Использование Урисана у больных подагрой

Objective: to evaluate the safety, tolerance, and efficacy of the herbal complex Urisan used in patients with gout within the Russian multicenter study. Subjects and methods. Thirty males aged 34 to 56 years with a valid diagnosis of gout after S.L. Wallace and a 1-7-year (mean 4,8 years) history of the disease were examined at the Rheumatology Unit of a Kursk regional hospital. Nineteen and 11 patients were stated to have tophaceous and nontophaceous gout, respectively. The total number of involved joints ranged from 3 to 10 (mean 4,6 joints). The study included patients with interictal gout. All the patients took Urisan in a full dose of 2 capsules (550 mg) twice daily for a month. Results. Prior to Urisan therapy, the mean serum level of uric acid (UA) was 569,5±102,4 ⎧mol/l; daily UA excretion averaged 4769,8 ⎧mol/l. Urisan therapy reduced UA levels by an average of 120 ⎧mol/l and increased daily urinary UA excretion by an average of 198,8 цmol/l. Conclusion. Urisan used against gout for 30 days causes an average 21% reduction in the serum levels of UA and a 4,1% increase in its urinary excretion. There were no exacerbations of gout during Urisan therapy.Цель исследования - оценка в рамках Российского многоцентрового исследования безопасности, переносимости и эффективности применения растительного комплекса Урисан у пациентов с подагрой. Материал и методы. В ревматологическом отделении областной больницы г. Курска обследованы 30 мужчин в возрасте от 34 до 56 лет с достоверным диагнозом подагры по S.L. Wallace и длительностью болезни от 1 года до 7 лет (в среднем - 4,8 года). У 19 пациентов констатирована тофусная подагра, у 11 - бестофусная. Общее количество пораженных суставов колебалось от 3 до 10 (среднем - 4,6 сустава). В исследование включали больных подагрой в межприступный период. Все пациенты принимали Урисан в полной дозе по 2 капсулы (по 550 мг) 2 раза в день в течение месяца. Результаты исследования. Средний уровень мочевой кислоты (МК) в сыворотке крови больных до терапии Урисаном составил 569,5±102,4 мкмоль/л, суточная экскреция МК - в среднем 4769,8 ммоль/л. На фоне терапии Урисаном у больных отмечены снижение уровня МК в среднем на 120 мкмоль/л, а также увеличение уровня экскреции МК с мочой в среднем на 198,8 ммоль/л в сутки. Выводы. Прием Урисана при подагре в течение 30 дней приводит к снижению сывороточного уровня МК в среднем на 21% и увеличению экскреции МК с мочой - на 4,1%. На фоне терапии Урисаном не наблюдалось обострений подагры

Cultural differences and the structure of loan syndicates

Do cultural differences between lender and borrower affect the structure of the loan syndicate? Analyzing 8031 syndicated loans to US borrowers signed between 1986 and 2007, we find that lending shares are higher for foreign arrangers than domestic arrangers. Among foreign arrangers, lending shares further increase with cultural distance. We interpret this as a result of an increased moral hazard problem driven by higher information and effort costs faced by foreign arrangers. However, previous interactions between borrowers and arrangers can reduce moral hazard, hence culturally distant arrangers are able to form diffused syndicates

Glutathione Precursor N-Acetyl-Cysteine Modulates EEG Synchronization in Schizophrenia Patients: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial

Glutathione (GSH) dysregulation at the gene, protein, and functional levels has been observed in schizophrenia patients. Together with disease-like anomalies in GSH deficit experimental models, it suggests that such redox dysregulation can play a critical role in altering neural connectivity and synchronization, and thus possibly causing schizophrenia symptoms. To determine whether increased GSH levels would modulate EEG synchronization, N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC), a glutathione precursor, was administered to patients in a randomized, double-blind, crossover protocol for 60 days, followed by placebo for another 60 days (or vice versa). We analyzed whole-head topography of the multivariate phase synchronization (MPS) for 128-channel resting-state EEGs that were recorded at the onset, at the point of crossover, and at the end of the protocol. In this proof of concept study, the treatment with NAC significantly increased MPS compared to placebo over the left parieto-temporal, the right temporal, and the bilateral prefrontal regions. These changes were robust both at the group and at the individual level. Although MPS increase was observed in the absence of clinical improvement at a group level, it correlated with individual change estimated by Liddle's disorganization scale. Therefore, significant changes in EEG synchronization induced by NAC administration may precede clinically detectable improvement, highlighting its possible utility as a biomarker of treatment efficacy

Did Corporate Governance Compliance Have an Impact on Auditor Selection and Quality? Evidence From FTSE 350

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.This paper examines the possible effects of corporate governance (GC) on audit quality (AQ) among the FTSE 350 companies. Using a sample of 180 companies from 2012 to 2017 (i.e., 1080 firm-year observations) a binary logistic model has been employed to investigate the CG-AQ nexus. This analysis was supported by conducting a probit logistic model as a sensitivity analysis. Our findings are associative of a heterogeneous impact of CG on AQ post the implementation of the 2012 CG reforms in the UK. For example, although institutional ownership and management ownership are positively associated with auditor selection and AQ, board independence, non-executive directors and audit committee are not attributed to AQ in the UK. This implies that corporate compliance with good CG practices has a limited impact on the decision to select a Big4 auditor in the UK. Despite the limitations of our study, we hope it can motivate further investigations in this area

Director Characteristics and Firm Performance

The traditional methodology examining optimal boards relates a simple board variable (e.g. independence or board demography) to firm performance, however, ig- noring other board characteristics. This paper investigates how the education and business experience of directors affect firm performance. The sample consists of 1,574 directorships from 224 listed firms in Switzerland. Using OLS and including control variables, the results show that graduates of minor Swiss universities are negatively related to Tobin’s Q, and industrial knowledge and Tobin’s Q are nega- tively correlated if the firm has more divisions. In addition, director fixed effects (or unobserved characteristics) are significant, but improve the explanatory power of the models only by 5 percent

USE OF URISAN IN PATIENTS WITH GOUT

Objective: to evaluate the safety, tolerance, and efficacy of the herbal complex Urisan used in patients with gout within the Russian multicenter study. Subjects and methods. Thirty males aged 34 to 56 years with a valid diagnosis of gout after S.L. Wallace and a 1-7-year (mean 4,8 years) history of the disease were examined at the Rheumatology Unit of a Kursk regional hospital. Nineteen and 11 patients were stated to have tophaceous and nontophaceous gout, respectively. The total number of involved joints ranged from 3 to 10 (mean 4,6 joints). The study included patients with interictal gout. All the patients took Urisan in a full dose of 2 capsules (550 mg) twice daily for a month. Results. Prior to Urisan therapy, the mean serum level of uric acid (UA) was 569,5±102,4 ⎧mol/l; daily UA excretion averaged 4769,8 ⎧mol/l. Urisan therapy reduced UA levels by an average of 120 ⎧mol/l and increased daily urinary UA excretion by an average of 198,8 цmol/l. Conclusion. Urisan used against gout for 30 days causes an average 21% reduction in the serum levels of UA and a 4,1% increase in its urinary excretion. There were no exacerbations of gout during Urisan therapy