Thymectomy may not be associated with clinical improvement in MuSK myasthenia gravis.

Introduction: A randomized trial demonstrated benefit from thymectomy in nonthymomatous acetylcholine receptor (AChR)-antibody positive myasthenia gravis (MG). Uncontrolled observational and histologic studies suggest thymectomy may not be efficacious in anti-muscle-specific kinase (MuSK)-MG.

Methods: The therapeutic impact of thymectomy was evaluated from data collected for a multicenter, retrospective blinded review of rituximab in MuSK-MG.

β-Cell mass restoration by α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor activation.

Although it is well-established how nutrients, growth factors, and hormones impact functional β-cell mass (BCM), the influence of the central nervous system in this regard, and especially in the context of islet immune modulation, has been understudied. Here we investigated the expression and activity of pancreatic islet α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR) in islet anti-inflammatory and prosurvival signaling. Systemic administration of α7nAChR agonists in mice improved glucose tolerance and curtailed streptozotocin-induced hyperglycemia by retaining BCM, in part through maintaining Pdx1 and MafA expression and reducing apoptosis.

Rituximab as treatment for anti-MuSK myasthenia gravis: Multicenter blinded prospective review.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of rituximab in treatment of anti-muscle-specific kinase (MuSK) myasthenia gravis (MG).

Methods: This was a multicenter, blinded, prospective review, comparing anti-MuSK-positive patients with MG treated with rituximab to those not treated with rituximab. The primary clinical endpoint was the Myasthenia Gravis Status and Treatment Intensity (MGSTI), a novel outcome that combines the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) postintervention status (PIS) and the number and dosages of other immunosuppressant therapies used.

Measurement of altered AβPP isoform expression in frontal cortex of patients with Alzheimer's disease by absolute quantification real-time PCR.

Enzymatic cleavage of amyloid-β protein precursor (AβPP) produces amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides which form the insoluble cortical plaques characteristic of Alzheimer's disease (AD). AβPP is post-transcriptionally processed into three major isoforms with differential cellular and tissue expression patterns. Changes in AβPP isoform expression may be indicative of disease pathogenesis in AD, but accurately measuring AβPP gene isoforms has been difficult to standardize, reproduce, and interpret.

Ranolazine for the treatment of refractory angina in a veterans population.

Background: Pivotal ranolazine trials did not require optimization of conventional medical therapy including coronary revascularization and antianginal drug therapy prior to ranolazine use. This case series describes the use of ranolazine for the treatment of chronic stable angina refractory to maximal medical treatment in a veterans population.

Results: A total of 18 patients with a median age of 66 years were identified.

Combination thiazolidinedione and fibrate effect on high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) concentration in a Veterans Affairs patient population.

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a coronary heart disease (CHD) risk equivalent warranting aggressive management of dyslipidemia and tight glycemic control. Recent reports demonstrate a paradoxic decrease in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) with thiazolidinedione (TZD) and fibrate combination therapy.

Objective: Evaluate change in HDL-C from start of combination therapy to 1 year and assess the proportion, characteristics, and regimens of patients who developed a ≥20% decrease in HDL-C from baseline.

Evaluation of clinical pharmacy services in a hematology/oncology outpatient setting.

Background: The Veterans Affairs North Texas Health Care System in Dallas, TX, provides a unique opportunity for clinical pharmacists to work as providers. Even though clinical pharmacists are actively involved in patient care, many of their efforts remain undocumented, resulting in an underestimation of the importance of their services and missed opportunities for improvements and new directions.

Objective: To document and evaluate the services of a hematology/oncology clinical pharmacy in the outpatient setting.

Pharmacy- and community-based screenings for diabetes and cardiovascular conditions in high-risk individuals.

Objective: To assess a model to screen minority, elderly, and at-risk individuals for diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia in pharmacy and non-health care settings.

Design: Multicenter, prospective, observational trial.

Setting: 26 pharmacies and 4 non-health care settings.

Inhibition of KATP channel activity augments baroreflex-mediated vasoconstriction in exercising human skeletal muscle.

In the present investigation we examined the role of ATP-sensitive potassium (K(ATP)) channel activity in modulating carotid baroreflex (CBR)-induced vasoconstriction in the vasculature of the leg. The CBR control of mean arterial pressure (MAP) and leg vascular conductance (LVC) was determined in seven subjects (25 +/- 1 years, mean +/- S.E.