The New England journal of medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Single-dose azithromycin versus penicillin G benzathine for the treatment of early syphilis.
Pilot studies suggest that a single, 2-g oral dose of azithromycin may be an alternative to a 2.4-MU intramuscular dose of penicillin G benzathine in the prevention and treatment of syphilis. We evaluated the efficacy of treatment with azithromycin in a developing country. ⋯ Single-dose oral azithromycin is effective in treating syphilis and may be particularly useful in developing countries in which the use of penicillin G benzathine injections is problematic. However, recent reports of azithromycin-resistant Treponema pallidum in the United States indicate the importance of continued monitoring for resistance.
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Editorial Comment
Azithromycin versus penicillin G benzathine for early syphilis.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Effectiveness of antipsychotic drugs in patients with chronic schizophrenia.
The relative effectiveness of second-generation (atypical) antipsychotic drugs as compared with that of older agents has been incompletely addressed, though newer agents are currently used far more commonly. We compared a first-generation antipsychotic, perphenazine, with several newer drugs in a double-blind study. ⋯ The majority of patients in each group discontinued their assigned treatment owing to inefficacy or intolerable side effects or for other reasons. Olanzapine was the most effective in terms of the rates of discontinuation, and the efficacy of the conventional antipsychotic agent perphenazine appeared similar to that of quetiapine, risperidone, and ziprasidone. Olanzapine was associated with greater weight gain and increases in measures of glucose and lipid metabolism.
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New biomarkers, such as autoantibody signatures, may improve the early detection of prostate cancer. ⋯ Autoantibodies against peptides derived from prostate-cancer tissue could be used as the basis for a screening test for prostate cancer.