A phase I/II evaluation of oral L-2-oxothiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid in asymptomatic patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus.

A randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted in 37 asymptomatic HIV-infected individuals (mean CD4 count 707 cells/mm3) to characterize the safety, pharmacokinetics, and effect on blood thiols of three dosage levels of a cysteine prodrug, L-2-oxothiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid (OTC; Procysteine; Clintec Technologies, Deerfield, IL). Single-dose administration of OTC resulted in measurable plasma levels at all dosages, with a mean peak plasma concentration of 734 +/- 234 nmol/mL at the highest dosage studied. After 4 weeks of administration three times daily, a statistically significant increase was seen in whole blood glutathione in the 1,500 mg and 3,000 mg dose groups compared with the placebo group.

The influence of signal variation, bias, noise and effect size on statistical significance in treatment studies of the common cold.

Many groups are working on new and improved methods of common cold treatment that include antivirals, synthetic viral receptor, compounds which block symptom pathways, and combinations of these approaches. Because the common cold syndrome is in large part subjective, symptom measurement remains an important parameter in evaluating the effectiveness of cold treatments. This review examines the features of the experimental and natural cold testing methods that effect recognition of illness signal and influence its variance and strength.

Efficacy of a mixture of medium-chain triglyceride (75%) and long-chain triglyceride (25%) fat emulsions in the nutritional management of multiple-trauma patients.

Ten severely injured patients who were admitted to the intensive care unit and who needed total parenteral nutrition (TPN) were randomly enrolled in a prospective double-blind study comparing two 20%-fat intravenous emulsions: one (MCT-LCT) containing a physical mixture of 75% medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) and 25% long-chain triglyceride (LCT) and another containing 100% LCT. TPN (30 kcal.kg-1.