Search results for "AGENTS"

Mycophenolate mofetil and enteric-coated mycophenolate sodium in the treatment of pemphigus vulgaris and pemphigus foliaceus.

2014

What is known and objective: Pemphigus is a severe, potentially life-threatening autoimmune blistering disease. The use of corticosteroids has dramatically improved the prognosis and changed its course. However, current morbidity of pemphigus is largely iatrogenic, caused by side effects of the long-term, high-dose corticosteroid therapy that is necessary to sustain disease control. In order to minimize side effects, a range of corticosteroid-sparing immunosuppressive agents have been introduced, including mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) and enteric-coated mycophenolate sodium (EC-MPS). A systematic review was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of MMF and EC-MPS in the treatment of pemphig…

Influence of different CyA formulations and calcium channel blocker phenyhidine regimens on intracellular (erythrocyte) calcium levels after kidney t…

1997

A 2013 European survey of clinical practice patterns in the management of Graves' disease

2014

SummaryObjective Management of Graves' disease (GD) in Europe was published in 1987. Aim of this survey was to provide an update on clinical practice in Europe, and to compare it with a 2011 American survey. Design Members of the European Thyroid Association (ETA) were asked to participate in a survey on management of GD, using the same questionnaire of a recent American survey. Results A total of 147 ETA members participated. In addition to serum TSH and free T4 assays, most respondents would request TSH-receptor autoantibody (TRAb) measurement (85·6%) and thyroid ultrasound (70·6%) to confirm aetiology, while isotopic studies were selected by 37·7%. Antithyroid drug (ATD) therapy was the …

Pharmacological Management of Elderly Patients with Asthma–Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Overlap Syndrome: Room for Speculation?

2016

Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are two distinct diseases that share a condition of chronic inflammation of the airways and bronchial obstruction. In clinical settings, it is not rare to come across patients who present with clinical and functional features of both diseases, posing a diagnostic dilemma. The overlap condition has been termed asthma–COPD overlap syndrome (ACOS), and mainly occurs in individuals with long-standing asthma, especially if they are also current or former smokers. Patients with ACOS have poorer health-related quality of life and a higher exacerbation rate than subjects with asthma or COPD alone. Whether ACOS is a distinct nosological entity …

Caplacizumab prevents refractoriness and mortality in acquired thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura: integrated analysis

2021

Abstract The efficacy and safety of caplacizumab in individuals with acquired thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (aTTP) have been established in the phase 2 TITAN and phase 3 HERCULES trials. Integrated analysis of data from both trials was conducted to increase statistical power for assessing treatment differences in efficacy and safety outcomes. Caplacizumab was associated with a significant reduction in the number of deaths (0 vs 4; P < .05) and a significantly lower incidence of refractory TTP (0 vs 8; P < .05) vs placebo during the treatment period. Consistent with the individual trials, treatment with caplacizumab resulted in a faster time to platelet count response (ha…

Effectiveness of benralizumab in severe eosinophilic asthma: Distinct sub-phenotypes of response identified by cluster analysis

2022

Background: Benralizumab is effective in severe eosinophilic asthma (SEA), but suboptimal responses are observed in some patients. Although several factors have been associated with benralizumab response, no cluster analysis has yet been undertaken to identify different responsiveness sub-phenotypes. Objective: To identify SEA sub-phenotypes with differential responsiveness to benralizumab. Methods: One hundred and five patients diagnosed with SEA who had completed 6 months of benralizumab treatment were included in a hierarchical cluster analysis based on a set of clinical variables that can be easily collected in routine practice (age, age at disease onset, disease length, allergen sensit…

Complications of Botulinum toxin A: An update review.

2021

Cosmetic surgery procedures have increased manifolds all over the world owing to the ever-increasing demand of people to look beautiful and young. Injectable treatments like botulinum toxin are becoming more popular owing to their rapid, well-defined, and lasting results for the reduction of facial fine lines, wrinkles, and facial rejuvenation. These emerging treatments are quite safe but can have certain adverse effects. In this article, we have highlighted the complications and side effects of botulinum toxin based on the anatomical location. The possible causes and precautions to prevent these complications are also discussed. The search of literature included peer-reviewed articles incl…

The impact of chocolate on cardiovascular health

2011

Cardiovascular disease is the leading determinant of mortality and morbidity in women. Functional foods are attracting interest as potential regulators of the susceptibility to disease. Supported by epidemiological evidence, chocolate has emerged as a possible modulator of cardiovascular risk. Chocolate, or cocoa as the natural source, contains flavanols, a subclass of flavonoids. The latter years have witnessed an increasing number of experimental and clinical studies that suggest a protective effect of chocolate against atherogenesis. Oxidative stress, inflammation, and endothelial function define three biological mechanisms that have shown sensitivity to chocolate. Moreover, the consumpt…

[Effect of flecainide on longitudinal and transverse conduction velocities in ventricular myocardium. An experimental study].

2007

It is known that the effect of flecainide on longitudinal and transverse ventricular conduction velocities depends on the coupling interval. If this is so, whether the longitudinal or transverse direction is predominantly affected could depend on the magnitude of the coupling interval. In order to investigate this hypothesis, we studied the effect of flecainide, 1 micromol/L, on conduction velocities in excised heart preparations from 11 rabbits using a basal cycle length of 250 ms and inserting two extrastimuli at a decreasing coupling interval. Flecainide significantly reduced both conduction velocities. However, the effect increased as the coupling interval decreased for only the longitu…

Community water fluoridation and caries prevention: a critical review.

2006

The aim of this paper was to critically review the current role of community water fluoridation in preventing dental caries. Original articles and reviews published in English language from January 2001 to June 2006 were selected through MEDLINE database. Other sources were taken from the references of the selected papers. For the past 50 years community water fluoridation has been considered the milestone of caries prevention and as one of the major public health measures of the 20th century. However, it is now accepted that the primary cariostatic action of fluoride occurs after tooth eruption. Moreover, the caries reduction directly attributable to water fluoridation have declined in the…