Suturing of the staple line may be more time consuming but costs are considerably less.”
“BACKGROUND: Homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH), which affects 1 in a million individuals, leads to extremely elevated levels of A-1210477 purchase cholesterol and early-onset cardiovascular disease.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess all 7 HoFH patients treated with low-density lipoprotein (LDL) apheresis in Norway with respect to quality of life, clinical and laboratory

assessments, and cardiovascular status.

METHODS: Apheresis treatment and assessment of cardiovascular status was performed at local hospitals but coordinated by the Lipid Clinic that has followed all patients since diagnosis. Quality of life was evaluated by a validated questionnaire.

RESULTS: Results are shown as median (min-max). LDL cholesterol at diagnosis (untreated) was 704 (592-1268) mg/dL (18.2 [15.3-32.8] mmol/L). Medication was initiated at age 9 (2-35) years, and apheresis treatment at age 10 (6-44) years. Regular once-weekly apheresis combined with the maximum-tolerable doses of a statin and ezetimibe reduced LDL cholesterol to 197 (170-282) mg/dL (5.1 [4.5-7.3] mmol/L) pre-apheresis and 85 (50-108) mg/dL

(2.2 [1.3-2.8] mmol/L) post-apheresis. Calculated interval mean LDL cholesterol was 162 (135-220) ABT-737 cell line mg/dL (4.2 [3.5-5.7] mmol/L). Duration of apheresis treatment was 11 (1-24) years. Cardiovascular manifestations progressed in most patients despite the apheresis treatment. The subjects’ quality of life was comparable BEZ235 nmr with that of a healthy population, with the exception of two patients, who were significantly affected by coronary disease.

CONCLUSIONS: Well-tolerated, once-weekly LDL apheresis achieves lower interval mean LDL cholesterol levels between apheresis treatments than previously reported for apheresis every second week. However, progressions of cardiovascular manifestations still occurred, which highlights the importance of earlier and even more aggressive treatment and follow-up in HoFH. (C) 2012 National Lipid Association. All rights reserved.”
“In Japan, palivizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody specific

for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), has been available since 2002. However, its use is limited to children at risk of severe RSV infection, with specific criteria that have been validated in large-scale clinical studies. The Pharmaceutical Committee of the Japan Pediatric Society established a committee to conduct a nationwide questionnaire survey to determine which diseases place children at risk of severe RSV infection and require preventive measures. A questionnaire sent to 613 medical institutions, including major pediatric hospitals and general hospitals with pediatric services, received 272 responses (44.4%). In total, 1,115 children not meeting current indications for palivizumab therapy were hospitalized for severe RSV infection, 16 (1.