1,720,995 research outputs found
A Randomized Double-Blind Study to Investigate the Clinical Efficacy of Adding a Non-Migrating Antimicrobial to a Special Silk Fabric in the Treatment of Atopic Dermatitis
No full textBackground: A randomized, double-blind study designed to compare the efficacy of DermaSilk (R) versus a sleeve of similar structure but minus the AEM 5772/5 antimicrobial finish in the treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD). Objective: To evaluate the clinical effect of adding an antimicrobial finish to knitted silk garments on eczema severity and on pruritus in patients with AD. Methods: Thirty patients aged between 3 and 31 years (mean 14.2 +/- 7.7) were enrolled. The inclusion criterion was that the patients presented with active AD with eczematous lesions located on the arms without any sign of infection. Each participant was given a set of 4 pairs of knitted silk tubular sleeves marked with seams of different colours. Only one colour was treated with AEGIS AEM 5772/5. This information was unknown to both the clinicians and the patients/parents. At baseline (T0) and after 7 (T7), 14 (T14), 21 (T21) and 28 (T28) days, the patients were evaluated using the following methods: photographic assessment, local modified SCORAD index adapted for only the arm, and parent/patient assessment of pruritus measured with a visual analogue scale. Results: The mean local SCORAD index of both the DermaSilk- and the unmodified-silk-covered arms decreased significantly between baseline (T0) and the end of study (T28). However, while the DermaSilk group showed a constant decrease each week, the unmodified-silk group showed a significant decrease only in the first 2 weeks of the study. Also the decrease in pruritus values between T0 and T28 was greater for the DermaSilk group. Conclusions: This study demonstrates the importance of including the AEM 5772/5 finish to the specially knitted silk for a long-term improvement of atopic eczema symptoms
HYPERTRIGLYCERIDEMIA DURING TREATMENT WITH ADALIMUMAB IN PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS
No full textA 39-year-old man with a 1-year history of psoriatic arthritis was treated with
adalimumab 40 mg every 2 weeks subcutaneously. After 8 weeks of treatment
the patient developed hypercholesterolaemia
(267 mg/dL), hypertriglyceridaemia
(449 mg/)and weakness; we
decided to continue treatment and after 3 months of therapy
the patient developed a severe weakness and a remarkable hypertriglyceridaemia
(689 mg/dL) while total serum cholesterol
levels remained unchanged (264 mg/dL). Because of
these important alterations we decided to discontinue therapy
with the biological drug and after 4 weeks the TG level was
220 mg/dL), cholesterol level was 224 mg/dL) and weakness
was notably improved
Treatment of palmoplantar pustular psoriasis with efalizumab: a quick response with early recurrence
No full textA 74-year-old Caucasian man with severe long-standing Palmoplantar pustular psoriasis (PPP) was treated with systemic therapy with efalizumab. Considerable improvement of PPP was observed after only 4 weeks of treatment and a complete recovery of daily activities was obtained after three months of therapy. A month later a sudden important
absence of side effects; adult; aged; blood testis barrier; case report; drug withdrawal; human; lab
reappearance of pustules were
noted. Systemic acitretin at an initial dose of 0.5 mg/kg/d
was started while continuing efalizumab. After 15 days an
almost complete disappearance of pustular lesions was reobserved. The dermatosis relapsed after suspension of the retinoid, despite ongoing efalizumab
Transient and slight thrombocytopaenia induced by etanercept during treatment of psoriatic arthritis
No full textA 61 years-old male patient suffering from psoriatic arthritis for over 12 years was treated with Etanercept 25 mg subcutaneously twice a week. From the second month of therapy, we observed a decrease of platelet count that achieved the minimal value at the third month of therapy (95 x 103/μl). Being the thrombocytopenia slight and asymptomatic we decided to continue the treatment After the third month of therapy the platelet count gradually increased until the forth month, when the number of platelets recovered the initial value. When we restart the therapy with etanercept,After two months of therapy PASI was 6,4, Ritchie index 3 and a decrease of platelet count was noted achieving the minimal value at the third month of treatment(94,4 x 103/μl)
Discordant Results with Pimecrolimus 1% Cream in the Treatment of Plasma Cell Balanitis
No full textPlasma cell balanitis of Zoon is a chronic, benign, inflammatory dermatosis of the glans penis and prepuce. The exact aetiology is unknown. The treatments described to date have provided only partially successful results. Recently, several reports of plasma cell balanitis successfully treated with calcineurin inhibitors have been published. We report 3 cases of plasma cell balanitis refractory to several treatments with steroids and antifungals treated with pimecrolimus 1% cream applied twice daily: 1 patient had a complete resolution, 1 patient had a marked response but relapsed during the treatment and the last patient had a partial response due to the development of a side effect that precociously required to stop the treatment. One patient referred a slight pruritus after the first applications of the cream that spontaneously disappeared after a few minutes. Additional experiences are needed to determine if topical pimecrolimus is an effective and safe treatment for plasma cell balanitis
Diagnosis, treatment and predictors of prognosis of myocarditis. A narrative review
No full textAlthough it has been recognized for almost two centuries, myocarditis is still a challenging diagnosis due to the wide heterogeneity of its clinical manifestations and evolution. Moreover, the diagnostic gold standard, endomyocardial biopsy (EMB), is infrequently used, making hard to determine the exact incidence of myocarditis. Clinical presentation includes a wide range of symptoms, ranging from asymptomatic or subclinical disease with mild dyspnea and chest pain to sudden death, due to cardiogenic shock or malignant ventricular arrhythmias. Equally, the evolution of myocarditis largely varies: albeit short-term prognosis is usually good, with complete or partial recovery, dilated cardiomyopathy with chronic heart failure is the major long-term consequence of myocarditis, developing often several years after the acute onset. This narrative review aims to summarize the current knowledge about myocarditis, with a particular attention to predictors of short- and long-term prognosis, in order to provide a rational and practical approach to the diagnosis, evaluation and treatment of suspected myocarditis
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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