Search results for "immunosuppressive agent"

Sicilian DES Registry: prospective in-hospital and 9-month clinical and angiographic follow-up in selected high restenosis risk patients.

2008

OBJECTIVE: This is a multicentre, open label, prospective non-randomized registry, with 9-month angiographic follow-up, conducted to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of drug-eluting stents (DES) when used in high restenosis risk patients from the real world. METHODS: From June 2004 to February 2005, a total of 1622 consecutive patients were enrolled to the Sicilian DES Registry, according to specific inclusion criteria. Both paclitaxel-eluting and sirolimus-eluting stents were used. The analysis was performed on 1472 patients because 150 patients were excluded from the study. The primary endpoint was to evaluate the rate of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) within 9 months after DES …

How to treat tumefactive demyelinating disease?

2013

Glioma-like inflammatory demyelinating lesions can be found in patients with pre-diagnosed multiple sclerosis, but they have also been described as an isolated disease entity. The initial diagnostic work-up usually includes a biopsy for histopathological analysis. However, even after unambiguous histopathologic classification, tumefactive lesions pose a therapeutic challenge. Until now, there have been no guidelines on how to treat patients with these rare and extreme lesion phenotypes. Here we report a patient with a relapsing unifocal tumefactive demyelinating lesion. The patient initially showed a good response to steroid treatment, with full clinical recovery. However, after relapse of…

Understanding the delayed onset of action of azathioprine in IBD: are we there yet?

2009

In this issue of Gut , Ben-Horin et al propose an innovative explanation for the well known phenomenon of the delayed onset of action of thiopurines ( see page 396 ). They thereby contribute to an improved insight into the exact mode of action of the classic immunosuppressive drug azathioprine.1 Developing azathioprine as an innovative immunosuppressive drug in 1957, Gertrude Elion and George Hitchings laid the basis for the currently utilised concept of steroid-sparing treatment strategies in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD).2 With regard to the evidence-based immunosuppressive capacity and clinical efficacy of azathioprine in the context of IBD as well as considering the proven long-term…

Combining Sirolimus-eluting Stents and External Irradiation in Cholesterol-fed Rabbits Increased Incomplete Stent Apposition and Decreased Re-endothe…

2009

Restenosis after the implantation of a drug-eluting stent or after vascular irradiation therapy shares similar physiopathological mechanisms. No experimental data are currently available on vascular wall behavior after external irradiation on arteries stented with sirolimus-eluting stents (SES). Ten New Zealand white rabbits received a 0.5% cholesterol-enriched chow for 1 month. Bilateral iliac artery stent implantation was then performed with an SES (Cypher; Cordis Corp). The animals were randomized into either an irradiated group (I, 2 Gy external x-ray irradiation, n = 5) or a control group (C, n = 5). The cholesterol-enriched chow was continued for 1 additional month after stent implant…

Minimal manifestation status and prednisone withdrawal in the MGTX trial

2020

ObjectiveTo examine whether sustained minimal manifestation status (MMS) with complete withdrawal of prednisone is better achieved in thymectomized patients with myasthenia gravis (MG).MethodsThis study is a post hoc analysis of data from a randomized trial of thymectomy in MG (Thymectomy Trial in Non-Thymomatous Myasthenia Gravis Patients Receiving Prednisone Therapy [MGTX]). MGTX was a multicenter, randomized, rater-blinded 3-year trial that was followed by a voluntary 2-year extension for patients with acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibody–positive MG without thymoma. Patients were randomized 1:1 to thymectomy plus prednisone vs prednisone alone. Participants were age 18–65 years at enr…

Drug‐refractory myasthenia gravis: Clinical characteristics, treatments, and outcome

2022

[Objective] To describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes in patients with refractory myasthenia gravis (MG) and to determine the effectiveness and side effects of the drugs used for their treatment.

The METEOR Trial: The Burial of Methotrexate in Ulcerative Colitis?

2016

Diagnostic and vaccine strategies to prevent infections in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

2016

Summary Objectives The treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been revolutionized by the use of immunomodulatory agents. Although these potent drugs are effective in controlling disease activity, they also cause an increased risk of new infections or reactivation of latent infections. On these premises, we aimed to provide guidance on the definitions of immunocompromised patients, opportunistic infections and the risk factors associated with their occurrence in an IBD context, and to suggest the proper screening tests for infectious diseases and the vaccination schedules to perform before and/or during therapy with immunomodulators. Methods All the most recent evidences – filtere…

Detection of Hypoxanthine from Inosine and Unusual Hydrolysis of Immunosuppressive Drug Azathioprine through the Formation of a Diruthenium(III) Syst…

2021

Hypoxanthine (hpx) is an important molecule for both biochemistry research and biomedical applications. It is involved in several biological processes associated to energy and purine metabolism and has been proposed as a biomarker for a variety of disease states. Consequently, the discovery and development of systems suitable for the detection of hypoxanthine is pretty appealing in this research field. Thus, we have obtained a stable diruthenium (III) compound in its dehydrated and hydrated forms with formula [{Ru(&micro

Remyelinating strategies in multiple sclerosis.

2014

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common chronic inflammatory demyelinating disorder of the CNS characterized by infiltration of immune cells and progressive damage to myelin sheaths and neurons. In recent years, the importance of the neuronal compartment in the early pathology of multiple sclerosis has become increasingly clear. Direct axonal damage within the early stages of inflammation as well as neuronal injury as a result of chronic demyelination are essential factors for the development of long-term disability in patients. Viewing MS as both inflammatory and neurodegenerative has significant implications for treatment, with remyelination of denuded axons to protect neurons from dam…