Reassessing the role for lamivudine in chronic hepatitis B infection: a four-year cohort analysis.

UNLABELLED: BACKGROUND/ OBJECTIVES: Lamivudine is readily available and inexpensive. Guidelines recommend other antiviral medications because they achieve superior virological suppression with less resistance. These data are based on clinical trial populations and may not be representative of typical hepatitis B virus (HBV) populations. The authors assessed lamivudine in maintaining long-term viral suppression in an adherent, frequently monitored, noninvestigational HBV-infected population. METHODS: All HBV patients (n=369) between 2000 and 2010 were evaluated in a retrospective, single-centre study. Virological response was defined by complete suppression of HBV DNA (<400 copies/mL) and was assessed at six to 12 month intervals over four years. Enzymatic and serological outcomes, as well as treatment failures were assessed. RESULTS: Forty-seven patients (36 men; mean age 44 years, mean alanine aminotransferase level 123 U/L; METAVIR stage 3/4 [n=21], treatment naive [n=41]) received lamivudine 100 mg to 300 mg daily. The mean pretreatment viremia was 5.19 log10 copies/mL, and was above the limit of detection (>6.91 log10 copies/mL) in 11 patients (23%). The mean (± SD) dosing duration was 32±22 months. Virological suppression was achieved in 45 (96%) patients. Mean viremia declined to 3.06 log10 copies/mL (n=27) and 2.68 log10 copies/mL (n=18) at 12 and 48 months, respectively, with 78% and 88% with undetectable viremia at these time points, respectively. The mean alanine aminotransferase level declined to 31 U/L and 36 U/L at 12 and 48 months, respectively. Seven of 13 (54%) hepatitis B e antigen-positive patients seroconverted. The treatment failure rate was 11%. CONCLUSIONS: In a selected group of HBV patients, successful long-term viremia suppression was achieved with low treatment failure rates. With strict dosing adherence and monitoring for virological breakthrough, sustained virological suppression can be reliably achieved with lamivudine in carefully selected patients.

Effectiveness of Second through Sixth Line Salvage Helicobacter pylori Treatment: Bismuth Quadruple Therapy is Almost Always a Reasonable Choice.

Aim. There is a paucity of data on the efficacy of empiric H. pylori treatment after multiple treatment failures. The aim of this study is to examine the efficacy of empiric salvage therapy as a second through sixth line treatment. Methods. In this single gastroenterology center prospective study in Montreal, Canada, patients with failed H. pylori treatment were offered empiric salvage therapy based on the patients' previous antibiotic exposure. Enrollment occurred after 1-5 previous failed attempts and eradication determined at least 4 weeks after completion of treatment. Results. 205 treatments were attempted in 175 patients using 7 different regimens. Eradication was achieved in 154 attempts (PP = 81% (154/191), ITT = 75% (154/205)). Bismuth quadruple therapy (BQT) had higher eradication success (PP = 91% (102/112), ITT = 84% (102/121)) when compared to all PPI triple therapies combined (PP = 66% (49/74), absolute risk reduction (ARR): 25% (95% CI: 13-37), ITT = 62% (49/79), ARR: 22% (95% CI: 10-35), and p < 0.001) and when compared to levofloxacin triple therapy (PP = 66% (40/61), ARR: 26% (95% CI: 13-39), ITT = 61% (40/66), and ARR: 24% (95% CI: 10-37)). Eradication was achieved in a high proportion with BQT on attempt two (PP = 94% (67/71), ITT = 91% (67/74)), three (PP = 85% (17/20), ITT = 71% (17/24)), four (PP = 100% (11/11), ITT = 92% (11/12)), and five (PP = 86% (6/7), ITT = 75% (6/8)). Patients with previous combined bismuth and tetracycline exposure had a lower proportion of eradication compared to patients without such an exposure (PP: 60% (6/10) versus 95% (94/99), ARR: 35% (95% CI: 11-64), and p < 0.001; ITT: 55% (6/11) versus 90% (94/105), ARR: 35% (95% CI: 10-62), and p < 0.01). Conclusions. Salvage therapy with a bismuth quadruple regimen is superior to triple therapies and is effective for second through fifth line empirical treatment (≥85% PP, ≥70% ITT). Successful eradication is significantly lower with BQT if a similar bismuth based regimen was used in the past.

Arm-trunk coordination for beyond-the-reach movements in adults with stroke.

BACKGROUND: By involving additional degrees of freedom, the nervous system may preserve hand trajectories when making pointing movements with or without trunk displacement. Previous studies indicate that the potential contribution of trunk movement to hand displacement for movements made within arm reach is neutralized by appropriate compensatory shoulder and elbow rotations. For beyond-the-reach movements, compensatory coordination is attenuated after the hand peak velocity, allowing trunk movement to contribute to hand displacement. OBJECTIVE: To investigate if the timing and spatial coordination of arm and trunk movements during beyond-the-reach movements is preserved in stroke. METHODS: Eleven healthy control subjects and 11 individuals with mild-to-moderate chronic unilateral hemiparesis participated. Arm and trunk kinematics during 60 target reaches to an ipsilaterally placed target were recorded. In 30% of randomly chosen trials, trunk movement was unexpectedly prevented (blocked-trunk trials) by an electromagnetic device, resulting in divergence of the hand trajectory from that in free-trunk trials. Hand trajectories and elbow-shoulder interjoint coordination were compared between trials. RESULTS: In stroke participants, hand trajectory divergence occurred at a shorter movement extent and interjoint coordination patterns diverged at a relatively greater distance compared to controls. Thus, arm movements in stroke participants only partially compensated trunk displacement resulting in the trunk movement contributing to arm movement earlier and to a larger extent during reaching. CONCLUSION: Individuals with mild-to-moderate stroke have deficits in timing and spatial coordination of arm and trunk movements during different parts of a reaching movement. This deficit may be targeted in therapy to improve upper limb function.