Association between body mass index and functional independence measure in patients with deconditioning

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association of body mass index (BMI) with functional independence measure (FIM) score in patients with deconditioning. We also examined whether the association was different for motor and cognitive subscales of the FIM instrument. DESIGN: A retrospective study of 1077 inpatients admitted to the general medicine service for deconditioning at an acute rehabilitation hospital. Patients were classified into underweight (BMI < 18.5), normal range (BMI = 18.5-24.9), overweight (BMI = 25.0-29.9), obese class I (BMI = 30.0-34.9), obese class II (BMI = 35.0-39.9), and obese class III (BMI > or = 40). RESULTS: Median gain in FIM scores from admission to discharge was highest in obese class I patients (27 points), followed by obese class II patients (26 points). The most gain in FIM scores was accounted for by the motor subscale. Adjusting for age, gender, and length of in-hospital stay, obese class I patients had a 5.8-point (95% confidence limits = 1.2, 7.0) higher gain in FIM score compared with patients with BMI in the normal range. CONCLUSIONS: In an acute rehabilitation setting, obese patients had higher gains in FIM scores as compared with normal-range-BMI patients. Most of the improvements in FIM scores were accounted for by the motor subscale, with little or no improvement on the cognitive scale.     

<Superscript>11</Superscript>C-<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">l</Emphasis>-Methionine Positron Emission Tomography in the Clinical Management of Cerebral Gliomas

Positron emission tomography (PET) using l-[methyl-¹¹C]-methionine (MET) is the most popular amino acid imaging modality in oncology, although its use is restricted to PET centers with an in-house cyclotron facility. This review focuses on the role of MET–PET in imaging of cerebral gliomas. The biological background of tumor imaging with methionine is discussed with particular emphasis on cellular amino acid transport, amino acid utilization in brain, normal metabolism of methionine, and its alterations in cancer. The role of MET–PET in clinical management of cerebral gliomas in initial diagnosis, differentiation of tumor recurrence from radiation injury, grading, prognostication, tumor-extent delineation, biopsy planning, surgical resection and radiotherapy planning, and assessment of response to therapy is also reviewed in detail.     

An overview of chronic kidney disease management and CAPD in the home

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a common, harmful, but treatable long term condition. An overview of CKD is provided in this article. Kidney Research UK, www.kidneyresearchuk.org a national charity dedicated to research, has developed the A Better Life through Education and empowerment (ABLE) programme which seeks to research and raise awareness o the issues among 'at risk' groups as well as among relevant health professionals. Part Two of the renal NSF suggests many actions that can be taken in primary care to prevent CKD. In the event of Established Renal Failure (ERF), there are a number of treatment options available including continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD), described here. Kidney Research UK's Patient DVD module two (complimentary copy attached to this issue) provides more detail using case studies. The DVD offers practical help, support and guidance on how to overcome some of the challenges.     

A randomized, double-blind comparison of duloxetine and venlafaxine in the treatment of patients with major depressive disorder

BACKGROUND: Clinical trials assessing antidepressant therapies typically include separate assessments of efficacy (benefit) and adverse events (risk). Global benefit-risk (GBR) assessment allows the simultaneous evaluation of both efficacy and adverse events. The objective was to compare the serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) duloxetine and venlafaxine using GBR assessment. METHODS: Data were combined from two similarly designed, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, parallel group studies in which patients with major depressive disorder were randomized to either duloxetine 60 mg/day or venlafaxine extended release (XR) 150 mg/day (75 mg/day for the first 2 weeks) for a 6-week fixed dosing period followed by an additional 6 weeks of treatment in which the dose could be increased up to 120 mg/day for duloxetine and 225 mg/day for venlafaxine. Patients completing the study (or receiving study drug for 2 weeks or more) were eligible to enter a taper period where the dose of study drug was gradually reduced over 1-2 weeks prior to drug discontinuation. The primary outcome measure (defined a priori) was the GBR comparison of duloxetine 60 mg/day and venlafaxine XR 150 mg/day after 6 weeks of treatment. In the GBR analysis, benefit was defined as remission at endpoint [17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD17) 7]. Risk was defined by four categories: patients having either no adverse events (AEs), AEs with no severity rating greater than moderate, AEs with at least one severity rating of severe, or having discontinued with a reason of self-reported adverse event (regardless of any AE severity). Additional efficacy measures included HAMD17 total score and subscales, HAMA, CGI-S, and PGI-I. Safety and tolerability were assessed via analysis of reasons for discontinuation, treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs), discontinuation-emergent adverse events, and changes in vital signs, weight, and laboratory analytes. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between duloxetine 60 mg/day and venlafaxine 150 mg/day as measured by GBR assessment at the end of 6 weeks (-1.418 vs. -1.079, P = 0.217) or 12 weeks (-0.349 vs. -0.121, P = 0.440), nor were there significant differences between treatment groups on the majority of efficacy measures. Significantly more venlafaxine-treated patients (74.5%) completed 12 weeks of treatment compared with duloxetine-treated patients (64.8%, P =.006). Nausea was the most common treatment-emergent adverse event (TEAE) for both drugs, and was significantly higher with duloxetine 60 mg/day compared to venlafaxine 150 mg/day during the first 6 weeks of treatment (43.6% vs. 35.0%, P0.05). During the taper period, significantly more venlafaxine-treated patients reported discontinuation-emergent adverse events (DEAEs) than duloxetine-treated patients. From a safety perspective, significantly more venlafaxine-treated patients (n = 4) than duloxetine-treated patients (n=0, P =.047) experienced sustained elevations of systolic blood pressure during the fixed dosing period. Otherwise, there were few significant differences in safety measures found between treatment groups during 6 and 12 weeks of therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Duloxetine 60 mg/day and venlafaxine XR 150 mg/day have similar benefit-risk profiles on the basis of a comparison utilizing GBR assessment. The implications of the more subtle differences between these drugs, as well as for interpreting the GBR assessment, are discussed.     

Reversal of P-glycoprotein-mediated multidrug resistance by sipholane triterpenoids

Nineteen triterpenoids, possessing four different skeletons, have been reported so far from the Red Sea sponge Siphonochalina siphonella. However, no biological activity of these compounds was ever reported. This study describes the isolation of two new triterpenoids, siphonellinol C (3) and sipholenol I (4), along with several known sipholane triterpenoids from the Red Sea sponge Callyspongia (=Siphonochalina) siphonella. Allylic oxidation of the major sipholane triterpenoids, sipholenol A (1) and sipholenone A (2), by selenium dioxide afforded four C-28-oxidized derivatives. Sipholane triterpenoids along with their semisynthetic derivatives were evaluated for their cytotoxicity and effect on reversing P-glycoprotein-mediated MDR to colchicine. Sipholenol A was found to be the most potent, and it increased the sensitivity of resistant KB-C2 cells by 16 times toward colchicine. This is the first report related to reversal of cancer chemotherapy resistance using these triterpenoids.