Prognosis Outlook

Despite the VB-theoretic successes of recent decades there still seems a domination by MO theory. Ab-initio VB theory seems weak in comparison to ab-initio MO-based theory in consideration of general availability of canned programs. Semi-empirical VB theory (the simplest versions of which are the focus of the present chapter) seems weak in comparison to semi-empirical MO-based theory when consideration is made of a comprehensive semiempirical model to make quantitative estimates for heats of formation, geometries, or excitation spectra, all for a diversity of chemical species. 

Surely the continuing VB-theoretic successes which have been achieved in the last few decades indicate much promise for future extensions. Resonating VB theory MO theory may be seen as complementary descriptions, each with greater utility in different circumstances. 

Acknowledgment is made to numerous collaborators and colleagues, as well as to the Welch Foundation of Houston, Texas. 

Woodward R. Hoffmann, Angew. Chem. Inti. Ed. Engl. 8 (1969) 781. 

Yonezawa, C. Nagata, Bull. Chem. Soc. Japan 27 (1954) 423. 

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After a period of at least 2-3 years free from seizures, withdrawal of antiepilepsy drug therapy can be considered. The prognosis of a seizure disorder is determined by a number of factors. Some are known to remit spontaneously e.g. benign rolandic epilepsy and petit mal, whereas others never remit e.g. juvenile myoclonic epilepsy. In many types of epilepsy the outlook is less certain and only general indicators are available. The following factors can be important ... 

There is no question that alcohol abuse contributes significantly to liver-related morbidity and mortality in the United States. Long-term alcohol use is the leading cause of illness and death from liver disease. There are three phases of alcohol-induced liver damage, alcoholic fatty liver, which is usually reversible with abstinence alcoholic hepatitis or inflammation and alcoholic cirrhosis or scarring of the liver. Patients with both alcoholic cirrhosis and hepatitis have a death rate of more than 60% over a 4-year period. The prognosis is bleaker than the outlook for many types of cancers. As many as 900 000 people in the United States suffer from cirrhosis and some 26 000 of these die each year. The risk for liver disease is related to how much a person drinks the risk is low at levels of alcohol consumption but steeply increases with higher levels of consumption. Because effects of alcohol are dose-related and because of the steepness at which the adverse effects are... 

Chemotherapy has dramatically improved the outlook of patients with acute leukemia. Over 85% of children and young adults with acute leukemia achieve an initial complete remission (CR) of their disease. Overall, 65% to 85% of adults achieve an initial CR. " For persons less than 20 years of age, the 5-year survival rate is 83% for ALL and 50% for AML. The prognosis of adult acute leukemia is generally worse than that of childhood leukemia, with only 30% to 40% of patients becoming long-term survivors. " ... 

Cancer is a major health issue worldwide. The most common solid tumors are breast, colorectal, ovarian, prostate and lung cancer, which account for more than 3.2 million new cases annually, and 1.7 million deaths each year [1]. In addition, large numbers of individuals are diagnosed with and die each year from hematological malignancies such as lymphomas (>166000 new cases and 93 000 deaths, respectively) or leukemias (144000 new cases and 109000 deaths, respectively). Early detection combined with advances in surgery and external radiotherapy have improved the prognosis for many patients with solid tumors in which the disease is confined to the primary anatomical site, but the outlook for patients with advanced disseminated cancer remains poor. Lymphomas and leukemias are more... 

In starvation, the degiee of weight loss is an important factor in prognosis if this is more than 40 %, the outlook is very serious, even in previously healthy young adults. 

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