When sitting upright, dyspnoea in the sitting position improves rapidly and substantially in patients with AHF after administration of conventional therapy, mainly intra-venous diuretics. However, many patients remain orthopnoeic. Improving the methodology of clinical trials in AHF by standardizing the conditions under which dyspnoea is assessed could enhance their ability to identify effective treatments. Relief of orthopnoea is clinically valuable and may represent a useful goal for clinical trials.

Over the period from June 1992 to January 1994, six subretinal neovascular membranes were removed in our department. In five patients the damaged membranes were caused by age-related macular degeneration and in one patient the cause was choroiditis of unclear etiology. The diameter of the membranes ranged between 3 and 20 mm. The largest membrane was removed translimbally after previous lensectomy. In all patients internal silicone oil tamponade was performed.Subretinal hemorrhage was the most common peroperative complication observed. Early postoperatively, transitory corneal edema and serofibrinous reaction were recorded in some patients. Cataract formation in connection with the silicone oil tamponade, chronic uveitis, formation of epi-and subretinal membranes, retinal pigment epithelium and choroidal atrophy were also subsequently observed. Relevant additional operations were performed with the exception of one patient with internal silicone oil tamponade and cortical cataract who refused all further procedures.After a follow-up period of 24-36 months, one eye atrophied. In one eye retinal detachment, in one large subretinal membrane, in one atrophy of the pigment epithelium and in another epiretinal membranes under silicone oil were present. The visual acuity achieved is 0 in two eyes and it ranged between light perception and 0.5/60.Removal of large subretinal neovascular membranes is feasible, but the results are not justified by the surgeon's effort and the patient's psychic stress.

<div>Abstract<p>The association of human breast cancer with sequences similar to the mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) has been shown, but convincing evidence for the presence of viral particles in breast tumors has been lacking. We have described the complete proviral structure of a retrovirus in human breast cancer. This provirus, designated as human mammary tumor virus (HMTV), was 95% homologous to MMTV and revealed features of a replication-competent virus. We have therefore investigated the production of viral particles in primary cultures of human breast cancer (MSSM). Cells isolated from ascites or pleural effusions of patients with metastatic breast cancer contained viral sequences in their DNA, expressed Env protein, and showed retroviral particles by electron microscopy. Viral particles from culture media exhibited morphologic features of β-retroviruses sedimenting at buoyant densities of 1.12 to 1.18 g/mL in sucrose gradients and showed reverse transcriptase activity. cDNA sequences from virion RNA were synthesized, amplified, and sequenced and all the virion genes were detected and 70% of the virion RNA was sequenced. The sequence homologies were, respectively, 85% to 95% compared with the MMTV and HMTV proviruses we have previously described. These results clearly show that breast cancer cells in primary cultures produced HMTV viral particles that are similar to the mouse virus and which may play a role in human breast cancer pathogenesis. [Cancer Res 2007;67(18):8960–5]</p></div>

<div>Abstract<p>The association of human breast cancer with sequences similar to the mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) has been shown, but convincing evidence for the presence of viral particles in breast tumors has been lacking. We have described the complete proviral structure of a retrovirus in human breast cancer. This provirus, designated as human mammary tumor virus (HMTV), was 95% homologous to MMTV and revealed features of a replication-competent virus. We have therefore investigated the production of viral particles in primary cultures of human breast cancer (MSSM). Cells isolated from ascites or pleural effusions of patients with metastatic breast cancer contained viral sequences in their DNA, expressed Env protein, and showed retroviral particles by electron microscopy. Viral particles from culture media exhibited morphologic features of β-retroviruses sedimenting at buoyant densities of 1.12 to 1.18 g/mL in sucrose gradients and showed reverse transcriptase activity. cDNA sequences from virion RNA were synthesized, amplified, and sequenced and all the virion genes were detected and 70% of the virion RNA was sequenced. The sequence homologies were, respectively, 85% to 95% compared with the MMTV and HMTV proviruses we have previously described. These results clearly show that breast cancer cells in primary cultures produced HMTV viral particles that are similar to the mouse virus and which may play a role in human breast cancer pathogenesis. [Cancer Res 2007;67(18):8960–5]</p></div>

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