AIM: To determine the efficacy of long-term lamivudine treatment of a large number of Japanese patients with chronic hepatitis B. METHODS: In this retrospective, multi-center trial, 318 Japanese patients with chronic hepatitis B received 100 mg of lamivudine daily for up to 36 (median 21) mo. Virological response was a ...

N-terminal natriuretic peptide type B (NT-proBNP) is a marker of cardiac dysfunction in light chain amyloidosis (AL) and a powerful prognostic determinant. Serum NT-proBNP and circulating free light chains (FLCs) were measured at enrollment and after 3 cycles of chemotherapy in 51 patients with cardiac AL. In patients (n = ...

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to evaluate the relationship between brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), renal function, and the severity of congestive heart failure (CHF). BACKGROUND: Both BNP and renal function are prognostic predictors in CHF patients. METHODS: We measured the plasma BNP level in the aortic root and coronary sinus in ...

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess the predictive value of the cardiac hormone B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) for long-term outcome in a large cohort of stable angina patients. BACKGROUND: Recent data suggest a role of BNP in stable ischemic heart disease beyond its known value in heart ...

BACKGROUND: The clinical significance of the increased concentrations of cardiac troponins observed in patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) in the absence of an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is controversial. One proposed explanation is that immunoreactive fragments of cardiac troponin T (cTnT) accumulate in ESRD. We used gel-filtration chromatography ...

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a central proinflammatory cytokine that regulates innate and adaptive immune responses. To evaluate its role in primary vasculitides, we determined MIF by enzyme-linked immunoassay in the sera of patients with Wegener's granulomatosis (WG; n=26), microscopic polyangiitis (MPA; n=10), polyarteritis nodosa (PAN; n=9) and giant ...

Minor metabolic pathways in human subjects have been shown to exist for the conversion of codeine to hydrocodone but have not been reported for the metabolic conversion of morphine to hydromorphone. In this study, urine specimens were collected in an out-patient setting from 13 pain patients who were chronically treated ...

Forty-two consecutive patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer who underwent primary surgical treatment were evaluated. The control group comprised 21 patients who had undergone surgery associated with benign pathologies. Forty-one patients had stage III disease except one who had stage IV. Optimal debulking (<1 cm) was performed in all the ...

The aim of the study was to evaluate the relationship between N-terminal brain natriuretic propeptide (NT-proBNP) plasma concentrations and the severity of organ dysfunction assessed by the Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score in septic patients MATERIAL/METHODS: NT-proBNP, SOFA score, and survival were evaluated in 20 consecutive septic patients. They ...

To determine risk factors of accelerated atherosclerosis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 72 patients with inactive disease and 36 age- and sex-matched controls were included. The intima-media thickness (IMT) of the common carotid artery was determined by ultrasound. Traditional risk factors and disease-related factors were recorded. Cardiovascular risk ...

BACKGROUND: For patients with chronic heart failure (CHF), left bundle branch block (LBBB) is associated with impaired systolic function and increased morbidity and mortality, but data on diastolic function are scarce. In this patient population, we attempted to define the impact of LBBB on diastolic function, filling pressures, and brain ...

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in Western countries. Despite its remarkable medical and social consequences, the prevalence of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is often underestimated among atherosclerotic disorders. So far, little is known about the behavior of traditional and emerging markers of ischemic heart disease ...

BACKGROUND: Controversy exists about the indication of thrombolytic therapy in the subgroup of hemodynamically stable patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE) and right ventricular dysfunction. Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) is excreted from the cardiac ventricles in response to cardiomyocyte stretch and can be measured with an easy-to-perform blood test. OBJECTIVE: ...

OBJECTIVE: Plasma levels of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) have been examined in studies on patients with persistent atrial fibrillation, both before and after electrical cardioversion. Studied patients often showed a comorbidity with congestive heart failure, which complicates interpretation of measured BNP values as a natriuretic peptide. The aim of this ...

Recent investigations support the idea that angiogenesis is involved in the pathophysiology of hematologic malignancies, including chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). The aim of the present study was to evaluate plasma levels of VEGF and bFGF in a cohort of 51 chronic-phase CML patients at the time of diagnosis, as well ...

OBJECTIVE: Eicosanoids play a key role in the regulation of inflammation and fibrosis. Recently we showed that levels of 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX)-derived proinflammatory/profibrotic leukotrienes are elevated in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid from patients with scleroderma lung disease (SLD). The present study was undertaken to investigate whether increased levels of leukotrienes are ...

BACKGROUND: Anemia has been associated with worse symptoms and increased mortality in patients with advanced HF. The association between anemia and biomarkers of increased HF risk is unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between hemoglobin (Hb), cardiac troponin I (cTnI), B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), and mortality in patients ...

OBJECTIVE: Amino-terminal probrain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), a biologically inactive derivative of BNP, is clinically more useful owing to its longer half-life, higher plasma concentrations, lesser variation among individuals, and higher in vitro stability. In this regard, NT-proBNP may be a better indicator of the severity of ventricular dysfunction. In this ...

The present study evaluated whether biomarkers of ischemia, inflammation, myocardial damage, and dysfunction are equally useful in patients who have diabetes mellitus (DM) for prediction of cardiac events in non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (ACS). DM was present in 1,677 of 7,800 patients (21.5%) who had non-ST-elevation ACS and were included ...

BACKGROUND: In patients with heart failure, B-type natriuretic peptides (BNP, N-BNP) and atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) are established prognostic markers. However, circulating interleukin (IL)-6-related cytokines and soluble glycoprotein 130 (sgp130), their common subunit for signal transduction, are also increased. We hypothesized that levels of circulating sgp130 and cardiac peptides provide ...

BACKGROUND: Accurate estimation of right ventricular (RV) function in patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot (RTOF) is difficult, partly due to the presence of tricuspid regurgitation and pulmonary regurgitation and/or stenosis. The aim of the present study was to evaluate RV systolic and diastolic function of adult asymptomatic patients with ...

While anemia is a significant risk factor for poor outcomes in patients with heart failure (HF), it is not in defined guidelines for HF assessment. B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a marker for diagnosis and management of patients with HF. We determined the incidence of anemia in patients with HF ...

OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinical effects of mitomycin-C (MMC) on human papilloma virus (HPV)-infected tissues of the airway. METHODS: We included 10 patients with previous histologic diagnosis of recurrent respiratory papillomas (RRP) in this prospective study, conducted at the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Alexandria, Egypt, between ...

Patients with aortic stenosis (AS) may remain asymptomatic with good prognoses for many years but have poor prognoses once they develop symptoms. Because the presence of symptoms is subjective, B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) may provide a more objective indication of the prognoses of patients with AS. We evaluated 124 patients ...

STUDY OBJECTIVES: We performed an open-label multicenter study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the dual endothelin receptor antagonist bosentan in patients with inoperable chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). PATIENTS: Nineteen patients with inoperable CTEPH were enrolled. MEASUREMENTS: The primary end point was a change in pulmonary vascular resistance ...

BACKGROUND: In neurodegenerative diseases, increasing attention has been focused on inflammatory mediators such as pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines and their potential influence in the process of neurodegeneration. In prion diseases, much data has been gained on the cell culture and animal disease models level, but only limited information is available ...

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relation between B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels on admission in ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and short-term, all-cause mortality. METHODS AND RESULTS: Blood samples for BNP determination were obtained on admission in 88 patients (mean age 60.6 +/- 10.7 years old) with STEMI. In a 15-minute ...

BACKGROUND: Body weight loss is a common but one of the most serious sequelae after gastrectomy. Ghrelin, a novel gastric hormone that up-regulates body weight through appetite control and metabolic reaction, seems to be affected by gastric surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Early postoperative alteration of serum ghrelin was evaluated at ...

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to verify the usefulness of NT-proBNP in the differential diagnosis of dyspnea in a population of patients presenting in the ER with breathlessness. DESIGN AND METHODS: In samples from 122 patients presenting in the ER with acute-severe dyspnea and from 25 subjects enrolled ...

PURPOSE: To investigate the levels of renin-angiotension system (RAS) components in normal tension glaucoma patients and normal controls. METHODS: Blood samples were obtained from 11 normal tension glaucoma(NTG)patients and 11 age and sex matched controls. The levels of renin and angiotensin A II of 11 NTG patients and normal controls ...

We studied the performance characteristics of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) as a diagnostic test for congestive heart failure in the elderly dyspneic population. In a retrospective chart review study, dyspneic patients who had a BNP level drawn were included. To diagnose congestive heart failure (CHF), the Framingham Criteria were used. ...

BACKGROUND: Cheyne - Stokes respiration with central sleep apnea (CSR-CSA) contributes to the poor prognosis in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). Bi-level positive airway pressure (bi-level PAP) may be an effective alternative for treating CSR-CSA and CHF. METHODS AND RESULTS: Fourteen patients with CSR-CSA were divided into 2 groups, ...

BACKGROUND: Echocardiography and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) are diagnostic tests for congestive heart failure (CHF), but an emergency diagnosis can be difficult. OBJECTIVE: To assess the diagnostic performance of BNP testing and echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular systolic function, separately and combined, for the identification of CHF in patients with ...

BACKGROUND: Cirrhotic patients have a hyperdynamic systemic circulation. They have insidious cardiac problems besides well-known complications. Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) relaxes vascular smooth muscle and has a portal hypotensive action. The relations between BNP levels and severity of disease, cardiac dysfunction and esophageal varices were studied in non-alcoholic cirrhotic patients. ...

Although an increased level of serum brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) has been reported in children in the acute phase of Kawasaki disease (KD), no precise relation was documented between the serum BNP level and left ventricular (LV) systolic function. We hypothesized that the increased BNP levels may be explained by ...

In intermittent claudication, pharmacologic drugs and invasive measures are indicated in patients who do not benefit from exercise training. To evaluate the therapeutic role of prostaglandins (PGs), especially of prostaglandin E1 (PGE1), for this indication, the author performed a meta-analysis of all published prospective, randomized, controlled clinical studies in which ...

INTRODUCTION: B-Type natriuretic peptide (BNP) values greater than 400 pg/mL have high positive likelihood ratio (>10) for the diagnosis of clinical congestive heart failure (CHF). However, in patients with CHF, it is not known what correlation, if any, exists for the BNP levels above 400 pg/mL and the findings on ...

The CC thymus and activation-related chemokine (TARC) is a protein, which is highly expressed by Reed-Sternberg cells in Hodgkin's disease and is found in the majority of Hodgkin's disease patients. Within several trials conducted by the German Hodgkin study group, 62 Hodgkin's disease patients were elected based on availability of ...

BACKGROUND: It has been demonstrated that, in patients treated by protease-inhibitor-based regimen, intermittent viraemia occurred frequently and was associated with higher concentrations of residual replication but not with virological failure. Risk factors associated with intermittent viraemia and its impact in patients treated by non-nucleoside-reverse-transcriptase-inhibitor-based (NNRTI) regimen need to be evaluated. ...

In the present study, we investigated the potential of N-BNP (N-terminal B-type natriuretic peptide) as a prognostic marker for risk of CV (cardiovascular) events, overall mortality and progression to ESRD (end-stage renal disease) in a cohort of 83 pre-dialysis CKD (chronic kidney disease) patients without clinical evidence of heart failure. ...

This study is designed to evaluate the N-terminal pro-BNP (NTproBNP) levels in patients with mitral stenosis (MS) and its possible correlation with clinical and echocardiographic parameters of the disease. The study group consisted of 29 patients with isolated MS (patients with greater mild regurgitation were excluded) and 20 normal control ...

OBJECTIVES: We sought to determine the usefulness of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) measurements to differentiate constrictive pericarditis (CP) from restrictive cardiomyopathy (RCMP). BACKGROUND: The differentiation of CP from RCMP may be clinically difficult and often requires hemodynamic assessment. No laboratory marker has been shown to differentiate the two conditions. METHODS: ...

B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) represents a promising predictor of early (30 days) re-admission in patients with heart failure (HF) admitted to cardiology units. Whether BNP retains its predictive value in unselected patients admitted to general medical wards is unknown. We determined BNP levels on admission and pre-discharge in 100 consecutive ...

OBJECTIVES: The Emergency Severity Index (ESI) version 3 is a five-level triage acuity scale with demonstrated reliability and validity. Patients are rated from ESI level 1 (highest acuity) to ESI level 5 (lowest acuity). Clinical experience has demonstrated two levels of ESI level 2 patients: those who require immediate intervention ...

BACKGROUND: Recently, circulating proteasome core particles (20S proteasome) have been suggested as a marker of cell damage and immunological activity in autoimmune diseases. Aberrant leucocyte activation and increased lymphocyte apoptosis with consecutive T-cell unresponsiveness is deemed to play a pivotal role in the sepsis syndrome. Moreover sepsis-induced muscle proteolysis mainly ...

BACKGROUND: The value of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in terms of diagnosis and prognosis in congestive heart failure (CHF) and left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) has been demonstrated previously in various populations, but data on primary care patients are sparse. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ...

BACKGROUND: N-terminal brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) level is elevated in patients with acute and chronic heart failure. This study addresses whether NT-proBNP correlates with invasively measured hemodynamic parameters and whether a decrease of NT-proBNP over time correlates with invasively monitored hemodynamic improvement. METHODS AND RESULTS: Twenty consecutive patients with acute ...

BACKGROUND: Limited data exist regarding the impact of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) on N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels in patients with acute congestive heart failure (CHF). METHODS AND RESULTS: LVEF data were analyzed for 153 subjects with acute CHF. LVEF > or =50% ...

N-ANP, N-BNP and BNP are proven to be excellent markers for diagnosis and the prediction of outcome in heart failure patients. Published studies on this subject differ in respect of their design and are therefore difficult to compare. The EuroHeart Failure Survey was undertaken to evaluate the drug prescription rate; ...

AIM: To derive predictors of good glycaemic control in patients presenting with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) followed prospectively in a specialized clinic. METHODS: One hundred and sixty-one adult patients were admitted during a 31-month period and followed for at least 12 months. After 1 year, the patients were classified into three ...