Increased warfarin requirements in a patient with chronic hepatitis C infection receiving sofosbuvir and ribavirin.

Purpose: A case of increased warfarin requirements during treatment with sofosbuvir and ribavirin for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is reported.

Summary: A 63-year-old white man receiving long-term anticoagulation with warfarin for atrial fibrillation and a history of cardioembolic stroke was initiated in September 2014 on a 12-week course of sofosbuvir 400 mg orally daily and weight-based ribavirin 600 mg orally twice daily for HCV genotype 2 infection. Before starting this treatment regimen, the patient had been stable on warfarin 52.

Double dose vs. standard dose influenza vaccination in patients with heart failure: a pilot study.

Aims: Influenza infection leads to increased morbidity and mortality in those with heart failure, and individuals with heart failure exhibit reduced antibody responses to influenza vaccine. We hypothesized that patients with heart failure randomized to double dose (DD) influenza vaccine will mount more vigorous humoral immune responses compared with those given standard dose (SD) vaccine.

Methods And Results: We randomized 28 heart failure patients to DD (30 μg/strain) or SD (15 μg/strain) influenza vaccine.

Effect of maturation and aging on beta-adrenergic signal transduction in rat kidney and liver.

The characteristics of the beta-adrenergic signal transduction system were analyzed in kidney and liver membrane preparations from neonatal (2-3 days), mature (2 months), and old (2 years) rats. When comparing kidneys from adult to neonatal rats, we found a higher beta-receptor density and a higher percentage of beta(1)-receptor subtype, lower immunoreactive G(salpha)-protein, a lower ratio between the high and low molecular weight splice variant of G(salpha), lower immunoreactive G(ialpha)-protein, and lower basal adenylate cyclase activity. When comparing livers from adult to neonatal rats, we found lower beta-receptor density and basal adenylate cyclase activity.

[Reports of suspected side effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in Belgium and The Netherlands].

Objective: To study the adverse drug reaction (ADR) profile of selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRI) in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Design: Descriptive study.

Setting: The Belgian Pharmacovigilance Centre and the Dutch Drug Safety Unit.