Th e value of glucocorticoid therapy was discovered 65 years ago. In 1949, Philip Hench reported the dramatic eff ect of compound E on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) [1]. Nowadays, glucocorticoids play a pivotal role in the management of many infl ammatory rheumatic diseases [2-7]. Glucocorticoids represent the most frequently em ployed class of anti-infl ammatory drugs, with a rise in use in recent...

• Multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic, recurrent infl ammatory disease, is characterized by infl ammatory attacks on central nervous system myelin. Patients with MS experience symptoms such as blurred vision, walking and coordination problems, bladder or bowel dysfunction, numbness, and cognitive impairment.1 • Approximately 85% of patients with MS have relapsing–remitting MS (RRMS), which is ch...

www.sciencemag.org SCIENCE VOL 339 11 JANUARY 2013 115 COVER A yin-yang symbol superimposed on a scanning electron micrograph of a mouse tissue alveolar macrophage (diameter: ~18 micrometers). Macrophages are immune cells that mediate infl ammation, but they often play protective roles as well. Several age-related chronic diseases—such as metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, and neurodeg...

For many years, reactive oxygen species (ROS), including superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, and hydroxyl radicals, and their reaction products, were classically described as harmful by-products of aerobic metabolism capable of causing DNA mutations, lipid peroxidation, and protein oxidation [1]. The identifi cation of enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, catalase, and peroxidase that served to eli...

In the linked study by Coura and collaborators , it is reported that acupuncture the day before surgery can reduce postoperative pain (see article on page 16). 1 Although the study is small and there are gender differences between the groups, the fi ndings are novel, suggesting that acupuncture may be used the day before surgery rather than given in the immediate preoperative period. This sugge...

orts of Matera and colleagues’ study establishing the utility of IL-10 as a diagnostic and prognostic marker of early sepsis [1]; however, we have some concerns. Limiting the study to the surgical population limits the generalizability. More importantly, inclusion of 28 (of the 52) patients after on-pump cardiac surgery is concerning. Pump surgery is widely accepted to result in an intense surg...

1. Professor of Medicine, Unit of Gastroenterology, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Gastroenterologist, Clínica Fundadores, Clínica Carlos Lleras Restrepo and Fundación Hospital San Carlos, Bogota, Colombia 2. Internal Medicine Resident, Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Bogotá, Colombia. ........................................ Received: 21-07-09 Accepted: 18-08-09 Summary Bilirubin is more ...

signs. The temperature remained between 39 and 39.5 ° C until the 10th day of the therapy and the patient was discharged home after 23 days of parenteral antimicrobial therapy. No surgical intervention was required. Neurologic examination on discharge was normal. The diagnosis on discharge was: basilar meningitis with cerebral vasculitis and stroke following sphenoid sinusitis. A follow-up MRI ...