Peelelogan2004
To date, it remains uncertain whether benzodiazepine receptor agonists (BZRAs) are aggravating factors even though these drugs can elevate the levels of biomarkers associated with the development of psoriasis. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the association of BZRA use with changes in psoriasis severity. All data were sourced from the National Health Insurance system in Taiwan. We conducted a population-based retrospective cross-sectional study of 15,727 psoriasis patients who received BZRAs (BZRA users), and 18,856 psoriasis patients who did not receive BZRAs (nonusers). At least a 1-year washout period without any BZRA prescriptions was required. The main outcome was the change in psoriasis severity between before and after BZRA exposure. This study detected the exacerbation of psoriasis severity in mild psoriasis population by using a logistic model. Then, this study carried another logistic model among those patients who had severe psoriasis to calculate the odds ratios (ORs) for the improvement of the psoriasis severity. Among patients with mild psoriasis, BZRA users had a significantly higher probability of psoriasis severity exacerbation (IPTW-adjusted OR = 1.46). Mild psoriasis patients who received high and low doses of BZRAs had 1.70- and 1.39-fold higher probabilities of psoriasis severity exacerbation, respectively, than the non-users. Furthermore, in the severe psoriasis population, more low-dose BZRA users improved psoriasis severity than non-users. In conclusion, this study provided clinical evidence of the effects of BZRA use on patients with psoriasis severity. Among patients with mild psoriasis, high-dose BZRA users may be associated with the changes in psoriasis severity. However, low-dose BZRA exposure only slightly exacerbated disease severity among patients with mild psoriasis. Accordingly, clinicians should evaluate the risks and benefits of the BZRA usage.Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a common devastating pulmonary complication in preterm infants. Alveolar maldevelopment is the crucial pathological change of BPD highly associated with oxidative stress-mediated excessive apoptosis. Cellular injury can be propagated and amplified by gap junction (GJ)-mediated intercellular communication. learn more Connexin 43 (Cx43) is the most ubiquitous and critical GJ protein. Gap26 is a specific Cx43 mimic peptide, playing as a Cx43-GJ inhibitor. We hypothesized that Cx43-GJ was involved in alveolar maldevelopment of BPD via amplifying oxidative stress signaling and inducing excessive apoptosis. Neonatal Sprague Dawley rats were kept in either normoxia (21% O2) or hyperoxia (85% O2) continuously from postnatal day (PN) 1 to 14 in the presence or absence of Gap26. Moreover, RLE-6TN cells (type II alveolar epithelial cells of rats) were cultured in vitro under normoxia (21% O2) or hyperoxia (85% O2). RLE-6TN cells were treated by N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) (a kind of reactive oxygen ation amplified oxidative stress signaling, inducing excessive apoptosis via the ASK1-JNK/p38 signaling pathway. The specific connexin 43-inhibiting peptide Gap26 was a novel therapeutic strategy to improve the alveolar development of BPD.Purpose The effectiveness of nivolumab plus ipilimumab for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been demonstrated. Decisions have to be made about allocating healthcare resources. Economic evidence could support policy decisions to fund expensive interventions. The current analysis evaluated the cost-effectiveness of nivolumab plus ipilimumab in advanced NSCLC harboring no EGFR or ALK mutations. It is set in the context of the US and China, representing developed and resource-constrained settings, respectively. Patients and Methods A Markov model consisting of three discrete health states was used to assess the cost-effectiveness of nivolumab plus ipilimumab vs. chemotherapy. The key clinical data were derived from the CheckMate-227 trial, and the cost and health preference data were derived from the literature. Costs, quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) and incremental net health benefits (INHBs) were calculated for the two strategies. Subgroup, one-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed. Results In the United States, nivolumab plus ipilimumab increased by 1.260 QALYs with an additional cost of $95,617 compared with the features of chemotherapy, which led to an ICER of $75,871 per QALY gained. INHB indicated that nivolumab plus ipilimumab treatment had a 99% probability of being cost-effective at the ICER threshold of $100,000/QALY in all subgroups. The results of sensitivity analyses revealed that the model outcomes were robust. In China, the ICER of nivolumab plus ipilimumab vs. chemotherapy was $59,773/QALY, and the INHB was -1.972 QALY at the threshold of $27,351/QALY. Conclusion Nivolumab plus ipilimumab treatment is a cost-effective option compared with chemotherapy for patients with advanced NSCLC harboring no EGFR or ALK mutations in the United States. However, nivolumab plus ipilimumab is not a preferred option in China.Although cognitive decline has previously been associated with mobility limitations and frailty, the relationship between sustained attention and gait speed is incompletely characterized. To better quantify the specificity of the sustained attention and gait speed association, we examined the extent to which this relationship is unique rather than accounted for by executive functioning and physical health characteristics. 58 middle-to-older-aged community-dwelling adults without overt evidence of cognitive impairment (45-90 years old; 21 females) participated in the study. Each participant completed a 4-meter gait speed assessment and validated neuropsychological tests to examine various domains of executive functioning including working memory (i.e., Digit Span), inhibitory control (i.e., D-KEFS Color-Word Interference), and task switching (i.e., D-KEFS Number/Letter Switching). Multiple physical and vascular risk factors were also evaluated. Sustained attention was assessed using the gradual onset continuous performance task (gradCPT), a well-validated go/no-go sustained attention task.