Effectiveness and safety of intravenous golimumab with and without concomitant methotrexate in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in the prospective, noninterventional AWARE study.

Background: Biologic therapies are often prescribed for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have inadequate responses to or are intolerant of methotrexate (MTX) and patients with poor prognostic indicators. This post hoc analysis evaluated effectiveness and safety of intravenous golimumab + MTX vs golimumab without MTX in RA patients.

Methods: AWARE, a real-world, prospective and pragmatic, Phase 4 study, compared effectiveness and safety of golimumab and infliximab in biologic-naïve and biologic-experienced patients.

TRIO Method for Detection of Beta-Lactams, Sulfonamides, and Tetracyclines in Raw Commingled Cows' Milk.

A qualitative 3 min one-step assay for detecting beta-lactam, sulfonamide, and tetracycline antibiotics was validated following milk screening test guidelines developed by FDA-CVM, AOAC-RI, and IDF. The validated 90% detection levels with 95% confidence were: penicillin G 2 part per billion (ppb); amoxicillin 4 ppb; ampicillin 9 ppb; ceftiofur plus metabolites 50 ppb; cloxacillin 9 ppb; cephapirin 15 ppb; sulfadimethoxine 8 ppb; sulfamethazine 9 ppb; chlortetracycline 34 ppb; oxytetracycline 53 ppb; and tetracycline 42 ppb. Detection levels were lower than U.

An Unusual Presentation of Native Valve Endocarditis Caused by .

is a coagulase-negative staphylococcal (CoNS) bacterium. It is a common saprophyte on human skin, present in approximately 50% of the healthy adult population; it has emerged as a cause of serious infection in the past two decades. In most cases, there is a predisposing condition, such as a new implant or surgical procedure, before the identification of as the pathogen.

Contrast-enhanced CT in 100 clear cell renal cell cancers - an analysis of enhancement, tumour size, and survival.

Aim: To investigate the relationship between computed tomography (CT) contrast enhancement of clear cell renal tumours and clinicopathological measures including tumour size, stage, grade, presence of necrosis, and disease-specific survival (DSS).

Materials And Methods: Patients who had radical nephrectomy for clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in the period 2004-2007 and who underwent contrast-enhanced (CE)CT at diagnosis were included. Pathological records and radiological imaging were reviewed.

Hypothermia and the acute abdomen.

A 64-year old man presented to A&E with a 24 h history of persistent hypothermia and increasing confusion. His medical history included congestive heart failure, hypertension and intermittent claudication secondary to distal abdominal aortic occlusion. Examination revealed profound hypothermia-31°C, bilateral reduced power in the lower limbs and no palpable peripheral pulses.

Nutritional and vitamin supplements: do they prevent coronary artery disease?

This article will review background information and data supporting the use of fish oil, folic acid, coenzyme Q, and vitamins C, D, and E in the prevention and/or treatment of coronary artery disease.

Validation of the charm 3 SL3 beta-lactam test for screening raw milk in compliance with the U.S. pasteurized milk ordinance. Performance Tested Method 071002.

The Charm 3 SL3 beta-Lactam Test is a 3 min receptor-based lateral-flow Rapid One-Step Assay (ROSA) that detects the six beta-lactam drugs of concern approved for dairy cattle in the United States. The method is a biochemical formulation change of the SL3 beta-Lactam Test evaluated and approved in 2007. The Charm 3 SL3 was evaluated under the AOAC Research Institute Performance Tested Method (PTM) program following the protocol of the U.

Importance of measuring glycosylated hemoglobin in patients with myocardial infarction and known diabetes mellitus.

Although medical co-morbidities commonly affect clinical outcomes after acute myocardial infarction (AMI), current performance measures of AMI quality focus exclusively on the management of the AMI itself. However, patients with AMIs frequently present with other co-morbidities, such as diabetes mellitus (DM), that also warrant assessment and management. To date, the quality of DM evaluation in patients presenting with AMIs has not been described.

Comparison of the native ulnar head and a partial ulnar head resurfacing implant.

Purpose: To assess the match in size and shape between the native ulnar head and a partial ulnar head implant in cadaver specimens.

Methods: Ten fresh-frozen cadaver arms (6 male, 4 female, age range 79-91 years) with no history of previous distal radioulnar joint surgery were used. Radiographic measurements before and after implantation were used to compare ulnar head articular height, width, offset, and ulnar variance.

Validation of the SL3 beta-Lactam Test for screening milk in compliance with U.S. pasteurized milk ordinance: performance tested method 040701.

The SL3 beta-Lactam Test is a 3 min, receptor-based lateral flow Rapid One Step Assay (ROSA) that detects 5 of 6 beta-lactam drugs approved for dairy cattle in the United States. The method was evaluated through the AOAC Research Institute Performance-Tested Method program following a U.S.

Frequency of undiagnosed and untreated diabetes mellitus in patients with acute coronary syndromes.

The current epidemic of obesity warrants aggressive screening for associated comorbid conditions; namely, the metabolic syndrome and diabetes mellitus. Approximately 25-30% of patients with acute coronary syndrome have diabetes. Of the remaining patients, most have a spectrum of abnormal glucose metabolism, including previously undiagnosed impaired fasting glucose and diabetes mellitus.

Corticosteroid injections for painful shoulders.

The painful shoulder is a common clinical entity with a broad array of possible causes. A caregiver for an affected patient needs to determine the aetiology for the pain, often relying primarily on the history and physical examination and supplemented with laboratory testing and imaging when needed. However, initial treatment decisions are often made before ordering these tests in situations not involving trauma.

Frequency of undiagnosed diabetes mellitus in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

In a prospective cohort of patients who had acute coronary syndrome, we used a simple fasting plasma glucose to identify previously unrecognized diabetes mellitus. A total of 57% of patients who had acute coronary syndrome had abnormal glucose metabolism; approximately 66% of those who met criteria for new diabetes were not diagnosed or treated as such by the physicians who managed them.

Predictors of quality-of-life benefit after percutaneous coronary intervention.

Background: Improving patients' quality of life is a primary indication for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), yet little is known about patient characteristics associated with greater quality-of-life improvement from the procedure. This study was conducted to identify patient characteristics associated with quality-of-life benefit after PCI.

Methods And Results: A consecutive series of 1518 patients undergoing PCI in nonacute myocardial infarction settings were prospectively enrolled into an observational study documenting their postprocedural health status.

Improved symptoms, physical limitation, and self-efficacy after resynchronization in a patient with heart failure and a prolonged QRS duration.

This report examines the impact of resynchronization therapy in a patient with class IV heart failure and a prolonged QRS duration on electrocardiogram. The Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) was used to assess the patient's health status prior to, immediately after, and 2 months after placement of a biventricular pacemaker. B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) values and electrocardiogram QRS duration were recorded to further document clinical status.

The elderly: health status benefits and recovery of function one year after coronary artery bypass surgery.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to describe the health status (symptoms, function, and quality of life) changes of elderly patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and compare these to younger patients.

Background: Despite increasing use of CABG in the elderly, few data exist about elderly patients' health status benefits from CABG.

Methods: A total of 690 consecutive patients (n = 156, >75 years of age; n = 534, View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Mice immunized by primary vaginal Candida albicans infection develop acquired vaginal mucosal immunity.

It has been postulated that systemic cell-mediated immunity (CMI) is an important host defense mechanism against Candida infections of the vagina. However, in an estrogen-dependent murine model of experimental vaginal candidiasis, we recently showed that systemic Candida-specific Th1-type CMI induced by immunization with Candida culture filtrate antigen had no effect on vaginal Candida population levels during the course of a vaginal infection. In the present study, mice given a second vaginal inoculation in the presence of peripheral Candida-specific Th1-type CMI induced by prior vaginal infection had anamnestic-type increased delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) responses, concomitant with significantly fewer Candida organisms in the vagina than in primary-infected mice.

Inhibition of lung colonization at two different steps in the metastatic sequence.

Two immunomodulatory protocols were evaluated for their ability to inhibit lung colonization by mouse mammary tumor line 4T07. Preimmunization with tumor cells or pretreatment with poly I:C were equally effective at inhibiting lung colonization but a clonogenic tumor cell assay demonstrated that the treatments reduced tumor cell burden at different steps during the metastatic process. Poly I:C pretreatment accelerated tumor cell clearance based on the recovery of clonogenic tumor cells from lungs dispersed within 6 h post-arrest.

Characterization of a highly invasive and spontaneously metastatic human malignant melanoma cell line.

Although the incidence of, and deaths due to, malignant melanoma are rising at a rapid rate, few experimental models mimic the highly metastatic properties associated with the pathogenesis of the human disease, making study of the disease difficult. Thus, new human models are required to understand melanoma biology, especially its metastatic properties. Here we describe C8161, a highly invasive and spontaneously metastatic human melanoma cell line, which grows progressively in the subcutis of athymic nude mice with an average doubling time of approximately 6 days.

In situ analysis of T cell subset composition in experimental autoimmune thyroiditis after adoptive transfer of activated spleen cells.

T cells from genetically susceptible mice developing experimental autoimmune thyroiditis (EAT) proliferate in response to restimulation with mouse thyroglobulin (MTg) in vitro. The in vitro-activated cells adoptively transfer EAT as well as differentiate into cells cytotoxic for syngeneic thyroid monolayers. To examine the kinetics of T cell subset infiltration and distribution in situ after adoptive transfer, we applied the avidin-biotin-peroxidase labeling technique to thyroid sections, utilizing rat monoclonal antibodies followed by a biotinylated rabbit anti-rat antibody.

In situ kinetic analysis of thyroid lymphocyte infiltrate in mice developing experimental autoimmune thyroiditis.

L3T4+ T cells from genetically susceptible mice developing experimental autoimmune thyroiditis (EAT) were shown earlier to proliferate in response to restimulation with mouse thyroglobulin (MTg) in vitro and to mediate the adoptive transfer of EAT, whereas Lyt-2+ cells differentiated in vitro into cells cytotoxic for thyroid monolayers. Leukocyte suspensions from disrupted thyroid glands examined on Days 13-21 after immunization revealed the accumulation of both T cell subsets in the infiltrate at varying ratios. To characterize the in situ kinetics of cellular infiltration in chronic EAT, we extended the observation intervals after immunization to include Days 21 to 42.

Depletion of L3T4+ and Lyt-2+ cells by rat monoclonal antibodies alters the development of adoptively transferred experimental autoimmune thyroiditis.

To delineate the contribution of L3T4+ and Lyt-2+ cells in the pathogenesis of experimental autoimmune thyroiditis (EAT), synergistic pairs of monoclonal antibodies (mAb) to the T cell subsets were used in conjunction with the adoptive transfer of mouse thyroglobulin (MTg)-activated cells from immunized mice. Initial experiments verified the important role of L3T4+ cells in the transfer of EAT. Subsequent experiments pointed to the relative contribution of both L3T4+ and Lyt-2+ cells, depending on the stage and extent of disease development.

Carpal tunnel: MR imaging. Part II. Carpal tunnel syndrome.

The magnetic resonance (MR) images of 14 wrists of patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) were studied. Four general findings visible regardless of the cause of CTS included swelling of the median nerve, best evaluated at the level of the pisiform bone; flattening of the median nerve, most reliably judged at the hamate level; palmar bowing of the flexor retinaculum, best visualized at the level of the hamate bone; and increased signal intensity of the median nerve on T2-weighted images. Findings related to cause were tendon sheath edema in traumatic tenosynovitis, synovial hypertrophy in rheumatoid tenosynovitis, a ganglion cyst, and excessive amount of fat within the carpal tunnel, a persistent median artery, and a large adductor pollicis muscle.