Economic evaluation of toric intraocular lens: a short- and long-term decision analytic model.

Objective: To assess the economic value of improved uncorrected visual acuity among patients with cataract and preexisting astigmatism treated with toric intraocular lenses (IOLs) compared with conventional monofocal IOLs.

Methods: We developed a decision analytic model of hypothetical patients with preexisting astigmatism. We examined costs and outcomes among patients 65 years and older with cataract and preexisting astigmatism (1.

Cost-effectiveness of amiodarone in cardiac surgery.

Atrial fibrillation is the most common complication after open-heart surgery. The incidence rate is 25-50%. This review summarizes findings of economic studies of amiodarone prophylaxis in cardiac surgery patients.

Intestinal antiinflammatory effects of thiazolidenedione peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma ligands on T helper type 1 chemokine regulation include nontranscriptional control mechanisms.

Crohn's disease is associated with an excessive T helper (TH) type 1 inflammatory immune response. Reducing the influx of disease-associated CD4+ TH1 cells into the inflamed intestine is likely to be beneficial in preventing a disease flare-up and even possibly in reducing the effect of acute disease. Thiazolidenedione (TZD) ligands, which activate peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARgamma), have been shown to reduce TH1 inflammation in murine models of colitis, primarily in a preventative fashion.

Inhibition kinetics of the gastric H,K-ATPase by K-competitive inhibitor SCH28080 as a tool for investigating the luminal ion pathway.

The gastric H,K-ATPase and the Na,K-ATPase both are stimulated by luminal K(+), but differ in sensitivity to K(+)-competitive inhibitors (ouabain and SCH28080), which implies a difference in structure near the luminal ion pathways in these two pumps. Knowledge of the amino acids in the H,K-ATPase that affect the mode of inhibition by SCH28080 and inhibitor affinity should provide insight into the regions of the membrane domain influencing the inhibitor selectivity and the luminal route to the ion transport site. Mutational scans in M4, 5, 6, and 8 have shown that amino acid residues affecting ion affinity (E343, K791, E795, E820, D824, E936) with either no or a lesser effect on the inhibitor affinity are located in the middle of the membrane domain.