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Favourable Response (favourable + response)
Selected AbstractsFavourable response to infliximab in a case of bilateral refractory Mooren's ulcerCLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL OPHTHALMOLOGY, Issue 9 2007Luigi Fontana MD PhD Abstract A woman with progressive bilateral Mooren's ulcer developed recurrent corneal perforations and melting requiring tectonic grafts, despite conventional immunosuppressant therapy. Following treatment with infliximab, an anti-tumour necrosis factor agent, the patient showed marked reduction in conjunctival inflammation and no further recurrence of corneal thinning and perforation during 2-year follow up on maintaining treatment. [source] Nephroblastoma is a success of paediatric oncologic therapy.DIAGNOSTIC CYTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 7 2010How further can we go?: Results of a cyto-histologic correlation study Abstract Nephroblastoma is a success of paediatric oncologic therapy, yet, there are still some cases where favourable response to preoperative chemotherapy is not achieved. Fine needle biopsy has the role of diagnostic confirmation and, idyllically of predicting a response to preoperative chemotherapy. To advance in this aim, we retrieved a total of 14 nephroblastomas, (seven male patients and seven female with a mean age of 44.4 months), diagnosed in our department by fine needle biopsy and submitted afterward to chemotherapy and nephrectomy, in the last 10 years. Correlation between cytologic features, (morphology, cell death, and proliferation (Ki-67 labelling index), and post chemotherapy tumour evaluation was done. Cytologic pattern per se was not predictive of histologic tumour classification (P = 0.6061). We did not find any correlation between the percentage of necrosis and apoptosis (P = 0.682) in cytologic smears and histologic regressive changes but when both these two criteria coexisted in cytologic blastemal component of nephroblastomas, this fact seemed to lead to a favourable response of the tumour to chemotherapy. When evaluation of Ki-67 labelling index was done in the blastematous component present in the smears, divergent results were obtained. The small number of cases prevented any firm conclusions. By summing up, our results support the idea that there are probably two types of blastema in nephroblastoma with different "suicide" potential and chemotherapeutic response. Further studies should be performed to stratify the influence of necrosis, apoptosis, and proliferation in chemosensivity of nephroblastomas. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Restless legs symptoms without periodic limb movements in sleep and without response to dopaminergic agents: a restless legs-like syndrome?EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 12 2007C. R. Baumann Patients fulfilling the essential criteria for restless legs syndrome (RLS), but in whom the response to conventional dopaminergic treatment and the presence of periodic limb movements in sleep (PLMS) are lacking, are occasionally encountered. The aim of this study was to systematically characterize this population. In a consecutive series of 117 patients fulfilling the essential criteria for RLS, we assessed the presence of the following supportive criteria: PLMS >15/h on polysomnography, and favourable response to dopaminergic treatment. We differentiated patients with ,classical RLS' (RLS-C; fulfilling at least one of the selected supportive criteria) from those with ,RLS-like syndrome' (RLS-L) in whom supportive criteria were not fulfilled. There were 103 RLS-C and 14 RLS-L patients. Compared with RLS-C patients, RLS-L patients were significantly younger, more severely affected by RSL symptoms, and were more probably to suffer from psychiatric comorbidities, than RLS-C patients. This study proves the existence of patients with severe RLS symptoms, but without PLMS and without response to dopaminergic treatment, who are clinically distinct from patients with ,classical RLS'. [source] A T2 cytokine environment may not limit T1 responses in human immunodeficiency virus patients with a favourable response to antiretroviral therapyIMMUNOLOGY, Issue 1 2006Patricia Price Summary Low-level production of interferon-, (IFN-,) marks human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-induced immunodeficiency and has been ascribed to a bias towards T2 cytokines. This was investigated in two cross-sectional studies of HIV patients who were immunodeficient when they began antiretroviral therapy (ART) and had stable increases in CD4 T-cell counts. Blood leucocytes were assessed unstimulated or after stimulation with cytomegalovirus (CMV), anti-CD3 or mitogen. IFN-, and interleukin (IL)-5 responses were initially assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot-forming cell assay (ELISPOT) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We then adopted a sensitive reverse transcription,polymerase chain reaction (RT,PCR) system to assess IFN-,, IL-5, IL-4 and IL-4,2 (an inhibitory splice variant of IL-4) mRNA. The results were correlated with putative serological markers of a T1 [lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3), CD26] or a T2 [CD30, immunoglobulin E (IgE)] cytokine environment. IL-5 production and IgE levels were elevated in patients. IgE levels did not correlate with IFN-,, but showed an inverse correlation with IL-5 released in culture (P = 0·05). The levels of IL-4, IFN-,, IL-5 and IL-4,2 mRNA were correlated after anti-CD3 stimulation, where IL-5 was the best predictor of IFN-, mRNA (P = 0·006). Weak positive correlations were evident between CD30 and cytokine mRNA levels, whilst IgE correlated inversely with IL-4, IL-4,2, IL-5 and IFN-, mRNA levels. These analyses provide no evidence for an inverse relationship between T1 and T2 cytokine responses in HIV patients, but suggest that the elevation of IgE marks low cytokine responses. [source] Comparison between non-probabilistic interval analysis method and probabilistic approach in static response problem of structures with uncertain-but-bounded parametersINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING, Issue 4 2004Zhiping Qiu Abstract The uncertainty present in many practical engineering analysis and design problems can be modelled using probabilistic or non-probabilistic interval analysis methods. One motivation for using non-probabilistic interval analysis models rather than probabilistic models for uncertain variables is the general dearth of information in characterizing the uncertainties. Non-probabilistic interval analysis methods are less information-intensive than probabilistic models, since no density information is required. Instead of conventional optimization studies, where the minimum possible response is sought, here an uncertainty model is developed as an anti-optimization problem of finding the least favourable response and the most favourable response under the constraints within the set-theoretical description. Non-probabilistic interval analysis methods have been used for dealing with uncertain phenomena in a wide range of engineering applications. This paper is concerned with the problem of comparison between the non-probabilistic interval analysis method and the probabilistic approach in the static response problem of structures with uncertain-but-bounded parameters from mathematical proofs and numerical calculations. The results show that under the condition of the interval vector of the uncertain parameters determined from the probabilistic and statistical information, the width of the static displacement obtained by the non-probabilistic interval analysis method is larger than that by the probabilistic approach for structures with uncertain-but-bounded structural parameters. This is just the result that we expect, since according to the definition of probabilistic theory and interval mathematics, the region determined by the non-probabilistic interval analysis method should contain one predicted by the probabilistic approach. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Predictors of the efficacy of interferon therapy for patients with chronic hepatitis C before and during therapy: how does this modify the treatment course?JOURNAL OF GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY, Issue 2000Yasushi Shiratori Antiviral therapy for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection should be based on the natural history of HCV infection; there is a sequential, but slow, progression from chronic hepatitis to cirrhosis, leading to death from either liver failure or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The risk of HCC development increases in association with the advance of fibrosis, and antiviral therapy can reduce this risk. More than 30 indices have been proposed as ,predictors' of favourable response to IFN therapy: host factors (age, gender, duration of HCV-infection, alcohol intake, hepatic iron stores, platelet count, histological staging of the liver disease), viral factors (HCV RNA levels in serum, HCV subtype, diversity of the hypervariable region, mutation of non-structure 5A gene), and IFN factors (dose, duration of treatment, type, treatment regimens i.e. every day vs three times a week, escalating dose regimen). Before starting IFN therapy, HCV subtype and pretreatment HCV RNA load, as well as the fibrotic stage of the liver, should be determined. The response to IFN therapy should be monitored by the HCV RNA status in serum during therapy, and the treatment regimen modified, or discontinued as required. A sustained virological response should be checked at more than 3 months after the completion of therapy. Even though the risk of HCC is markedly reduced in sustained responders, it is possible to develop HCC several years after completion of IFN therapy. [source] Chondrosarcoma of bone complicating Ollier's disease: Report of a favourable response to radiotherapyJOURNAL OF MEDICAL IMAGING AND RADIATION ONCOLOGY, Issue 3 2003Anhchuong Le Summary Because chondrosarcoma of bone is traditionally thought to be a radioresistant malignancy, it is usually managed surgically. We report a case of multifocal chondrosarcoma arising in Ollier's disease for which the patient declined surgery. He was given a course of radical radiotherapy that resulted in symptom palliation and a radiologically confirmed response before he died of disseminated disease. In patients with inoperable chondrosarcoma, radiotherapy can provide palliative benefit. [source] The use of glucan as immunostimulant in the treatment of a severe case of chromoblastomycosisMYCOSES, Issue 4 2008Conceição de Maria Pedrozo E Silva Azevedo Summary We report the case of an alternative treatment for a patient with a severe form of chromoblastomycosis that responded poorly to the traditional antifungal therapy. We hereby show, in this study, the improvement of lesions after treatment with itraconazole associated with an intramuscular administration of glucan. We observed that the regression of lesions was associated with an improvement of the cellular immune response. This favourable response that we observed suggests that the therapeutic regimen we used might be an option for the treatment of patients with a severe form of chromoblastomycosis. [source] Immunohistochemical estimation of cell cycle entry and phase distribution in astrocytomas: applications in diagnostic neuropathologyNEUROPATHOLOGY & APPLIED NEUROBIOLOGY, Issue 5 2005Ian S. Scott An immunohistochemical method for assessing cell cycle phase distribution in neurosurgical biopsies would enable such data to be incorporated into diagnostic algorithms for the estimation of prognosis and response to adjuvant chemotherapy in glial neoplasms, without the requirement for flow cytometric analysis. Paraffin-embedded sections of intracerebral gliomas (n = 48), consisting of diffuse astrocytoma (n = 9), anaplastic astrocytoma (n = 8) and glioblastoma (n = 31), were analysed by immunohistochemistry using markers of cell cycle entry, Mcm-2 and Ki67, and putative markers of cell cycle phase, cyclins D1 (G1-phase), cyclin A (S-phase), cyclin B1 (G2-phase) and phosphohistone H3 (Mitosis). Double labelling confocal microscopy confirmed that the phase markers were infrequently coexpressed. Cell cycle estimations by immunohistochemistry were corroborated by flow cytometric analysis. There was a significant increase in Mcm-2 (P < 0.0001), Ki67 (P < 0.0001), cyclin A (P < 0.0001) and cyclin B1 (P = 0.002) expression with increasing grade from diffuse astrocytoma through anaplastic astrocytoma to glioblastoma, suggesting that any of these four markers has potential as a marker of tumour grade. In a subset of glioblastomas (n = 16) for which accurate clinical follow-up data were available, there was a suggestion that the cyclin A:Mcm-2 labelling fraction might predict a relatively favourable response to radical radiotherapy. These provisional findings, however, require confirmation by a larger study. We conclude that it is feasible to obtain detailed cell cycle data by immunohistochemical analysis of tissue biopsies. Such information may facilitate tumour grading and may enable information of prognostic value to be obtained in the routine diagnostic laboratory. [source] Rituximab for severe myasthenia gravis , experience from five patientsACTA NEUROLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 4 2010C. Lindberg Lindberg C, Bokarewa M. Rituximab for severe myasthenia gravis , experience from five patients. Acta Neurol Scand: 2010: 122: 225,228. © 2010 The Authors Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Munksgaard. Background,,, Rituximab (RTX), a monoclonal antibody directed against CD20+ B cells, is used in the treatment of several autoimmune disorders including severe generalized myasthenia gravis (MG). Aims of the study,,, To describe the experience with RTX in five MG patients treated at our Neuromuscular Centre. Methods,,, Effect of RTX treatment was monitored by quantitative MG score (QMG score), forced vital capacity (FVC) and records of clinical parameters. Three patients had thymoma. Duration of MG prior to the first course of RTX was 3, 7, 26, 26 and 38 years. Results,,, We found favourable response to RTX treatment in all five patients. QMG score was markedly lower after RTX and in the three patients with respiratory muscle affection the FVC was increased. A good relief of bulbar, respiratory or extremity MG weakness was thus also found in the three patients who had long-standing severe MG. Repeated RTX treatment was needed in four patients. Conclusions,,, We conclude that RTX is effective in recent onset MG as well as in long-standing cases. As thymoma is prevalent in patients with severe MG, further studies are needed to evaluate the risk of thymoma recurrence following RTX treatment. [source] n-3 Fatty acid supplementation in burned paediatric patientsACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 12 2009MC Marín Abstract Aim:, To determine the effect of dietary supplementation with n-3 fatty acids (FA) in paediatric burned patients who had less than 20% of total body surface affected. Methods:, Burned patients were randomly assigned into two groups, one of them received a supplement of n-3 FA during 5 weeks; the other group was considered as not n-3 supplemented burned group. A third group of no burned patients was selected as control. Blood samples were collected at admission and in burned groups at the final of the study. Plasma and erythrocyte phospholipid FA composition and some biochemical parameters related to the clinical evolution: total plasma proteins and C3 and C4 complement proteins were determined. Results:, In the early post-burn patients, there is an increase in saturated and monounsaturated FAs in plasma phospholipids, and a decrease in polyunsaturated FAs compared with control. These alterations are in favour of proinflammatory response to burn injury. In n-3 FA supplemented group, these changes were further reverted, and a favourable response in the amount of total plasma proteins and in C3 and C4 proteins of the complement system was demonstrated. Conclusion:, Dietary n-3 FA supplementation might be beneficial for patients suffering thermal injury. [source] Preparing to sit the Royal Australia and New Zealand College of Radiologists Faculty of Radiation Oncology Fellowship Part 2 examination: The value of a workshop including practice and feedbackJOURNAL OF MEDICAL IMAGING AND RADIATION ONCOLOGY, Issue 5 2007S Bydder Summary A workshop has been held annually to help prepare candidates to sit the Royal Australia and New Zealand College of Radiologists Part 2 Faculty of Radiation Oncology examination. This study examined the value of such a course and its component parts and assessed attendees' learning environments. We collected detailed information from participants before and after the training workshop in 2005. A specific feature of this workshop included the use of an examination technique feedback form to facilitate the provision of systematic and comprehensive feedback to individual candidates after mock examination. Participants completed course evaluation forms and a learning environment survey. There were 22 candidate participants. The course and its components of this course were perceived very positively , including the examination technique feedback forms and written advice. Only three of the 24 questions regarding the registrars learning environment had less than 80% favourable responses , two of these questions related to workload. The course design described seems reasonably satisfactory in that it included the components ranked most highly by candidates. We also identified a number of variations that may be useful for future workshops. Although learning environments were generally good, we identified a perceived problem with workloads affecting a significant number of registrars. [source] Implementing HoNOS: An eight stage approachCLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOTHERAPY (AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THEORY & PRACTICE), Issue 2 2001Derek Milne The Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS) were developed as a brief way to quantify progress towards the national target of improving significantly the health and social functioning of mentally ill people (Wing et al., 1998). As an instrument, HoNOS was regarded as adequate for this purpose and so field testing was deemed to be the next task. However, the implementation of an outcome measure such as HoNOS under routine service conditions represents a significant implementation challenge. Therefore, we conducted an eight stage approach to implementation, with a sample of multi-disciplinary care managers from one county in the UK (N = 30). The results of shadowing and initial interviews indicated that significant barriers to implementation were insufficient staff and the high level of routine demands on staff for the completion of paperwork. These barriers outweighed the perceived boosters, including the favourable responses of colleagues and the benefits of data feedback from HoNOS. More staff, standardized training in the use of HoNOS, regular feedback and less paperwork were amongst ten suggestions for facilitating implementation. During a pilot period, staff received training, used HoNOS and were given graphical feedback of the HoNOS results. They were then re-interviewed, at which time they reported becoming fairly positive about the use of HoNOS and definitely valued the implementation approach. However, it is concluded that the routine use of HoNOS will require continued effort from staff and their managers (e.g. refresher training courses) and alternative or additional outcome measures may be necessary to provide useful clinical information. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||