A follow up study on the efficacy of metadoxine in the treatment of alcohol dependence

BACKGROUND: We carried out a three months follow-up study on the efficacy of metadoxine in a cohort of alcoholics admitted to the Alcohol misuse Long-term Treatment (ALT) Unit – University of Pisa (Italy). We analyzed the clinical data, psychometric tests and blood tests of 160 alcoholics on admission and after 3 months of treatment. We compared 58 pts treated with metadoxine (MET) with 102 pts who did not receive (NULL) any drug as an adjunct to the psycho-educational interventions provided by the ALT Unit. RESULTS: At follow-up, the patients in treatment with metadoxine showed a significant improvement in the rate of complete abstinence (44.8% vs. 21.6%; chi square: 8.45, df = 1, p < 0.0037). Furthermore, the number of drop-outs at three months of treatment was also significantly lower in the MET than in the NULL group (17% vs. 57%; chi square of 23.22, df = 1, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Our findings support the use of metadoxine in the management of alcohol dependence. However, randomized clinical trials are necessary to confirm and replicate them. This study raises the importance of identifying new pharmacological compounds effective on the outcome of alcoholism in order to help patients to best adhere to treatment programs and to prevent the development of mental and physical complications due to chronic and heavy use of alcohol

Lattice Boltzmann simulations of soft matter systems

This article concerns numerical simulations of the dynamics of particles immersed in a continuum solvent. As prototypical systems, we consider colloidal dispersions of spherical particles and solutions of uncharged polymers. After a brief explanation of the concept of hydrodynamic interactions, we give a general overview over the various simulation methods that have been developed to cope with the resulting computational problems. We then focus on the approach we have developed, which couples a system of particles to a lattice Boltzmann model representing the solvent degrees of freedom. The standard D3Q19 lattice Boltzmann model is derived and explained in depth, followed by a detailed discussion of complementary methods for the coupling of solvent and solute. Colloidal dispersions are best described in terms of extended particles with appropriate boundary conditions at the surfaces, while particles with internal degrees of freedom are easier to simulate as an arrangement of mass points with frictional coupling to the solvent. In both cases, particular care has been taken to simulate thermal fluctuations in a consistent way. The usefulness of this methodology is illustrated by studies from our own research, where the dynamics of colloidal and polymeric systems has been investigated in both equilibrium and nonequilibrium situations.Comment: Review article, submitted to Advances in Polymer Science. 16 figures, 76 page

Prevalência e fatores associados ao tabagismo em estudantes de medicina de uma universidade em Passo Fundo (RS) Prevalence of and variables related to smoking among medical students at a university in the city of Passo Fundo, Brazil

OBJETIVO: Verificar a prevalência e fatores associados ao tabagismo entre os acadêmicos de medicina e avaliar o perfil desse grupo. MÉTODOS: Responderam a um questionário autoaplicável, contendo perguntas sobre consumo e atitudes relacionadas ao tabagismo, 316 acadêmicos de medicina (98,7% do total) da Universidade de Passo Fundo. Segundo recomendações da Organização Mundial da Saúde, os estudantes foram classificados em fumantes diários, fumantes ocasionais, ex-fumantes ou não-fumantes, sendo considerados fumantes ativos os nas duas primeiras categorias. RESULTADOS: Observou-se que 16,5% dos acadêmicos eram fumantes ativos (5,4% diários e 11,1% ocasionais) e 3,5% eram ex-fumantes. A média de idade foi 22,2 ± 2,4 anos. Os fatores significativamente associados ao tabagismo (p < 0,05) foram sexo masculino, pai fumante, uso regular de bebidas alcoólicas e uso de antidepressivos ou ansiolíticos. Verificou-se que 69,2% dos fumantes iniciaram o tabagismo entre 15 e 19 anos, tendo como principais motivações a vontade própria e/ou a influência de amigos. A conceituação do tabagismo como doença foi significativamente maior entre os não-fumantes. Quanto à carga tabágica, 70,6% dos fumantes consumiam 1-10 cigarros por dia. Entre os fumantes, 67,3% já tentaram parar de fumar, 96,0% acreditam serem capazes de fazê-lo e 87,2% pretendem deixar de fumar, ao passo que 92,3% admitiram que o cigarro faz mal à saúde. CONCLUSÕES: A prevalência do tabagismo ainda é significativa entre os acadêmicos de medicina, sendo fundamental estabelecer estratégias preventivas e de cessação mais efetivas a fim de se tentar reduzir o número de fumantes entre os futuros médicos.<br>OBJECTIVE:To determine the prevalence of and factors associated with smoking among medical students, as well as to evaluate the profile of this group. METHODS: A total of 316 medical students (98.7% of the total) at the University of Passo Fundo, in the city of Passo Fundo, Brazil, completed a self-report questionnaire with questions on tobacco intake and on attitudes related to smoking. In accordance with the World Health Organization guidelines, the students were classified as daily smokers, occasional smokers, former smokers or nonsmokers, those in the two first categories being considered active smokers. RESULTS: We found that 16.5% of the students were active smokers (daily smokers, 5.4%; occasional smokers, 11.1%) and that 3.5% were former smokers. The mean age was 22.2 ± 2.4 years. Factors significantly associated with the smoking habit (p < 0.05) were male gender, paternal smoking, regular alcohol consumption and use of antidepressants or anxiolytics. For the majority (69.2%) of the smokers, the age at smoking onset was 15-19 years of age, and the main motivations to start smoking were selfinitiative and influence of friends. The conceptualization of smoking as an illness was significantly higher among the nonsmokers. In 70.6% of the smokers, tobacco intake was 1-10 cigarettes a day. Among the smokers, 92.3% agreed that smoking is harmful to health, 67.3% had tried to quit smoking, 96.0% believed themselves able to do so, and 87.2% intended to quit smoking. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of smoking remains significant among medical students. Therefore, it is fundamental that we develop more effective strategies for smoking prevention and cessation in order to reduce the number of smokers among future doctors

CTLA-4 in mesothelioma patients: tissue expression, body fluid levels and possible relevance as a prognostic factor.

CTLA-4 function as a negative regulator of T cell-mediated immune response is well established, whereas much less is known about the immunoregulatory role of its soluble isoform (sCTLA-4). No data are available on CTLA-4 expression and prognostic impact in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). We investigated, by immunohistochemistry, CTLA-4 expression in tumor tissues and, by ELISA, sCTLA-4 levels in sera and matched pleural effusions from 45 MPM patients. Prognostic effect of CTLA-4 expression on overall survival (OS) was assessed through Cox regression and prognostic significance expressed as death rate ratio (HR). We found that 56.0 % of MPM tissues expressed CTLA-4 with variable intensity and percentage of positive cells estimated by the immunoreactive score. sCTLA-4 levels were significantly higher in sera (S-sCTLA-4) than in pleural effusions (PE-sCTLA-4) (geometric mean ratio = 2.70, P value = 0.020). CTLA-4 expression at the tissue level was higher in the epithelioid histological subtype than in the sarcomatoid, whereas at the serum level, it was higher in the sarcomatoid subtype. A homogeneous favorable prognostic effect was found for CTLA-4 overexpression in tissue, serum and pleural effusion. Interestingly, only the PE-sCTLA-4 was found to be a statistically significant positive prognostic factor (HR = 0.37, 95 % CI = 0.18\u20130.77, P value = 0.007). Indeed, PE-sCTLA-4 correlated with CTLA-4 expression in tissues, whereas this latter expression showed a weak association with OS. To confirm our findings, further experimental evidences obtained from a larger cohort of MPM patients are required. However, our results would indicate a positive correlation of PE-sCTLA-4 levels and OS in MPM patients