Corticosteroid injection for tennis elbow or lateral epicondylitis: a review of the literature

Lateral epicondylitis or tennis elbow is a painful and functionally limiting entity affecting the upperextremity and is frequently treated by hand surgeons. Corticosteroid injection is one of the most common interventions for lateral epicondylitis or tennis elbow. Here, a review of the medical literature on this treatment is presented

Application of An Improved HPLC-FL Method to Screen Serine Palmitoyl Transferase Inhibitors

In this work, we reported the application and validation of an improved high-performance liquid chromatography method coupled with a fluorimetric detector (HPLC-FL) to screen the activity of two heterocyclic derivatives reported as serine palmitoyl transferase (SPT) inhibitors. The analytical conditions were optimized in terms of the derivatization procedure, chromatographic condition, extraction procedure, and method validation according to EMEA guidelines. Once fully optimized, the method was applied to assess the SPT-inhibitory activity of the above-mentioned derivatives and of the reference inhibitor myriocin. The obtained results, expressed as a percentage of residual SPT activity, were compared to those obtained with the reference radio immune assay (RIA). The good correlation between the two types of assay demonstrated that the improved HPLC-FL method is suitable for a preliminary and rapid screening of potential SPT-inhibitors

The Political Economy of Reducing the United States Dollar’s Role as a Global Reserve Currency

Many have argued that the major source of the existing global macroeconomic imbalances are the twin deficits of the United States (US). However, there is still a debate about whether the global imbalances indeed pose a significant threat to the world economy. This matter is settled by arguing that the global imbalances acted as a handmaiden to the 2008 financial crisis. One way to reduce global imbalances is to reform the international monetary system and reduce the role of the US dollar as a reserve currency. Robert Triffin was one of those critical of this exorbitant privilege granted to the US, which makes it both a system maker and privilege taker. The Triffin Dilemma captures the fundamental instability that underlies the dollar reserve system. However, there are major obstacles to this proposal. Some analysts including Triffin cited the US security umbrella as the primary reason the US and its major allies would want to retain the role of the dollar in global trade and finance despite the underlying inequities in the system. This is related to the imbalance in global governance which is largely US-centric. The imbalance in global governance is also reflected in the dominance of the US financial system brought about by the first-mover advantage. Because of the inertia brought about by the imbalance in global governance, economic arguments to reform the international monetary system are likely to be trumped by political reality. The paper analyzes whether current efforts in East Asia in terms of financial and monetary cooperation and rebalancing of economic growth could significantly mitigate the adverse impacts of a global system that will still be dominated by the US dollar in the foreseeable future. It also explains why the People's Republic of China (PRC) is unlikely to make significant unilateral adjustments to reduce global macroeconomic imbalances

Stereoselective synthesis and beta-blocking activity of substituted (E)- and (Z)- 4(1H) - [1- (3 - alkylamino - 2 - hydroxypropyl) oximino - 2,3 - dihydro - 1,8 - naphthyridine. Potential antihypertensive agents. Part VI

The synthesis of R-(+)- and S-(-)-isomers of substituted (E)- and (Z)-4(1H)-[1-(3-alkylamino-2-hydroxypropyl)-oximino]-2,3-dihydro-1,8-naphthyridine, in enantiomeric pure form, is described. These compounds showed an interesting beta-blocking activity. Generally, the (S)-enantiomers possess a slighthly higher affinity for beta receptors than the (R)-enantiomers

Taurine in women with a history of gestational diabetes,

Taurine is the most abundant amino acid in the human body and seems to play an important role in increasing glucose-mediated insulin secretion, as well as in programming β-cell maturation during the prenatal life in utero. To test the hypothesis that plasma taurine is related to glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion in subjects with history of β-cell dysfunction such as women with history of gestational diabetes (GDM), we studied 72 non-diabetic women with history of GDM (n = 43), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT; n = 7), and normal glucose tolerance (NGT; n = 22) as previously classified by a 100 g-3 h-OGTT performed between the 24th and the 28th gestational week. Insulin sensitivity (ISIogtt, calculated through Matsuda–DeFronzo index) and a proxy for insulin secretion (basal plasma C-peptide/fasting plasma glucose; CP/glucose) were measured during and after pregnancy. Plasma taurine was measured after a median period of 6 years (2–11 years) from index pregnancy, when glucose tolerance was retested by a 75 g-2 h-OGTT. Plasma taurine was significantly lower in women who had experienced GDM and was unrelated to ISIogtt. Moreover, plasma taurine was inversely related to previous gestational area-under-curve of glucose and directly related to post-gestational CP/glucose, as well to CP/glucose measured during pregnancy (p < 0.05 for both). The relative risk of altered glucose metabolism during previous pregnancies (IGT + GDM) was higher as plasma taurine decreased, even after adjusting for age, time-lag from pregnancy, body mass index and family history of diabetes (OR: 0.980; CI 95%: 0.963–0.999, p = 0.003). In conclusion plasma taurine seems to be a fair marker of altered glucose metabolism during past pregnancies in women with antecedent GDM and appears to be inversely related to the previous as well as to the actual insulin secretion in these subject

Synthesis and b-blocking activity of (R,S)-(E)-oximeethers of 2,3-dihydro-1,8-naphthyridine and 2,3-dihydrothiopyrano[2,3-b]-pyridine: potential antihypertensive agents. Part IX

The synthesis of oximeethers of 2,3-dihydro-1,8-naphthyridine and 2,3-dihydrothiopyrano[2,3-b]pyridine is described. These compounds exhibit a selective beta-blocking activity, with a selectivity towards beta(2)-receptors. Groups in the N-1 position giving rise to a considerable steric hindrance led to a higher beta(2)-blocking selectivity, whereas groups creating a moderate hindrance caused a weak but significant decrease in beta(2)-antagonist potency. Substitution of the N-1-R group with a sulfur atom led to compounds possessing beta(1)-, beta(2)- and beta(3)-blocking properties. Compounds 9c(1) and 10a(1) showed a beta(3)-antagonist activity slightly lower than that of propranolol. (C) Editions scientifiques et medicale