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| 2. |
- Hernandez, A. F., et al.
(författare)
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Rationale and design of the Acute Study of Clinical Effectiveness of Nesiritide in Decompensated Heart Failure Trial (ASCEND-HF)
- 2009
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Ingår i: Am Heart J. - 1097-6744. ; 157:2, s. 271-7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) is a major public health burden with significant mortality and morbidity. Nesiritide is a recombinantly produced intravenous formulation of human B-type natriuretic peptide that promotes vasodilation and increases salt and water excretion, which results in reduced cardiac filling pressures. Prior studies have shown that dyspnea is improved in patients with ADHF 3 hours after nesiritide infusion with significant dose-related reductions in cardiac filling pressures and systemic vascular resistance without significant arrhythmias. However, the effect of nesiritide on dyspnea at 6 or 24 hours is unknown, and no clinical outcome trials have been done to provide a reliable estimate of the effect of nesiritide on morbidity and mortality. METHODS: The Acute Study of Clinical Effectiveness of Nesiritide in Decompensated Heart Failure trial (ASCEND-HF) is a phase III study evaluating the efficacy and safety of nesiritide in patients with ADHF. Patients hospitalized for hear failure will be randomly assigned to receive either intravenous nesiritide or matching placebo for 24 hours to 7 days. The 2 coprimary end points are (1) assessment of acute dyspnea at 6 or 24 hours and (2) death or rehospitalization for hear failure within 30 days. A total of 7,000 patients will be enrolled worldwide between 2007 and 2010. CONCLUSIONS: The data from the ASCEND-HF trial will establish whether nesiritide safely improves acute dyspnea as well as morbidity and mortality at 30 days.
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| 3. |
- McMurray, J. J., et al.
(författare)
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Design of the Reduction of Events with Darbepoetin alfa in Heart Failure (RED-HF): a Phase III, anaemia correction, morbidity-mortality trial
- 2009
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Ingår i: European Journal of Heart Failure. - 1879-0844. ; 11:8, s. 795-801
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Patients with heart failure (HF) and anaemia have greater functional impairment, worse symptoms, increased rates of hospital admission, and a higher risk of death, compared with non-anaemic HF patients. Whether correcting anaemia can improve outcomes is unknown. OBJECTIVE: The Reduction of Events with Darbepoetin alfa in Heart Failure trial (RED-HF; Clinical Trials.gov NCT 003 58215) was designed to evaluate the effect of the long-acting erythropoietin-stimulating agent darbepoetin alfa on mortality and morbidity (and quality of life) in patients with HF and anaemia. METHODS: Approximately 2600 patients with New York Heart Association class II-IV, an ejection fraction < or =40%, and a haemoglobin (Hb) consistently < or =12.0 g/dL but > or =9.0 g/dL will be enrolled. Patients are randomized 1:1 to double-blind subcutaneous administration of darbepoetin alfa or placebo. Investigators are also blinded to Hb measurements and darbepoetin alfa is dosed to achieve an Hb concentration of 13.0 g/dL (but not exceeding 14.5 g/dL) with sham adjustments of the dose of placebo. The primary endpoint is the time to death from any cause or first hospital admission for worsening HF, whichever occurs first. The study will complete when approximately 1150 subjects experience a primary endpoint.
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| 4. |
- Salem, Rany M., et al.
(författare)
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Chromogranin a polymorphisms are associated with hypertensive renal disease
- 2008
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Ingår i: Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. - 1046-6673 .- 1533-3450. ; 19:3, s. 600-614
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Chromogranin A is released together with epinephrine and norepinephrine from catecholaminergic cells. Specific endopeptidases cleave chromogranin A into biologically active peptide fragments, including catestatin, which inhibits catecholamine release. Previous studies have suggested that a deficit in this sympathetic “braking” system might be an early event in the pathogenesis of human hypertension. Whether chromogranin A (CHGA) polymorphisms predict end-organ complications of hypertension, such as end-stage renal disease, is unknown. Among blacks, we studied common genetic variants spanning the CHGA locus in 2 independent case-control studies of hypertensive ESRD. Two haplotypes were significantly more frequent among subjects with hypertensive ESRD: 1) in the promoter (5′) region, G-462A→T-415C→C-89A, haplotype ATC (adjusted odds ratio = 2.65; P = 0.037), and 2) at the 3′-end, C11825T (3′-UTR, C+87T)→G12602C, haplotype TC (adjusted odds ratio = 2.73, P = 0.0196). Circulating levels of catestatin were lower among those with hypertensive ESRD than controls, an unexpected finding given that peptide levels are usually elevated in ESRD because of reduced renal elimination. We found that the 3′-UTR + 87T variant decreased reporter gene expression, providing a possible mechanistic explanation for diminished catestatin. In summary, common variants in chromogranin A associate with the risk of hypertensive ESRD in blacks.
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| 6. |
- Brennan, Donal J, et al.
(författare)
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Altered cytoplasmic-to-nuclear ratio of survivin is a prognostic indicator in breast cancer
- 2008
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Ingår i: Clinical Cancer Research. - 1078-0432. ; 14:9, s. 2681-2689
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: Survivin (BIRC5) is a promising tumor biomarker. Conflicting data exist on its prognostic effect in breast cancer. These data may at least be partly due to the manual interpretation of immunohistochemical staining, especially as survivin can be located in both the nucleus and cytoplasm. Quantitative determination of survivin expression using image analysis offers the opportunity to develop alternative scoring models for survivin immunohistochemistry. Here, we present such a model. Experimental Design: A breast cancer tissue microarray containing 102 tumors was stained with an anti-survivin antibody. Whole-slide scanning was used to capture high-resolution images. These images were analyzed using automated algorithms to quantify the staining. Results: Increased nuclear, but not cytoplasmic, survivin was associated with a reduced overall survival (OS; P = 0.038) and disease-specific survival (P = 0.0015). A high cytoplasmicto-nuclear ratio (CNR) of survivin was associated with improved OS (P = 0.005) and disease-specific survival (P = 0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed that the survivin CNR was an independent predictor of CIS (hazard ratio, 0.09; 95% confidence interval, 0.01-0.76; P = 0.027). A survivin CNR of >5 correlated positively with estrogen receptor (P = 0.019) and progesterone receptor (P = 0.033) levels, whereas it was negatively associated with Ki-67 expression (P = 0.04), p53 status (P = 0.005), and c-myc amplification (P = 0.016). Conclusion: Different prognostic information is supplied by nuclear and cytoplasmic survivin in breast cancer. Nuclear survivin is a poor prognostic marker in breast cancer. Moreover, CNR of survivin, as determined by image analysis, is an independent prognostic factor.
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| 7. |
- Hesse, B, et al.
(författare)
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EANM/ESC procedural guidelines for myocardial perfusion imaging in nuclear cardiology
- 2005
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Ingår i: European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1619-7070 .- 1619-7089. ; 32:7, s. 855-897
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The European procedural guidelines for radionuclide imaging of myocardial perfusion and viability are presented in 13 sections covering patient information, radiopharmaceuticals, injected activities and dosimetry, stress tests, imaging protocols and acquisition, quality control and reconstruction methods, gated studies and attenuation-scatter compensation, data analysis, reports and image display, and positron emission tomography. If the specific recommendations given could not be based on evidence from original, scientific studies, we tried to express this state-of-art. The guidelines are designed to assist in the practice of performing, interpreting and reporting myocardial perfusion SPET. The guidelines do not discuss clinical indications, benefits or drawbacks of radionuclide myocardial imaging compared to non-nuclear techniques, nor do they cover cost benefit or cost effectiveness.
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| 8. |
- Lee, David M., et al.
(författare)
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Association between 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and cognitive performance in middle-aged and older European men
- 2009
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Ingår i: Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. - : BMJ. - 1468-330X .- 0022-3050. ; 80:7, s. 722-729
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Although there is evidence that vitamin D inadequacy may be linked to adverse cognitive outcomes, results from studies on this topic have been inconsistent. The aim of this trial was to examine the association between 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH) D) levels and cognitive performance in middle-aged and older European men. Methods: This population-based cross-sectional study included 3,369 men aged 40-79 years from eight centres enrolled in the European Male Ageing Study. Cognitive function was assessed using the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF) test, the Camden Topographical Recognition Memory (CTRM) test and the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST). Serum 25(OH) D levels were measured by radioimmunoassay. Additional assessments included measurement of physical activity, functional performance and mood/depression. Associations between cognitive function and 25(OH) D levels were explored using locally weighted and linear regression models. Results: In total, 3,133 men (mean (+/- SD) age 60 +/- 11 years) were included in the analysis. The mean (+/- SD) 25(OH) D concentration was 63 +/- 31 nmol/l. In age-adjusted linear regressions, high levels of 25(OH) D were associated with high scores on the copy component of the ROCF test (beta per 10 nmol/l = 0.096; 95% CI 0.049 to 0.144), the CTRM test (beta per 10 nmol/l= 0.075; 95% CI 0.026 to 0.124) and the DSST (beta per 10 nmol/l = 0.318; 95% CI 0.235 to 0.401). After adjusting for additional confounders, 25(OH) D levels were associated with only score on the DSST (beta per 10 nmol/l = 0.152; 95% CI 0.051 to 0.253). Locally weighted and spline regressions suggested the relationship between 25(OH) D concentration and cognitive function was most pronounced at 25(OH) D concentrations below 35 nmol/l. Conclusion: In this study, lower 25(OH) D levels were associated with poorer performance on the DSST. Further research is warranted to determine whether vitamin D sufficiency might have a role in preserving cognitive function in older adults.
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| 9. |
- Lee, David M., et al.
(författare)
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The association between different cognitive domains and age in a multi-centre study of middle-aged and older European men
- 2009
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Ingår i: International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. - : Wiley. - 1099-1166 .- 0885-6230. ; 24:11, s. 1257-1266
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives We determined levels of cognitive functioning in community dwelling men aged 40-79 (n = 3265) from eight European centres and investigated to what extent cognitive performance varied between centres, the association between different cognitive domains and age, educational level, co-morbidity and lifestyle factors and the respective contributions of centre and individual factors to cognitive performance. Methods Cognitive domains assessed were visuo-constructional ability and Visual memory (Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure test, ROCF), topographical memory (Camden Topographical Recognition Memory test, CTRM) and processing speed (Digit-Symbol Substitution test, DSST). Results There were significant between-centre differences in all four cognitive test scores. Using multilevel linear regression analysis (MLRA), age, education, depression, physical performance and smoking were independent predictors of cognitive function and these variables explained 10-13% of the variation in cognitive scores between centres and 17-36% of the variation in scores between individuals within centres. Conclusion Our data suggest that although a proportion of the variance in cognitive function among European men is explained by individual level differences, a significant proportion is due to contextual phenomenon. Such contextual factors need to be considered when analysing multi-centre data and European men should not be treated as homogeneous when assessing cognitive performance using existing instruments. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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| 10. |
- McGlynn, Sinéad, et al.
(författare)
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High energy emission and polarisation limits for the INTEGRAL burst GRB061122
- 2009
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 499:2, s. 465-472
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. GRB061122 is one of the brightest GRBs detected within INTEGRAL's field of view to date, with a peak flux (20-200 keV) of 32 photons cm(-2) s(-1) and fluence of 2 x 10(-5) erg cm(-2). The Spectrometer aboard INTEGRAL, SPI, can measure linear polarisation in bright GRBs through the process of Compton scattering in the Germanium detectors. Polarisation measurements of the prompt emission are relatively rare. The spectral and polarisation results can be combined to provide vital information about the circumburst region. Aims. The two gamma-ray detectors on INTEGRAL were used to investigate the spectral characteristics of GRB061122. A search for linear polarisation in the prompt emission was carried out on GRB061122 using the SPI multiple event data in the energy range 100 keV-1 MeV. The X-ray properties were examined using data from the X-Ray Telescope (XRT) on Swift. Methods. The gamma-ray spectral and temporal properties of GRB061122 were determined using IBIS and SPI. The afterglow properties were obtained using XRT. The multiple event data of GRB061122 from SPI were analysed and compared with the predicted instrument response obtained from Monte-Carlo simulations using the GEANT 4 INTEGRAL mass model. The chi(2) distributions between the real and simulated data as a function of the percentage polarisation and polarisation angle were calculated and limits on the level and angle of polarisation were obtained from the best-fit value of chi(2). Results. The prompt spectrum was best fit by a combination of a blackbody and a power-law model (the quasithermal model), with evidence for high energy emission continuing above 8 MeV. A pseudo-redshift value of pz = 0.95 +/- 0.18 was determined using the spectral fit parameters. The isotropic energy at this pseudo-redshift is 8.5 x 10(52) erg. The jet opening angle was estimated to be smaller than 2.8 degrees or larger than 11.9 degrees from the X-ray lightcurve. An upper limit of 60% polarisation was determined for the prompt emission of GRB061122, using the multiple event data from the spectrometer on INTEGRAL. Conclusions. The high energy emission observed in the spectrum may be due to the reverse shock interacting with the GRB ejecta when it is decelerated by the circumburst medium. This behaviour has been observed in a small fraction of GRBs to date, but is expected to be more commonly observed by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. The conditions for polarisation are met if the jet opening angle is less than 2.8 degrees, but further constraints on the level of polarisation are not possible.
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