Peel's Bibliography of the Canadian Prairies to 1953 /

The previous edition of Bruce Peel's Bibliography was hailed by authorities as the single, finest introduction to the literature of the Canadian Prairies ever compiled, and one of the pioneering monuments of Canadian bibliographic scholarship. It now appears in a greatly expanded and revised edition. For years prior to his death in 1998, Peel laboured, with the assistance of volunteers, to collect additional material. Although he had planned to issue only a separate supplement to the second edition, additional entries multiplied until clearly an entirely new edition was warranted. Sixty-five percent larger than its predecessor, this edition features almost 2000 new entries bringing the total to more than 7429. All entries are integrated into one continuously numbered sequence, and entry numbers are cross-referenced and indexed to the previous editions. As well, the annotations, source bibliography, author and title indexes, and biographical notes have been expanded and revised.As F. Hedley Auld said in his foreword to the original 1953 edition, Peel's Bibliography 'pictures kaleidoscopically the occupation and development of a region of great agricultural importance which became in the course of a few decades the new home of a multitude, many of whom had previously been landless people.' Ingles and Distad's third edition proves even more invaluable to students and academics interested in the history of the prairie provinces, prairie writers, or even the pattern of immigration within Canada itself.The previous edition of Bruce Peel's Bibliography was hailed by authorities as the single, finest introduction to the literature of the Canadian Prairies ever compiled, and one of the pioneering monuments of Canadian bibliographic scholarship. It now appears in a greatly expanded and revised edition. For years prior to his death in 1998, Peel laboured, with the assistance of volunteers, to collect additional material. Although he had planned to issue only a separate supplement to the second edition, additional entries multiplied until clearly an entirely new edition was warranted. Sixty-five percent larger than its predecessor, this edition features almost 2000 new entries bringing the total to more than 7429. All entries are integrated into one continuously numbered sequence, and entry numbers are cross-referenced and indexed to the previous editions. As well, the annotations, source bibliography, author and title indexes, and biographical notes have been expanded and revised.As F. Hedley Auld said in his foreword to the original 1953 edition, Peel's Bibliography 'pictures kaleidoscopically the occupation and development of a region of great agricultural importance which became in the course of a few decades the new home of a multitude, many of whom had previously been landless people.' Ingles and Distad's third edition proves even more invaluable to students and academics interested in the history of the prairie provinces, prairie writers, or even the pattern of immigration within Canada itself.Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher’s Web site, viewed Jan. 06, 2016

A Randomized Trial of Mexiletine in ALS

Objective: To determine the safety and tolerability of mexiletine in a phase II double-blind randomized controlled trial of sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (SALS). Methods: Sixty participants with SALS from 10 centers were randomized 1:1:1 to placebo, mexiletine 300 mg/d, or mexiletine 900 mg/d and followed for 12 weeks. The primary endpoints were safety and tolerability. Secondary endpoints were pharmacokinetic study from plasma and CSF, ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) score, slow vital capacity (SVC), and muscle cramp frequency and severity. Results: The only serious adverse event among active arm participants was one episode of imbalance. Thirty-two percent of participants receiving 900 mg of mexiletine discontinued study drug vs 5% on placebo (p 0.026). Pharmacokinetic study demonstrated a peak plasma concentration 2 hours postdose and strong correlation between plasma and CSF (p \u3c 0.001). Rates of decline of ALSFRS-R and SVC did not differ from placebo. Analysis of all randomized patients demonstrated significant reductions of muscle cramp frequency (300 mg: rate 31% of placebo, p 0.047; 900 mg: 16% of placebo, p 0.002) and cramp intensity (300 mg: mean 45% of placebo, p 0.08; 900 mg: 25% of placebo, p 0.005). Conclusions: Mexiletine was safe at both doses and well-tolerated at 300 mg/d but adverse effects at 900 mg/d led to a high rate of discontinuation. Mexiletine treatment resulted in large dose-dependent reductions in muscle cramp frequency and severity. No effect on rate of progression was detected, but clinically important differences could not be excluded in this small and short-duration study. Classification of evidence: This study provides Class I evidence that mexiletine is safe when given daily to patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at 300 and 900 mg and well-tolerated at the lower dose

Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial of the Corticosteroid-Sparing Effects of Immunoglobulin in Myasthenia Gravis

Background and objectivesMyasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease characterized by dysfunction at the neuromuscular junction. Treatment frequently includes corticosteroids (CSs) and IV immunoglobulin (IVIG). This study was conducted to determine whether immune globulin (human), 10% caprylate/chromatography purified (IGIV-C) could facilitate CS dose reduction in CS-dependent patients with MG.MethodsIn this randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial, CS-dependent patients with MG (Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America Class II-Iva; AChR+) received a loading dose of 2 g/kg IGIV-C over 2 days (maximum 80 g/d) or placebo at week 0 (baseline). Maintenance doses (1 g/kg IGIV-C or placebo) were administered every 3 weeks through week 36. Tapering of CS was initiated at week 9 and continued through week 36 unless the patient worsened (quantitative MG score ≥4 points from baseline). CS doses were increased (based on the current CS dose) in patients who worsened. Patients were withdrawn if worsening failed to improve within 6 weeks or if a second CS increase was required. The primary efficacy end point (at week 39) was a ≥50% reduction in CS dose. Secondary and safety end points were assessed throughout the study and follow-up (weeks 42 and 45). The study results and full protocol are available at clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02473965.ResultsThe primary end point (≥50% reduction in CS dose) showed no significant difference between the IGIV-C treatment (60.0% of patients) and placebo (63.3%). There were no significant differences for secondary end points. Safety data indicated that IGIV-C was well tolerated.DiscussionIn this study, IGIV-C was not more effective than placebo in reducing daily CS dose. These results suggest that the effects of IGIV-C and CS are not synergistic and may be mechanistically different.Trial registration informationThe trial was registered on clinicaltrialsregister.eu (EudraCT #: 2013-005099-17) and clinicaltrials.gov (identifier NCT02473965).Classification of evidenceThis study provides Class II evidence that IVIG infusions in adult patients with MG do not increase the percentage of patients achieving a ≥50% reduction in corticosteroid dose compared with placebo