Annals of medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Advice to follow a low-carbohydrate diet has a favourable impact on low-grade inflammation in type 2 diabetes compared with advice to follow a low-fat diet.
Inflammation may play an important role in type 2 diabetes. It has been proposed that dietary strategies can modulate inflammatory activity. ⋯ To conclude, advice to follow LCD or LFD had similar effects on weight reduction while effects on inflammation differed. Only LCD was found significantly to improve the subclinical inflammatory state in type 2 diabetes.
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The appropriate use of conventional or potential treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma requires that benefit can be shown. Therefore, the accurate assessment of response is both critical and essential. Demonstration of benefit observed will be determined by the criteria used. ⋯ In this review, the goals of assessing tumor response in clinical practice and in clinical trials are outlined. The varying patterns of response to different therapeutic modalities such as locoregional therapy and molecularly targeted therapy are reviewed, and an approach to the assessment of response based on clinical, biochemical, morphological, and functional criteria has been outlined. The implications of current and proposed approaches of assessing response for clinical practice or design of clinical trials are reviewed.
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The use of highly active antiretroviral therapy against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can lead to rare instances of treatment failure and the emergence of drug resistance. HIV drug-resistant strains are archived in cellular reservoirs, and this can exclude the future efficacy of drugs or drug classes against which resistance has emerged. In addition, drug-resistant viruses can be transmitted between individuals. ⋯ Of these, raltegravir, elvitegravir, and dolutegravir are the only integrase strand transfer inhibitors that have been approved for human therapy by the US Food and Drug Administration. Dolutegravir is unique in its ability to seemingly evade HIV drug resistance in treatment-naïve individuals. Here, we review the use of integrase strand transfer inhibitors in the management of HIV, focusing on HIV resistance.
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To examine whether midregional pro-adrenomedullin (MR-proADM) plasma concentrations predict incident cardiovascular outcomes in the general population. Natriuretic peptides (N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), and midregional pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (MR-proANP)) were analyzed for comparison. ⋯ In a healthy general population sample of the FINRISK 1997 cohort MR-proADM significantly predicted all-cause death, MACE, and especially heart failure even beyond NT- proBNP. It also improved risk reclassification for heart failure.
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A key function of human skin is the formation of a structural barrier against the external environment. In part, this is achieved through the formation of a cornified cell envelope derived from a stratified squamous epithelium attached to an epithelial basement membrane. Resilient in health, the structural integrity of skin can become impaired or break down in a collection of inherited skin diseases, referred to as the blistering genodermatoses. ⋯ In recent years, an improved understanding of the molecular basis of the blistering genodermatoses has led to better disease classification and genetic counselling. For patients, this has also advanced translational research with the advent of new clinical trials of gene, protein, cell, drug, and small molecule therapies. Although curing inherited blistering skin diseases still remains elusive, significant improvements in patients' quality of life are already being achieved.