Physician attitudes regarding prostaglandin treatment for glaucoma in the United States and Europe.

Purpose: To evaluate physician use of prostaglandins (latanoprost, travoprost, and bimatoprost) in the United States (US) and Europe (EU).

Methods: One thousand multiple-choice surveys were distributed via e-mail in the US and EU.

Results: The authors received 71 responses (US 40 [8%] and EU 31 [6%]).

Dorzolamide/timolol fixed combination versus latanoprost/timolol fixed combination in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension.

Purpose: The efficacy of dorzolamide/timolol fixed combination (DTFC) versus latanoprost/timolol fixed combination (LTFC) in open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertensive patients.

Methods: Patients were randomized to DTFC or LTFC for 6 weeks and switched to opposite treatment for Period 2.

Results: Thirty-two completed patients had a mean diurnal IOP of 19.

Cost-effectiveness of treating ocular hypertension.

Purpose: To assess the cost-effectiveness of treating ocular hypertension (OHT) in the United States.

Design: A Markov model was constructed to perform a cost-effectiveness analysis.

Participants: Patients with OHT.

Differential effects of whole body vibration durations on knee extensor strength.

The effectiveness and optimality of whole body vibration (WBV) duration on muscular strength is yet to be determined. Hence the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of three different durations of continuous WBV exposure on isometric right knee extensor strength measured pre and post exposure. The study involved 12 trained male subjects (age 23.

Success rates for switching to dorzolamide/timolol fixed combination in timolol responders who are insufficiently controlled by latanoprost monotherapy.

Purpose: We aimed to investigate the safety and efficacy of dorzolamide/timolol fixed combination (DTFC) in timolol responders with ocular hypertension or open-angle glaucoma who switched to DTFC because of insufficient control on latanoprost.

Methods: We carried out a prospective, open-label cohort study with an active-historical control in which qualifying patients must have been treated with latanoprost monotherapy for at least 4 weeks, must have demonstrated insufficiently controlled intraocular pressure (IOP) (> or = 19 mmHg at 08.00 hours), and must have shown a decrease in IOP at 2 hours after timolol instillation of > or = 3 mmHg or > or = 15%.

Mean intraocular pressure and progression based on corneal thickness in patients with ocular hypertension.

Purpose: To determine the incidence of glaucomatous progression at mean intraocular pressure (IOP) levels in patients with ocular hypertension (OHT).

Methods: A retrospective, multicentre, cohort analysis of 230 OHT patients with 5 years of follow-up evaluated for risk factors associated with progressive optic disc and visual field loss to determine the incidence of glaucomatous progression.

Results: Forty percent of patients with IOPs > or = 24 mmHg, 18% of patients with IOPs of 21-23 mmHg, 11% of patients with IOPs with 18-20 mmHg, and 3% of patients with IOPs of < or = 17 mmHg progressed to glaucoma.

Phase II trial of daily oral perillyl alcohol (NSC 641066) in treatment-refractory metastatic breast cancer.

Purpose: Perillyl alcohol (POH) is a naturally occurring lipid with preclinical activity against mammary carcinomas. We conducted a phase II multi-institutional study of oral POH administered four times daily in women with advanced treatment-refractory breast cancer.

Methods: Eligible women were treated with POH four times daily at 1,200-1,500 mg m(-2) dose(-1) on a 28-day cycle.

Effects of elevated glucose levels on interactions of cardiac fibroblasts with the extracellular matrix.

Exposure of fibroblasts to high glucose levels promotes a fibrotic response characterized by increased expression of extracellular matrix components including interstitial collagens. Little is known about the effects of glucose levels on other aspects of fibroblast function. Fibroblasts in the myocardium are surrounded by an extensive extracellular matrix composed predominantly of type I collagen.

Estimating the risks of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS): implications for egg donation for research.

This study aims to provide an estimate of women's risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) when undergoing superovulation to donate eggs for research. This is an essential prerequisite for appropriate informed consent. In the absence of sufficiently large numbers of egg donors to assess the risk, comparative data was obtained from women undergoing the same superovulation protocol for in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment.

Cost-effectiveness of latanoprost and timolol maleate for the treatment of glaucoma in Scandinavia and the United Kingdom, using a decision-analytic health economic model.

Purpose: To assess the cost-effectiveness of latanoprost or timolol in glaucoma treatment in Norway, Sweden, Denmark (Scandinavia) and the United Kingdom (UK).

Methods: A Markov model was constructed to perform a cost-effectiveness analysis. Health states were 'stable' and 'progressed' glaucoma, and transition probabilities for both primary open-angle and exfoliation glaucoma were derived from the medical literature.

A pilot phase II trial of valspodar modulation of multidrug resistance to paclitaxel in the treatment of metastatic carcinoma of the breast (E1195): a trial of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group.

Background: To assess the activity and toxicity of valspodar (PSC-833) in combination with paclitaxel in women with anthracycline refractory, metastatic breast cancer.

Patients And Methods: Limited, multi-institutional, Phase II trial of valspodar at 5 mg/kg/dose orally every 6 hours for 12 doses in combination with paclitaxel 70 mg/m2 administered intravenously as a 3-hour infusion beginning 4 hours after the fifth dose of valspodar, every 3 weeks. Eligible patients had bi-dimensionally measurable metastatic carcinoma of the breast, prior anthracycline therapy or a medical contraindication to anthracycline therapy, no more than one prior chemotherapy for recurrent or metastatic breast cancer, and adequate organ function.

Flap endonuclease disengages Dna2 helicase/nuclease from Okazaki fragment flaps.

Okazaki fragments contain an initiator RNA/DNA primer that must be removed before the fragments are joined. In eukaryotes, the primer region is raised into a flap by the strand displacement activity of DNA polymerase delta. The Dna2 helicase/nuclease and then flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1) are proposed to act sequentially in flap removal.

Genetic analysis of rubella viruses found in the United States between 1966 and 2004: evidence that indigenous rubella viruses have been eliminated.

Wild-type rubella viruses are genetically classified into 2 clades and 10 intraclade genotypes, of which 3 are provisional. The genotypes of 118 viruses from the United States were determined by sequencing part of the E1 coding region of these viruses and comparing the resulting sequences with reference sequences for each genotype, using the Bayesian inference program MRBAYES. Three genotypes of rubella viruses were found in the United States too infrequently to be considered for indigenous transmission.

A randomized trial of adding insulin glargine vs. avoidance of insulin in people with Type 2 diabetes on either no oral glucose-lowering agents or submaximal doses of metformin and/or sulphonylureas. The Canadian INSIGHT (Implementing New Strategies with Insulin Glargine for Hyperglycaemia Treatment) Study.

Aims: Insulin is generally withheld until people with Type 2 diabetes are unresponsive to other therapies. However, its potential advantages suggest that it could be added earlier to achieve glycaemic goals; this possibility was tested in a clinical trial.

Methods: Consenting adults aged 18-80 years with Type 2 diabetes for at least 6 months, HbA1c of 7.

Carriage, quantification, and predominance of methanogens and sulfate-reducing bacteria in faecal samples.

Aims: To determine carriage rates and densities of methanogens and sulfate-reducing bacteria in adults and children using molecular methods, and to also determine if a reciprocal relationship exists between these organisms.

Methods And Results: Real-time PCR was used to detect and quantify methanogens and sulfate-reducing bacteria. Real-time PCR was more sensitive than breath methane measurements.

17beta-estradiol modulation of angiotensin II-stimulated response in cardiac fibroblasts.

The ovarian hormone, 17beta-estradiol, has been suggested to play an important role in gender-specific differences in cardiovascular diseases. One possible cardioprotective mechanism involves the interaction between 17beta-estradiol and the renin-angiotensin system. Previous studies demonstrated that fibroblast function and gene expression are regulated by biochemical factors including growth factors, hormones, and cytokines, but little is known regarding the integration of these diverse signals.

The detrimental effects of allostasis: allostatic load as a measure of cumulative stress.

Since its inception in the 1980s, through further developments during the 1990s, and continuing today, the paradigm of allostatic load (AL) has becomed an important paradigm for predicting senescence and mortality. AL is a cumulative measure of the effects of multiple stressors and the process of responding to stressors on the soma. AL measurements of individuals is being tested on various samples and species and being reported across a variety of medical and social science journals.

A Phase II study of the safety and efficacy of teriflunomide in multiple sclerosis with relapses.

Background: Teriflunomide, a dihydro-orotate dehydrogenase inhibitor, has immunomodulatory effects, including the ability to suppress experimental allergic encephalomyelitis. In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase II study, the authors examined the safety and efficacy of oral teriflunomide in multiple sclerosis (MS) with relapses.

Methods: Patients (n = 179) with relapsing-remitting MS (n = 157) or secondary progressive MS with relapses (n = 22) were randomized to receive placebo, teriflunomide 7 mg/day, or teriflunomide 14 mg/day for 36 weeks.

Triple therapy in type 2 diabetes: insulin glargine or rosiglitazone added to combination therapy of sulfonylurea plus metformin in insulin-naive patients.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of add-on insulin glargine versus rosiglitazone in insulin-naïve patients with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled on dual oral therapy with sulfonylurea plus metformin.

Research Design And Methods: In this 24-week multicenter, randomized, open-label, parallel trial, 217 patients (HbA(1c) [A1C] 7.5-11%, BMI >25 kg/m(2)) on > or =50% of maximal-dose sulfonylurea and metformin received add-on insulin glargine 10 units/day or rosiglitazone 4 mg/day.

Mean intraocular pressure and progression based on corneal thickness in primary open-angle glaucoma.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of corneal thickness on the incidence of glaucomatous progression at individual levels of intraocular pressure.

Methods: A retrospective, noninterventional evaluation of patients with primary open-angle glaucoma who were either stable over 5 years or had glaucomatous progression before 5 years of follow-up was performed. Each patient had central thickness corneal measurements documented.

Domestic violence against women with cancer: examples and review of the literature.

Over a recent 3-month period in our oncology practice, we became aware of multiple patients reporting domestic abuse. We present three selected cases, review the literature on domestic violence, and explore issues of diagnosis and management in a cancer population. Domestic violence against cancer patients may be more common than initially appreciated, and further awareness and research are indicated.

Can the DCoHalpha isozyme compensate in patients with 4a-hydroxy-tetrahydrobiopterin dehydratase/DCoH deficiency?

4a-Hydroxy-tetrahydrobiopterin dehydratase/DCoH is a bifunctional protein. In the cytoplasm it is an enzyme required for the regeneration of tetrahydrobiopterin, an essential cofactor for phenylalanine hydroxylase. In the nucleus it functions as a transcriptional coactivator by forming a 2:2 heterotetramer with the hepatic nuclear factor HNF1alpha (HNF1).

Cardiac mast cell regulation of matrix metalloproteinase-related ventricular remodeling in chronic pressure or volume overload.

The chronic elevation in ventricular wall stress secondary to ventricular volume or pressure overload leads to structural remodeling of the muscular, vascular and extracellular matrix components of the myocardium. While initially a compensatory response, the progressive hypertrophy and ventricular dilatation induced by this condition ultimately have a detrimental effect on ventricular function, resulting in heart failure. Fibrillar collagen provides the skeletal framework which interconnects the cardiomyocytes, thereby maintaining ventricular shape and size and contributing to tissue stiffness.