Background/purpose: There are limited studies performing paired liver biopsies in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients treated with direct-acting antivirals (DAA). We aimed to investigate the predictors of liver fibrosis changes assessed by paired liver biopsies in these patients.
Methods: From March 2017 to March 2020, 113 CHC patients were prospectively enrolled to receive DAA therapy at our hospital.
Background: For chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients completing pegylated interferon (PegIFN)-α/ribavirin therapy, long-term liver histological changes remain largely unexplored.
Methods: This observational cohort study included 85 CHC patients completing PegIFN-α/ribavirin therapy with liver biopsies performed at baseline and the end of surveillance (EOS). Median years between paired biopsies were 6.
The responsiveness of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) to nephrologists' care is unpredictable. We defined the longitudinal stages (LSs) 1-5 of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) by group-based trajectory modeling for repeated eGFR measurements of 7135 patients with CKD aged 20-90 years from a 13-year pre-end-stage renal disease (ESRD) care registry. Patients were considered nonresponsive to the pre-dialysis care if they had a more advanced eGFR LS compared with the baseline.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground & Aims: It remains limited whether diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension (HTN) affect the prognosis of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated with sorafenib. Our study attempted to elucidate the roles of DM/HTN and the effects of diabetes medications among advanced HCC patients receiving sorafenib.
Methods: From August 2012 to February 2018, 733 advanced HCC patients receiving sorafenib were enrolled at China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
Objective: Few studies have investigated the relationship between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and anxiety disorder outcomes. We sought to investigate the association in a large national sample.
Methods: Cases were identified from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database who were aged 15 years and above, with a new primary diagnosis of COPD (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes: 491, 492, 494 and 496) between 2000 and 2007.
Bakcground: Few studies have investigated the relationship between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and bipolar outcomes in the world. We sought to investigate the association between COPD and risk of bipolar disorder in a large national sample.
Methods: The insured aged 15 years or more with a new primary diagnosis of COPD (ICD-9: 491, 492, 494 and 496) between 2000 and 2007 were identified from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database.
Objectives: Paliperidone-associated motor tics.
Method: Case report.
Results: We report a 30-year-old man with schizophrenia who developed motor tics (eye blinking) after treatment of paliperidone up to 15 mg daily.
α-GalCer is an immunostimulating glycolipid that binds to CD1d molecules and activates invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells. Here we report a scaled-up synthesis of α-GalCer analogues with modifications in the acyl side chain and/or at the galactose 6''-position, together with their evaluation in vitro and in vivo. Analogues containing 11-phenylundecanoyl acyl side chains with aromatic substitutions (14, 16-21) and Gal-6''-phenylacetamide-substituted α-GalCer analogues bearing p-nitro- (32), p-tert-butyl (34), or o-, m-, or p-methyl groups (40-42) displayed higher IFN-γ/IL-4 secretion ratios than α-GalCer in vitro.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) is a pleiotropic cytokine produced by activated macrophages. Nitric oxide (NO) is a highly reactive nitrogen radical implicated in inflammatory responses. We investigated the signaling pathway involved in inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression and NO production stimulated by TNF-alpha in cultured myoblasts.
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