Diet and Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Diet and irritable bowel syndrome.

Filed under: Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation

J Gastrointestin Liver Dis. 2012 Dec; 21(4): 357-62
Chirila I, Petrariu FD, Ciortescu I, Mihai C, Drug VL

BACKGROUND AND AIMS. Recent papers highlight the role of the diet in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but very few population-based studies have evaluated this. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of IBS in the general urban population and to evaluate the type of diet associated with IBS symptoms. METHODS. A randomized sample of subjects (n=300) from a general urban population in Romania selected from family doctors’ patient lists was invited for interview in the doctor’s office. Selected subjects were evaluated for the diagnosis of IBS using Rome III criteria and for their eating habits and diet using a food frequency questionnaire. Socio-demographic factors and general medical history were also included in the interview together with standard weight measurements. Results from logistic regression were presented as odd ratios and 95 % confidence intervals. RESULTS. From the selected sample, 193 subjects (80 males, 113 women, mean age 50.8 +/- 16.2) agreed to participate (rate 64.3%). Prevalence of IBS was 19.1 % (19.4% for females and 18.7 % for males). IBS was associated with older age (1.05, 1.02-1.08, p <0.001) and past history of digestive diseases (5.0, 2.0-12.7, p<0.01). IBS subjects eat significantly more frequently canned food (23.74, 3.17-177.7, p<0.01), processed meat (4.7, 1.6-14.1, p<0.01), pulses (legumes) (4.0, 1.3-16.3, p<0.01), whole cereals (8.7, 2.0-37.8, p<0.01), confectionary (5.7, 1.8-23.2, p<0.01), fruit compotes (canned or not) (7.4, 2.5-23.1, p<0.001) and herb teas (4.0, 1.3-16.3, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS. This study updates prevalence data and reveals a possible association between diet and irritable bowel syndrome. HubMed – drug

 

Aging: Is your patient taking too many pills?

Filed under: Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation

J Fam Pract. 2012 Nov; 61(11): 652-61
Weiss BD, Lee JK

Before you prescribe another drug, consider whether new symptoms might be caused by the medications the patient is already taking.
HubMed – drug

 

Heparin based nanoparticles for cancer targeting and noninvasive imaging.

Filed under: Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation

Quant Imaging Med Surg. 2012 Sep; 2(3): 219-26
Nurunnabi M, Khatun Z, Moon WC, Lee G, Lee YK

Numerous papers on heparin nanoparticles have been reported regarding targeting therapy and biomedical imaging. Here, we have summarized the prospects and opportunities of heparin as a carrier for cancer targeting and imaging. First, we proposed heparin-anticancer drug conjugates showing higher anticancer activity than free drug. The conjugated heparin (heparin-deoxycholate sodium) retained its ability to bind with angiogenic factors, showing a significant decrease in endothelial tubular formation. Second, targeting ligands conjugated heparin derivatives have introduced for a receptor mediated delivery of anticancer drug. Heparin-folic acid-retinoic acid (HFR) bioconjugates for treating cancer cells showed 3 fold higher efficacy than heparin-retinoic acid (HR). Besides active and passive targeting drug delivery, several papers have been reported regarding delivery of imaging agents by heparin nanoparticles. Finally, this research highlight has covered imaging agents such as gold nanoparticles and quantum dots (QDs) for noninvasive biomedical imaging. Very recently our group demonstrated that semiconductor QDs loaded heparin nanoparticles could also be administered through orally for noninvasive imaging. Due to promising features of heparin such as less toxic polysaccharide and easier modification, it was considered as a potent carrier for imaging agent and drug delivery.
HubMed – drug

 

Long-term progression-free survival in a case of hepatocellular carcinoma with vertebral metastasis treated with a reduced dose of sorafenib: Case report and review of the literature.

Filed under: Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation

Oncol Lett. 2013 Jan; 5(1): 381-385
DU J, Qian X, Liu B

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary cancer of the liver. Prognosis and treatment options are stage-dependent. Typically, prognosis of patients with unresectable HCC is poor, particularly for patients with distant metastasis. Sorafenib has demonstrated an overall survival benefit and has become the new standard of care for advanced HCC. However, in metastatic HCC, long-term progression-free survival for five years with reduced doses of sorafenib is extremely rare. In clinical practice, certain patients are discontinuing the use of this drug due to its side-effects. We highlight the importance of prolonged sorafenib administration, even at reduced doses. We describe an unusual case of a 74-year-old patient with HCC metastatic to the vertebrae that responded to a reduced dose of sorafenib and has subsequently demonstrated no signs of disease progression since starting treatment almost five years ago. This suggests that certain patients with highly progressive HCC involving bone metastasis may achieve long-term survival by reduced doses of sorafenib.
HubMed – drug

 

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