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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Randomized Controlled Trial
The importance of needle echogenity in ultrasound guided axillary brachial plexus block: a randomized controlled clinical study.
In this study we aimed to compare the echogenic needles and the nerve stimulation addition to non-echogenic needles in ultrasound guided axillary brachial plexus block for upper extremity surgery. ⋯ We conclude that ultrasound guided axillary block may be performed successfully using both echogenic needles and nerve stimulation assisted non-echogenic needles.
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The -159C/T polymorphism in the CD14 gene has been implicated in susceptibility to tuberculosis, but the results were inconclusive. The present meta-analysis aimed to perform a comprehensive assessment of the literature on the possible association between the -159C/T polymorphism and tuberculosis risk. ⋯ This meta-analysis suggests that the -159C/T polymorphism in the CD14 gene contributes to tuberculosis susceptibility. To further investigate gene-gene and gene-environment interactions between this polymorphism and tuberculosis risk, more studies are needed.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The effect of intraoperative use of high-dose remifentanil on postoperative insulin resistance and muscle protein catabolism: a randomized controlled study.
We investigated the effect of the intraoperative use of a high dose remifentanil on insulin resistance and muscle protein catabolism. ⋯ Use of high-dose remifentanil as intraoperative analgesia during elective gastrectomy reduced postoperative insulin resistance, although it did not reduce postoperative muscle protein catabolism.
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The two essential requirements for pathologic specimens in the era of personalized therapies for non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) are accurate subtyping as adenocarcinoma (ADC) versus squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC) and suitability for EGFR molecular testing, as well as for testing of other oncogenes such as EML4-ALK and KRAS. Actually, the value of EGFR expressed in patients with NSCLC in predicting a benefit in terms of survival from treatment with an epidermal growth factor receptor targeted therapy is still in debate, while there is a convincing evidence on the predictive role of the EGFR mutational status with regard to the response to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). ⋯ It is designed to highlight the preclinical rationale driving the molecular footprint assessment, the progressive development of a specific pharmacological treatment and the best method to identify those NSCLC who would most likely benefit from treatment with EGFR-targeted therapy. This is supported by the belief that a rationale for the prioritization of specific regimens based on patient-tailored therapy could be closer than commonly expected.