Aramchol in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2b trial.

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a chronic liver disease without an approved therapy, is associated with lipotoxicity and insulin resistance and is a major cause of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Aramchol, a partial inhibitor of hepatic stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD1) improved steatohepatitis and fibrosis in rodents and reduced steatosis in an early clinical trial. ARREST, a 52-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2b trial randomized 247 patients with NASH (n = 101, n = 98 and n = 48 in the Aramchol 400 mg, 600 mg and placebo arms, respectively; NCT02279524 ).

Clostridium difficile infection in returning travellers.

Background: There is increasing recognition of the contribution of community-acquired cases to the global burden of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). The epidemiology of CDI among international travellers is poorly understood, and factors associated with international travel, such as antibiotic use and changes in gut microbiota, could potentially put travellers at higher risk.

Methods: We summarized demographic, travel-associated and geographic characteristics of travellers with CDI in the GeoSentinel database from 1997 to 2015.

Efficacy and safety of oral solithromycin versus oral moxifloxacin for treatment of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia: a global, double-blind, multicentre, randomised, active-controlled, non-inferiority trial (SOLITAIRE-ORAL).

Background: Community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, and treatment recommendations, each with specific limitations, vary globally. We aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of solithromycin, a novel macrolide, with moxifloxacin for treatment of CABP.

Methods: We did this global, double-blind, double-dummy, randomised, active-controlled, non-inferiority trial at 114 centres in North America, Latin America, Europe, and South Africa.

Patterns of illness in travelers visiting Mexico and Central America: the GeoSentinel experience.

Background: Mexico and Central America are important travel destinations for North American and European travelers. There is limited information on regional differences in travel related morbidity.

Methods: We describe the morbidity among 4779 ill travelers returned from Mexico and Central America who were evaluated at GeoSentinel network clinics during December 1996 to February 2010.

Advances in the treatment of travelers' diarrhea.

Diarrhea is the most common complaint reported by travelers from industrialized countries visiting developing nations. High-risk areas for travelers' diarrhea (TD) include South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America, while moderate-risk areas include Southeast Asia, Middle East, Oceania and the Caribbean. Bacterial pathogens are the major cause of TD.

Campylobacter jejuni is not an important pathogen as a cause of diarrhea in US travelers to Mexico.

Campylobacter jejuni is an unusual cause of travelers' diarrhea acquired in Mexico, but previous studies have relied only on stool culture for diagnosis. We conducted a cohort study to determine if antibody seroconversion to C jejuni would better reflect the occurrence of infection acquired in Mexico. Serum IgG, IgA, and IgM antibodies to Campylobacter seroconverted in only 2 of 353 participants (0.