Pegvisomant in acromegaly: a multicenter real-life study in Argentina.

Objective: To describe the long term safety and efficacy of pegvisomant (PEGV), and the predictors of treatment response in patients with acromegaly in the real life setting.

Subjects And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical, hormonal and radiological data of acromegalic patients treated with PEGV in 17 Argentine centers.

Results: Seventy-five patients (age range 22-77, 51 females) with acromegaly have been treated with PEGV for up to 118 months (median 27 months).

Circulating amino acids in blood plasma during the peripartal period in dairy cows with different liver functionality index.

The liver functionality index (LFI) measures the changes of albumin, cholesterol, and bilirubin concentrations between 3 and 28 d postpartum. This composite index, based on variables with direct relevance to liver-specific plasma protein synthesis (albumin), hepatic/intestinal lipoprotein synthesis (cholesterol), and clearance of breakdown products of heme catabolism (bilirubin), provides a tool for evaluating manifestations of hepatic disease. Both energy and protein metabolism are likely to be affected by various physiological challenges in this period but have not been tested systematically.

Experience from the Argentine Pegvisomant Observational Study: preliminary data.

The GH receptor antagonist pegvisomant is an efficient agent to achieve biochemical control of acromegaly in those cases refractory to surgery and medical therapy with somatostatin analogs. We conducted an observational multicenter study consisting of data collection in accordance with the standard management of patients with acromegaly in everyday practice. We reviewed the medical records of 28 patients, 23 females, who were treated with pegvisomant due to the lack of biochemical response or intolerance to the somatostatin analogs.

Plasma paraoxonase, health, inflammatory conditions, and liver function in transition dairy cows.

Paraoxonase (PON) is a liver protein with hydrolase activity that is released into the blood stream. Paraoxonase may serve as an index of liver function because it is drastically reduced in chronic liver damage. Sixty-seven periparturient dairy cows were used to evaluate the relationship between plasma PON, health problems, inflammatory conditions, and liver function.