Effectiveness of an educational intervention about inhalation technique in healthcare professionals in primary care: a cluster randomized trial.

Incorrect inhalation technique (IT) is an important issue for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients and healthcare professionals. Studies in which counseling is carried out with healthcare professionals beforehand so that they can properly educate their patients are required. The objective of the present trial is to assess the improvement in the performance of the IT in subjects with COPD and prescribed inhaled therapy after the implementation of an educational intervention conducted by their general practitioners.

Risk factors associated with Retinopathy of Prematurity development and progression.

Several studies propose that Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) is a multifactorial disorder implicating many prenatal and postnatal factors. The objective of our study was to determine the incidence and the risk factors that influenced ROP development and progression. We retrospectively compiled data of preterms with birth weight (BW) ≤ 1.

Metformin, testosterone, or both in men with obesity and low testosterone: A double-blind, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial.

Background: Men with obesity tend to be insulin resistant and often have low-normal testosterone concentrations. We conducted a clinical trial aimed to evaluate potential therapeutic strategies for low testosterone in men with obesity.

Methods: We did a 1-year, parallel, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, where we evaluated the independent and combined effects of metformin and testosterone in 106 men with obesity, aged 18-50 years, who had low levels of testosterone and no diabetes mellitus.

Multimodal analyses of vitiligo skin identify tissue characteristics of stable disease.

Vitiligo is an autoimmune skin disease characterized by the destruction of melanocytes by autoreactive CD8+ T cells. Melanocyte destruction in active vitiligo is mediated by CD8+ T cells, but the persistence of white patches in stable disease is poorly understood. The interaction between immune cells, melanocytes, and keratinocytes in situ in human skin has been difficult to study due to the lack of proper tools.

Antenatal Betamethasone Every 12 Hours in Imminent Preterm Labour.

Background: Benefits of antenatal corticosteroids have been established for preterm infants who have received the full course. In imminent preterm labours there is no time to administer the second dose 24 h later.

Objective: To determine whether the administration of two doses of betamethasone in a 12 h interval is equivalent to the effects of a full maturation.