| 1. |
- Emgård, Per, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of betamethasone dipropionate plus an antihistamine in patients with external otitis
- 1999
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Ingår i: Current Therapeutic Research. - 0011-393X .- 1879-0313. ; 60:7, s. 364-370
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In a prospective multicenter, randomized, double-masked trial, 30 patients with external otitis received betamethasone dipropionate in a 0.05% solution for 11 days. Fifty percent of the patients were assigned randomly to receive concomitant treatment with loratadine to help control itching, and 50% received placebo. The status of the external auditory canal (EAC) was assessed on days 0, 3, 7, 11, and 21 according to a new scoring system that graded color, the extension of redness outside the EAC, swelling, and effusion. Eighteen patients underwent sampling for a bacteriologic culture at the start of treatment; 14 cultures showed positive findings. The EAC status improved rapidly, and by day 11 it was almost normal in all patients. Pain and sleep disturbances disappeared by day 7; at which point itching was either nonexistent or mild. All patients were able to resume work after 3 days of treatment. At the end of the study, 29 (97%) of the 30 patients were cured. The addition of loratadine to the treatment did not improve results significantly. External otitis is generally treated with a combination of a steroid and an antibiotic. Results of this study suggest that external otitis, whether culture-positive or not, can be cured using a group III steroid alone.
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| 2. |
- Wilson, I., et al.
(författare)
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Management of gastroduodenal ulcers and gastrointestinal symptoms associated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug therapy : A summary of four comparative trials with omeprazole, ranitidine, misoprostol, and placebo
- 2001
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Ingår i: Current Therapeutic Research. - 0011-393X .- 1879-0313. ; 62:12, s. 835-850
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are effective in the treatment of systemic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis but are associated with a range of adverse gastrointestinal (GI) side effects, including dyspepsia, peptic ulcer, and ulcer complications. Several studies have compared the relative efficacy and tolerability of omeprazole, ranitidine, and misoprostol in the management of NSAID-associated GI adverse events. Objective: The purpose of this paper is to summarize and evaluate the results of 4 clinical studies that compared the efficacy and tolerability of omeprazole, misoprostol, and ranitidine in the acute and maintenance treatment of NSAID-associated gastroduodenal ulcers and GI symptoms. Methods: The 4 trials, which included 1822 patients being treated continuously with NSAIDs, studied omeprazole (20 and 40 mg once daily) as acute treatment for healing gastroduodenal ulcers and erosions and as prophylaxis (20 mg once daily) over 3 to 6 months. Comparators were misoprostol 200 µg 4 times daily or ranitidine 150 mg twice daily in the acute phases and misoprostol 200 µg twice daily, ranitidine 150 mg twice daily, or placebo in the prophylactic phases. Results: Gastric and duodenal ulcer healing rates were higher with omeprazole than with either misoprostol (P = 0.004 for gastric ulcers, P < 0.001 for duodenal ulcers) or ranitidine (P < 0.001 for gastric ulcers, P = 0.032 for duodenal ulcers). A significantly larger percentage of patients taking misoprostol had the number of gastric or duodenal erosions reduced from >10 to <5 compared with patients taking omeprazole (P < 0.001), whereas a significantly larger percentage of patients taking omeprazole achieved the same reduction in number of erosions compared with patients taking ranitidine (P = 0.008). More patients taking omeprazole remained in remission than patients taking misoprostol (P = 0.001), ranitidine (P = 0.004), or placebo (P < 0.001). More patients taking misoprostol (16.9%) or ranitidine (14.1%) discontinued treatment because of adverse events, lack of efficacy, or other reasons compared with patients taking omeprazole (9.9% and 10.2% in 2 studies). Conclusions: Omeprazole was more effective in healing and prophylaxis of NSAID-associated gastroduodenal ulceration and symptoms than misoprostol and ranitidine in chronic NSAID users, and was better tolerated than misoprostol.
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| 3. |
- Bergström, Ulf, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of Treatment with Adalimumab on Blood Lipid Levels and Atherosclerosis in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis
- 2018
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Ingår i: Current Therapeutic Research - Clinical and Experimental. - : Elsevier BV. - 0011-393X. ; 89, s. 1-6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Treatment with tumor necrosis factor inhibitors for rheumatoid arthritis has been associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease in observational studies. There are conflicting data on the influence of tumor necrosis factor inhibitors on lipid levels. Objectives: To evaluate the effect of treatment with adalimumab on blood lipid levels, lipoproteins, and atherosclerosis of the carotid artery. Methods: Fourteen patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (11 women and 3 men; mean age 63.7 years; median disease duration 9.0 years; and 78% rheumatoid factor positive) were treated with adalimumab 40 mg subcutaneously every 2 weeks and followed for 3 months. The patients had not been treated with adalimumab previously and had not received other tumor necrosis factor inhibitors within the past 3 months or moderate/high dose corticosteroids within the past 2 weeks. The intima-media thickness of the common carotid artery was assessed using B mode ultrasonography. Triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol levels were analyzed in fresh fasting blood samples, whereas apolipoprotein B and apolipoprotein A1 (apoA1) levels were determined in thawed plasma samples using standard turbidimetric immunoassays. Results: Total cholesterol (mean = 5.36 vs 5.96 mmol/L; P = 0.005), LDL cholesterol (mean = 3.33 vs 3.77 mmol/L; P =.005), HDL cholesterol (mean = 1.43 vs 1.55 mmol/L; P = 0.048), apolipoprotein B (mean = 1.04 vs 1.13 g/L; P =.012), and apoA1 (mean = 1.42 vs 1.58 g/L; P = 0.005) all increased, but there were no major changes in the LDL to HDL cholesterol ratio (median = 2.56 vs 2.35; P = 0.27) or the apolipoprotein B to apoA1 ratio (mean = 0.76 vs 0.74; P = 0.46). There was no change in triglyceride levels (P = 0.55). Disease activity decreased significantly from baseline to the 3-month evaluation (disease activity score based on 28 joints mean = 5.6 vs 4.1; P = 0.007). An increase in apoA1 correlated with decreases in the patient global assessment of disease severity (r = 0.79; P = 0.001) and C-reactive protein level (r = 0.74; P = 0.003). Changes in the apoliprotein B to apoA1 ratio correlated with changes in erythrocyte sedimentation rate (r = 0.54; P = 0.046). There was no major change in the common carotid artery intima-media thickness (mean = 0.78 vs 0.80 mm; P = 0.48). Conclusions: Although these results suggest that control of inflammation could have a beneficial effect on the lipid profile through an increase in HDL cholesterol levels, the observed protective effect on cardiovascular disease events by tumor necrosis factor blockers is likely to be explained by other mechanisms than changes in lipid levels or short-term effects on atherosclerosis of the carotid artery. © 2018 The Authors
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| 4. |
- Neddermeyer, Anne H., et al.
(författare)
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Investigating Tick-borne Flaviviral-like Particles as a Delivery System for Gene Therapy
- 2018
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Ingår i: Current Therapeutic Research. - : ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. - 0011-393X .- 1879-0313. ; 88, s. 8-17
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Research on the biogenesis of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) would benefit gene therapy. Due to specific arrangements of genes along the TBEV genome, its viral-like particles (VLPs) could be exploited as shuttles to deliver their replicon, which carries therapeutic genes, to immune system cells.Objective: To develop a flaviviral vector for gene delivery as a part of gene therapy research that can be expressed in secretable VLP suicidal shuttles and provide abundant unique molecular and structural data supporting this gene therapy concept.Method: TBEV structural gene constructs of a Swedish Torö strain were cloned into plasmids driven by the promoters CAG and CMV and then transfected into various cell lines, including COS-1 and BHK-21. Time-course sampling of the cells, culture fluid, cell lysate supernatant, and pellet specimens were performed. Western blotting and electron microscopy analyses of collected specimens were used to investigate molecular and structural processing of TBEV structural proteins.Results: Western blotting analysis showed differences between promoters in directing the gene expression of the VLPs constructs. The premature flaviviral polypeptides as well as mature VLPs could be traced. Using electron microscopy, the premature and mature VLP accumulation in cellular compartments—and also endoplasmic reticulum proliferation as a virus factory platform—were observed in addition to secreted VLPs.Conclusions: The abundant virologic and cellular findings in this study show the natural processing and safety of inserting flaviviral structural genes into suicidal VLP shuttles. Thus, we propose that these VLPs are a suitable gene delivering system model in gene therapy.
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| 5. |
- Sandstrom, H, et al.
(författare)
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Cobalaminopenia in a postindustrial society : Minimal incidence, age distribution, and differences by sex
- 1996
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Ingår i: Current Therapeutic Research. - 0011-393X .- 1879-0313. ; 57, s. 599-605
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this study was to obtain a conservative estimate of the current incidence of low serum cobalamin levels (cobalaminopenia) in a modern, postindustrial region in Sweden, All serum cobalamin determinations made during 1993 in one health care area (Umea) with 131,393 inhabitants were analyzed, These analyses were all performed in a single laboratory; data were available for 6451 serum samples from 5225 patients, Serum cobalamin levels \textless 145 pmol/L (corresponding to the lowest decile determined in previous years) were identified in 582 samples from 473 patients, Data from these samples were further investigated to determine distributions of cobalaminopenia based on age and sex, The overall minimal incidence of low serum cobalamin levels (\textless 145 pmol/L) was 0.36%; the incidence increased with age. Low serum cobalamin levels occurred significantly more frequently in women aged 15 to 44 years than in men in the same age group. In contrast, men older than 70 years of age were more prone to cobalaminopenia than women of the same age, The current minimal incidence of low serum cobalamin values suggests adequate functioning of social and health care networks, with an overall minimal incidence of cobalaminopenia of 0.36% and a projected incidence of cobalaminopenia in the Umea health care area of approximately 1%.
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| 6. |
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