Correlates of survival after autoantibody reduction therapy for acute IPF exacerbations

Background No medical treatment has proven efficacy for acute exacerbations of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (AE-IPF), and this syndrome has a very high mortality. Based on data indicating humoral autoimmune processes are involved in IPF pathogenesis, we treated AE-IPF patients with an autoantibody reduction regimen of therapeutic plasma exchange, rituximab, and intravenous immunoglobulin. This study aimed to identify clinical and autoantibody determinants associated with survival after autoantibody reduction in AE-IPF. Methods Twenty-four(24) AE-IPF patients received the autoantibody reduction regimen. Plasma anti-epithelial autoantibody titers were determined by HEp-2 indirect immunofluorescence assays in 22 patients. Results Mean age of the patients was 70 + 7 years old, and 70% were male. Beneficial clinical responses that occurred early during therapy were a favorable prognostic indicator: supplemental O2 flows needed to maintain resting SaO2>92% significantly decreased and/or walk distances increased among all 10 patients who survived for at least one year. Plasma anti-HEp-2 autoantibody titers were ~-three-fold greater in survivors compared to non-survivors (p<0.02). Anti-HEp-2 titers >1:160 were present in 75% of the evaluable one-year survivors, compared to 29% of non-survivors, and 10 of 12 patients (83%) with anti-HEP-2 titers <1:160 died during the observation period (Hazard Ratio = 3.3, 95% Confidence Interval = 1.02–10.6, p = 0.047). Conclusions Autoantibody reduction therapy is associated with rapid reduction of supplemental oxygen requirements and/or improved ability to ambulate in many AE-IPF patients. Facile anti-epithelial autoantibody assays may help identify those most likely to benefit from these treatments.

Download Full-text

Observing microscopic phases of lichen life cycles on transparent substrata placed in situ

The Lichenologist ◽

10.1017/s0024282905015070 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 37 (5) ◽

pp. 373-382 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

William B. SANDERS

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Developmental Stages ◽

Life Cycles ◽

Potential Significance ◽

Free Living ◽

Lichen Community ◽

One Year ◽

The One ◽

Observation Period

The utility of plastic cover slips as a substratum for in situ study of lichen developmental stages is further explored in a neotropical foliicolous lichen community and in a European temperate corticolous community. Twenty-one months after placement in the tropical forest, the cover slips bore foliicolous lichen thalli with several species producing characteristic ascocarps and ascospores, indicating the suitability of the substratum for completion of the life cycle of these lichens. On cover slips placed within the temperate corticolous community, lichen propagules anchored to the substratum with relatively short attachment hyphae but did not develop further within the one year observation period. Intimately intermixed microbial communities of short-celled, mainly pigmented fungi and chlorophyte algae developed upon the transparent substratum. Among the algae, Trebouxia cells, often in groups showing cell division and without associated lichenizing hyphae, were commonly observed. The potential significance of the free-living populations in the life cycle of Trebouxia and in those of Trebouxia-associated lichen fungi is discussed.

Download Full-text

Meningitis Due to Haemophilus influenzae Other Than Type b: Case Report and Review

PEDIATRICS ◽

10.1542/peds.62.6.1021 ◽

1978 ◽

Vol 62 (6) ◽

pp. 1021-1025

Author(s):

Gerald R. Greene

Keyword(s):

Clinical Trial ◽

Age Distribution ◽

Effective Vaccine ◽

Type B ◽

Review Of The Literature ◽

Large Clinical Trial ◽

Serious Infections ◽

One Year ◽

Age Range ◽

Observation Period

A 4-month-old female infant with meningitis caused by Haeinophilus influenzae type f had a hospital course complicated by sterile subclural effusions and persistent neurologic normalities. One year later she was normal in all respects. The infant's mother had serum bactericidal antibodies to H. influenzae type b but not to type f. During recovery the patient had no bactericidal antibodies to type b, and the type f organism could not be maintained in her serum. Review of the literature identified 40 cases of meningitis reported as caused by H. influenzae other than type b. An evaluation of the ten cases described as due to encapsulated strains (a, e, and f) shows that the age distribution and clinical features are similar to those of meningitis caused by type b. Only five cases of meningitis caused by unencapsulated H. influenzae have been described. Four of the patients were older than the usual age range for type b meningitis and two had prior head trauma. A large clinical trial in Finland with a two-year observation period has denionstrated no untoward increase in non-b H. influenzae meningitis in recipients of a type b vaccine. Serious infections caused by other H. influenzae types will continue to occur sporadically and may increase in frequency when an effective vaccine against type b is widely used in infants.

Download Full-text

Acupuncture in Chronic Pain

The American Journal of Chinese Medicine ◽

10.1142/s0192415x76000366 ◽

1976 ◽

Vol 04 (03) ◽

pp. 267-279 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

W. E. Spoerel

Keyword(s):

Chronic Pain ◽

Therapeutic Modality ◽

Low Back ◽

Pain Syndromes ◽

End Of Treatment ◽

Shoulder Region ◽

Chronic Headaches ◽

Type Headache ◽

One Year ◽

Observation Period

A course of 10 daily acupuncture treatments was given to 200 patients who suffered from chronic pain syndromes of at least one year duration and the result assessed at the end of the course of treatment and after an interval of at least 2 months. Treatments were individualized using needling of body loci distally and near the site of pain, and ear acupuncture. In 38 patients suffering from chronic headaches, including 13 cases of migraine-type headache, 81% reported an improvement in their condition, but only one patient was pain free for the 2-month observation period. In 162 patients with other chronic pain problems, 99 or 61% were improved or pain free at the end of treatment; in 69 of these a worthwhile degree of improvement persisted over the observation period of 2 months. Thirteen percent of all patients did not respond to acupuncture and in 26% the response was considered as transient only. Daily treatments are not more effecitve than weekly or biweekly treatments. Pain in the neck and shoulder region, in the knee and low back pain responded to acupuncture with prolonged improvement in over 50% of the patients treated. Facial pain syndromes and pain in the region of the trunk were least responsive and only 3 of 11 patients with post-herpetic neuralgia reported still having less pain after 2 months. Needling of effective loci and particuarly ear needling often causes an instantaneous reduction or disappearance of pain; the speed of this response can only be explained by a mechanism within the nervous system. Based on our experience acupuncture represents a useful therapeutic modality in the management of pain.

Download Full-text

THE FACTORS OF INITIAL RETURN RELATED TO IPO COMPANIES ON THE INDONESIA STOCK EXCHANGE

Journal of Consumer Sciences ◽

10.29244/jcs.4.2.119-135 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 119-135

Author(s):

Glynae Widyawati ◽

Bambang Juanda ◽

Trias Andati

Keyword(s):

Stock Price ◽

Stock Exchange ◽

Share Price ◽

Optimal Capital Structure ◽

Financial Factors ◽

Initial Return ◽

Optimal Capital ◽

One Year ◽

Secondary Shares ◽

Observation Period

Companies that conduct IPOs will increase company’s value with an optimal capital structure. Initial return is a profit that investors can obtain from the initial share price is lower than the opening price of the secondary shares on the first day. Underpricing conditions occurs because the initial stock price is lower than the secondary stock price on the first day. This study aimed to analyze factors that impact initial returns on companies that conduct IPOs on the Indonesia Stock Exchange, analyze the effects of financial factors (ROE, DER, and BI Rate) and non-financial factors (professional auditors and underwriters) on initial returns to companies conducting IPOs in IDX, and how the behavior of investors towards those analysis. The linear regression data processing using SPSS 16 produced result that only the BI Rate variable which affected the initial return on the seven days, 30 days, and one year after the IPO observation period. The statistical results show the best r-square value is 17.6 percent, which means that the independent variables can be used to explain the effect to the initial return on 17.6 percent.

Download Full-text

Retrieval of stratospheric and tropospheric BrO columns from multi-axis DOAS measurements at Reunion Island (21° S, 56° E)

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions ◽

10.5194/acpd-7-8261-2007 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 7 (3) ◽

pp. 8261-8308 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

N. Theys ◽

M. Van Roozendael ◽

F. Hendrick ◽

C. Fayt ◽

C. Hermans ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Measurement Data ◽

Retrieval Algorithm ◽

Reunion Island ◽

Spectral Measurements ◽

Réunion Island ◽

One Year ◽

Chemical Fields ◽

Latitudinal Band ◽

Observation Period ◽

Good Agreement

Abstract. Spectral measurements of BrO using zenith-sky and off-axis viewing geometries are combined in a linear multiple regression retrieval algorithm to provide stratospheric and tropospheric BrO vertical columns. One year of measurement data are investigated over Reunion-Island (20.9° S, 55.5° E), from July 2004 to July 2005. No seasonal variations of the retrieved BrO columns could be observed, in line with previous studies. A comparison between the stratospheric columns retrieved at 45°, 80°, 85°, 87.5° and 92.5° solar zenith angles and photochemical simulations initialized by chemical fields from the 3-D-CTM SLIMCAT and further constrained by observed NO2 profiles shows a good agreement only by considering a contribution from the very short-lived organic bromine substances to the stratospheric inorganic bromine budget, of 6 to 8 pptv. Furthermore, stratospheric BrO profiles retrieved from late twilight zenith-sky observations are consistent with a total inorganic bromine (Bry) loading of approximately 23 pptv. This represents 6 to 7 pptv more than can be supplied by long-lived organic bromine sources, and therefore supports an added contribution from very short-lived organic bromine substances as recently suggested in several other studies. Moreover strong evidences are presented for the existence of a substantial amount of BrO in the tropical free-troposphere, around 6 km altitude, possibly supplied by the decomposition of short-lived biogenic bromine organic compounds. Tropospheric BrO vertical columns of 1.1±0.45×1013 molec/cm2 are derived for the entire observation period. Comparisons between ground-based BrO vertical columns and total BrO columns derived from SCIAMACHY (onboard the ENVISAT satellite) nadir observations in a latitudinal band centered around 21° S present a good level of consistency, which further strengthens the conclusions of our study.

Download Full-text

Prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency in patients with acute exacerbations of bronchial asthma: A one-year hospital-based cross-sectional study

Indian Journal of Health Sciences and Biomedical Research (KLEU) ◽

10.4103/kleuhsj.kleuhsj_222_18 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 132

Author(s):

Srinija Kummaraganti ◽

GajananS Gaude

Keyword(s):

Vitamin D ◽

Vitamin D Deficiency ◽

Bronchial Asthma ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Acute Exacerbations ◽

One Year

Download Full-text

Treatment of head and neck cancer with photodynamic therapy: results after one year

The Journal of Laryngology & Otology ◽

10.1017/s0022215100132050 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 109 (11) ◽

pp. 1072-1076 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

M. G. Dtlkes ◽

M. L. DeJode ◽

Q. Gardiner ◽

G. S. Kenyon ◽

P. McKelvie

Keyword(s):

Head And Neck Cancer ◽

Photodynamic Therapy ◽

Head And Neck ◽

Neck Cancer ◽

First Generation ◽

Sufficient Evidence ◽

Clinical Responses ◽

Promising Treatment ◽

One Year ◽

Multicentre Prospective Study

AbstractPhotodynamic therapy (PDT) is a new and promising treatment modality for the treatment of malignant disease. This paper reports the preliminary experience of our group in the use of this therapy for the treatment of tumours arising in the head and neck. The majority of treatments in these cases have used a second generation systemic photosensitizer, meta-tetrahydroxyphenylchlorin (m-THPC). Two other cases were treated with either Photofrin 2 (a first generation systemic sensitizer) or with the topical photosensitizer, delta-aminolaevulinic acid (δ-ALA).The initial results have been encouraging with good clinical responses evident in patients presenting with a variety of differing tumour types. We feel there is now sufficient evidence of the efficacy of this treatment to warrant a multicentre prospective study into the treatment of early head and neck cancer with PDT.

Download Full-text

Abstract 11598: Increased Advanced Glycation End-Products Accelerate the Progress of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy Under Condition of Elevated Oxidative Stress or Insulin Resistance in Patients With Hypertension

Circulation ◽

10.1161/circ.130.suppl_2.11598 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 130 (suppl_2) ◽

Author(s):

Aoyama Akihiro ◽

Masuda Takashi ◽

Ogura Misao ◽

Shimizu Ryosuke ◽

Kato Michitaka ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Oxidative Stress ◽

Insulin Resistance ◽

Clinical Characteristics ◽

Ventricular Hypertrophy ◽

Left Ventricular ◽

Advanced Glycation ◽

Glycation End Products ◽

End Products ◽

One Year ◽

Observation Period

Background: Elevated oxidative stress or insulin resistance has been shown to promote the production of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) in patients with hypertension (HT). Because AGEs enhance left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) via the activation of nuclear factor-kappa B, it is considered that increased AGEs contribute to LVH in HT patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of increased AGEs on LVH in them. Methods: Eighty five HT patients aged 65 ± 9 years were prospectively followed up for a year, whose blood pressure was controlled under 140/90mmHg. We assessed patients’ glucose and lipid metabolism and neurohumoral factors including plasma noradrenaline and renin activity as clinical characteristics. We measured serum malondialdehyde-modified LDL-cholesterol (MDA-LDL) and plasma pentosidine as parameters of oxidative stress and AGEs, respectively. Homeostasis model assessment ratio (HOMA-R), estimate glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and left ventricular mass index (LVMI) were assessed as parameters of insulin resistance, renal function and LVH, respectively. All parameters were assessed before and after one-year observation period. We examined the change in each parameter from baseline to the value measured after the observation period ([[Unable to Display Character: ⊿]]MDA-LDL, [[Unable to Display Character: ⊿]]pentosidine, [[Unable to Display Character: ⊿]]HOMA-R and [[Unable to Display Character: ⊿]]LVMI). We divided patients into two groups based on the median of baseline pentosidine: high AGEs and low AGEs groups. We compared baseline values between the two groups. We analyzed the relationships among [[Unable to Display Character: ⊿]]MDA-LDL, [[Unable to Display Character: ⊿]]HOMA-R, [[Unable to Display Character: ⊿]]Pentosidine and [[Unable to Display Character: ⊿]]LVMI, and performed stepwise multiple regression analysis using parameters of clinical characteristics and AGEs to detect the predictors for the LVH progress after one year. Results: Baseline LVMI was significantly higher in the high AGEs group than in the low AGEs group (P<0.05). [[Unable to Display Character: ⊿]]Pentosidine was positively correlated with [[Unable to Display Character: ⊿]]MDA-LDL (r=0.34, P<0.01),[[Unable to Display Character: ⊿]]HOMA-R (r=0.37, P<0.01) and [[Unable to Display Character: ⊿]]LVMI (r=0.39, P<0.05). Multiple regression analysis detected pentosidine as a significant independent predictor for the LVH progress (β=0.407, P=0.005) (R2=0.315). Conclusion: Increased AGEs accelerated the LVH progress under condition of elevated oxidative stress or insulin resistance in HT patients.

Download Full-text