Search results for " quality."
showing 10 items of 2995 documents
Omalizumab rapidly improves angioedema-related quality of life in adult patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria: X-ACT study data
2018
Background The X-ACT study aims to examine the effect of omalizumab treatment on quality of life (QoL) in chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) patients with angioedema refractory to high doses of H1-antihistamines. Methods In X-ACT, a phase III, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, CSU patients (18–75 years) with ≥4 angioedema episodes during the 6 months before inclusion were randomized (1:1) to receive omalizumab 300 mg or placebo every 4 weeks for 28 weeks. Angioedema-related QoL, skin-related QoL impairment, and psychological well-being were assessed. Results Ninety-one patients were randomized and 68 (omalizumab, n=35; placebo, n=33) completed the 28-week treatment period. At baselin…
Evaluation of Physiological Parameters on Discomfort Glare Thresholds Using LUMIZ 100 Tool
2021
Purpose To assess the links between discomfort glare sensitivity and physiological factors such as eye biometry, refraction, skin phototype, age, and gender among a large sample of healthy human subjects. Methods A total of 489 participants who were 20 to 70 years old (241 men, 248 women) underwent discomfort glare threshold measurements via the LUMIZ 100. Eye biometry and optical quality were measured using a Zeiss IOLMaster 700 biometer and i.Profiler aberrometer. Iris color, skin tone, age, gender, eyeglasses use, chronotype, fatigue level, self-evaluation of light sensitivity, and time spent outdoors were determined. Statistical analysis was carried out using nonparametric Mann–Whitney …
Detection of oncogenic human papillomavirus genotypes on spermatozoa from male partners of infertile couples
2013
Objective To evaluate the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) sperm infection and its correlation with sperm parameters in patients who attended a fertility clinic. Design Cross-sectional clinical study. Setting University-affiliated reproductive medicine clinic. Patient(s) A total of 308 male partners of couples undergoing in vitro fertilization techniques. Intervention(s) Specimens of semen were collected from all patients. Main Outcome Measure(s) Sperm parameters were evaluated according to the World Health Organization manual. The presence of HPV DNA was researched by the combined use of two HPV assays and a highly sensitive nested polymerase chain reaction assay followed by HPV ge…
Subcutaneous gonadotropin therapy in male patients with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism
1991
Objective The response to subcutaneous (SC) gonadotropin replacement therapy, using human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG) or hCG alone, was evaluated in male hypothalamic hypogonadism. Design Sixteen patients with hypothalamic hypogonadism were treated with gonadotropins for induction of puberty and normalization of spermatogenesis. The results were analyzed retrospectively. Setting The study was carried out in a clinical endocrinology department providing tertiary care and in private practices of endocrinology. Patients Eight patients with idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and eight patients with Kallmann's syndrome in prepubertal or early pubert…
Clinical success of intrauterine insemination cycles is affected by the sperm preparation time.
2013
Objective To determine the impact of the time interval from the end of sperm preparation (TSP) to intrauterine insemination (IUI) on the outcome. Design Prospective multicentre cohort study. Setting Seven French centers (assisted reproduction group in northeastern France, four academic centers, and three clinics). Patient(s) Eight hundred sixty-two IUI cycles (709 patients) managed by gonadotropins were studied. Intervention(s) Cycles were stimulated by either FSH or hMG, and hCG was administrated when the leading follicle diameter measured >15 mm. IUIs were performed ∼36 hours after ovulation triggering. Main Outcome Measure(s) Generalized linear mixed models for binary outcomes were used …
Quantitative myocardial perfusion imaging using different autocalibrated parallel acquisition techniques
2008
Purpose To compare three different autocalibrated parallel acquisition techniques (PAT) for quantitative and semiquantitative myocardial perfusion imaging. Materials and Methods Seven healthy volunteers underwent myocardial first-pass perfusion imaging at rest using an SR-TrueFISP pulse sequence without PAT and while using GRAPPA, mSENSE, and TSENSE. signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), normalized upslopes (NUS), and myocardial blood flow (MBF) were calculated. Artifacts, image noise, and overall image quality were qualitatively assessed. Furthermore, the relation between signal intensity (SI) and contrast medium (CM) concentration was determined in phantoms. Results …
Teprotumumab for Thyroid-Associated Ophthalmopathy
2017
Thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy, a condition commonly associated with Graves' disease, remains inadequately treated. Current medical therapies, which primarily consist of glucocorticoids, have limited efficacy and present safety concerns. Inhibition of the insulin-like growth factor I receptor (IGF-IR) is a new therapeutic strategy to attenuate the underlying autoimmune pathogenesis of ophthalmopathy.We conducted a multicenter, double-masked, randomized, placebo-controlled trial to determine the efficacy and safety of teprotumumab, a human monoclonal antibody inhibitor of IGF-IR, in patients with active, moderate-to-severe ophthalmopathy. A total of 88 patients were randomly assigned to r…
Confirmatory factor analysis of the Patient Assessment of Constipation-Symptoms (PAC-SYM) among patients with chronic constipation.
2015
Background and aim: PAC-SYM is widely adopted to asses constipation severity. However, it has been validated in a small sample, few items have been included based on expert opinion and not on empirical grounds, and its factor structure has never been replicated. We aimed at evaluating the psychometric properties of PAC-SYM in patients with chronic constipation. Methods: We enrolled 2,203 outpatients with chronic constipation in two waves. We used wave I sample to test the psychometric properties of the PAC-SYM and wave II sample to cross-validate its factor structure, to assess criterion validity, responsiveness to clinical change, and its minimal clinically important difference. Results: O…
Omalizumab in patients with symptomatic chronic idiopathic/spontaneous urticaria despite standard combination therapy
2013
Patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria/chronic spontaneous urticaria (CIU/CSU) often continue to experience symptoms despite receiving standard-of-care therapy with H1-antihistamines along with 1 or more add-on therapies.We sought to evaluate the safety and efficacy of 24 weeks of treatment with omalizumab in patients with persistent CIU/CSU despite treatment with H₁-antihistamines at up to 4 times the approved dose plus H₂-antihistamines, leukotriene receptor antagonists, or both.In this phase III study patients were randomized to receive 6 subcutaneous injections at 4-week intervals of either 300 mg of omalizumab or placebo, followed by a 16-week observation period. The primary object…
Vocal fold strain and vocal pitch in singing:Radiographic observations of singers and nonsingers
1998
Summary The relationship between vocal fold strain and vocal pitch in singersand nonsingers singing a rising pitch series has been indirectly investigated by means of lateral radiographs. Nonsingers tend to exhibit more strain than singers. To standardize the degree of strain, an index of strain per semitone is proposed. The semitone strain indicates the average amount of strain per 1 semitone of pitch increase or decrease. The index has been shown to be affected by several factors: gender, singing training, singing technique, voice class, age, and status of muscle function. Observations suggest that similar groups of individuals occupy different positions on the stress-strain curve, indica…