Prospective randomized open-label multicenter phase I/II dose escalation trial of visilizumab (HuM291) in severe steroid-refractory ulcerative colitis.

Background: Visilizumab is a humanized IgG(2) monoclonal anti-CD3 antibody. We evaluated its safety and dose response in severe intravenous steroid-refractory ulcerative colitis (UC).

Methods: In all, 104 patients were treated.

Randomized, double-blind study of emtricitabine (FTC) plus clevudine versus FTC alone in treatment of chronic hepatitis B.

Emtricitabine (FTC) is approved for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus. FTC and clevudine (CLV) have activity against hepatitis B virus (HBV). This report summarizes the results of a double-blind, multicenter study of patients with chronic hepatitis B who had completed a phase 3 study of FTC and were randomized 1:1 to 200 mg FTC once daily (QD) plus 10 mg CLV QD or 200 mg FTC QD plus placebo for 24 weeks with 24 weeks of follow-up.

Double aldehyde stabilisation of erythrocytes in the indirect hemagglutination for echinococcosis.

Sheep erythrocytes were stabilised with glutaraldehyde tanned and fixed with formalin in the indirect hemagglutination test (IHA-GF) and sensitised with hydatid antigen for the diagnosis of human cystic echinococcosis (CE). The sensitivity of this method was compared to that prepared with fresh tanned cells (IHA-TA) in 278 sera from hydatid patients. The sensitivity of IHA-GF (87.

Effect of mebendazole on human cystic echinococcosis: the role of dosage and treatment duration.

Fifty-three patients with single, multiple and/or multi-organ hydatid cysts were treated with mebendazole, in varying dosages (30-70 mg/kg.day) and over varying periods (6-24 months). Treatment failure was recorded if the mebendazole had no apparent effect on cyst morphology (monitored by radiology, ultrasonography and computed tomography) or only a parasitostatic effect (characterized by mixed and transitory, hypo- and hyper-echoic changes in the lesions).

Chemotherapy of human cystic echinococcosis: comparative efficacy of mebendazole and albendazole.

The relative efficacy of mebendazole (MEB) and albendazole (ALB) was tested by treating 51 patients with single, multiple and multi-organ hydatid cysts; 28 patients were treated with MEB, 50-70 mg kg-1 body weight daily for six to 24 months, and 23 with ALB, 10 mg kg-1 body weight daily in four courses of 30 days with 15-day intervals between courses. The therapeutic effect during the follow-up was assessed by ultrasonography, computerized tomography and chest X-ray. The criteria used when assessing the results were: 'success', evidence of effect on all cysts; 'partial success', evidence of effect on some of the cysts; and 'no success', no changes in cyst morphology.