Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Comparison Between Oral Pentoxifylline + Corticosteroid Andoral Corticosteroid Alone For Severe Erythema Nodosum Leprosum, Martinus Martinus, Rahadi Rihatmadja, Sri Linuwih Menaldi

Journal of General - Procedural Dermatology & Venereology Indonesia

Background: Severe erythema nodosum leprosum (ENL) is common but difficult to treat. Long term use of systemic corticosteroid causes side effects. This study compares the use of a combination of pentoxifylline + oral corticosteroids with a single oral corticosteroid in leprosy patients with severe ENL reactions. Parameters measured include skin RSA score, systemic RSA, total corticosteroid dose, resolution time of skin lesions, improvement of pain VAS and treatment side effects.
Methods: 29 subjects with severe ENL reactions are allocated randomly into two groups which receive oral pentoxifylline + methylprednisolone, and oral placebo + methylprednisolone for 12 weeks. The …

Targeting Myeloid Protein Kinase C Signaling To Overcome Immune Suppression And Improve Immunotherapy In Cancer, Mehdi Chaib

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Checkpoint immunotherapy unleashes T cell antitumor potential which has revolutionized cancer treatment showing unprecedented long-term responses. However, most patients do not respond to immunotherapy which often correlates with a dysfunctional or immunosuppressive myeloid compartment. Immunosuppressive myeloid cells comprise Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and can suppress T cells via production of immunosuppressive factors. Conversely, efficient cytotoxic T cell priming is dependent on the ability of antigen-presenting cells (APCs), mainly conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) and macrophages, to present or cross-present tumor antigens to T cells. Thus, targeting immunosuppressive myeloid cells while simultaneously enhancing APCs represents a promising strategy …

Preventing A Catastrophe: Increasing Awareness Of Loeys-Dietz Syndrome, Bradley S Kane, Kamran Shamsa

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Loeys-Dietz syndrome is a genetic disorder that predisposes patients to aortic aneurysms. If left untreated, the natural history of the associated aortopathy often culminates in fatal aortic dissection. We describe the case of a 21-year-old man who was diagnosed with Loeys-Dietz syndrome after 2 family members died of aortic dissection. This case highlights the importance of increased physician awareness of this syndrome, which can play a crucial role in preventing premature sudden cardiac death caused by aortic catastrophe.

Comparison Of Efficacy Combination Oral Terbinafine Pulse-Dosed And Topical 8% Ciclopirox Olamine With Terbinafine Monotherapy For Onychomycosis: An Evidence-Based Case Report, Marsha Bianti, Teffy Nuary, Sandra Widaty

Journal of General - Procedural Dermatology & Venereology Indonesia

Background: Onychomycosis is a fungal infection of the nails, which manifested as nail discoloration, thickening, and detachment from the nail bed. It is not life-threatening, however inappropriate treatment of onychomycosis might lead to complications and affect the patient’s quality of life; making the management of the disease a challenge for clinicians.

Objective: Investigate the efficacy of pulse-dosed oral terbinafine combined with topical 8% ciclopirox olamine to treat onychomycosis.

Methods: Literature search was performed in Pubmed and Cochrane databases using the keywords 'combination' AND 'oral terbinafine' AND 'ciclopirox' AND ‘onychomycosis treatment’ along with their synonyms and related terms.

Results …

Synthesis And Evaluation Of Antimicrobial Activity Of [R4w4k]-Levofloxacin And [R4w4k]-Levofloxacin-Q Conjugates, Neda Riahifard, Kathy Tavakoli, Jason Yamaki, Keykavous Parang, Rakesh Tiwari

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

The development of a new class of antibiotics to fight bacterial resistance is a time-consuming effort associated with high-cost and commercial risks. Thus, modification, conjugation or combination of existing antibiotics to enhance their efficacy is a suitable strategy. We have previously reported that the amphiphilic cyclic peptide [R4W4] had antibacterial activity with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 2.97 g/mL against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Herein, we hypothesized that conjugation or combination of the amphiphilic cyclic peptide [R4W4] with levofloxacin or levofloxacin-Q could improve the antibacterial activity of levofloxacin and levofloxacin-Q. Fmoc/tBu solid-phase chemistry was employed to synthesize conjugates of …

Do Anti-Malarials In Africa Meet Quality Standards? The Market Penetration Of Non Quality-Assured Artemisinin Combination Therapy In Eight African Countries., Kathryn A. O'Connell, Vamsi Vasireddy, Megan Littrell, Andria Rusk, Actwatch Group, Paul N Newton, Kara Hanson, Catherine Goodman

Collected Faculty and Staff Scholarship

BACKGROUND: Quality of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) is important for ensuring malaria parasite clearance and protecting the efficacy of artemisinin-based therapies. The extent to which non quality-assured ACT (non-QAACT), or those not granted global regulatory approval, are available and used to treat malaria in endemic countries is poorly documented. This paper uses national and sub-national medicine outlet surveys conducted in eight study countries (Benin, Kinshasa and Kantanga [Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC], Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia) between 2009 and 2015 to describe the non-QAACT market and to document trends in availability and distribution of non-QAACT in …

The Malaria Testing And Treatment Landscape In Benin., Kathryn A. O'Connell, Vamsi Vasireddy, Megan Littrell, Andria Rusk, Actwatch Group, Cyprien Zinsou, Adjibabi Bello Cherifath

Collected Faculty and Staff Scholarship

BACKGROUND: Since 2004, artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) has been the first-line treatment for uncomplicated malaria in Benin. In 2016, a medicine outlet survey was implemented to investigate the availability, price, and market share of anti-malarial treatment and malaria diagnostics. Results provide a timely and important benchmark to measure future interventions aimed at increasing access to quality malaria case management services.

METHODS: Between July 5th to August 6th 2016, a cross sectional, nationally-representative malaria outlet survey was conducted in Benin. A census of all public and private outlets with potential to distribute malaria testing and/or treatment was implemented among 30 clusters …