Hematologic response to three alternative dosing schedules of azacitidine in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes.

Purpose: Azacitidine (AZA) is effective treatment for myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) at a dosing schedule of 75 mg/m(2)/d subcutaneously for 7 days every 4 weeks. The initial phase of this ongoing multicenter, community-based, open-label study evaluated three alternative AZA dosing schedules without weekend dosing.

Patients And Methods: MDS patients were randomly assigned to one of three regimens every 4 weeks for six cycles: AZA 5-2-2 (75 mg/m(2)/d subcutaneously for 5 days, followed by 2 days no treatment, then 75 mg/m(2)/d for 2 days); AZA 5-2-5 (50 mg/m(2)/d subcutaneously for 5 days, followed by 2 days no treatment, then 50 mg/m(2)/d for 5 days); or AZA 5 (75 mg/m(2)/d subcutaneously for 5 days).

[The dilemma of diabetes in pregnancy: worldwide differences in diagnosis and management].

Objective: Type 1 and type 2 diabetes in pregnancy as well as gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) pose major risks to mother and fetus. We assessed to which extent two obstetric centers on two different continents coincide in their management of diabetes in pregnancy.

Methods: Within the scope of research activities between the Obstetric Department of the Medical University of Graz, Austria, and the Centre of Obstetric Medicine at the Mater Misericordiae Mothers' Hospital in Brisbane, Australia, current practices among the two obstetric centers in Austria and Australia were assessed.

[Gestational diabetes in East Africa: a mostly disregarded disease?].

The majority of all deliveries worldwide take place in the so-called developing world. Most recent epidemiological data have shown that the number of cases of type 2 diabetes mellitus and diabetes in pregnancy is steadily increasing worldwide. However, little is known about the prevalence of gestational diabetes in East Africa.

Mode of death in patients with newly diagnosed heart failure in the general population.

Background: Early prognosis for incident (new) heart failure (HF) patients in the general population is poor. Clinical trials suggest approximately half of chronic HF patients die suddenly but mode of death for incident HF cases in the general population has not been evaluated.

Aims: To describe mode of death in the first six months after a new diagnosis in the general population.

Adaptive servo-ventilation in heart failure patients with sleep apnea: a real world study.

Background: Congestive heart failure (CHF) patients often present with obstructive and central sleep apnea occurring concurrently within the same night. This study assessed the efficacy of, and improvements associated with, the use of adaptive servo-ventilation (ASV) in CHF patients with all types of sleep apnea. We hypothesized that ASV would be effective at reducing sleep apnea and improving both cardiac status and quality of life.

Hyperglycemia and adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Background: It is controversial whether maternal hyperglycemia less severe than that in diabetes mellitus is associated with increased risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Methods: A total of 25,505 pregnant women at 15 centers in nine countries underwent 75-g oral glucose-tolerance testing at 24 to 32 weeks of gestation. Data remained blinded if the fasting plasma glucose level was 105 mg per deciliter (5.

Gestational diabetes in rural East Africa: a call to action.

The number of cases of diabetes worldwide has increased significantly in the last decade. Characteristically, the incidence of gestational diabetes (GDM) reflects the incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in the background population, which is a warning that a rapid increase in the incidence is to be expected concomitant with the already observed increase in the incidence of T2DM. Although the majority of all deliveries worldwide take place in the so-called developing world, little is known about the prevalence of diabetes in pregnancy in rural areas of East Africa.

Dipeptidyl peptidase-iV inhibitors: fixing type 2 diabetes?

The optimal treatment of type 2 diabetes is currently uncertain. This article reviews a new class of oral hypoglycaemic agents: dipeptidyl peptidase-IV inhibitors. By potentiating the action of incretins they offer a more 'physiological' control of blood sugar with fewer side effects, and the possibility of ameliorating the decline in beta cell function.

Diabetes mellitus in the 21 years after a pregnancy that was complicated by hypertension: findings from a prospective cohort study.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) and self-reported diabetes mellitus 21 years after delivery.

Study Design: The Mater-University of Queensland Study is a prospective cohort study of women who received antenatal care at a major public hospital in Brisbane, Australia, between 1981 and 1984; 3639 women who completed the questionnaire at 21 years postpartum were included.

Results: Of the women without HDP, 7.

The association of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy with weight gain over the subsequent 21 years: findings from a prospective cohort study.

Obesity is an important risk factor for hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, but most cases of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy occur in women of normal weight. There may be predisposing factors to both hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and obesity. To test this hypothesis, the authors compared changes in body mass index (weight (kg)/height (m)2) over time in women with and without hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.

The ADIPS pilot National Diabetes in Pregnancy Audit Project.

Background: Limited resources are available to compare outcomes of pregnancies complicated by diabetes across different centres.

Aims: To compare the use of paper, stand alone and networked electronic processes for a sustainable, systematic international audit of diabetes in pregnancy care.

Methods: Development of diabetes in pregnancy minimum dataset using nominal group technique, email user survey of difficulties with audit tools and collation of audit data from nine pilot sites across Australia and New Zealand.

Trehalose biosynthesis in Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii and its role in desiccation tolerance.

Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii forms nitrogen-fixing root nodules on the pasture legume Trifolium repens, and T. repens seed is often coated with a compatible R.

Fetal growth patterns in fetuses of women with pregestational diabetes mellitus.

Objective: To assess the effect of glucose control on the rate of growth of fetuses in women with pregestational diabetes mellitus (Types 1 and 2).

Methods: All pregestational diabetic women booked at Mater Mothers' Hospital, Brisbane, Australia, between 1 January 1994 and 31 December 2002, were included. Pregnancies with congenital fetal anomalies, multiple pregnancies, and pregnancies terminated prior to 20 weeks' gestation were excluded.

A high prevalence of sleep disordered breathing in men with mild symptomatic chronic heart failure due to left ventricular systolic dysfunction.

Background: Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) is common in severe chronic heart failure (CHF) and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The prevalence of SDB in mild symptomatic CHF is unknown.

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and characteristics of SDB in male patients with NYHA class II symptoms of CHF.

Optimal evaluation of digital electroencephalograms.

Currently available digital EEG equipment provides considerably greater opportunities for clinical data analysis than is generally appreciated especially when appropriate software is used. Data from 7 different laboratories that had been obtained for routine diagnostic evaluations on 7 different EEG instruments and stored on compact disks were investigated. Since the instruments do not filter the data at input, ultra slow activity down to 0.

Can heart rate variation rule out sleep-disordered breathing in heart failure?

In patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), the very low frequency power spectral density index (VLFI) derived from analysis of heart rate correlates with the severity of obstructive apnoeas. VLFI is also associated with Cheyne-Stokes respiration/central sleep apnoea (CSR/CSA) in congestive heart failure (CHF). The present authors have tested the hypothesis that per cent VLFI, derived from a standard Holter ECG recording, can be used to detect the presence of OSA and CSR/CSA in patients with mild-to-moderate CHF.

The prevalence and impact of overweight and obesity in an Australian obstetric population.

Objective: To assess the prevalence and impact of overweight and obesity in an Australian obstetric population.

Design, Setting And Participants: The Mater Mother's Hospital (MMH), South Brisbane, is an urban tertiary referral maternity hospital. We reviewed data for the 18 401 women who were booked for antenatal care at the MMH, delivered between January 1998 and December 2002, and had a singleton pregnancy.

Adipose tissue from pregnant women with and without gestational diabetes mellitus: insulin-sensitive but resistant to hyperosomolarity.

Objective: We sought to determine the contribution of adipose tissue to the insulin resistance of pregnancy. We also investigated whether hyperosmolar stress (induced by sorbitol) stimulates glucose uptake in human adipose tissue and, if so, whether this effect is altered in pregnancy and gestational diabetes mellitus.

Study Design: Subcutaneous and omental adipose tissue biopsy specimens were obtained at elective abdominal surgery or cesarean delivery from 16 normal glucose-tolerant pregnant women, 13 pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus, and 19 body mass index-matched nonpregnant control subjects.