| 1. |
- Dalgard, Olav, et al.
(författare)
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Pegylated interferon alfa and ribavirin for 14 versus 24 weeks in patients with hepatitis C virus genotype 2 or 3 and rapid virological response
- 2008
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Ingår i: Hepatology. - : Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). - 0270-9139 .- 1527-3350. ; 47:1, s. 35-42
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A recent nonrandomized pilot trial showed that hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients with genotype 2/3 and rapid virological response (RVR) had a 90% sustained virological response (SVR) rate after 14 weeks of treatment. We aimed to assess this concept in a randomized controlled trial. In the trial, 428 treatment-naïve HCV RNA–positive patients with genotype 2 or 3 were enrolled. Patients with RVR were randomized to 14 (group A) or 24 (group B) weeks of treatment. Patients were treated with pegylated interferon α-2b (1.5 μg/kg) subcutaneously weekly and ribavirin (800-1400 mg) orally daily. The noninferiority margin was set to be 10% between the two groups with a one-sided 2.5% significance level. RVR was obtained in 302 of 428 (71%), and 298 of these were randomized to group A (n = 148) or group B (n = 150). In the intention-to-treat analysis, SVR rates were 120 of 148 (81.1%) in group A and 136 of 150 (90.7%) in group B (difference, 9.6%; 95% confidence interval, 1.7-17.7). Among patients with an HCV RNA test 24 weeks after the end of treatment, 120 of 139 (86.3%) patients in group A achieved SVR compared with 136 of 146 (93.2%) in group B (difference, 6.9%; 95% confidence interval, −0.1 to +13.9). Conclusion: We cannot formally claim that 14 weeks of treatment is noninferior to 24 weeks of treatment. However, the SVR rate after 14 weeks of treatment is high, and although longer treatment may give slightly better SVR, we believe economical savings and fewer side effects make it rational to treat patients with genotype 2 or 3 and RVR for only 14 weeks.
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| 2. |
- Hjelmervik, Trond Ove R., et al.
(författare)
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The influence of the NOD Nss1/Idd5 loci on sialadenitis and gene expression in salivary glands of congenic mice
- 2007
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Ingår i: Arthritis Research and Therapy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1478-6362 .- 1478-6354. ; 9:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The nonobese diabetic ( NOD) Nss1 and Idd5 loci have been associated with sialadenitis development in mice. In this study the NOD Nss1 and Idd5 loci were backcrossed onto the healthy control strain B10. Q by using the speed congenic breeding strategy, resulting in three congenic strains: B10. Q. Nss1, B10. Q. Nss1/Idd5 heterozygous and B10. Q. Nss1/Idd5 homozygous. We investigated the effects of the Nss1 and Idd5 loci on sialadenitis and gene expression in NOD congenic mice. One submandibular salivary gland from each mouse was used for histological analysis of sialadenitis, whereas the contralateral salivary gland was used for gene expression profiling with the Applied Biosystems Mouse Genome Survey chip v. 1.0. The results were validated using quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR. The NOD Nss1 and Idd5 loci had clear influence on the onset and progression of sialadenitis in congenic mice. Double congenic mice exhibited the most severe phenotype. We successfully identified several genes that are located in the NOD congenic regions to be differentially expressed between the congenic strains and the control strain. Several of these were found to be co-regulated, such as Stat1, complement component C1q genes and Tlr12. Also, a vast contingency of interferon-regulated genes ( such as Ltb, Irf7 and Irf8) and cytokine and chemokine genes ( such as Ccr7 and Ccl19) were differentially expressed between the congenic strains and the control strain. Over-representation of inflammatory signalling pathways was observed among the differentially expressed genes. We have found that the introgression of the NOD loci Nss1 and Idd5 on a healthy background caused sialadenitis in NOD congenic mouse strains, and we propose that genes within these loci are important factors in the pathogenesis. Furthermore, gene expression profiling has revealed several differentially expressed genes within and outside the NOD loci that are similar to genes found to be differentially expressed in patients with Sjogren's syndrome, and as such are interesting candidates for investigation to enhance our understanding of disease mechanisms and to develop future therapies.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Persson, Hans, et al.
(författare)
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Unexploited Resources in Interaction Design for Universal Access: People with Impairments as a Resource for Interaction Designers
- 2009
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Ingår i: UNIVERSAL ACCESS IN HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION: ADDRESSING DIVERSITY, PT I, PROCEEDINGS. - Berlin, Heidelberg : Springer Berlin Heidelberg. ; , s. 145-153
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- A challenge to HCI-designers is to create simple, usable, and useful applications. The current paper addresses this problem and presents an innovative possibility to extract useful information from users rarely represented in contemporary participatory design approaches. The study was conducted from a Universal Access point of view. The primary result of the study is that people with well defined intellectual (e.g. understanding and logical reasoning) difficulties provided the designers of web-pages with more valuable and elaborated answers to bottlenecks in the interaction than a more representative group of web-users. With this result in mind Universal Access should not be an unreachable goal. This implies that people with intellectual difficulties can be regarded as an unexploited resource in HCI when using a participatory approach.
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