Schistosomiasis prevention option: toxicological evaluation of on the tissues of at different pH conditions.

Research into, and the use of plant products in the control of vectors of pathogens is being revived and seriously considered as an alternative or complete replacement for the classical synthetic agents. The study was designed to investigate toxicological assessment of the aqueous leaf extract of on mortality and tissue level damages of the freshwater snail at different pH levels. The effects of the extract on total protein concentration and activities of acetylcholinesterase, acid phosphatase and alkaline phosphatase in the tissues of the snail were assayed using standard methods.

Targeting Sporadic and Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1) Related Refractory Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumors (MPNST) in a Phase II Study of Everolimus in Combination with Bevacizumab (SARC016).

Purpose: There are no known effective medical treatments for refractory MPNST. Inactivation of the NF1 tumor suppressor in MPNST results in upregulation of mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) signaling and angiogenesis, which contributes to disease progression. We conducted a phase II study for patients (pts) with refractory MPNST combining everolimus (10 mg PO once daily) with bevacizumab (10 mg/kg IV every 2 weeks) to determine the clinical benefit rate (CBR) (complete response, partial response (PR), or stable disease (SD) ≥ 4 months).

Estimating Drug Costs: How do Manufacturer Net Prices Compare with Other Common US Price References?

Background: Drug costs are frequently estimated in economic analyses using wholesale acquisition cost (WAC), but what is the best approach to develop these estimates? Pharmaceutical manufacturers recently released transparency reports disclosing net price increases after accounting for rebates and other discounts.

Objective: Our objective was to determine whether manufacturer net prices (MNPs) could approximate the discounted prices observed by the U.S.

Guidance Document: Global Pharmacoeconomic Model Adaption Strategies.

Objective: The purpose of this guidance was to assist in the adaptation of pharmacoeconomic models originally developed in one country and intended for use in another. The intent was to produce user-friendly recommendations and a checklist for adapting a global model to treat a specific disease state. This guidance will allow model developers to tailor existing models so that they are "locally applicable," while maintaining the scientific integrity of the original pharmacoeconomic model and will benefit formulary decision makers and other stakeholders involved in evaluating pharmacoeconomic studies.

Cardiovascular event-free survival after adjuvant radiation therapy in breast cancer patients stratified by cardiovascular risk.

The objective of this study was to estimate the risk of a cardiovascular event or death associated with modern radiation in a population of elderly female breast cancer patients with varying baseline cardiovascular risk. The data used for this analysis are from the linked Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End-Results (SEER)-Medicare database. The retrospective cohort study included women aged 66 years and older with stage 0-III breast cancer diagnosed between 2000 and 2005.

Monoaxial pedicle screws are superior to polyaxial pedicle screws and the two pin external fixator for subcutaneous anterior pelvic fixation in a biomechanical analysis.

Purpose. Comparison of monoaxial and polyaxial screws with the use of subcutaneous anterior pelvic fixation. Methods.

Biomechanical stability of a supra-acetabular pedicle screw internal fixation device (INFIX) vs external fixation and plates for vertically unstable pelvic fractures.

Background: We have recently developed a subcutaneous anterior pelvic fixation technique (INFIX). This internal fixator permits patients to sit, roll over in bed and lie on their sides without the cumbersome external appliances or their complications. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the biomechanical stability of this novel supraacetabular pedicle screw internal fixation construct (INFIX) and compare it to standard internal fixation and external fixation techniques in a single stance pelvic fracture model.

The bikini area and bikini line as a location for anterior subcutaneous pelvic fixation: an anatomic and clinical investigation.

Anterior external fixation for pelvic fractures has been the standard for acute stabilization but definitive treatment often leads to pin tract infection, is uncomfortable, and limits patient mobility. We recently developed a subcutaneous anterior pelvic fixator which addresses these issues (INFIX). The objective of this study is to introduce the Bikini Area and Bikini Line as the subcutaneous anatomical location where this apparatus is placed.

Impact of venous thromboembolism on mortality of elderly Medicare patients with stage III colon cancer.

Background: The improvement in survival rates for patients with colon cancer has shifted the focus from examining cancer-specific mortality to exploring all-cause mortality. Adverse events such as venous thromboembolism (VTE) affect overall survival times and the net clinical benefit of cancer management strategies.

Methods: This retrospective study used Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Medicare data to examine VTE incidence and mortality rates for elderly patients with stage III colon cancer who were diagnosed in 2004 or 2005 and followed through 2007.

Posterior lumbar spinal fusion and instrumentation in morbidly obese patients using the Synframe retractor system: technical note.

Purpose: Lumbar spine surgery in morbidly obese patients is a challenge to the operating surgeon. The aim of the study was to evaluate the surgical experience in this group of patients using the Synframe retractor system (Synthes, Paoli, PA, USA) as a tool for improved surgical access.

Methods: An Institutional Review Board approved retrospective study was conducted on 43 morbidly obese patients undergoing posterior lumbar decompression instrumentation and fusion.

Barriers to self-management of diabetes: a qualitative study among low-income minority diabetics.

Objectives: Diabetes self-management is a key element in the overall management of diabetes. Identifying barriers to disease self-management is a critical step in achieving optimal health outcomes. Our goal was to explore patients' perceptions about barriers to self-management of diabetes that could possibly help explain poor health outcomes among minority patients.

Obesity and medicare expenditure: accounting for age-related height loss.

To determine the relationship between BMI and Medicare expenditure for adults 65-years and older and determine whether this relationship changes after accounting for misclassification due to age-related height loss. Using a cross sectional study design, the relationship between BMI and fee-for-service Medicare expenditure was examined among beneficiaries who completed the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) in 2002, were not enrolled in Medicare Health Maintenance Organization, had a self-reported height and weight, and were 65 and older (n = 7,706). Subjects were classified as underweight, normal weight, overweight, obese (obese I), and severely obese (obese II/III).

Prediction of pre-eclampsia by a combination of maternal history, uterine artery Doppler and mean arterial pressure.

Objectives: To determine the value of combined screening for pre-eclampsia by maternal history, and mid-trimester uterine artery (UtA) Doppler imaging and maternal blood pressure.

Methods: In 3529 singleton pregnancies attending for routine care at 22-24 weeks' gestation we recorded maternal variables, and made UtA Doppler and mean arterial pressure (MAP) measurements. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the significant predictors of pre-eclampsia, gestational hypertension and small-for-gestational age (SGA) among maternal characteristics, UtA pulsatility index (PI) and MAP.

Costs and state-specific rates of thoracic and lumbar vertebroplasty, 2001-2005.

Study Design: Sequential cross-sectional analysis.

Objective: To document vertebroplasty rates and costs.

Summary Of Background Data: Little is known about interstate variation in rates or about nation-wide costs associated with the growing use of percutaneous vertebroplasty.

Prediction of pre-eclampsia by uterine artery Doppler imaging: relationship to gestational age at delivery and small-for-gestational age.

Objectives: To determine the relationship between pre-eclampsia, small-for-gestational age (SGA) and gestational age at delivery, and the effect of this relationship on the prediction of pre-eclampsia by uterine artery Doppler imaging.

Methods: This was a multicenter prospective Doppler study of the uterine artery at 22-24 weeks of gestation in unselected women with singleton pregnancies.

Results: In the 30,639 pregnancies examined, the median uterine artery pulsatility index (PI) was 1.

Constitutively active Akt is an important regulator of TRAIL sensitivity in prostate cancer.

TRAIL/Apo-2L is a member of the tumor necrosis factor superfamily and has recently been shown to induce apoptosis in cancer cells, but not in normal cells. In nude mice injected with human tumors, TRAIL reduces the size of these tumors without side effects. Akt promotes cell survival and block apoptosis.

Pro-survival function of Akt/protein kinase B in prostate cancer cells. Relationship with TRAIL resistance.

Tumor necrosis factor superfamily member TRAIL/Apo-2L has recently been shown to induce apoptosis in transformed and cancer cells. Some prostate cancer cells express constitutively active Akt/protein kinase B due to a complete loss of lipid phosphatase PTEN gene, a negative regulator of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase pathway. Constitutively active Akt promotes cellular survival and resistance to chemotherapy and radiation.