RESUMEN
In order to confirm the efficacy and safety of posatirelin (L-pyro-2-aminoadipyl-L-leucyl-L-prolinamide), a synthetic peptide having cholinergic, catecholaminergic and neurotrophic activities, a multicentre, double-blind, controlled study versus placebo was planned in elderly patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia, according to National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke/Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association (NINCDS-ADRDA) and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke/Association Internationale pour la Recherche et l'Enseignement en Neurosciences (NINDS-AIREN) criteria, respectively. The trial consisted of a 2-week run-in phase with placebo administered once a day orally, followed by a double-blind period of 3 months, with posatirelin or placebo administered once a day intramuscularly. Efficacy was assessed using the Gottfries-Bråne-Steen (GBS) Rating Scale (primary variable) and the Rey Memory Test (secondary variable). Laboratory tests, vital signs and adverse events were monitored. A total of 360 patients were randomized, the intent-to-treat sample (ITT) being made up of 357 patients and the per protocol sample (PP) of 260 patients. Both pragmatic and explanatory analyses showed significant differences between treatment groups in the GBS Rating Scale and the Rey Memory Test, with no difference in the two types of dementia. No difference between treatments was observed in safety variables, the incidence of adverse events in the posatirelin group being 7.3%. The study confirms previous results showing that treatment with posatirelin can improve cognitive and functional abilities of patients suffering from degenerative or vascular dementia.
RESUMEN
The effects of a cable car trip from 1370 m (4500 ft) to 3460 m (11350 ft) were studied in 6 lowlanders (3 men and 3 women, mean age 31 +/- 4 years, living at an altitude of less than 500 m) and in 10 highlanders (all males, mean age 37 +/- 12 years, ski teachers and cable car workers working for greater than or equal to 6 months/year at a greater than 3000 m). Cuff blood pressure (BP), heart rate, plasma catecholamines, serum renin, aldosterone, ACTH and cortisol were measured immediately before and 20 min after the trip, at rest and at the same air temperature. A handgrip test was also performed under the same conditions. At baseline, lowlanders and highlanders showed significant differences in diastolic BP (86 +/- 5 mmHg in lowlanders and 91 +/- 4 mmHg in highlanders, p = 0.05), plasma noradrenaline (323 +/- 114 pg/ml in lowlanders and 585 +/- 255 in highlanders, p less than 0.05), serum renin (10 +/- 6 pg/ml in lowlanders and 17 +/- 8 in highlanders, p less than 0.05), and serum cortisol (163 +/- 54 ng/ml in lowlanders and 120 +/- 25 in highlanders, p less than 0.01). The acute exposure to high altitude did not modify BP, heart rate or any of the measured cardiovascular hormones in either group. The handgrip test provoked a significant increase in systolic and diastolic BP in both lowlanders and highlanders (p less than 0.01), and this response was not modified by the change in altitude; however, highlanders showed significantly smaller increases in systolic BP than lowlanders at both altitudes (p less than 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)