The effect of GLP-1 receptor agonist lixisenatide on experimental diabetic retinopathy.

Aims: Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists are effective treatments for type 2 diabetes, effectively lowering glucose without weight gain and with low risk for hypoglycemia. However, their influence on the retinal neurovascular unit remains unclear. In this study, we analyzed the effects of the GLP-1 RA lixisenatide on diabetic retinopathy.

Differences in junction-associated gene expression changes in three rat models of diabetic retinopathy with similar neurovascular phenotype.

Diabetic retinopathy, also defined as microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus, affects the entire neurovascular unit with specific aberrations in every compartment. Neurodegeneration, glial activation and vasoregression are observed consistently in models of diabetic retinopathy. However, the order and the severity of these aberrations varies in different models, which is also true in patients.

Effectiveness of adalimumab for rheumatoid arthritis in patients with a history of TNF-antagonist therapy in clinical practice.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of adalimumab in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who previously discontinued tumour necrosis factor (TNF) antagonists for any reason in clinical practice.

Methods: ReAct (Research in Active Rheumatoid Arthritis) was a large, open-label trial that enrolled adults with active RA who had previously been treated with traditional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs or biological response modifiers. Patients self-administered adalimumab 40 mg subcutaneously every other week for 12 weeks and were allowed to enter an optional long-term extension phase.

FDG gamma camera PET equipped with one inch crystal and XCT. Assessment of myocardial viability.

Unlabelled: Metabolic imaging with 2-[fluorine-18]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) is actually considered as the best method to detect and quantitatively assess myocardial tissue viability. The aim of this study was to investigate the accuracy of FDG gamma camera positron emission tomography (GCPET) imaging equipped with one inch NaI crystals in comparison to FDG dedicated PET (dPET) imaging as a "gold standard" in phantom and clinical studies.

Patients, Methods: Nineteen patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) underwent both imaging modalities.

Comparison of (11)C-acetate positron emission tomography and (67)Gallium citrate scintigraphy in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Aims: Nuclear imaging may have an increasing role in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of this study was to compare prospectively the Gallium-67 citrate ((67)Ga) scintigraphy results with those obtained by positron emission tomography (PET) using (11)C-acetate in patients with HCC.

Methods: We prospectively analysed 21 patients (mean age, 64+/-11 years) with histopathologically verified HCC undergoing (11)C-acetate PET and (67)Ga scintigraphy.

Calcitonin measurements for early detection of medullary thyroid carcinoma or its premalignant conditions in Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

The measurement of basal serum calcitonin (CT) in patients with evidence of Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) has been proposed in a recent study demonstrating an increased prevalence of elevated basal and stimulated CT. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency and relevance of elevated CT levels in HT. The basal sera CT were measured in 568 consecutive HT patients using a chemiluminescent immuno-assay.

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis dysregulation in patients with major depression is influenced by the insertion/deletion polymorphism in the angiotensin I-converting enzyme gene.

The Dex/CRH test is one of the most reliable neuroendocrine function tests for hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) system dysregulation in depression. Persistent overdrive of HPA system activity after successful antidepressant treatment predicts an enhanced risk for relapse of a depressive episode. As the renin-angiotensin system has been shown to play a role in HPA system activity, we investigated the impact of the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene insertion (I)/deletion (D) polymorphism, which determines ACE plasma concentrations, on HPA system dysregulation.

[Vascular lesions in Behçet's disease].

Vascular lesions in Behçet's disease are generally localized in the venous system: up to 24% of the cases reported in the literature are accompanied by thrombosis/thrombophlebitis. Reports of arterial involvement are rare but have increased during the last decade. Surgical treatments of arterial aneurysms and occlusions are often followed by recurrences due to progression or relapses of the inflammatory vessel wall lesions.