One daily dose of tacrolimus (QDT) improves adherence in kidney transplant (KT) recipients. A switch from twice-daily tacrolimus (BDT) to QDT showed similar efficacy and safety.
Methods
The aim of our study was to demonstrate the long-term efficacy and safety of switching from BDT to QDT in KT recipients. Preliminary results have already been published. Forty-one patients (34 men and 7 women), mean age at KT of 43.9 ± 12.7 years, underwent a 1:1 dose switch from BDT to QDT; the mean time from KT to switch was 36.6 ± 16.1 months. In our study population, 4 patients received a living donor KT and 2 received a second allograft.
Results
The mean follow-up was 86.8 ± 13 months from the switch and 126.2 ± 22.3 months from KT. Graft and patient survival rates were 90.2% and 95.1%, respectively. All patients maintained stable renal function during follow-up. During the first 3 months after the switch we observed a significant decrease in tacrolimus blood level (P = .0001). No significant differences were observed regarding tacrolimus dose before and after QDT introduction (P = not significant [NS]). Fourteen patients who stopped steroids under BDT treatment and 16 patients who stopped steroids after the switch are currently steroid-free.
Conclusion
Our study showed safety and efficacy in switching from BDT to QDT. After early (<1 year) dose adjustment, tacrolimus blood levels remained stable throughout follow-up. Moreover, QDT represented a valid alternative for patients showing steroid side effects. 相似文献
This study analyzes the uptake and endocellular distribution of idarubicin (IDA) in normal and neoplastic urothelial secondary cultures in relation to the changes in concentration and time of exposure. The urothelial lines were isolated by Freshney's method from biopsy fragments taken from five patients with superficial bladder cancer. Pharmacological experiments were carried out on subcultures previously immunophenotypically characterized and did not exceed ten passages. The uptake and endocellular distribution of IDA was analyzed by densitometric image analysis on cells treated for 10, 20, 30 and 60 min and 2 h with scalar dosages from 10 ng/ml to 2430 ng/ml. Microscopic observations and densitometric analyzes revealed that in the cells treated with IDA, fluorescence was higher in the cytoplasm compared to the nucleus and increased with the change in dosage. Moreover, densitometric data showed that IDA uptake in the first 20 min was higher in the neoplastic cells, but after that period its behavior became heterogeneous at 30 and 60 min, while at 2 h there was an inversion of the trend. These results suggest that the in vitro cytotoxicity should be evaluated in order to verify whether the elevated uptake of IDA in the first 20 min of treatment is really correlated to a more elevated toxicity in the neoplastic cells with respect to the normal cells. This is presently under investigation. 相似文献
BACKGROUND: Seborrhoeic dermatitis (SD) is a common dermatosis in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients, many of whom do not respond satisfactorily to conventional topical treatments such as corticosteroids and antifungals. OBJECTIVE: A pilot study to investigate the efficacy and tolerability of pimecrolimus cream 1% in HIV-positive patients with facial SD. METHODS: In a single-centre study, 21 HIV-infected patients with mild to severe SD were treated twice daily with pimecrolimus cream 1% for 14 days. Thereafter, treatment was discontinued and patients followed up for 5 weeks. Skin involvement at baseline and on days 7, 14, 21, 35 and 49 was assessed using a four-point clinical score and digital photography. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Efficacy and safety of pimecrolimus cream 1% treatment and incidence of relapse in the follow-up phase. Results Marked improvement was seen in clinical parameters at day 7, with >or= 90% patients clear of symptoms at day 14. Relapse was observed at day 35 but signs were milder than at baseline. All patients responded to therapy, despite their immunological status. Pimecrolimus did not alter CD4(+) and CD8(+) T-cell counts or viral load during the treatment period. CONCLUSION: Pimecrolimus cream represents a new, effective therapeutic option for facial SD in HIV patients. 相似文献
Background. A major concern in evaluating dynamic cardiomyoplasty has been whether the synchronous stimulation of latissimus dorsi muscle is essential for benefit or not. We studied 10 patients to determine the efficacy of the systolic augmentation generated by the synchronous electrical stimulation of the latissimus dorsi muscle.
Methods. Left ventricular ejection fraction, end-systolic and end-diastolic volume indexes, and stroke volume index obtained during resting, peak exercise, and recovery periods (“on” values) were compared with those obtained 1 week after cessation of electrical stimulus (“off” values). Double product and estimated total body oxygen consumption at peak exercise were also calculated and compared.
Results. Higher ejection fractions (0.36 ± 0.07 versus 0.33 ± 0.06 at rest, 0.40 ± 0.07 versus 0.33 ± 0.07 peak exercise, and 0.37 ± 0.06 versus 0.31 ± 0.06 at recovery) and lower end-systolic volume indexes with relatively constant end-diastolic volume indexes were observed with the cardiomyostimulator on. Further, exercise response was better with the cardiomyostimulator on. Double product indirectly reflected better myocardial oxygen supply/demand ratio when on at peak exercise (17 ± 2.2 mm Hg × beats/min × 10−3 for on versus 19 ± 2.6 mm Hg × beats/min × 10−3 for off). Estimated total body oxygen consumption was improved at peak exercise when the cardiomyostimulator was functional (12 ± 2.7 mL · kg−1 · min−1 versus 11 ± 2.6 mL · kg−1 · min−1).
Conclusions. Current data suggest a true systolic assist during synchronous contractions of the latissimus dorsi muscle. It is thought, therefore, that synchronous electrical stimulation is essential for maximum benefit and all the beneficial effect of cardiomyoplasty certainly cannot be attributed to simple wrapping itself. 相似文献
In-vitro maturation (IVM) of oocytes is a promising technique to reduce the
costs and avert the side-effects of gonadotrophin stimulation for in-vitro
fertilization (IVF). The pregnancy rates from oocytes matured in vitro are
much lower than those of in-vivo stimulation cycles indicating that
optimization of IVM remains a challenge. Therefore, we investigated the
effect of supplementation of the medium with gonadotrophins, oestradiol and
epidermal growth factor (EGF) and the effect of retaining or removing the
cumulus cells on nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation of immature oocytes.
Human germinal vesicle (GV) oocytes obtained after gonadotrophin
stimulation for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) were cultured in a
complex defined medium either supplemented with gonadotrophins, oestradiol
and physiological concentrations of EGF (2 ng/ml) or gonadotrophins and
oestradiol alone. The cumulus cells were either removed or kept intact. In
GV stage oocytes cultured without cumulus (group I) significantly more
oocytes reached the metaphase II (MII) stage at 30 h in media supplemented
with EGF (64.3 versus 33.9%, P < 0.003). For oocytes cultured with
intact cumulus (group II), more oocytes reached MII at 30 h than in group
I, but there was no difference in medium with or without EGF
supplementation (81.8 and 79.8% respectively). Cytoplasmic maturation of
MII oocytes was judged from their capability to activate and fertilize
after ICSI. In group I, the rates of activation and normal fertilization
were similar. However, in group II, significantly more oocytes underwent
normal fertilization in the EGF-supplemented than the unsupplemented group
(71.7 versus 45.6%, P < 0.05). The cleavage rates of the fertilized
oocytes were similar in the sibling oocyte subgroups cultured with or
without EGF supplementation, but the overall cleavage rates were higher in
cumulus-intact compared to cumulus-denuded oocytes (88.9 versus 47.8%, P
< 0.001). Thus, supplementation of the maturation medium with EGF and
maintenance of the cumulus during culture improve the nuclear and
cytoplasmic maturation of human oocytes in vitro.
相似文献
In a human in-vitro fertilization (IVF) programme, the effect of co-
culture of embryos with human fibroblasts was evaluated with respect to
pregnancy rate and embryo development. Patients were included in the study
after giving informed written consent. The IVF treatments were randomly
assigned by stratification of both age (<36 versus > or =36 years)
and previous IVF attempts (yes versus no). After fertilization was
established, the zygotes were transferred to a 4-well dish with or without
fibroblasts and cultured for 2 days. On the third day after ovum pick-up
(OPU), cell number and quality [5 (good) to 1 (poor)] of the embryos were
scored and a maximum of three embryos was transferred. Supernumerary
embryos of good quality were cryopreserved. The design of this study was a
group sequential trial with the objective of detecting differences between
pregnancy rates following IVF with conventional incubation or incubation in
co-culture with fibroblasts. This design included one evaluation at
half-way data collection. In the study, 148 patients had an OPU, of whom 77
were allocated to the co-culture group. There was no statistically
significant difference in pregnancy rate, cell number and embryo quality
between the two groups. The ongoing pregnancy rate per embryo transfer was
27% in co-culture and 30% in the conventional culture group. The
implantation rates per transferred embryo were 17 and 18% respectively.
Using a multivariate logistic regression model for the probability of
ongoing pregnancies, the odds ratio of co-culture, adjusted for age and
previous IVF attempts, was not statistically significant. In conclusion,
co-culture with human fibroblasts does not contribute to an improvement of
embryo quality nor to a higher pregnancy rate after IVF in an unselected
group of patients.
相似文献
We recently have identified a ubiquitously transcribed mouse Y chromosome
gene, Uty , which encodes a tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) protein. A
peptide derived from the UTY protein confers H-Y antigenicity on male
cells. Here we report the characterization of a widely transcribed X-linked
homologue of Uty , called Utx , which maps to the proximal region of the
mouse X chromosome and which detects a human X-linked homologue at Xp11.2.
Given that Uty is ubiquitously transcribed, we assayed for Utx expression
from the inactive X chromosome (Xi) in mice and found that Utx escapes X
chromosome inactivation. Only Smcx and the pseudoautosomal Sts gene on the
mouse X chromosome have been reported previously to escape inactivation.
The human UTX gene was also found to be expressed from Xi. We discuss the
significance of these data for our understanding of dosage compensation of
X-Y homologous genes in humans and mice.
相似文献