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Placebo-treated Group (placebo-treated + group)
Selected AbstractsPilot trial: Pioglitazone versus placebo in patients with plaque psoriasis (the P6)INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 4 2005Nusrat Shafiq MD Background, Disordered differentiation and hyperproliferation of keratinocytes with inflammation are the hallmarks of psoriasis. Ligand activation of peroxisome proliferator receptor-, (a class of nuclear receptors) by thiazolidinediones can normalize the histologic features of psoriasis. Method, In a 10-week, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study, 70 patients with moderate to severe psoriasis received one of the following treatments: pioglitazone 15 mg, pioglitazone 30 mg or placebo. Efficacy was evaluated by observing the change in the psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) after 10 weeks of treatment. Results, There was a dose-dependent improvement in psoriasis. Median PASI scores at the end of 10 weeks were significantly reduced in the pioglitazone treatment groups as compared to the placebo-treated group. The psoriasis lesions cleared in more than 40% of patients treated with pioglitazone as compared to 12.5% of those with placebo. The percentage reduction in mean PASI scores was 21.6%, 41.1% and 47.5% in the placebo, pioglitazone 15 mg, and 30 mg groups, respectively. No serious adverse events were detected. Conclusion, This is the first report from a controlled trial demonstrating that pioglitazone could be considered as an efficacious and safe agent for the treatment of plaque psoriasis. The optimum dose and duration of pioglitazone therapy remain to be determined. [source] Ketamine attenuates post-operative cognitive dysfunction after cardiac surgeryACTA ANAESTHESIOLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 7 2009J. A. HUDETZ Background: Post-operative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) commonly occurs after cardiac surgery. Ketamine exerts neuroprotective effects after cerebral ischemia by anti-excitotoxic and anti-inflammatory mechanisms. We hypothesized that ketamine attenuates POCD in patients undergoing cardiac surgery concomitant with an anti-inflammatory effect. Methods: Patients randomly received placebo (0.9% saline; n=26) or an i.v. bolus of ketamine (0.5 mg/kg; n=26) during anesthetic induction. Anesthesia was maintained with isoflurane and fentanyl. A nonsurgical group (n=26) was also included as control. Recent verbal and nonverbal memory and executive functions were assessed before and 1 week after surgery or a 1-week waiting period for the nonsurgical controls. Serum C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations were determined before surgery and on the first post-operative day. Results: Baseline neurocognitive and depression scores were similar in the placebo, ketamine, and nonsurgical control groups. Cognitive performance after surgery decreased by at least 2 SDs (z -score of 1.96) in 21 patients in the placebo group and only in seven patients in the ketamine group compared with the nonsurgical controls (P<0.001, Fisher's exact test). Cognitive performance was also significantly different between the placebo- and the ketamine-treated groups based on all z -scores (P<0.001, Mann,Whitney U -test). Pre-operative CRP concentrations were similar (P<0.33, Mann,Whitney U -test) in the placebo- and ketamine-treated groups. The post-operative CRP concentration was significantly (P<0.01, Mann,Whitney U -test) lower in the ketamine-treated than in the placebo-treated group. Conclusions: Ketamine attenuates POCD 1 week after cardiac surgery and this effect may be related to the anti-inflammatory action of the drug. [source] MLN3897 plus methotrexate in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: Safety, efficacy, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of an oral CCR1 antagonist in a phase IIa, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, proof-of-concept study,ARTHRITIS & RHEUMATISM, Issue 12 2009Clarissa E. Vergunst Objective To assess the efficacy, safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of the CC chemokine receptor CCR1 antagonist MLN3897 in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) receiving methotrexate (MTX). Methods In this phase IIa, proof-of-concept study, patients meeting the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria for RA who had been taking MTX for ,6 months with evidence of active disease were randomly assigned to receive either 10 mg oral MLN3897 or matching placebo once daily for 12 weeks (days 1,83) while continuing to receive MTX once a week. Clinical assessments, safety monitoring, and sampling for pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic analyses were performed throughout the study. The primary efficacy end point was the difference in the percentage of patients meeting the ACR 20% improvement criteria (achieving an ACR20 response) on day 84 in the MLN3897-treated group compared with that in the placebo-treated group. Results MLN3897 was well tolerated, with no evidence of systemic immunosuppression. In the intent-to-treat population, there was no significant difference in day 84 ACR20 response rates between MLN3897-treated patients and placebo-treated patients (35% versus 33%, respectively; P = 0.72). Results were similar for the per-protocol population. Pharmacokinetic analyses demonstrated no interactions between MLN3897 and MTX. MLN3897 was associated with a high degree of CCR1 occupancy (,90% on days 28, 56, and 84 in 82% of patients, by macrophage inflammatory protein 1, internalization assay). Conclusion MLN3897 at a concentration of 10 mg once daily had no discernible activity in patients with RA who were also receiving MTX. The results suggest that CCR1 antagonism is unlikely to be a viable strategy for the treatment of RA when used in isolation at the receptor occupancy levels reached in this study. [source] Effects of combined inhibition of the Na+,H+ exchanger and angiotensin-converting enzyme in rats with congestive heart failure after myocardial infarctionBRITISH JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY, Issue 5 2005Hartmut Ruetten We investigated the single vs the combined long-term inhibition of Na+,H+ exchanger-1 (NHE-1) and ACE in rats with congestive heart failure induced by myocardial infarction (MI). Rats with MI were randomized to receive either placebo, cariporide (3000 p.p.m. via chow), ramipril (1 mg kg,1 day,1via drinking water) or their combination for 18 weeks starting on day 3 after surgery. Cardiac morphology and function was assessed by echocardiography and by means of a 2.0 F conductance catheter to determine left ventricular (LV) pressure volume relationships. MI for 18 weeks resulted in an increase in LV end-diastolic diameter (LVDed) in the placebo-treated group when compared to sham (placebo: 1.1±0.04 cm; sham: 0.86±0.01; P<0.05). Combined inhibition of NHE-1 and ACE, but not the monotherapies, significantly reduced LVDed (1.02±0.02 cm). Preload recruitable stroke work (PRSW), dp/dtmax (parameter of systolic function) and end-diastolic pressure volume relationship (EDPVR, diastolic function) were significantly impaired in placebo-treated MI group (PRSW: 39±7 mmHg; dp/dtmax: 5185±363 mmHg s,1; EDPVR: 0.042±0.001 mmHg ,l,1; all P<0.05). Cariporide treatment significantly improved PRSW (64±7 mmHg), dp/dtmax (8077±525 mmHg s,1) and EDPVR (0.026±0.014 mmHg ,l,1), and reduced cardiac hypertrophy in rats with MI. Combined inhibition of NHE-1 and ACE had even a more pronounced effect on PRSW (72±5 mmHg) and EDPVR (0.026±0.014 mmHg ,l,1), as well as cardiac hypertrophy that, however, did not reach statistical significance compared to cariporide treatment alone. The NHE-1 inhibitor cariporide significantly improved LV remodeling and function in rats with congestive heart failure induced by MI. The effect of cariporide was comparable or tended to be stronger (e.g. systolic function) compared to ramipril. Combined treatment with cariporide and ramipril tended to be more effective on LV remodeling in rats with heart failure than the single treatments. Thus, inhibition of the NHE-1 may be a promising novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of congestive heart failure. British Journal of Pharmacology (2005) 146, 723,731. doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0706381 [source] Desloratadine partially inhibits the augmented bacterial responses in the sinuses of allergic and infected miceCLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL ALLERGY, Issue 10 2004V. Kirtsreesakul Summary Background Allergic rhinitis (AR) is considered a major predisposing factor for the development of acute bacterial rhinosinusitis. How AR augments a bacterial infection is unknown. Objective Our purpose in this study was to test whether an H1 receptor antagonist, desloratadine, could reduce the augmented effect of an ongoing allergic reaction on acute bacterial rhinosinusitis. Methods Three groups of infected and ovalbumin (OVA)-sensitized mice were studied: (1) infected and allergic mice treated with desloratadine, (2) infected and allergic mice treated with placebo, and (3) infected mice. A fourth group of uninfected, non-sensitized mice served as a control for the cellular changes. BALB/c mice were sensitized by two intraperitoneal injections of OVA given 8 days apart. One day after the second injection, the mice were nasally exposed daily to 6% OVA (the groups treated with desloratadine or placebo) or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) (the infection-only group) for 5 days. After the second OVA exposure, the mice were intranasally inoculated with Streptococcus pneumoniae. Desloratadine or placebo was given daily throughout the OVA exposure period. Nasal allergic symptoms were observed by counting of nasal rubbing and sneezing for 10 min after OVA or PBS nasal challenge. On day 5 post-infection, nasal lavage culture was done, and the inflammatory cells in the sinuses were evaluated by flow cytometry. Results Mice that were made allergic, infected, and treated with placebo showed more organisms and phagocytes than did only infect mice. They also manifested allergic nasal symptoms and eosinophil influx into the sinuses. Desloratadine treatment during allergen exposure reduced allergic symptoms and reduced sinonasal infection (P<0.05). There tended to be less myeloid cell and neutrophil influx (P=0.09 both), but not eosinophil influx (P=0.85) compared with that in the placebo-treated group. Conclusion Desloratadine treatment during nasal challenge inhibited allergic symptoms and reduced sinonasal infection, suggesting that histamine via an H1 receptor plays a role in the augmented infection in mice with an ongoing allergic reaction. [source] | ||||||||||