Efficacy and safety of ciclesonide once daily and fluticasone propionate twice daily in children with asthma.

Background: Ciclesonide is a new inhaled corticosteroid (ICS). Information about its clinical efficacy and safety in relation to other ICS in children is needed for clinical positioning.

Objective: This 12-week, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, three-arm, parallel-group study compared the efficacy and safety of ciclesonide with fluticasone propionate in children with mainly moderate and severe persistent asthma.

Changes in BDNF and neurotrophin receptor expression in degenerating and regenerating rat retinal ganglion cells.

Purpose: Exogenously applied BDNF has been shown to rescue rat retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) from axotomy-induced apoptotic death, presumably via activation of its high affinity receptor TrkB. Since both TrkB and BDNF are endogenously expressed in RGCs, auto- or para-crine neurotrophic loops in the retina may be involved. In the present study, we investigated whether expression levels of BDNF, TrkA, TrkB, TrkC and p75 protein in RGCs are specifically regulated following axonal lesion and during regeneration of optic fibres in the adult rat.