The American journal of the medical sciences
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Observational Study
Procalcitonin is a marker of gram-negative bacteremia in patients with sepsis.
Prediction of the species of pathogen among patients with sepsis within hours would be helpful in accelerating proper treatment. As a potential method of shortening the time to identification, this study considered the usefulness of measuring procalcitonin (PCT) to predict blood culture (BC) results. ⋯ PCT may represent a useful tool for differentiating gram-positive from gram-negative bloodstream infection with a significantly higher PCT level indicating gram-negative bacteremia.
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Curcumin, extracted from South Asian spice turmeric, has been determined to have the promising ability in antioxidation and anti-inflammation. However, the effect of curcumin on treating brain damage has been not reported. In this article, the aim was to evaluate the effect of curcumin on cell apoptosis in rats exposed to hypoxia-hypercapnia and explore the therapeutic potential of curcumin in hypoxia-hypercapnia brain damage (HHBD). ⋯ Rats with HHBD showed significant increase of Fas/FasL expression and ultrastructural changes in brain tissue cells. Curcumin intervention effectively reversed the Fas/FasL-mediated apoptosis and HHBD-induced brain edema. Curcumin may be a potential therapeutic alternative for HHBD.
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Domperidone is a dopamine receptor antagonist with peripheral prokinetic and central antiemetic properties. Prolongation of the QTc interval with chronic use of oral domperidone in standard doses has been reported in the literature. Our goal was to investigate cardiac toxicity in patients receiving 2-fold greater doses than in previous reports. ⋯ Our data indicate that at very high dosing, the prokinetic/antiemetic agent domperidone has a low risk of adverse cardiovascular events while exhibiting good clinical efficacy.
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Amplified inflammation persists in the airways of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); however, the underlying mechanism is still unclear. Th17/T regulatory cells (Treg) imbalance may exist in the airways and contribute to this abnormal inflammation. ⋯ A compartmental imbalance of Th17 over Treg exists in the airways of patients with COPD, suggesting a defect in anti-inflammatory homeostasis in COPD.