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 28,634 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Acute allergic reactions range from mild conditions of local tissue swelling and pruritus to severe multisystem syndromes including asthma, urticaria and/or angioedema, gastrointestinal distress, and vascular collapse. Such reactions share a common pathophysiology characterized by vasodilation and postcapillary permeability, resulting in increased extravasation of fluid within minutes after exposure to an eliciting substance. Smooth muscle contraction of the respiratory or gastrointestinal tracts may also be involved. Most of these changes can be explained by the release of chemical mediators from circulating basophilic leukocytes and tissue mast cells. Human basophils and mast cells can be activated to release chemical mediators by several known pathways: crosslinking by allergens of specific immunoglobulin E antibodies attached to basophils and mast cells; anaphylatoxin formation following immune complex activation of the classical complement pathway; anaphylatoxin formed from direct activation of the alternative complement pathway by negatively charged surfaces; non-complement-, non-antibody-mediated direct histamine release; and idiosyncratic mechanisms involving physical exercise, psychological stress, or aspirin intolerance. Any or all of these mechanisms could be operative in patients experiencing acute allergic reactions at the commencement of hemodialysis.
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PMID:Mechanisms of acute allergic reactions. 647 99

The author's conclusion in this article is that the problem of population displacement appears to be increasing and that the geographic impact is spreading. There is a need to predict complex emergencies (civilians affected by war or civil strike and population displacement) earlier. Effective intervention methods will require information on the quantity and content of relief commodities and analysis of the impact of relief on the health and nutrition of the affected population. International relief efforts must be more than a symbol of help. The goal should be to prevent excess mortality among the affected populations. The public health challenge is to improve the health status of populations caught in the cycle of war, intimidation, hunger, migration, and death. The direct health consequences of civil strife are identified as death, injury, disability, sexual assault, and psychological stress. The indirect health consequences are identified as mass migration, food shortages, hunger, and the collapse of health services. The numbers of people affected as dependent refugees under the care of UNHCR increased from 5 million in 1980 to almost 23 million in 1994. The total population of refugees and displaced persons is reported to have increased between 1990 and 1994 from 30 million to 48 million. The death rate of newly arrived refugees in Thailand, Somalia, and Sudan is estimated to be 30 times the death rate in the country of origin. Crude death rates (deaths/1000/month) during 1990-93 are reported as ranging from 3.5 to 12 times the rates in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nepal, Malawi, and Zimbabwe. The death rates of children aged under 5 years are estimated to be higher than adult rates. Causes of death are generally preventable. Common causes of death include measles, diarrhea, malaria, cholera and dysentery, and acute respiratory infections. Public health programs must target basic needs for shelter, food, water, and sanitation.
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PMID:Mass population displacement. A global public health challenge. 767 72

The authors report a case of limited inferior myocardial infarction in a young man following a bee sting. Coronary angiography, performed following the acute phase, showed angiographically healthy coronary arteries and minimal sequelae of myocardial necrosis in the inferior territory. The pathogenic role of the bee sting in myocardial necrosis was suggested by the timing of the events. The probable mechanism responsible for this myocardial infarction was severe coronary arterial spasm (partly mediated by psychological stress related to the intensity of the anaphylactic reaction) with secondary in situ thrombosis probably facilitated by cardiovascular collapse. The role of anaphylaxis, generating acute coronary insufficiency, is discussed in the light of this clinical case.
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PMID:[Myocardial infarction following a bee sting. Apropos of a case and review of the literature]. 929 91

Flow-dependent vasodilation has been recognized to play an important role in the perfusion of the myocardium and the occurrence of myocardial ischaemia. In the past few years, the role of the endothelium in the regulation of coronary artery dimensions has gained a lot of attraction. Changes in coronary artery size are caused through the contraction and relaxation of the smooth musculature within the vessel wall. Vasoactive substances released from the endothelium play a crucial role in the regulation of vessel size and coronary vasomotor tone. During physiologic exercise, normal coronary arteries dilate, whereas stenotic arteries constrict. This abnormal behaviour of the stenotic artery has been associated with the occurrence of myocardial ischaemia, and has been thought to be either due to: endothelial dysfunction with reduced release or production of the endothelial derived relaxant factor (EDRF); an increased sympathetic stimulation during exercise; enhanced platelet aggregation with release of thromboxane A2 and serotonin; and/or a passive collapse of the disease-free vessel segment within the stenosis when blood-flow velocity increases during exercise. Thus, a diseased coronary endothelium may have a dramatic effect on the function of the coronary arteries, and may cause or contribute to the occurrence of myocardial ischaemia under high-demand situations, e.g. physical exercise or mental stress. Changes in flow-dependent vasodilation have been described in various disease states, e.g. hypercholesterolaemia, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, but also in valvular heart disease, heart failure and transplantation. Most of these alterations are due to functional changes of the endothelium, but vascular remodelling of the coronary arteries with thickening of the intima and an enlargement of the artery may affect these functional changes importantly.
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PMID:Flow-dependent vasodilation in the coronary circulation: alterations in diseased states. 1009 79

Tinnitus has been defined as the perceptual correlate of altered spontaneous neural activity occurring without an external auditory stimulus. Hyperacusis, defined as a collapse of tolerance to sound, is present in 40-86% of those who suffer from disabling forms of tinnitus. Both phenomena often are induced or exacerbated by physical or psychological stress. Biological systems known to regulate the body's overall response to stress use and release endogenous neuroactive opioid peptides. These stress-related neuromodulators consist of products derived from three genetically distinct precursor hormones. Two of these precursor hormones are proenkephalin and prodynorphin. Enkephalin and dynorphin-related peptides exist within the efferent olivocochlear systems (lateral and medial) of several mammalian species, including humans. Prodynorphin derivatives, however, may be restricted exclusively to lateral efferent neurons. Descending lateral efferent axons terminate solely on primary (type I) auditory dendrites innervating cochlear inner hair cells in most species. This action indicates that they play an important role in modulating auditory nerve sensitivity and spontaneous discharge. In a fashion similar to that exhibited by the observed excitatory mechanism of action of dynorphins in the spinal cord, sodium salicylate (aspirin) recently was shown to facilitate the excitatory effects of glutamate in the cochlea. This article provides support for a neurochemical model in which endogenous dynorphins may induce hyperacusis and can contribute to the induction, maintenance, or exacerbation of tinnitus in the auditory periphery by altering auditory type I neural excitability to glutamate.
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PMID:Endogenous dynorphins: possible role in peripheral tinnitus. 1075 26

There is a scarcity of data on mental health effects of the global economic recession. In this study, we investigated potential change in self-reported levels of psychological stress in the Icelandic population as a result of the major national economic collapse that occurred in 2008. We used a national cohort of 3,755 persons who responded to a survey administered in 2007 and 2009, including demographic questions and a stress measure (the 4-item Perceived Stress Scale). We used repeated-measures analysis of variance and logistic regression models to assess change in mean stress levels and risk of high stress levels (>90th percentile) in 2009 as compared with 2007. Age-adjusted mean stress levels increased between 2007 and 2009 (P = 0.004), though the increase was observed only for women (P = 0.003), not for men (P = 0.34). Similarly, the odds ratios for experiencing high stress levels were increased only among women (odds ratio (OR) = 1.37), especially among women who were unemployed (OR = 3.38), students (OR = 2.01), had middle levels of education (OR = 1.65), or were in the middle income bracket (OR = 1.59). The findings indicate that psychological stress may have increased following the economic collapse in Iceland, particularly among females in economically vulnerable groups.
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PMID:Increased stress among women following an economic collapse--a prospective cohort study. 2340 47

As the threat of international terrorism rises, there is an increasing requirement to provide evidence-based information and training for the emergency personnel who will respond to terrorist incidents. Current major incident training advises that emergency responders prioritize their own personal safety above that of the 'scene and survivors'. However, there is limited information available on the nature of these threats and how they may be accurately evaluated. This study reviews the published medical literature to identify the hazards experienced by emergency responders who have attended previous terrorist incidents. A PubMed literature search identified 10,894 articles on the subject of 'terrorism', and there was a dramatic increase in publications after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. There is heterogeneity in the focus and quality of this literature, and 307 articles addressing the subject of scene safety were assessed for information regarding the threats encountered at terrorist incidents. These articles demonstrate that emergency responders have been exposed to both direct terrorist threats and environmental scene hazards, including airborne particles, structural collapse, fire, and psychological stress. The emphasis of training and preparedness for terrorist incidents has been primarily on the direct threats, but the published literature suggests that the dominant causes of mortality and morbidity in responders after such incidents are the indirect environmental hazards. If the medical response to terrorist incidents is to be based on evidence rather than anecdote, analysis of the current literature should be incorporated into major incident training, and consistent collection of key data from future incidents is required.
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PMID:Risks to emergency medical responders at terrorist incidents: a narrative review of the medical literature. 2532 86