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Similar Protection (similar + protection)
Selected AbstractsFemale and Male Condoms Offer Similar Protection Against Exposure to SemenPERSPECTIVES ON SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH, Issue 4 2007D. Hollander No abstract is available for this article. [source] Oxidative damage of retinal pigment epithelial cells and age-related macular degenerationDRUG DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH, Issue 5 2007Suofu Qin Abstract Damage to the retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells is an early and crucial event in the molecular pathways leading to clinically relevant age-related macular degeneration (AMD) changes. Oxidative stress, the major environmental risk factor for atrophic AMD, causes RPE injury that results in a chronic inflammatory response, drusen formation, and RPE atrophy. RPE degeneration ultimately leads to a progressive irreversible degeneration of photoreceptors. In vitro studies show that oxidant-treated RPE cells undergo apoptosis, a possible mechanism by which RPE cells are lost during the early phase of atrophic AMD. The main target of oxidative injury appears to be mitochondria, an organelle known to accumulate genomic damage during aging. Addition of GSH, the most abundant intracellular thiol antioxidant, protects RPE cells from oxidant-induced apoptosis. Similar protection occurs with dietary enzyme inducers that increase GSH synthesis. In addition, enhancing survival signaling preserves RPE cells under oxidative stress. These results indicate that therapeutic or nutritional intervention to enhance the antioxidant capacity and survival signaling of RPE may provide an effective way to prevent or treat AMD. This review describes major molecular and cellular events leading to RPE death, and presents currently used and new experimental, forthcoming therapeutic strategies. Drug Dev Res 68:213,225, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Efficacy of four insect repellents against mosquito bites: a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled field study in SenegalFUNDAMENTAL & CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY, Issue 5 2009Bernard Uzzan Abstract Insect-borne diseases represent a worldwide threat. In addition to fight against vectors (insecticides) and disease prevention (vaccination against yellow fever, chemoprophylaxis against malaria), insect repellents applied on the skin could help reduce the heavy burden related to these diseases. In a field study performed in Senegal, we compared the efficacy of one skin application between 3 and 4 p.m. of four spray repellents [icaridine 20%, para-menthane-diol (PMD) 20% and 50% and DEET 50%] against placebo, among 100 healthy male and female volunteers experienced with mosquito capture. Double-blind randomized cross-over placebo-controlled study (Latin-square design) during five consecutive nights (7 p.m. to midnight) in two villages was conducted. To avoid residual effect, right or left leg was alternately exposed during consecutive nights and the exposed leg was washed before next night. The statistical model was random and mixed effects anova. All four active repellents provided a significant and similar protection compared with placebo, lasting 8 h. However, there was a non-significant trend for a higher protection by DEET 50% than by PMD 20% (P = 0.07). Duration of protection was similar for all repellents. Their effects were similar among men and women, and against Anopheles or other species. No serious adverse drug reaction was noticed. Using a rigorous methodology and a large number of volunteers, our well-controlled study demonstrated an important and similar protective effect of all four repellents compared with placebo. Such field studies should be required before approval of any newly developed repellent. [source] Maintenance of nonviral vector particle size during the freezing step of the lyophilization process is insufficient for preservation of activity: Insight from other structural indicatorsJOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES, Issue 10 2001Marion d.C. Molina Abstract The instability of nonviral vectors as liquid formulations has stimulated considerable interest in developing dehydrated formulations that would be resistant to shipping stresses and could be stored at room temperature. Recently, we reported that high sucrose/DNA ratios are capable of maintaining particle size during the freezing step of the lyophilization process and we suggested that the separation of individual particles within sugar matrices is responsible for the reported protection of nonviral vectors during the freezing step of a typical lyophilization protocol. The purpose of this study was to extend these observations to other nonviral vectors that incorporate different cationic components. Cationic lipid-based complexes composed of 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium-propane (DOTAP), with helper lipid cholesterol (Chol) or dioleoylphosphatidyl-ethanolamine (DOPE), showed similar protection by sucrose. Formulations of a polyethylenimine (PEI)-based vector required much higher excipient/DNA ratios for size protection compared with protamine- and lipid-based vectors. At low sucrose/DNA ratios, zeta potentials for all complexes were significantly lowered during freezing. Similar results were obtained at high sucrose/DNA ratios, except for DOTAP,DOPE-containing vectors which maintained zeta potential values comparable to unfrozen controls. The changes in zeta potential values indicate that complexes are altered during freezing despite the maintenance of particle size as determined by light scattering. Furthermore, these changes might explain the observed reduction in transfection activity and provide new information about the effects of physicochemical changes of nonviral vectors during the freezing step of lyophilization. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmaceutical Association J Pharm Sci 90:1445,1455, 2001 [source] Effect of obesity on outcomes after fondaparinux, enoxaparin, or heparin treatment for acute venous thromboembolism in the Matisse trialsJOURNAL OF THROMBOSIS AND HAEMOSTASIS, Issue 6 2007B. L. DAVIDSON Summary.,Background: Selecting initial anticoagulant dose by patient weight for acute pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis has clinical credibility; however, uncertainty remains regarding how to dose obese patients with newer anticoagulants because outcome data are sparse. Objectives: To use the Matisse trials' comparison of sc fondaparinux once daily with control heparin therapies (intravenous unfractionated heparin for pulmonary embolism, sc enoxaparin 1 mg/kg b.i.d. for deep vein thrombosis) for initial treatment in order to compare primary outcomes (venous thromboembolism recurrence and major bleeding) in obese patients. Patients and methods: Primary outcomes were compared in subsets composed of patients weighing , and > 100 kg and with body mass index (BMI) < 30 and , 30 kg/m2. Medians and ranges for weight and BMI were compared for patients suffering either recurrence or major bleeding. Results: Twenty-two thousand and one patients received fondaparinux and 2217 received enoxaparin or unfractionated heparin. Four hundred and ninety-six patients (11%) weighed > 100 kg and 1216 (28%) had a BMI , 30. Treatment groups had similar characteristics. The upper limit in subject weight for recurrence was 166 kg (BMI 58), and for major bleeding 120 kg (BMI 39). The incidences of recurrence and major bleeding were similar for each patient subset of weight and BMI for both fondaparinux and heparin treatment groups. Among patients with a primary outcome, median weights and BMIs were also similar. Conclusions: The current recommended doses of fondaparinux and heparins for the treatment of venous thromboembolism appear to provide similar protection against recurrence and major bleeding to one another and to obese and non-obese patients. [source] Safety and Efficacy of Bivalirudin in High-risk Patients Admitted Through the Emergency DepartmentACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 8 2009Chadwick D. Miller MD Abstract Objectives:, The objective was to assess the safety and efficacy of bivalirudin monotherapy in patients with high-risk acute coronary syndrome (ACS) presenting to the emergency department (ED). Methods:, Data from the Acute Catheterization and Urgent Intervention Triage StrategY (ACUITY) trial were used to conduct a post hoc subgroup analysis of high-risk ACS patients (cardiac biomarker elevation or ST-segment deviation) who initially presented to the ED. The ACUITY trial randomized patients to receive heparin (unfractionated [UFH] or enoxaparin) plus glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibition (GPI), bivalirudin plus GPI, or bivalirudin monotherapy. Endpoints included composite ischemia, major bleeding (not coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) related), and net clinical outcome (major bleeding plus composite ischemia). Results:, Of 13,819 participants in the ACUITY trial, 6,441 presented initially to the ED, met high-risk criteria, and were included in the primary analysis. Bivalirudin alone when compared to heparin plus GPI, after adjusting for covariates, was associated with an improvement in net clinical outcome (12.3% vs. 14.3%, adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 0.81, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.66 to 0.99), similar composite ischemia (9.3% vs. 9.1%, adjusted OR = 0.98, 95% CI = 0.77 to 1.24), and less major bleeding (4.0% vs. 6.8%, adjusted OR = 0.57, 95% CI = 0.42 to 0.75). Bivalirudin plus GPI when compared to heparin plus GPI had similar net clinical outcome (13.8% vs. 14.3%, adjusted OR = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.75 to 1.11), composite ischemia (8.8% vs. 9.1%, adjusted OR = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.69 to 1.11), and major bleeding (6.8% vs. 6.8%, adjusted OR = 1.01, 95% CI = 0.79 to 1.30). Conclusions: Bivalirudin monotherapy decreases major bleeding while providing similar protection from ischemic events compared to heparin plus GPI in patients with high-risk ACS admitted through the ED. [source] The effectiveness of anti,tumor necrosis factor therapy in preventing progressive radiographic joint damage in rheumatoid arthritis: A population-based studyARTHRITIS & RHEUMATISM, Issue 1 2006Axel Finckh Objective To compare the effectiveness of 3 therapeutic strategies in preventing progressive joint damage, in a population-based cohort. The 3 strategies were infliximab with concomitant disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), etanercept with concomitant DMARDs, and etanercept alone. Methods We used sequential radiographs to assess all patients who were treated with infliximab or etanercept for >10 months. The rates of erosion progression and joint space narrowing (JSN) were analyzed using multivariate regression models for longitudinal data, with adjustment for potential confounders. Results A total of 372 patients treated with anti,tumor necrosis factor (TNF) therapies met the inclusion criteria. The baseline characteristics of the patients assigned to the 3 strategies were not significantly different, except that, as expected, more patients were receiving combination therapy with infliximab. The combination of infliximab plus DMARDs was significantly more effective than etanercept alone for controlling erosion progression (P < 0.001), but the effectiveness of the 2 combination-treatment strategies was similar (P = 0.07). The combination of infliximab plus DMARDs was also more effective at controlling progressive JSN compared with etanercept alone (P = 0.04) or etanercept plus DMARDs (P = 0.02). Treatment with anti-TNF agents (infliximab or etanercept) plus concomitant DMARDs was more effective than treatment with etanercept alone for controlling erosion progression (P = 0.045). Conclusion When combined with traditional DMARDs, both etanercept and infliximab appear to offer similar protection against progressive structural joint damage, and combination therapy with either of these agents appears to be more effective than treatment with etanercept alone. [source] |