Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2012; 35: 56–65
Summary
Background The eradication rates following standard triple therapy for Helicobacter pylori infection are declining worldwide. Recent studies have shown ...that sequential therapy for H. pylori infection yields high cure rates.
Aim To compare the efficacy and tolerability of a sequential regimen as first‐line treatment of H. pylori infection with a standard triple regimen.
Methods A total of 348 naïve H. pylori‐infected patients from six hospitals in Korea were assigned randomly to standard triple or sequential therapy groups. Standard triple therapy consisted of 20 mg of rabeprazole, 1 g of amoxicillin and 500 mg of clarithromycin, twice daily for 7 days. Sequential therapy consisted of a 5‐day dual therapy (20 mg of rabeprazole and 1 g of amoxicillin, twice daily) followed by a 5‐day triple therapy (20 mg of rabeprazole, 500 mg of clarithromycin, and 500 mg of metronidazole, twice daily).
Results The intention‐to‐treat (ITT) and per‐protocol (PP) eradication rates were 62.2% (95% CI 54.8–69.6%) and 76.0% (95% CI 68.5–83.5%) in the standard triple group, and 77.8% (95% CI 71.4–84.2%) and 87.9% (95% CI 82.3–93.5%) in the sequential group, respectively. The eradication rate was significantly higher in the sequential group compared with the standard triple group in both the ITT and PP populations (P = 0.002 and P = 0.013 respectively), whereas the incidence of adverse events was similar.
Conclusions Ten‐day sequential therapy is more effective and equally tolerated for eradication of H. pylori infection compared with standard triple therapy. Sequential therapy may have a role as first‐line treatment for H. pylori infection.
The aim of this study was to establish the time-course of molecular events in intrascapular brown adipose tissue (iBAT) during the development of diet-induced obesity using microarrays and molecular ...network analysis.
C57BL/6J male inbred mice were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) or normal diet (ND) and killed at multiple time-points over 24 weeks.
Global transcriptional changes in iBAT were determined by time-course microarrays of pooled RNA (n=6, pools per time-point) at 2, 4, 8, 20 and 24 weeks using Illumina MouseWG-6 v2.0 Beadchips. Molecular networks were constructed using the Ingenuity knowledgebase based on differentially expressed genes at each time-point.
Body weight and subcutaneous adipose were progressively increased over 24 weeks, whereas iBAT was significantly increased between 6 and 12 weeks in HFD-fed C57BL/6J mice compared with controls. Blood glucose and insulin levels were increased between 16 and 24 weeks. Time-course microarrays, revealed 155 differentially expressed genes at one or more time-points over 24 weeks in the iBAT of HFD-fed mice compared with controls. Time-course network analysis revealed a network of skeletal muscle development genes that was activated between 2 and 4 weeks, subsequently a network of immune trafficking genes was activated at 8 weeks. After 20 and 24 weeks, multiple lipid metabolism and immune response networks were activated. Several target genes identified by time-course microarrays were independently validated using RT-qPCR. Tnnc1 was upregulated early between 2 and 4 weeks, later Cd68 and Col1a1 were upregulated between 20 and 24 weeks, whereas 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (Hsd11b1) was consistently downregulated during the development of diet-induced obesity.
Molecular networks in iBAT are modulated in a time-dependent manner in response to a HFD. A broad range of gene targets exists to alter molecular changes within iBAT during the development of diet-induced obesity.
Because biomarkers are typically low in abundance, the crucial step of biomarker discovery is to efficiently separate clinically relevant sets of proteins that might define disease stages and/or ...predict disease development. It is anticipated that a multi-dimensional fractionation system (MDFS) will provide an efficient means of separating low abundance proteins from plasma proteins, resulting in the extension of the detection limit. However, when using an MDFS to analyze the plasma proteome it is important to consider how sample processing, yield, resolution and throughput potential may influence the detection limit. This review evaluates the recent advances in MDFS research with respect to ‘4RS criterion’ (4R: resolution, reproducibility, recovery, and robustness; 4S: simplicity, speed, selectivity and sensitivity) and discusses perspectives for future plasma-derived biomarker discovery.
Background: Identifying the genetic basis of airflow limitation is one of the most interesting issues for understanding chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) pathophysiology. Several studies ...have shown that some genetic variants associated with COPD have been identified in genome-wide association study (GWAS), especially in patients with moderate to severe COPD; genetic susceptibility for airflow limitation in the early COPD phase has not been widely studied. Objective: We investigated the genetic variants in early COPD. Methods: The present study analyzed Gene-environment interaction and phenotype (GENIE) cohort that included participants who received health screening examination. The association between single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and susceptibility to early COPD (FEV1 predicted greater than or equal to 50% and FEV1/FVC <0.7) was tested. Results: A total of 130 patients with early COPD and 3478 controls (1700 ever smokers and 1778 never smokers) were recruited. When compared with the total controls, certain SNPs (rs2818103, rs875033, rs9354627, rs34552148) on chromosome 6 were included at the top of our list (p= 5.6 * 10-7 ~9.6 * 10.sup.-6) although they did not reach genome-wide significance. When compared with the never smoker controls, two SNPs (rs2857210, rs2621419) of the HLA-DQB2 gene class were persistently associated with susceptibility to early COPD. Conclusion: Certain SNPs located on chromosome 6 or the HLA-DQB2 gene were the top-scoring SNPs for the association with susceptibility to early COPD in the Korean GENIE cohort. Keywords: early chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, genome-wide association study, single nucleotide polymorphism, SNP, HLA-DQ gene
ABO‐incompatible (ABOi) dual‐graft (DG) adult living donor liver transplantation (ALDLT) is not commonly performed due to its inherently intricate surgical technique and immunological complexity. ...Therefore, data are lacking on the short‐ and long‐term clinical outcomes of ABOi DG ALDLT. We performed a retrospective study by reviewing the medical records of patients who underwent ABOi DG ALDLT between 2008 and 2014. Additionally, computed tomography volumetric analysis was conducted to assess the graft regeneration rate. The mean age of a total of 28 recipients was 50.2 ± 8.5 years, and the mean model for end‐stage liver disease score was 12.2 ± 4.6. The 1‐, 3‐, and 5‐year patient survival rate was 96.4% during the mean follow‐up period of 57.0 ± 22.4 months. The 1‐, 3‐, and 5‐year graft survival rate was 96.4%, 94.2%, and 92.0%, respectively, and no significant differences were observed between ABO‐compatible (ABOc) and ABOi grafts (P = .145). The biliary complication rate showed no significant difference (P = .195) between ABOc and ABOi grafts. Regeneration rates of ABOi grafts were not significantly different from those of ABOc grafts. DG ALDLT with ABOi and ABOc graft combination seems to be a feasible option for expanding the donor pool without additional donor risks.
Dual‐graft adult living donor liver transplantation with ABO‐incompatible grafts demonstrates an acceptable outcome in patient and graft survival, and proves to be safe in regards to biliary complications associated with the ABO incompatibility, which suggests its feasibility to expand the living liver donor pool without increasing donor risks.
Poor postural balance has been related to falls in older people. Although fall rates increase with age, age-related declines in postural balance of older people are still unclear. The goal of this ...study was to investigate age-related changes in the static postural balance ability of Korean elderly adults. Three hundred and eighty-nine normal elderly adults with ages ranging from 57 years to 87 years participated in this study. All elderly adults were instructed to stand in their preferred natural stance on a self-developed force platform. As postural sway variables, peak frequency, mean frequency, mean velocity, and mean distance were calculated from the center of pressure (COP) trajectories in both the medio-lateral (ML) and antero-posterior (AP) directions. The mean velocity in the older-elderly was significantly faster compared to those of the other age groups particularly in the AP direction (
p
<
0
.
0
5
). In both the ML and AP directions, the older-elderly group showed a greater mean distance compared to the other age groups (
p
<
0
.
0
5
). Conversely, no significant age group differences were found in mean frequency and peak frequency (
p
>
0
.
0
5
). Our results mean that the older-elderly group showed postural balance with faster AP sway speed and overall sway size. The results of our study help in the understanding of age-related declines in postural balance for the prevention of falls and the development of a regression model for normative postural balance ability in Korean elderly adults.
This study was to investigate the protective role of luteolin on inflammation-mediated metabolic diseases, focusing on the role of luteolin in the modulation of the Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling ...pathway. C57BL/6J mice were fed a normal, high-fat, or high-fat + 0.005% (
/
) luteolin diet for 16 weeks. Luteolin improved chronic low-grade inflammation by modulating the TLR signaling pathway, resulting in reduced pro-inflammatory cytokines and macrophage accumulation. A positive relationship was detected between gene expressions of
,
,
,
, and
and lipogenesis in epididymal white adipose tissue (eWAT) of luteolin-treated mice, which was linked to attenuation of hepatic lipotoxicity by increasing free fatty acid (FFA) flux to the WAT. Luteolin prevented fibrosis by decreasing extracellular matrix accumulation and cathepsin gene expressions, while enhancing the hepatic antioxidant system.
and
, important markers inducing low-grade inflammation, were affected by advanced age and greater body weight, which were normalized by luteolin treatment. Luteolin improved insulin resistance by normalizing pancreatic islet dysfunction and differentially modulating the plasma glucagon-like peptide-1 and gastric inhibitory polypeptide levels. Our results suggest that luteolin ameliorates diet-induced obesity and its comorbidities. Overall, this study provides novel insights into the effect of luteolin on the links among adiposopathy, insulin resistance, hepatic steatosis, and fibrosis.
Abstract Purpose Portal vein complications (PVC) after pediatric living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) have rarely been reported. We evaluated the long-term incidence and of the risk factors for ...PVC after pediatric LDLT. Methods From April 1997 to November 2008, 96 pediatric patients underwent LDLT using left lateral segments or left lobes. We investigated recipient factors, donor factors, and operative factors through medical records. The portal vein sizes in 96 recipients ranged from 2.7 mm to 13.0 mm (median = 5.0 mm). Portal vein reconstruction was usually performed with the graft portal vein anastomosed to the bifurcation of the recipient right and left portal veins, the so-called “branch patch”. Results PVC occured in 11 patients (11.5%) including early PVC ( n = 3), late PVC ( n = 8). The disease-free survivals at 1, 5, and 10 years after LDLT were 94.7%, 88.7%, and 86.0%. Upon univariate analysis, a portal vein size < 5 mm graft-to-recipient weight ratio (GRWR) ≥ 4%, transfusion volume ≥ 270 mL were significant risk factors for PVC. Body weight < 8 kg and previous operative history tendes to be adverse for PVC. Upon multivariate analysis by Cox regression, portal vein size < 5 mm was a highly significant factor for PVC after pediatric LDLT (hazard ratio = 5.627, P = .027). Conclusion The disease-free survival at 10 years after LDLT was 86.0%. If the recipient's portal vein size < 5 mm received a large-for-size graft (GRWR ≥ 4%), it is important to observe by regular Doppler ultrasonography follow-up to detect PVC.
Genetic transformation is an important technique for functional genomics study and genetic improvement of plants. Until now, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation methods using cotyledon as explants ...has been the major approach for cucumber, and its frequency has been up to 23%. For example, significantly enhancement of the transformation efficiency of this plant species was achieved from the cotyledon explants of the cultivar Poinsett 76 infected by Agrobacterium strains EHA105 with efficient positive selection system in lots of experiments. This review is to summarize some key factors influencing cucumber regeneration and genetic transformation, including target genes, selection systems and the ways of transgene introduction, and then to put forward some strategies for the increasing of cucumber transformation efficiency. In the future, it is high possible for cucumber to be potential bioreactor to produce vaccine and biomaterials for human beings.
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