Exploring the cultural effects of gender on perceptions of cutaneous leishmaniasis: a systematic literature review.

Background: More than one million people each year become infected by parasites that cause the disease cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). This disease manifests as one or more skin lesions or ulcers that are slow to heal with variable response rates to drug treatments. Thus far, little attention has been paid to how the cultural effects of gender shape perceptions and experiences of CL.

Alosetron relieves pain and improves bowel function compared with mebeverine in female nonconstipated irritable bowel syndrome patients.

Background: Irritable bowel syndrome is one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders, yet no therapy convincingly controls the multiple symptoms of this syndrome.

Aim: To compare the efficacy and tolerability of the new 5-HT3-receptor antagonist alosetron and the smooth muscle relaxant mebeverine in a double-blind, multicentre, randomized trial.

Methods: Six hundred and twenty-three nonconstipated females with irritable bowel syndrome were randomized to receive alosetron 1 mg twice daily (n=319) or mebeverine 135 mg three times daily (n=304) for 12 weeks, followed by a 4-week post-treatment period.

Use of a novel electronic data collection system in multicenter studies of irritable bowel syndrome.

Background: The reliability of symptom data collected during efficacy studies in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is paramount to the proper assessment of potential therapeutic agents. Historically, data have been collected on paper diary cards, which patients were requested to fill out at a specified interval. However, with paper diary cards it is not possible to determine whether the cards are filled out as required, or at random times.

A prospective randomised controlled study of the use of ranitidine in patients with gastric cancer. Yorkshire GI Tumour Group.

Background: Does the use of the histamine H2 receptor antagonist ranitidine improve the outcome of patients with gastric cancer?

Patients: A total of 222 patients with gastric cancer who had received radical or palliative resection or who were deemed inoperable at presentation.

Setting: Hospitals within Yorkshire, the participating clinicians being members of the Yorkshire GI Tumour Group.

Methods: A multicentre prospective randomised double blind trial comparing ranitidine 150 mg twice daily with placebo twice daily was undertaken.

Association of age with the efficacy and safety of ranitidine and cimetidine in acute duodenal ulcer disease.

This multinational double-blind trial compared the efficacy and safety of ranitidine 300 mg nocte, 300 mg post-evening meal (pem) and cimetidine 800 mg nocte in patients with endoscopically verified duodenal ulcer disease aged < 60 years (n = 1318) and > or = 60 years (n = 354). The relative efficacy of the treatments was not dependent upon age after either 2 or 4 weeks of therapy. However, ulcer healing after 2 weeks of therapy was significantly higher in patients receiving ranitidine 300 mg pem than in those receiving cimetidine (p = 0.