Terapevt Arkh
-
To collect information on the efficiency and safety of a fixed-dose combination of amlodipine/valsartan in patients who failed to achieve blood pressure (BP) control in the use of the combination of an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) and a thiazide/thiazide-like diuretic. ⋯ In the observation program AESCULAP using the fixed-dose combination of amlodipine/valsartan as different dosage regimens (5/160 and 10/160 mg) and/or a diuretic, there was a marked antihypertensive effect in different subgroups of patients with previously uncontrolled hypertension and the BP goals being achieved in 79.5% of cases. Most patients tolerated amlodipine/ valsartan well and showed high compliance with the prescribed therapy. The rate of side effects in the AECULAP program was not greater than that (3.1%) in the earlier trials.
-
Gaucher disease (GD) is an inherited enzymatic defect resulting from a deficiency of acid [3-glucosidase, a lysosomal enzyme involved in the degradation of cell metabolic products. The major clinical manifestations of GD are hepatosplenomegaly, cytopenia, and bony involvement varying from asymptomatic osteopenia to severest osteoporosis and ischemic necrosis to develop irreversible orthopedic defects. ⋯ In these instances, besides enzyme replacement therapy, high-quality orthopedic care is required. The description of the case history of a patient undergoing splenectomy in childhood is given as a clinical example of severe osteoarticular lesion in GD and complex differential diagnosis with the intercurrent disease extrapulmonary tuberculosis.
-
The paper considers the specific features of renal involvement developing in chronic infection caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV) and the current possibilities of treatment. It details the clinical and morphological manifestations of HCV-related cryoglobulinemic glomerulonephritis, and criteria for its diagnosis and prognosis. The author discuss new approaches to treating (severe cryoglobulinemic vasculitis with renal involvement in particular)--antiviral therapy (pegylated interferon-alpha/ribavirin) in combination with biological agents (anti-CD monoclonal antibodies, such as rituximab) to achieve clinical, virological, immunological remissions and a response at a molecular level--to eliminate oligo- and monoclonal B lymphocyte proliferation.
-
The paper discusses issues related to the role of basic studies in the development of practical medicine and to the integration of basic science and medical treatment.
-
The paper analyzes the most important clinical studies dealing with the measurement of procalcitonin concentrations in patients with lower respiratory tract infections or sepsis. Procalcitonin is a marker of bacterial infection, which is successfully used for diagnosis and antimicrobial therapy monitoring in patients with pneumonia or in septic states. The review presents the latest algorithms for interpreting the concentrations of procalcitonin in clinical practice.