Intramuscular drug transport under mechanical loading: resonance between tissue function and uptake.

Dynamic architecture and motion in mechanically active target tissues can influence the pharmacokinetics of locally delivered agents. Drug transport in skeletal muscle under controlled mechanical loads was investigated. Static (0-20%) and cyclic (+/-2.

Expansion and drug elution model of a coronary stent.

The present study illustrates a possible methodology to investigate drug elution from an expanded coronary stent. Models based on finite element method have been built including the presence of the atherosclerotic plaque, the artery and the coronary stent. These models take into account the mechanical effects of the stent expansion as well as the effect of drug transport from the expanded stent into the arterial wall.

Is antibiotic prophylaxis in children with vesicoureteral reflux effective in preventing pyelonephritis and renal scars? A randomized, controlled trial.

Objectives: There has been intense discussion on the effectiveness of continuous antibiotic prophylaxis for children with vesicoureteral reflux, and randomized, controlled trials are still needed to determine the effectiveness of long-term antibiotics for the prevention of acute pyelonephritis. In this multicenter, open-label, randomized, controlled trial, we tested the effectiveness of antibiotic prophylaxis in preventing recurrence of pyelonephritis and avoiding new scars in a sample of children who were younger than 30 months and vesicoureteral reflux.

Methods: One hundred patients with vesicoureteral reflux (grade II, III, or IV) diagnosed with cystourethrography after a first episode of acute pyelonephritis were randomly assigned to receive antibiotic prophylaxis with sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim or not for 2 years.

Kidney length and scarring in children with urinary tract infection: importance of ultrasound scans.

Background: Many studies have demonstrated that dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) scintigraphy is the most sensitive diagnostic method in the identification of irreversible renal lesions (scars) in children with previous episodes of acute pyelonephritis (APN). This study assessed the reliability of ultrasound in identifying reflux nephropathy in children with acute pyelonephritis with or without vesicoureteric reflux (VUR).

Methods: Eighty children (45 female and 35 male, age range 5 months to 10 years, average age 2 years 1 month) with a positive history for at least one episode of APN participated in this study.

Behavioral therapy for primary nocturnal enuresis.

Purpose: Recent studies suggest the efficacy of behavioral therapy for enuresis, even in cases of minor daytime voiding problems. We describe our experience with the clinical followup and behavioral therapy of children with primary enuresis.

Materials And Methods: We followed 159 boys and 91 girls 5 to 17 years old with primary enuresis who were treated at 3 medical centers with a pediatric nephrology clinic during the last 3 years.