Use of Liraglutide 3.0 mg for Weight Management in a Real-World Setting in Switzerland.

Introduction: Data from randomized controlled trials show that liraglutide 3.0 mg, in combination with diet and exercise, is associated with greater weight loss than diet and exercise alone in patients with obesity. In practice, the utilization of weight loss drugs is influenced by various factors, including the cost of treatment.

Diurnal changes of lower leg volume in obese and non-obese subjects.

Background/aim: Obesity is a risk factor for chronic venous disease. However, the mechanisms behind this association are poorly understood. We tested the hypothesis that obese subjects have a higher diurnal leg volume increase compared with non-obese subjects.

[Evidence based check-up: the general medical point of view].

Check-up is a frequent motivation for patients to see their general practitioner. The challenge lies in the choice of screening tools to accomplish an efficient, individual and age-adapted approach. In this article we review evidence-based screening methods, whose efficacy has been demonstrated by randomized clinical trials, as well as their application in clinical practice.

[Aftercare following bariatric surgery].

With the increase of patients after bariatric and metabolic surgery the long-term follow-up of this population will become a challenge. Bariatric patients require regular and life-long follow-up in order to affect the long-term achievements of this therapy in a positive way. For that reason bariatric patients should be followed in the first phase by a multidisciplinary team of the bariatric centre.

Combination of daptomycin plus ceftriaxone is more active than vancomycin plus ceftriaxone in experimental meningitis after addition of dexamethasone.

We examined the cerebrospinal fluid penetration of daptomycin after the addition of dexamethasone and its bactericidal efficacy with and without ceftriaxone in an experimental rabbit model of pneumococcal meningitis. The combination of daptomycin with ceftriaxone was the most efficacious regimen for pneumococcal meningitis. The previous addition of dexamethasone affected the antibacterial activity of daptomycin only marginally, either as monotherapy or combined with ceftriaxone, although the penetration of daptomycin into inflamed meninges was significantly reduced from 6 to 2%.

Human bronchial epithelium controls TH2 responses by TH1-induced, nitric oxide-mediated STAT5 dephosphorylation: implications for the pathogenesis of asthma.

Increased levels of NO in exhaled air in association with increased NO synthetase (NOS)2 expression in bronchial epithelial are hallmark features of asthma. It has been suggested that NO contributes to asthma pathogenesis by selective down-regulation of TH1 responses. We demonstrate, however, that NO can reversibly limit in vitro expansion of both human TH1 and TH2 CD4+ T cells.

Regular follow-up after curative resection of nonsmall cell lung cancer: a real benefit for patients?

Even though complete resection is regarded as the only curative treatment for nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC), >50% of resected patients die from a recurrence or a second primary tumour of the lung within 5 yrs. It remains unclear, whether follow-up in these patients is cost-effective and whether it can improve the outcome due to early detection of recurrent tumour. The benefit of regular follow-up in a consecutive series of 563 patients, who had undergone potentially curative resection for NSCLC at the University Hospital, was analysed.