Travellers' adherence to atovaquone/proguanil malaria chemoprophylaxis after return from endemic areas.

Background: According to current guidelines, atovaquone/proguanil (AP) malaria chemoprophylaxis is taken once daily during travel, and continued for seven days after return from malaria-endemic areas. However, pharmacokinetic data and studies on drug-sparing AP regimens suggest that AP could possibly be discontinued upon return without loss of protection. Besides being more cost-effective, shorter AP regimens may enhance adherence.

The systemic pro-inflammatory response in sepsis.

The systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) is the predominantly cytokine-mediated, pro-inflammatory response of the host to invading pathogens and is considered the hallmark sign of sepsis. Molecular components of this response can be divided into cytokines, plasma cascades and acute phase proteins while the predominant cellular components are leukocytes and the endothelium. High-throughput genetic profiling studies have led to increased insights into leukocyte regulation during sepsis.