Cost-effectiveness of treating vascular leg ulcers with UrgoStart(®) and UrgoCell(®) Contact.

Although chronic wounds have a high socio-economic impact, data on comparative effectiveness of treatments are rare. UrgoStart(®) is a hydroactive dressing containing a nano-oligosaccharide factor (NOSF). This study aimed at evaluating the cost-effectiveness of this NOSF-containing wound dressing in vascular leg ulcers compared with a similar neutral foam dressing (UrgoCell(®) Contact) without NOSF.

Discovery of riociguat (BAY 63-2521): a potent, oral stimulator of soluble guanylate cyclase for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension.

Soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) is a key signal-transduction enzyme activated by nitric oxide (NO). Impairments of the NO-sGC signaling pathway have been implicated in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular and other diseases. Direct stimulation of sGC represents a promising therapeutic strategy particularly for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension (PH), a disabling disease associated with a poor prognosis.

Using a new lipidocolloid dressing in paediatric wounds: results of French and German clinical studies.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy, tolerance and acceptability of a lipidocolloid dressing, Urgotul (Laboratoires Urgo), in the local treatment of acute and chronic paediatric wounds.

Method: Two non-comparative multicentre prospective clinical studies were conducted using the same protocol in France and Germany. A total of 100 patients were recruited from 16 centres (11 in France and five in Germany), and followed up for four weeks.

Effects of obesity on endothelium-dependent reactivity during acute nitric oxide synthase inhibition: modulatory role of endothelin.

This study investigated vascular reactivity in response to acetylcholine, in the presence of acute inhibition of nitric oxide synthase, in the carotid artery and aorta of obese C57Bl6/J mice fed on a high-fat diet for 30 weeks, and of control mice. A subgroup of obese animals was also treated with the ET(A) receptor antagonist darusentan (50 mg x kg(-1) x day(-1)). In vascular rings from control animals, acetylcholine caused endothelium-dependent contractions in the carotid artery, but not in the aorta.