OBJECTIVE To evaluate the impact of adalimumab (ADA) dose-halving on therapeutic responses and drug levels, the differences in drug levels among patients with different therapeutic responses and the optimal baseline cut-off ADA levels for predicting persistent remission or low disease activity (LDA) at week 24 of dose-halving therapy in 64 RA patients who had already achieved LDA or remission a...

iranian castor bean lectin was isolated and purified by several column chromatography methods. then, the sugar and amino acid content of the purified lectin was identified. castor bean lectin has some anti tumor and anti leukemia action. thus it may be used commercially for medical and biochemical purposes.

a twelve-year-old girl with disseminated tuberculosis was complicated by psychogenic vomiting and multiple drugs’ adverse effects. she was admitted to our hospital, complaining of fever, cough and abdominal pain. diagnosis of tb was obtained by abdominal ct-scan and open liver biopsy. during the anti-tb treatment, hepatitis, hemolytic anemia and pancreatitis occurred due to some drugs' side eff...

background and objective: although hepatitis b vaccine immunogenicity is high, certain risk factors such as age, tobacco consumption, obesity and genetic background have been associated with low responsiveness to hbv vaccine. we aimed to evaluate the role of occult hepatitis b virus (hbv) infection in non-responder adults to hbv vaccine in a low endemic area for hbv. material and methods : a to...

background: few cases of persistent hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia of infancy (phhi) have been reported, so far. the main concern in the management of phhi is to prevent severe hypoglycemia, which can lead to coma, brain damage and mental retardation. total or subtotal pancreatectomy is normally required for the infants, despite the availability of medical therapies. case report: in this report,...

OBJECTIVE. To report the initial experience in using cryoballoon catheter ablation in the treatment of atrial fibrillation in Hong Kong. DESIGN. Single-centre, prospective case series. SETTING. Regional hospital, Hong Kong. PATIENTS. Sixteen patients (mean age, 55 years; standard deviation, 14 years; 11 males) with paroxysmal (n=12) or persistent (n=4) atrial fibrillation. INTERVENTIONS. Pulmon...

OBJECTIVES To investigate whether the aggressive use of DMARDs can control the clinical disease in the early arthritis, to define new parameters of the disease aggressivity and to study the effectiveness of RMN in comparison with RX focusing on the articular erosions. METHODS 45 patients having a case of early arthritis (less 6 months) with 3 or more swollen joints were recruited and treated ...

BACKGROUND Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) reduce exacerbation rates and improve health status but can increase the risk of pneumonia in COPD. The GLUCOLD study, investigating patients with mild-to-moderate COPD, has shown that long-term (2.5-year) ICS therapy induces anti-inflammatory effects. The literature suggests that cigarette smoking causes ICS insensitivity. The aim of this study is to co...