Eight-week oral administration of meloxicam, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, prevents dose reduction of pegylated interferon alpha-2a in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C.

Aim: We conducted a trial to evaluate whether eight-week oral administration of meloxicam, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, would decrease the rate of the patients who required dose reduction of pegylated interferon alpha-2a in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C.

Methods: Sixty patients given weekly subcutaneous administration of pegylated interferon alpha-2a at a dose of 180 mug for 48 weeks were allocated into the meloxicam group (n = 22) and the control group (n = 38) before interferon treatment. Meloxicam was given orally at a dose of 10 mg once a day for eight weeks from the start of interferon treatment.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm and concomitant malignancy: what treatment?

Unlabelled: The association of neoplasm and abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), although rare, may represents a therapeutic dilemma.

Materials And Methods: Between January 1990 and December 2004 in our departement 127 patients were submitted because of an AAA, in 8 cases there was an association with a neoplasm, in the greater part being a colon cancer. In 3 cases we performed a one stage surgery, in 1 case the chose was for a two stage surgery, for 3 patients we opted for an endovascular treatment by an endograft, in 1 case a pancreatic cancer was diagnosed 3 months after the prosthetic replacement of an AAA and there were no surgical indications because of the patient was in an advanced neoplastic stage.

[Management of obese patients: surgical therapy].

At present, the management of obesity includes integration of therapeutic strategies such as diet, physical training, behaviour therapy and pharmacologic therapy. An increased number of selected patients with morbid obesity, where medical therapy was ineffective, have been surgically treated in the last years due to less invasive surgical techniques, such as laparoscopic surgery. Main operations include gastroplasty, adjustable gastric banding, gastric bypass, bilio-pancreatic diversion.

Predictive factors for the response to lamivudine in HBV-infected patients with chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis.

Objective: To determine predictors for virological response to lamivudine, a retrospective-cohort study was designed.

Methods: Seventy HBV positive patients who received lamivudine were classified according to virological response into responders and non-responders. Background conditions and normalization and flare-up of hepatitis were compared using student-t test and chi-square test.

Long-term efficacy of oral microemulsion cyclosporin for refractory ulcerative colitis.

Aim: The 60% bioavailable oral microemulsion formulation of cyclosporin (NEORAL ), has replaced the intravenous route to treat both organ transplant and immune-based disease. Its use for steroid-refractory ulcerative colitis (a recognized indication for intravenous cyclosporin) has been scanty.

Methods: Twenty-three consecutive patients (14 male/9 female, universal colitis 14/23) entered a 3-month course of NEORAL (initially dosed at 5 mg/kg/day) because of steroid-refractoriness (14 cases) and steroid-dependence (9 cases).