Panminerva medica
-
In this trial, we analyzed the plasma levels of novel biomarkers that reflect different pathophysiological pathways (sST2: mechanical strain, IGF-BP2: metabolic pathways, suPAR and GDF-15: inflammatory processes) in patients undergoing physical exercise to investigate the effects of training on their plasma concentrations. ⋯ The significant increase of sST2 after four weeks might be a short-term effect due to the mechanical strain caused by the high-intensity training program, whereas the increase in IGF-BP2 after four weeks and eight months is likely a result of metabolic changes due to physical exercise.
-
Evaluation of clinical performance of the anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) rapid tests were carried out mostly in chronic hepatitis C patients and in individuals at high risk of HCV infection. ⋯ The proportion of infections with low level of viremia and the risk associated with rapid assay failure remained to be carefully estimated in general population.
-
The availability of high-quality studies on the association between sleep-disordered breathing in children and delayed growth associated with the hormonal profile recorded before surgery and at follow-up is limited. ⋯ The current systematic review demonstrates a scarcity of high-quality studies on growth delay in children with sleep-disordered breathing. Significant catch-up growth after surgery in the short term and changes in IGF-1, IGFBP-3, ghrelin, and leptin levels has been reported in most published studies.
-
Chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD) is still the principal long-term cause of mortality after lung transplant. Animal studies and small case series have proposed pirfenidone, a potent antifibrotic agent registered for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), for treatment of CLAD. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety profile and potential efficacy of pirfenidone in patients with CLAD. ⋯ Our CLAD patients treated with pirfenidone showed a good safety profile, similarly to that reported for IPF patients. The drug showed potential for stabilizing decline in respiratory function. Further studies are needed in order to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of this therapy.