Current Issue : April - June Volume : 2013 Issue Number : 2 Articles : 8 Articles
Discovery of a potential anticancer therapy is still a challenge to the scientists. Though many different kinds of therapies are developed none of them has lived up to the task to cure cancer completely. Cancer vaccines are found to be the latest discovery in the field of cancer. Although till date only one cancer vaccine is approved by FDA, there are number of vaccines undergoing preclinical & clinical trials which are promising to be an effective anticancer therapy. This article reviews some of the basic aspects of different types of cancer vaccines along with their drawbacks & future development. Novel vaccines produce specific immune responses and objective clinical responses with minimal toxicity in phase I/II trials. Advances in gene transfer technology, tumor immunology and better methods of monitoring specific anti tumor immune responses allow the hope that tumor vaccines will be introduced into the clinic, at least in some malignancies resistant to systemic therapy so far such as melanoma and renal cell carcinoma. The first generation of human cancer vaccines has been tested in phase III clinical trials, but only a few of these have demonstrated sufficient efficacy to be licensed for clinical use. This article reviews some of the mechanisms that could contribute to these limited clinical responses, and highlights the challenges faced for development of future vaccines....
In this study, the aim was the evaluation of effect of intravenous (IV) administration of ketamine,\r\nperitonsillar infiltration of tramadol and their combination for control of post-operative pain in comparison\r\nwith single use of each drug in children undergoing tonsillectomy. One hundred and twenty children, aged 2-\r\n15 years, selected for elective adenotonsillectomy were enrolled in the study. We divided the patients into\r\nfour groups of 30 each, Group I: received IV ketamine 0.5 mg/kg, Group II: received peritonsillar infiltration\r\nof tramadol 2 mg/kg, Group III: received IV ketamine 0.5 mg/kg added to peritonsillar tramadol 2 mg/kg and\r\nGroup IV: received IV and peritonsillar infiltration of 0.9% saline. We utilized the Children�s Hospital of\r\nEastern Ontario Pain Scale (CHEOPS) recorded each 15 min after surgery to the first h and then each 2 , 4,\r\n6, 8, 16, 24 h to assess pain levels postoperatively. The analysis of data showed that Group III had\r\nsignificantly lower CHEOPS scores than another three groups (P<0.001), while both Groups I and II had the\r\nsame ranged scores, which were not statistically significant (P>0.05). During 24 h after surgery, the first\r\ntime for analgesic requirement was higher in Group III in comparison with other groups (P<0.001).\r\nCombined use of IV ketamine 0.5 mg/kg with peritonsillar infiltration of tramadol 2 mg/kg provided better\r\nand more prolong analgesic effects compared with using each drug alone in patients undergoing\r\ntonsillectomy....
Background: Pulmonary Rehabilitation for moderate Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in primary care could\r\nimprove patients� quality of life.\r\nMethods: This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a 3-month Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) program with a\r\nfurther 9 months of maintenance (RHBM group) compared with both PR for 3 months without further maintenance\r\n(RHB group) and usual care in improving the quality of life of patients with moderate COPD.\r\nWe conducted a parallel-group, randomized clinical trial in Majorca primary health care in which 97 patients with\r\nmoderate COPD were assigned to the 3 groups. Health outcomes were quality of life, exercise capacity, pulmonary\r\nfunction and exacerbations.\r\nResults: We found statistically and clinically significant differences in the three groups at 3 months in the emotion\r\ndimension (0.53; 95%CI0.06-1.01) in the usual care group, (0.72; 95%CI0.26-1.18) the RHB group (0.87; 95%CI 0.44-1.30)\r\nand the RHBM group as well as in fatigue (0.47; 95%CI 0.17-0.78) in the RHBM group. After 1 year, these differences\r\nfavored the long-term rehabilitation group in the domains of fatigue (0.56; 95%CI 0.22-0.91), mastery (0.79; 95%CI 0.03-\r\n1.55) and emotion (0.75; 95%CI 0.17-1.33). Between-group analysis only showed statistically and clinically significant\r\ndifferences between the RHB group and control group in the dyspnea dimension (0.79 95%CI 0.05-1.52). No differences\r\nwere found for exacerbations, pulmonary function or exercise capacity.\r\nConclusions: We found that patients with moderate COPD and low level of impairment did not show meaningful\r\nchanges in QoL, exercise tolerance, pulmonary function or exacerbation after a one-year, community based\r\nrehabilitation program. However, long-term improvements in the emotional, fatigue and mastery dimensions (within\r\nintervention groups) were identified....
The hospital-based study was performed to investigate the prevalence of HBV and HCV infection among the adults of the Garhwali population suffering from liver complications which may provide the most recent data for planning and monitoring of health in relation with hepatitis infection in hilly Garhwal region of India was performed between June 2009 and June 2012. The result showed that, out of 5436 individuals, HBsAg positivity rate was 2.097 % and anti-HCV positivity rate was 1.968 %. Among HBsAg positive individual 62.28 % were males and 37.72 % were females. The prevalence of HBsAg positivity was highest in Tehri Garhwal district (28.07 %) and lowest in Uttarkashi district (11.40 %). Among anti-HCV positive individual 57.94 % were males and 46.06 % were females. The prevalence of anti-HCV positivity was highest in Rudra Prayag district (25.23 %) and lowest in Pauri Garhwal district (14.95 %)....
Nitrous oxide is unique in that it is none-invasive and has a rapid onset of action, making it a valuable option in\r\na variety of emergent situation and in painful paediatric procedures. The present randomised controlled study was\r\nset up in order to explore the effects of 3 different concentrations of nitrous oxide, 40, 55 and 70 vol. % as compared\r\nto placebo, provided by self administered from a demand valve by healthy volunteers for a short 4-minute period\r\nevaluating effect on attention, mode and wakefulness.\r\nOnset time and peak reduction in attention, change in saccadic eye movements, showed a dose dependent\r\npattern. After brief use, saccadic eye movements returned to baseline within minutes after cessation of administration.\r\nLoss of consciousness was observed only during administration of the 70 vol. %, minor side effects such as dizziness\r\nand nausea was observed during inhalation of all three active treatments.\r\nThe risks for over sedation/unconsciousness has to be weighed against the clinical benefit of faster and more\r\npronounced effects if a 70 % fixed nitrous oxide concentration is to be used by self administration from a demand\r\nvalve....
Managing clinical trials, of whatever size and complexity, requires efficient trial management. Pharmacist expertise in-house positions us to provide a more comprehensive and patient-focused service. Pharmacists have an understanding of how the drug will need to be prepared and dispensed at the site. This knowledge helps to determine the best way to package the drug for ease of use at the clinical site and to manage overall drug inventory. A pharmacist provides a knowledge base which gives a unique opportunity to provide valuable input at many points throughout the supply chain. Pharmacist input during the study design phase is important to ensure proper comparator sourcing, labeling, blinding, preparation and drug accountability and reconciliation. Pharmacists can also provide ongoing support to site personnel during study start up and maintenance of the trial. Pharmacists working on clinical trials face a number of challenges today, especially with the ever-changing global economy and technology. These challenges include dealing with the increasing complexity of clinical study designs, coupled with the increasing pressure to be the first to market, and keeping up with the continually changing regulations governing investigational products....
The hospital-based study was performed to investigate the prevalence of hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection among the adult Garhwali population suffering from chronic liver disease which may provide the most updated data regarding prevalence of hepatitis A virus infection in the population of hilly Garhwal section of Uttrakhand in India was performed between May, 2011 and May, 2012. Serum analysis revealed that out of 142 individuals 52.816% are found positive. Among them 45.33% were males and 54.67% were females the percentage of HAV positivity is highest in Uttarkashi district and lowest in Rudra Prayag district. The frequency of HAV positivity is observed higher in Uttarkashi and Chamoli district and lesser in Rudra Prayag and Tehri Garhwal among both sexes in the study subjects. The prevalence of presence of HAV positive male among the total male population was 49.27% while among the female was 56.16% among the total female population. The study mostly revealed that prevalence of HAV positivity is higher in females as compared to the males....
The current exploratory study looks at the relationship between modern health worries (MHWs), subjective health\r\nperception, depression, anxiety, self-esteem, body image as well as complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in\r\nbreast cancer patients. One hundred and one females (50 previously diagnosed with cancer) completed questionnaires\r\nmeasuring MHWs, health perceptions, psychological distress, self-esteem and body image. It was found that MHWs\r\nand health perceptions predicted CAM use whilst psychological distress did not. It was concluded that CAM use in\r\nbreast cancer patients is not related to psychological distress, but may be related to a more physical health related\r\nfunction: patients engage with CAM use as a response to worries about health. Limitations of this small scale, crosssectional\r\nstudy are also noted....
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