Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Baseline Vs (baseline + v)
Selected AbstractsEffect of Chronic Sustained-Release Dipyridamole on Myocardial Blood Flow and Left Ventricular Function in Patients With Ischemic CardiomyopathyCONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE, Issue 3 2007Mateen Akhtar MD Dipyridamole increases adenosine levels and augments coronary collateralization in patients with coronary ischemia. This pilot study tested whether a 6-month course of sustained-release dipyridamole/aspirin improves coronary flow reserve and left ventricular systolic function in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy. Six outpatients with coronary artery disease and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) <40% were treated with sustained-release dipyridamole 200 mg/aspirin 25 mg twice daily for 6 months. Myocardial function and perfusion, including coronary sinus flow at rest and during intravenous dipyridamole-induced hyperemia, were measured using velocity-encoded cine magnetic resonance stress perfusion studies at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. There was no change in heart failure or angina class at 6 months. LVEF increased by 39%±64% (31.0%±13.3% at baseline vs 38.3%±10.7% at 6 months; P=.01), hyperemic coronary sinus flow increased more than 2-fold (219.6±121.3 mL/min vs 509.4±349.3 mL/min; P=.01), and stress-induced relative myocardial perfusion increased by 35%±13% (9.4%±3.4% vs 13.9%±8.5%; P=.004). Sustained-release dipyridamole improved hyperemic myocardial blood flow and left ventricular systolic function in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy. [source] Effect of Exogenous Melatonin on Mood and Sleep Efficiency in Emergency Medicine Residents Working Night ShiftsACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 8 2000Milan Jockovich MD Abstract. Objective: To determine whether melatonin taken prior to attempted daytime sleep sessions will improve daytime sleep quality, nighttime sleepiness, and mood state in emergency medicine (EM) residents, changing from daytime to nighttime work schedules. Methods: A prospective, randomized, double-blind crossover design was used in an urban emergency department. Emergency medicine residents who worked two strings of nights, of at least three nights' duration each, and separated by at least one week of days were eligible. Subjects were randomized to receive either melatonin 1 mg or placebo, 30 to 60 minutes prior to their daytime sleep session, for three consecutive days after each night shift. Crossover to the other agent occurred during their subsequent night shifts. Objective measures of quality of daytime sleep were obtained using the Actigraph 1000. This device measures sleep motion and correlates with sleep efficiency, total sleep time, time in bed, and sleep latency. The Profile of Mood States (POMS) and the Stanford Sleepiness Scale (SSS) were also used to quantify nighttime mood and sleepiness. Results: Among the 19 volunteers studied, there was no difference in sleep efficiency (91.16% vs 90.98%, NS), sleep duration (379.6 min vs 342.7 min, NS), or sleep latency (7.59 min vs 6.80 min, NS), between melatonin and placebo, respectively. In addition, neither the POMS total mood disturbance (5.769 baseline vs 12.212 melatonin vs 5.585 placebo, NS) nor the SSS (1.8846 baseline vs 2.2571 melatonin vs 2.1282 placebo, NS) demonstrated a statistical difference in nighttime mood and sleepiness between melatonin and placebo. Conclusions: There are no beneficial effects of a 1-mg melatonin dose on sleep quality, alertness, or mood state during night shift work among EM residents. [source] Antiviral maintenance treatment with interferon and ribavirin for recurrent hepatitis C after liver transplantation: Pilot studyJOURNAL OF GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY, Issue 12 2007Arno Kornberg Abstract Background:, The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate efficacy of a long-term antiviral maintenance therapy (AMT) with interferon-,2b and ribavirin in liver transplant recipients with recurrent hepatitis C. Methods:, Twenty-one patients with recurrent hepatitis C after liver transplantation received AMT with interferon and ribavirin, following 12 months of a basic antiviral combination treatment. Allograft function, viremia loads and allograft morphology were evaluated continuously. Results:, After 12 months of basic antiviral therapy, 14 patients (66.6%) had achieved initial clearance of viremia levels, and 17 recipients (81%) demonstrated normalization of allograft function, respectively. Inflammation score declined significantly (6.0 vs 3.9; P = 0.002), while stage of fibrosis remained unchanged. In virological responders maintenance therapy led to further regression of inflammation score (4.0 at baseline vs 3.1 at 24 months AMT) and fibrosis score (1.6 at baseline vs 1.1 at 24 months AMT). Despite persistence of viremia levels, continued antiviral therapy prevented progression to severe allograft inflammation in virological non-responders. Hematologic adverse effects resulted in treatment discontinuation in seven patients (33.3%). Conclusion:, Long-term AMT, if tolerable, might be an effective approach for preventing progression to severe allograft fibrosis and thereby improving long-term survival in liver transplant recipients with recurrent hepatitis C. [source] Alcohol Deprivation Effect Is Prolonged in the Alcohol Preferring (P) Rat After Repeated DeprivationsALCOHOLISM, Issue 1 2000Zachary A. Rodd-Henricks Background: The alcohol deprivation effect (ADE) is a temporary increase in the ratio of ethanol/total fluid intake and the voluntary intake of ethanol solutions over baseline drinking conditions when ethanol access is reinstated after a period of alcohol deprivation. The ADE has been posited to be an animal model for alcohol craving. The current study examined the effects of initial deprivation length and number of deprivation exposures on the ADE in alcohol-preferring (P) rats. Methods: Adult female P rats received 24-hr free-choice access to 10% (v/v) ethanol and water for 6 weeks. Rats were then randomly assigned to five groups deprived of ethanol for O (control), 2, 4, 6, or 8 weeks (W). All deprived groups were then given 24-hr access to ethanol for 2 weeks before bbeing deprived of ethanol for another 2 weeks. Results: After the initial ethanol deprivation period, the deprived groups displayed a similar 2-fold ADE (e.g., 4-W group; 4.6 ± 0.5 for baseline vs. 10.5 ± 0.3 g/kg/day for the 1st reinstatement day) during the initial 24-hr period. Ethanol consumption began to return to control levels 48 (7.1 ± 0.4 g/kg/day) and 72 (6.4 ± 0.4 g/kg/day) hrs later. In addition, each deprived group showed increases in the ratio of ethanol/total fluid intake upon reinstatement, and there was a tendency for sustained higher ethanol intake ratlos during the first 3 postexposure days for the 4-, 6-, and 8-W grups, but only during the first 2 reinstatement days for the 2-W group. The second deprivation did not increase the magnitude of the ADE over that observed in the first deprivation during the initial 24-hr period of re-exposure, but it did prolong the duration of the ADE into the 2nd and 3rd reinstatement day for the 2-, 4-, and 6-W groups and into the 5th reinstatement day for the 8-W group. Conclusions: Equivalent robust ADEs can be seen in P rats with deprivation periods of 2,8 W, which suggests that the ADE has a rapid onset and is not affected by the durations of deprivation that were tested. The duration of the ADE was prolonged in P rats exposed to a second deprivation period, suggesting that factors associated with the ADE phenomenon could be strengthened by repated deprivations. [source] Murine glutathione S -transferase A1-1 in sickle transgenic miceAMERICAN JOURNAL OF HEMATOLOGY, Issue 10 2007Yelena Z. Ginzburg Patients with sickle cell anemia exhibit mild to moderate renal and liver damage. Glutathione S -transferase A1-1 is produced during kidney and liver damage. We hypothesized that cellular damage in sickle transgenic mice would lead to increased serum and urine murine glutathione S -transferase A1-1 levels. Levels of murine glutathione S -transferase A1-1 in the serum and urine of S+S-Antilles, NY1DD, and control mice were measured by ELISA, which revealed that the serum of S+S-Antilles mice, relative to controls, had elevated levels of murine glutathione S -transferase A1-1 (P = 0.005) as did NY1DD mice (P = 0.02, baseline vs. 2-day hypoxia). Serum liver enzymes, such as aspartate amino transferase and alanine amino transferase, as well as lactate dehydrogenase were increased in S+S-Antilles mice relative to controls (P = 0.000006, P = 0.0003, and P = 0.029, respectively). Urine murine glutathione S -transferase A1-1 of S+S-Antilles mice, as well as NY1DD mice under hypoxic stress, was not significantly different from controls. Murine glutathione S -transferase class-mu was measured by ELISA in the urine of sickle transgenic mice and control mice to define the location of tubular damage at the proximal convoluted tubule; murine Glutathione S -transferase class-mu was below the limit of detection. These findings suggest that elevated levels of murine glutathione S -transferase A1-1 in the serum reflect release during liver damage and that proximal tubular damage does not lead to appreciable urinary murine glutathione S -transferase A1-1. Am. J. Hematol. 82:911,915, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Long-lasting effect of sublingual immunotherapy in children with asthma due to house dust mite: a 10-year prospective studyCLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL ALLERGY, Issue 2 2003V. Di Rienzo Summary Background Subcutaneous immunotherapy for respiratory allergy has shown a long-lasting efficacy after its discontinuation, whereas this evidence is still lacking for sublingual immunotherapy, despite the fact that it is widely used. Objective We aimed to evaluate whether a long-lasting effect of SLIT occurs, in a prospective parallel group controlled study. Methods Sixty children (mean age 8.5 years) suffering from allergic asthma/rhinitis due to mites were subdivided into two matched groups: 35 underwent a 4- to 5-year course of SLIT with standardized extract and 25 received only drug therapy. The patients were evaluated at three time points (baseline, end of SLIT and 4 to 5 years after SLIT discontinuation) regarding presence of asthma, use of anti-asthma drugs, skin prick tests and specific IgE. Results We found that in the SLIT group there was a significant difference vs. baseline for the presence of asthma (P , 0.001) and the use of asthma medications (P , 0.01), whereas no difference was observed in the control group. The mean peak expiratory flow result was significantly higher in the active group than in the control group after 10 years. No change was seen as far as new sensitizations were concerned. Specific IgE showed a near-significant increase (baseline vs. 10 years, P = 0.06) only in the control group. Conclusion Our study demonstrates that sublingual immunotherapy is effective in children and that it maintains the clinical efficacy for 4 to 5 years after discontinuation. [source] Effect of quinapril on the attenuated heart rate recovery of type 2 diabetic subjects without known coronary artery diseaseCLINICAL CARDIOLOGY, Issue 8 2004Ilke Sipahi M.D. Abstract Background: Heart rate (HR) recovery at 1 minis a measure of the vagal reactivation that occurs after cessation of exercise. Despite ample evidence about the association of attenuated HR recovery with increased mortality, pharmacologic modification of this predictor has not been shown. On the other hand, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors are known to have vagomimetic activity. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that ACE inhibition would increase HR recovery in a group of subjects known to have reduced HR recovery, namely diabetics. Methods: Maximal treadmill exercise stress test was performed in 31 type 2 diabetic and 31 nondiabetic male subjects with similar age, body mass index, and hypertensive status. None of the subjects had known heart disease or evidence of myocardial ischemia during the test. The diabetic subjects, after 2 weeks of treatment with quinapril, underwent a second exercise test. A third test was performed 2 to 3 weeks after cessation of quinapril treatment. Results: At baseline, despite similar exercise capacity, the diabetics had a lower HR recovery at 1 min than nondiabetics (25 ± 8 vs. 31 ± 8 beats/min, p<0.01). Quinapril significantly increased HR recovery at 1 min in diabetics (25 ± 8 beats/min at baseline vs. 28 ± 8 beats/min with quinapril vs. 25 ± 7 beats/min off-therapy, p < 0.01 by analysis of variance). Conclusions: The attenuated HR recovery of type 2 diabetics can be improved by quinapril. Whether the improvement in HR recovery with ACE inhibition can lead to decreased mortality is currently unknown. [source] | ||||||||||