Effectiveness of hepatitis C treatment with pegylated interferon and ribavirin in urban minority patients.

Randomized controlled trials of hepatitis C virus (HCV) therapy with pegylated interferon and ribavirin have demonstrated sustained viral response rates (SVRs) of 54%-63% (efficacy). Treatment results in clinical practice (effectiveness) may not be equivalent. The goal of this study was to assess the effectiveness of HCV treatment with pegylated interferon and ribavirin in a treatment-naïve, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-negative, United States urban population with many ethnic minority patients.

Cell type-specific regulation of fetal fibronectin expression in amnion: conservation of glucocorticoid responsiveness in human and nonhuman primates.

The appearance of oncofetal fibronectin (FFN) in cervical and vaginal secretions is predictive of human labor. Levels of FFN in amnion increase with the onset of labor in rhesus monkeys. Since glucocorticoid (GC) levels in serum and amniotic fluid increase in association with parturition, we compared GC-mediated regulation of FFN expression in cultures of amnion epithelial cells and fibroblasts isolated from human and baboon amnions.