ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: No studies have evaluated the effect of guideline-recommended weight-based dosing on inhospital mortality of patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia. METHODS: This was a multicenter, retrospective, cohort study of patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia receiving at least 48 hours of empiric vancomycin therapy between 01/07/2002 and 30/06/2008. ...

To investigate the protective effects of hydroalcoholic and its fractions from roots of Hemidesmus indicus on arthritis in in vitro models of rodents. Preliminary phytochemical analysis and thin-layer chromoatography were performed to analyze constituents of hydroalcoholic extract and its three fraction namely ethyl acetate fraction, chloroform fraction and residual fraction ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: To compare the analgesic efficacy and side-effects of remifentanil intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IVPCA) with walking epidural analgesia (EDA) during labour. METHODS: Thirty-nine parturient patients of mixed parity, with normal singleton pregnancies, were randomised to receive either remifentanil IVPCA (RA group) or EDA (EA group). The epidural solution ...

ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION: MLTA3698A is a humanized monoclonal antibody against lymphotoxin-alpha (LTalpha), a transiently expressed cytokine on activated B and T cells (Th1, Th17) which are implicated in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pathogenesis. This study was conducted to assess safety, tolerability, and biologic activity of single and multiple doses of intravenous (IV) ...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the possibility of dose distribution optimization for total marrow irradiation (TMI) employing volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) with RapidArc (RA) technology setting isocenter's positions and jaw's apertures according to patient's anatomical features. Plans for five patients were generated with the RA engine (PROIII): ...

BACKGROUND: The pharmacokinetics of golimumab, a human monoclonal antibody that inhibits the activity of tumor necrosis factor α, after a single subcutaneous (SC) or intravenous (IV) administration have been previously studied. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to assess the pharmacokinetics of golimumab after multiple SC or IV administrations ...

Different types of granites, used extensively in local construction, were collected from five localities in Egypt, namely: Abu Ziran (Central Eastern Desert), Gabal El Maesala (Aswan) and three areas from Wadi Allaqi, (Gabal Abu Marw, Gabal Haumor and Gabal um Shalman), in the South Eastern Desert. Granite samples were studied ...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy/safety of subcutaneous (SC) golimumab in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who previously received intravenous (IV) golimumab with or without methotrexate (MTX). METHODS: Adult patients with RA (n = 643) with persistent disease despite MTX (≥ 15 mg/wk for ≥ 3 months) were randomized to IV ...

There was no standard or report for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients on hemodialysis with Salazosulfapyridine (SASP). We examined the pharmacokinetics of SASP and its metabolites in RA patient on hemodialysis. Hemodialysis was started 2 h after administration of SASP at a dose of 250 or 500 mg. Blood samples ...

We present a dose-response meta-analysis to quantify relative efficacy of biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). There is a strong rationale for this analysis because, although multiple biologics are available, information on head-to-head comparisons is limited. Data on the percentage of patients attaining American College ...

Purpose: To evaluate a commercial volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT), using multiple noncoplanar arcs, for linac-based cranial radiosurgery, as well as evaluate the combined accuracy of the VMAT dose calculations and delivery.Methods: Twelve patients with cranial lesions of variable size (0.1-29 cc) and two multiple metastases patients were planned (Eclipse ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: To compare volumetric-modulated arc therapy plans with conventional radiation therapy (3D-CRT) plans in pancreatic and bile duct cancers, especially for bilateral kidney preservation. METHODS: A dosimetric analysis was performed in 21 patients who had undergone radiotherapy for pancreatic or bile duct carcinoma at our institution. We compared 4-field ...

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of six doses of oral tofacitinib (CP-690,550) with placebo for the treatment of active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in patients on a stable background of methotrexate (MTX) with an inadequate response to MTX monotherapy. METHODS: In this 24-week, double-blind, Phase 2B study (NCT00413660), ...

PURPOSE: To compare radiotherapy treatment plans for mid- and distal-esophageal cancer with primary involvement of the gastroesophageal (GE) junction using a novel IMRT & Arc technique (IMRT & Arc), helical tomotherapy (HT), and RapidArc (RA1 and RA2). METHODS AND MATERIALS: Eight patients treated on HT for locally advanced esophageal cancer ...

OBJECTIVE: Compare the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of five doses of oral tofacitinib (CP-690,550) or adalimumab monotherapy with placebo for the treatment of active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in patients with an inadequate response to disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs. METHODS: In this 24-week, double-blind, Phase 2B study (NCT00550446), patients with RA (N=384) ...

A treatment planning study was performed to evaluate the performance of volumetric arc modulation with RapidArc (RA) against 3D conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT) and conventional intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) techniques for esophageal cancer. Computed tomgraphy scans of 10 patients were included in the study. 3D-CRT, 4-field IMRT, and single-arc and ...

Abstract Objective: To further assess the clinically active dose range of etoricoxib, a COX-2 selective inhibitor, in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: RA patients were randomized to etoricoxib 10, 30, 60, or 90 mg or placebo in a double-blind, 12-week study. DMARDs (methotrexate, biologics) or low-dose corticosteroids were allowed in stable doses. ...

PURPOSE: To compare the dosimetric performance of three different treatment techniques - conformal radiotherapy (CRT), double arcs volumetric modulated arc therapy (RapidArc, RA) and Hybrid-RapidArc (H-RA) for locally-advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). MATERIAL AND METHODS: CRT, RA and H-RA plans were optimized for 24 stage III NSCLC patients. The ...

OBJECTIVE.: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of ocrelizumab plus methotrexate (MTX) in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and an inadequate response to MTX. METHODS.: STAGE was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Patients on stable MTX were randomized to two infusions of placebo (n = 320), ocrelizumab 200 mg ...

Studies on naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) in the limestone from the Margalla Hills have been carried out by measuring gamma activity and to access its radiological implications if any. For data acquisition, a High-Purity Germanium detector was employed. The activity concentrations of (226)Ra, (232)Th, and (40)K were found to ...

The distribution of natural nuclide gamma-ray activities and their respective annual effective dose rates, produced by potassium-40 ((40)K), uranium-238 ((238)U), thorium-232 ((232)Th), and radium-226 ((226)Ra), were determined for 14 oilfield scale samples from the Middle East. Accumulated radioactive materials concentrate in tubing and surface equipment, and workers at equipment-cleaning facilities ...

Glucocorticoids (GCs) are widely used in clinical medicine because of their anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects. However, these agents have a considerable potential for adverse effects, especially if used in high doses. The currently most advanced approach to improve the risk-benefit ratio of GCs is low-dose prednisone chronotherapy with modified release ...

As early as in 1948 a woman with severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was successfully treated with glucocorticoids. However, not until recently has the role of GCs in the treatment of RA been clarified and supported by scientific evidence in a limited number of randomised studies. The present article reviews four ...

Glucocorticoids (GC) have been used to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for more than 60 years. Despite this very long experience, there remains considerable debate concerning the adequate dosing and timing of these medications, primarily because of frequent and sometimes serious side effects, particularly in high doses. GCs are documented to ...

This article summarises the experience of one academic rheumatologist in treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) over 25 years from 1980-2004 with low-dose prednisone, most with <5 mg/day over long periods. A database was available which included medications and multidimensional health assessment questionnaire (MDHAQ) scores for physical function, pain, ...

Tocilizumab is a humanized anti-IL-6 receptor (IL-6R) monoclonal antibody for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). A dose of 8 mg/kg produces adequate blockade of IL-6 receptors throughout a dosing interval, as confirmed by sustained high levels of tocilizumab-bound soluble IL6-R complex and normalization of C-reactive protein levels. Studies have ...

The objective was to derive dosing recommendations for the use of celecoxib in patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) using pharmacokinetic (PK) and exposure-response data. PK and efficacy data from a randomized, double-blind, 12-week study of celecoxib dosed at 3 and 6 mg/kg twice a day (bid) as an investigational ...

To compare the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of 4 doses of oral tofacitinib (CP-690,550) with placebo in Japanese patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) receiving stable background methotrexate (MTX) who had an inadequate response to MTX alone. A total of 140 patients were randomized to receive tofacitinib 1, 3, 5, ...

The seasonal variations of the indoor radon activity concentrations were determined in the 97 dwellings of Trabzon, Turkey. The annual average indoor radon activity concentration varied from 8 to 583Bq/m(3). The average winter/summer ratio of radon activity concentrations was 3.62. The gamma activity concentrations in the soil samples were determined ...

Objectives: To explore the cost-effectiveness of early biologic treatment, followed by dose-reduction in the case of remission, of active rheumatoid arthritis (RA), compared with standard treatment with methotrexate (MTX) in Sweden.Methods: Effectiveness (function, disease activity, erosions) in early RA for both alternatives was taken from a clinical trial comparing etanercept ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Canakinumab is a fully human anti-IL-1beta monoclonal antibody, being investigated for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This multicenter, phase II, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, dose-finding study investigated the efficacy and safety of canakinumab in patients with active RA despite ongoing therapy at stable doses of methotrexate. METHODS: ...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the potential efficacy, safety, and tolerability of daily use of CH-1504 in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA). US National Institutes of Health database no. NCT00658047. METHODS: In our phase II randomized double-blind double-dummy study, patients naive to methotrexate (MTX; n = 201) and having moderate to ...

Rotational RapidArc (RA) and static intensity-modulated radiosurgery (IMRS) have been used for brain radiosurgery. This study compares the 2 techniques from beam delivery parameters and dosimetry aspects for multiple brain metastases. Twelve patients with 2-12 brain lesions treated with IMRS were replanned using RA. For each patient, an optimal 2-arc ...

Stiffness and cytokine in blood levels show 24-h rhythms in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. We previously revealed that higher therapeutic effects were obtained in RA patients and RA model animals when the dosing time of methotrexate was chosen according to the 24-h rhythms to cytokine. In this study, we examined ...

Due to increasing concern about environmental radiological protection, specific radioactivity concentrations of (226)Ra, (232)Th and (40)K in different types of commonly used granite stone samples collected from the Tehran city of Iran have been determined by means of a high-resolution HPGe gamma-spectroscopy system. The activity concentrations of (232)Th, (226)Ra and ...

OBJECTIVE: /st> To evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles of mavrilimumab, a human monoclonal antibody targeting the granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor receptor-α, in subjects with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: /st> A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-escalating phase I study in subjects with RA who received stable methotrexate treatment for ≥3 ...

Glioblastomas (GBM) frequently overexpress the epidermal growth factor receptor (wtEGFR) or its mutant, EGFRvIII, contributing to chemo- and radioresistance. The current standard of care is surgery followed by radiation therapy with concurrent temozolomide (TMZ) followed by adjuvant TMZ. New treatment strategies for GBM include blockade of EGFR signaling and angiogenesis. ...

Background/Aims: Bardoxolone methyl, a novel synthetic triterpenoid, induces Nrf2, a transcription factor known to play a key role in decreasing oxidative stress and the production of pro-inflammatory molecules. Methods: This exploratory multi-center, open-label study assessed the clinical activity and safety of bardoxolone methyl in 20 patients with moderate to severe ...

Primary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) is a disease with poor prognosis and high unmet therapeutic need. Here, we evaluated the safety and pharmacokinetics of single-dose infusions of fresolimumab, a human monoclonal antibody that inactivates all forms of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), in a phase I open-label, dose-ranging study. Patients with ...

The effects of the EGFr inhibitor Iressa on development of urinary bladder cancers induced by hydroxybutyl(butyl)nitrosamine (OH-BBN) in rats were examined. Iressa treatment (4.5 or 1.5 mg/kg BW/day) beginning one week after the last dose of OH-BBN decreased the occurrence of large (>200 mg) bladder cancers at termination of the study by ...

As a number of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs often have side effects at high doses and/or during long-term administration, increased efficacy without increased toxicity is expected for combination therapy of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The safety of long-term therapy of RA is very important as patients with RA are usually treated for ...

This randomized, controlled, multisite Department of Veterans Affairs clinical trial assessed robot-assisted (RA) upper-limb therapy with the Mirror Image Movement Enabler (MIME) in the acute stroke rehabilitation setting. Hemiparetic subjects (n = 54) received RA therapy using MIME for either up to 15 hours (low-dose) or 30 hours (high-dose) or ...

We report a patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who developed leukoencephalopathy while being treated with low-dose methotrexate (MTX). She suddenly developed loss of recent memory and left homonymous hemianopsia ascribable to the bilateral but right-predominant occipitotemporal lesions. Intravenous administration of dexamethasone and cessation of MTX quickly relieved her clinical symptoms. ...

This study aimed to compare fixed-field, intensity-modulated radiotherapy (f-IMRT) with intensity-modulated arc therapy (IMAT) treatment plans in dosimetry and practical application for cervical esophageal carcinoma. For ten cervical esophageal carcinoma cases, f-IMRT plan (seven fixed-fields) and two IMAT plans, namely RA (coplanar 360° arcs) and RAx (coplanar 360° arcs without ...

The present study was conducted to determine whether cognitive impairments in adult rats treated with cocaine during adolescence demonstrated in previous investigations extend to tests of object discrimination learning. Accordingly, 30-day-old male Long-Evans rats were injected subcutaneously with either 10 or 20 mg/kg cocaine or received control injections of saline ...

Reactivation of cocaine-associated memories plays a critical role in reinstating the cocaine-seeking behavior and causing relapse. Cocaine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) was used as a behavioral paradigm indicative of cocaine-associated memory and repeated cocaine-free preference tests served as a behavioral procedure to retrieve such a memory in this study. Since ...

Previous studies found that environmental enrichment protects against the initiation of stimulant self-administration in rats, but it is unclear if enrichment also protects against the escalation of stimulant use with long-term exposure. The current study examined the effects of environmental enrichment on escalation of cocaine self-administration using an extended access ...

Chronic cocaine exposure in both rodents and humans increases regional brain mu-opioid receptor (mOR) binding potential, suggesting that cocaine users might have an altered response to mOR agonists. We evaluated the response to IV carfentanil (a selective mOR agonist) in 23 cocaine users [mean (standard deviation) age 33.8 (4.0) years, ...

Cocaine is a widely abused drug without a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved medication. There is a recognized, promising anticocaine medication to accelerate cocaine metabolism, producing biologically inactive metabolites via a route similar to the primary cocaine-metabolizing pathway [i.e., cocaine hydrolysis catalyzed by butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) in plasma]. An ideal, therapeutically ...

Chronic treatment with the indirect dopamine agonist d-amphetamine can reduce cocaine use in clinical trials and, in preclinical studies in laboratory animals, attenuates daily cocaine self-administration. The present study extended previous results to conditions designed to reflect a more clinically relevant experience of cocaine exposure and d-amphetamine treatment. Each morning, ...