Int J Med Sci
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Creatine metabolism and safety profiles after six-week oral guanidinoacetic acid administration in healthy humans.
Guanidinoacetic acid (GAA) is a natural precursor of creatine, yet the potential use of GAA as a nutritional additive for restoring creatine availability in humans has been limited by unclear efficacy and safety after exogenous GAA administration. The present study evaluated the effects of orally administered GAA on serum and urinary GAA, creatine and creatinine concentration, and on the occurrence of adverse events in healthy humans. ⋯ Exogenous GAA is metabolized to creatine, resulting in a significant increase of fasting serum creatine after intervention. GAA had an acceptable side-effects profile with a low incidence of biochemical abnormalities.
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We examined weight changes during chronic hepatitis C (CHC) therapy and association with virologic response. ⋯ Spontaneous weight loss at 4 and 12 weeks of CHC therapy was associated with improved EVR. Weight loss at 4 weeks was an independent predictor of EVR but not SVR.
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Duloxetine hydrochloride is approved for the treatment or management of major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain, chronic musculoskeletal pain, and fibromyalgia in the United States. These conditions affect millions of women, including those of childbearing potential. In pregnancy, pharmacological treatment is justified only if the potential benefits outweigh potential risks to mother and fetus, neonate or infant. There are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women treated with duloxetine. Post-marketing surveillance is an important tool for the assessment of drug safety in pregnancy in a naturalistic setting. ⋯ While limitations of these data are recognized, the information available to date from these two data sources suggest that the frequency of abnormal outcomes reported in duloxetine pregnancy cases is generally consistent with the historic control rates in the general population.
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Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) in acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) patients is associated with a high mortality. But the clinical characteristics of and the risk factors for IPA among patients with ACLF remains unclear. This study was aimed at assessing clinical manifestation, the risk factors and antifungal medications for as well as the mortality due to IPA in ACLF patients at the First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University. ⋯ Patients with ACLF and IPA have a high mortality rate. Patients with ACLF who present with encephalopathy should avoid steroids, as they increase the mortality rate. Azoles may prolong the survival time.
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Mesenchymal progenitor stem cells (MPCs) are a group of bone marrow stromal progenitor cells processing osteogenic, chondrogenic, adipogenic and myogenic lineages differentiations. Previous studies have demonstrated that bone morphogeneic protein 9(BMP9) is one of the most osteogenic BMPs both in vitro and in vivo, however, the underlying molecular mechanism of osteogenesis induced by BMP9 is needed to be deep explored. Here, we used the recombinant adenoviruses assay to introduce BMP9 into C3H10T1/2 mesenchymal stem cells to elucidate the role of CXCL12/CXCR4 signal axis during BMP9-incuced osteogenic differentiation. ⋯ Pretreatment of C3H10T1/2 cells with CXCL12/CXCR4 could significantly affect the early and mid osteogenic markers alkaline phosphatase (ALP), osteocalcin (OCN), the transcription factors of Runx2, Osx, Plzf and Dlx5 expression, through activating the Smad, MAPK signaling pathway. Addition of exogenous CXCL12 did not affect the changes of the late osteogenic marker calcium deposition. Thus, our findings suggest a co-requirement of the CXCL12/CXCR4 signal axis in BMP9-induced the early- and mid-process of osteogenic differentiation of MSCs.