PATIENTS AND METHODS (patient + and_methods)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Abstracts of the 8th Meeting of the Italian Peripheral Nerve Study Group: 57

JOURNAL OF THE PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM, Issue 1 2003
D Cocito
BACKGROUND: Since 1991, five sets of electrophysiological criteria for CIDP have been reported. However, until now, receiver operator characteristic (ROC), such as sensitivity and specificity, of only AAN criteria were investigated, showing a high specificity, but intermediate sensitivity. The application of these criteria may be useful in clinical trials, but is inadequate in clinical practice, since they preclude immunomodulating treatment in patients who do not meet them. OBJECTIVE: 1) to evaluate the ROC and predictive value of five different electrophysiological criteria for CIDP (AAN, INCAT, Rotta et al, Nicholas et al. and Saperstein et al.); 2) to identify the most informative electrophysiological features indicative of demyelination by mean of the likelihood ratio; 3) to determine, in our series of cases, a set of minimal electrophysiological criteria (albeit aspecific) enough sensitive for CIDP diagnosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 20 patients with sensorimotor polyneuropathy, progressive for at least 2 months, with weakness in least two limbs and documented improvement in strength in response to immunotherapy. Other potential causes were excluded, including diabetes and IgM paraproteinemia with or without anti-MAG reactivity. Twelve patients with axonal polyneuropathy associated with diabetes and 12 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis were included as controls. Nerve conduction studies (NCS) were evaluated according to all five sets of NCS criteria and ROC was calculated. Likelihood ratio for CIDP was evaluated for each set of NCS criteria and for presence of each of the following features in different number of nerves: motor conduction velocities (MCV), conduction blocks/temporal dispersion, distal motor (DML) and F-wave latencies (FWL). MCV, DML and FWL were considered indicative of demyelination if decreased or increased as suggested by AAN criteria. Results will be discussed. [source]


Sites of recurrence in oral and oropharyngeal cancers according to the treatment approach

ORAL DISEASES, Issue 3 2003
AL Carvalho
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the rates and the sites of tumour recurrence in patients with oral and oropharyngeal carcinomas. DESIGN: This is a retrospective study of a series of cases treated in a single institution. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A series of 2067 patients with oral and oropharyngeal squamous carcinoma, treated from 1954 to 1998 were analysed. The treatment approach was: surgery, 624 cases (30.2%); radiotherapy alone, 729 cases (35.3%); radiotherapy and surgery, 552 cases (26.7%) and radiotherapy and chemotherapy, 162 cases (7.8%). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Tumour recurrence was observed in 1079 patients (52.2%): 561 cases of local recurrences (27.1%); 168 neck recurrences (8.1%); 252 locoregional recurrences (12.2%); 59, distant metastasis (2.9%) and 39 (1.9%), combination of distant metastasis with local, neck or locoregional recurrence. RESULTS: The rates of recurrence varied significantly according to the treatment performed. Oral cavity cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy alone or in combination with chemotherapy presented the highest rates of neck recurrences (22.5 and 40.0%, respectively) for clinical stage (CS) I/II and of local (41.2 and 30.1%) and locoregional (21.7 and 31.1%) recurrences for CS III/IV; yet, for CS III/IV, surgery without neck dissection was associated with the highest rates of neck recurrences (20.7%), but no differences were observed in the rates of local or locoregional recurrences for CS I/II patients. For oropharynx cancer patients with CS I/II there was no difference in the rate of locoregional failures according to the treatment. However, patients with CS III/IV undergoing radiotherapy present a highest rate of local (42.3%) and locoregional (28.8%) failures. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that surgery should be the first option for initial clinical stage oral and oropharyngeal cancers. For advanced cases independently of the site of the tumour, surgery and postoperative radiotherapy should be the standard of care because it is associated with the lowest rates of locoregional recurrence. [source]


Assessing the attitudes to prostate cancer treatment among European male patients

BJU INTERNATIONAL, Issue 2007
Claude Schulman
OBJECTIVES, To understand the attitudes of patients with prostate cancer toward the disease in general and to the use of hormone therapy as treatment; to assess unmet needs in the management of prostate cancer; and to gauge patient receptivity to a potential 6-month formulation of a luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonist. PATIENTS AND METHODS, Face-to-face interviews, lasting 50 min on average, were conducted during January and February 2007 with 200 European men who had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. RESULTS, Most patients were very satisfied with their physician, particularly with specialists, with 94% of men being satisfied with their expertise and 67% fully trusting the recommended treatment. Therapeutic efficacy was considered the most crucial aspect of treatment, although maintaining their lifestyle during treatment was also considered important (83% of patients). In all, 67% of patients believed that consideration should be given to lifestyle needs when selecting treatment; however, over half (55%) had never raised lifestyle issues with their physicians. Most patients would prefer fewer injections, with 68% (135/200) preferring 6-monthly injections over 3- or 1-monthly depots. Perceived advantages of 6-monthly injections include less discomfort/pain, more quality of life, fewer reminders of the disease and more ability to undertake activities without restriction. CONCLUSIONS, Patients with prostate cancer are generally very satisfied with their physicians and the information they receive, yet find it difficult to communicate their lifestyle needs. Most patients would prefer 6-monthly LHRH agonist therapy due to the many advantages associated with fewer injections, including its efficacy in reducing testosterone levels. Improving patients' willingness to raise lifestyle issues with their physicians, providing more effective patient-physician communication and less frequent injections might assist in achieving both optimal control of testosterone and optimal management of prostate cancer. [source]


Host serological response to Helicobacter pylori after successful eradication: long-term follow-up in patients with cured and persistent infection

ALIMENTARY PHARMACOLOGY & THERAPEUTICS, Issue 2006
J. TANAKA
Summary Aim To systematically determine the usefulness of Helicobacter pylori IgG antibody titer decline as a predictor of treatment success after H. pylori eradication in large patient samples. Patients and Methods Serum samples from 258 H. pylori positive patients (52.8 yrs, 65% males) were retrospectively collected from five medical centers, and H. pylori titers were quantitatively determined by ELISA. Serial serum samples were collected at baseline and for up to 4.9 years after treatment. 169 patients underwent successful eradication while 89 remained infected. The median total observation period was 635 days (range, 51 to 1,800 days). Chronological changes in H. pylori titers were analyzed and compared between cured and infection persistent subjects. Results The proportion of infection persistent patients who developed negative H. pylori IgG antibody titers was below 5%. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for the confirmation of successful eradication according to the percent decline over baseline at each time-point showed that a 60% decline at 1 year or more after eradication treatment strongly correlated with successful eradication (sensitivity = 90% and specificity = 87%). Conclusion A 60% decline in H. pylori IgG titers (HEL-p kit) from baseline to one year or greater is a reliable predictor of successful H. pylori eradication. [source]


Efficacy of Lactobacillus GG in maintaining remission of ulcerative colitis

ALIMENTARY PHARMACOLOGY & THERAPEUTICS, Issue 11 2006
M. A. ZOCCO
Summary Background Aminosalicylates are the mainstay of therapy to prevent relapse of quiescent ulcerative colitis. The rationale for using probiotics is based on the evidence implicating intestinal bacteria in the pathogenesis of this disorder. Aim To evaluate the efficacy of Lactobacillus GG alone or in combination with mesalazine vs. mesalazine as maintenance treatment in ulcerative colitis. Patients and methods 187 ulcerative colitis patients with quiescent disease were randomized to receive Lactobacillus GG 18 × 109 viable bacteria/day (65 patients), mesalazine 2400 mg/day (60 patients) or Lactobacillus GG + mesalazine (62 patients). Disease activity index, endoscopic and histological scores were determined at 0, 6 and 12 months and in case of relapse. The primary end point was to evaluate sustained remission. Results Overall analysis showed no difference in relapse rate at 6 (P = 0.44) and 12 months (P = 0.77) among the three treatment groups. However, the treatment with Lactobacillus GG seems to be more effective than standard treatment with mesalazine in prolonging the relapse-free time (P < 0.05). Conclusions Lactobacillus GG seems to be effective and safe for maintaining remission in patients with ulcerative colitis, and it could represent a good therapeutic option for preventing relapse in this group of patients. [source]