The safety of ceftolozane-tazobactam for the treatment of acute bacterial infections: a systemic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis to assess the clinical safety of ceftolozane-tazobactam for the treatment of acute bacterial infections in adult patients.

Methods: The PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases were searched from their inception until May 2020 for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Only RCTs evaluating the risk of adverse events (AEs) for ceftolozane-tazobactam and comparative treatments for acute bacterial infections in adult patients were included.

Efficacy and safety of anti-interleukin-5 therapy in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A meta-analysis of randomized, controlled trials.

Background: Anti-interleukin-5 (IL-5) therapy has been proposed as a novel treatment option for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, its efficacy for preventing COPD exacerbation remains unclear.

Methods: A literature review was conducted to August 26th 2019.

Association between vitamin D and latent tuberculosis infection in the United States: NHANES, 2011-2012.

Background: Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is a precursor of active tuberculosis diseases and an important issue in the United States and worldwide. The association between vitamin D deficiency and LTBI is poorly understood.

Methods: From 2011 to 2012, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) assessed LTBI (according to tuberculin skin testing and QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube) and measured serum levels of vitamin D.

The effects of single inhaler triple therapy vs single inhaler dual therapy or separate triple therapy for the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background: This study aims to compare the effects of single inhaler triple therapy comprised of inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs), long-acting β2-agonists (LABAs), and long-acting muscarinic receptor antagonists (LAMAs) with dual therapies comprised of either LABA/LAMA, ICS/LABA or separate ICS/LABA plus LAMA triple therapy.

Methods: The Pubmed, Embase, and Cochrane databases were searched up to October 31st 2018. Only randomized controlled trials were included in the meta-analysis.

The Impact of Sepsis on the Outcomes of COPD Patients: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

This study aims to identify the impact of new-onset sepsis in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) including the effects on acute exacerbations, pneumonia and mortality. Using the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan, all patients with COPD older than 40 years between 1988 and 2010 were recruited. After propensity score matching, each of the 8774 COPD patients with and without sepsis were identified to have similar characteristics.

Combined effect of individual and neighbourhood socioeconomic status on mortality of rheumatoid arthritis patients under universal health care coverage system.

Background: The National Health Insurance program in Taiwan is a public insurance system for the entire population of Taiwan initiated since March 1995. However, the association of socioeconomic status (SES) and prognosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients under this program has not been identified.

Objectives: Using the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan, we aimed to examine the combined effect of individual and neighbourhood SES on the mortality rates of RA patients under a universal health care coverage system.

Effects of repetitive hyperbaric oxygen treatment in patients with acute cerebral infarction: a pilot study.

The role of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke is controversial. This prospective study assessed the efficacy and safety of HBOT as adjuvant treatment on 46 acute ischemic stroke in patients who did not receive thrombolytic therapy. The HBOT group (n = 16) received conventional medical treatment with 10 sessions of adjunctive HBOT within 3-5 days after stroke onset, while the control group (n = 30) received the same treatment but without HBOT.

Two flavonoids extracts from Glycyrrhizae radix inhibit in vitro hepatitis C virus replication.

Aim: Traditional herbal medicines have been used for several thousand years in China and other Asian countries. In this study we screened herbal drugs and their purified compounds, using the Feo replicon system, to determine their effects on in vitro HCV replication.

Methods: We screened herbal drugs and their purified extracts for the activities to suppress hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication using an HCV replicon system that expressed chimeric firefly luciferase reporter and neomycin phosphotransferase (Feo) genes.

Hepatitis C virus non-structural proteins responsible for suppression of the RIG-I/Cardif-induced interferon response.

Viral infections activate cellular expression of type I interferons (IFNs). These responses are partly triggered by RIG-I and mediated by Cardif, TBK1, IKKepsilon and IRF-3. This study analysed the mechanisms of dsRNA-induced IFN responses in various cell lines that supported subgenomic hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication.

Development of plaque assays for hepatitis C virus-JFH1 strain and isolation of mutants with enhanced cytopathogenicity and replication capacity.

HCV culture in vitro results in massive cell death, which suggests the presence of HCV-induced cytopathic effects. Therefore, we investigated its mechanisms and viral nucleotide sequences involved in this effect using HCV-JFH1 cell culture and a newly developed HCV plaque assay technique. The plaque assay developed cytopathic plaques, depending on the titer of the inoculum.

Inhibition of hepatitis C virus infection and expression in vitro and in vivo by recombinant adenovirus expressing short hairpin RNA.

Background And Aim: We have reported previously that synthetic small interfering RNA (siRNA) and DNA-based siRNA expression vectors efficiently and specifically suppress hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication in vitro. In this study, we investigated the effects of the siRNA targeting HCV-RNA in vivo.

Methods: We constructed recombinant retrovirus and adenovirus expressing short hairpin RNA (shRNA), and transfected into replicon-expressing cells in vitro and transgenic mice in vivo.

Negative regulation of intracellular hepatitis C virus replication by interferon regulatory factor 3.

Background: Interferon regulatory factor (IRF)-3 plays an important role in initiating cellular interferon-stimulated gene-mediated antiviral responses. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of IRF-3 expression and activation on intracellular hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication using an HCV replicon system.

Methods: An HCV replicon was constructed that expressed a neomycin-selectable chimeric firefly luciferase reporter protein.

Suppression of hepatitis C virus replication by cyclosporin a is mediated by blockade of cyclophilins.

Background & Aims: Cyclosporin A specifically suppresses hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication in vitro at clinically achievable concentrations. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms of action of cyclosporin A against HCV replication.

Methods: The in vitro effects of cyclosporin A on HCV replication were analyzed using an HCV replicon system that expresses chimeric luciferase reporter protein.

Enhancement of mitochondrial gene expression in the liver of primary biliary cirrhosis.

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is one of the most important autoimmune liver diseases but the etiology and pathogenesis remain unknown. In this study, we analyzed differential mRNA expression in the liver of a patient with PBC using suppression subtractive hybridization to identify overexpressed genes. Overexpression of mRNA transcripts from mitochondrial DNA was observed in the PBC liver, compared to normal liver.

Regulation of hepatitis C virus replication by interferon regulatory factor 1.

Cellular antiviral responses are mediated partly by the expression of interferon-stimulated genes, triggered by viral genomes, their transcripts and replicative intermediates. Persistent replication of a hepatitis C virus (HCV) replicon suggests that the replicon does not elicit cellular innate antiviral responses. In the present study, we investigated regulatory factors of the interferon-mediated antiviral system in cells expressing an HCV replicon.

Synergistic inhibition of intracellular hepatitis C virus replication by combination of ribavirin and interferon- alpha.

Treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection with interferon (IFN)- alpha and ribavirin combination therapy results in superior clinical antiviral responses than does monotherapy with IFN. To explore the virological basis of the effects of combination therapy, we analyzed the effects of IFN- alpha and ribavirin, singly and in combination, on intracellular HCV replication by use of an HCV replicon system. A new replicon that expressed a selectable chimeric reporter protein comprising firefly luciferase and neomycin phosphotransferase was constructed.

Specific inhibition of hepatitis C virus replication by cyclosporin A.

The difficulty in eradicating hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is attributable to the limited treatment options against the virus. Recently, cyclosporin A (CsA), a widely used immunosuppressive drug, has been reported to be effective against HCV infection [J. Gastroenterol.