, and numerous epidemiologic studies have confirmed that exposure to asbestos in a variety of settings and occupations is the most significant risk factor for the development of malignant pleural mesothelioma. More recently, the oncogenic virus SV40 has also been implicated as a potential etiologic agent. Surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy have each been used in the treatment of mesothelioma, but generally with little impact on survival. New directions in therapy include aggressive multimodality programs for potentially resectable patients and targeted therapies, including antifolates, antiangiogenesis agents, and drugs directed at epidermal growth factor receptor for the majority of patients presenting with unresectable disease.

1990s

• Chronological assessment of asbestos exposure on cell composition in murine lung. B.E. Bozelka, S.B. Lehrer, J.E. Salvaggio, et al. 1992;303(6):379-86. PubMed · Publisher

  Abstract

  To elucidate immune pathogenic mechanisms in asbestosis, lung and spleen lymphoid cell populations were analyzed at defined time intervals (1, 2, 3, 6, and 12 weeks during exposure and 4, 24, and 48 weeks post-exposure) in asbestos-exposed and unexposed (control) mice. Polymorphonuclear leukocytes and macrophages were increased in the lung tissue histologic sections of asbestos-exposed mice compared to controls. No consistent changes were observed in percentages of lung or spleen helper, suppressor, or total lymphocyte populations after asbestos exposure. The numbers of B cells (identified by anti-IgG) in minced lung preparations of asbestos-exposed animals were increased after 12 weeks of exposure. There also was an increase in IgG production in asbestos-exposed mice after 12 weeks exposure and at 4 weeks post-exposure with a return to near baseline levels 24 and 48 weeks after initial exposure. Collectively, these studies demonstrate stimulatory effects of inhaled asbestos fibers on B cells and IgG production after 12 weeks of continuous inhalation of asbestos fibers in a dust generation chamber.

1970s

• Antemortem diagnosis in two cases of malignant peritoneal mesothelioma. B. Eslami, C.L. Lutcher. 1974;267(2):117-21. PubMed · Publisher

1960s

• Asbestos related disease. H.L. Hardy. 1965;250(4):381-9. Case report PubMed · Publisher

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