A casual reader of the article by Kaur et al. in this issue of JMCP might find the results unimpressive for the intervention with buprenorphine-naloxone in 1 large managed care plan.1 Persistence with this intervention therapy to treat patients with a history of prescription opioid use was only 48% at month 1, 27% at month 6, and 20% at month 12. Even for the small proportion of patients persis...

Sixty ragweed-sensitive volunteers participated in a 2-week study that compared symptom profiles during treatment with antihistamine (loratadine, LOR) alone, topical corticoid (beclomethasone, BEC) alone, or the two drugs combined. For 5 days commencing shortly after the beginning of the ragweed bloom, patients took no treatment while we collected baseline data. They were then randomized to one...

Treatment with a chimeric antitumour necrosis factor (TNF) antibody (Infliximab) has been shown to be highly efficient for patients with steroid refractory Crohn’s disease (CD). However, the mechanism of action remains largely unknown. Recently, a favourable response to Infliximab treatment was demonstrated in some diseases complicating active CD such as acute idiopathic pancreatitis. We report...

Three series have reported increased serum interleukin-l 0 (ILIO) in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL).'~4 In our initial report, total (ie, human and Epstein-Barr virus [EBV]) ILI O (h-vILI O ) was detectable in the serum of 47 of 101 (46%) patients with intermediateor high-grade NHL and correlated to overall and progression-free survival.' In the series by Stasi et al,'.' 42 of 105 (...

Treatment with a chimeric antitumour necrosis factor (TNF) antibody (Infliximab) has been shown to be highly efficient for patients with steroid refractory Crohn’s disease (CD). However, the mechanism of action remains largely unknown. Recently, a favourable response to Infliximab treatment was demonstrated in some diseases complicating active CD such as acute idiopathic pancreatitis. We report...

Previously, we reported minimal opioid receptor occupancy following a clinical dose of the -opioid agonist, methadone, measured in vivo using positron emission tomography (PET) with [C]diprenorphine and subsequently used rats to obtain experimental data in support of a high receptor reserve hypothesis (Melichar et al., 2005). Here, we report on further preclinical studies investigating opioid r...

In August 1999, a 26-year-old Caucasian woman presented with abdominal pain, diarrhoea and weight loss. Active small bowel Crohn’s disease (CD) was diagnosed on barium follow-through and confirmed histologically following ileal resection in October 1999. Subsequent radiological and endoscopic investigations demonstrated extensive small bowel and foregut involvement with stricturing disease. Des...

Case history A 53 year old self employed white business man was seen by the rheumatology unit at this hospital for the first time in May 1997. Over the last three years he had seen three diVerent rheumatologists with an assymetrical arthritis, aVecting mainly the right hand. This had been diagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis, based on the presence of rheumatoid factor in the blood and treated with...

The molecular mechanisms of interaction between Gs and the A2A adenosine receptor were investigated using synthetic peptides corresponding to various segments of the Gas carboxyl terminus. Synthetic peptides were tested for their ability to modulate binding of a selective radiolabeled agonist, [H]2-[4-(2-carboxyethyl)phenylethylamino]-59-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine ([H]CGS21680), to A2A adenosi...

Purpose: In an effort to reduce the frequency of central nervous system (CNS) progression in patients with metastatic melanoma with ongoing systemic response to biochemotherapy, we modified our standard concurrent biochemotherapy regimen by replacing dacarbazine (DTIC) with oral temozolomide. Experimental Design: Patients received cisplatin, vinblastine, and temozolomide (20 mg/m cisplatin and ...