Saint Louis University

About: Saint Louis University is a education organization based out in St Louis, Missouri, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 18927 authors who have published 34895 publications receiving 1267475 citations. The organization is also known as: SLU & St. Louis University.

Adalimumab therapy for moderate to severe psoriasis: A randomized, controlled phase III trial

Abstract: Background Adalimumab is a fully human monoclonal antibody that binds tumor necrosis factor, a key proinflammatory cytokine involved in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Objective We sought to evaluate clinical efficacy and safety of adalimumab for moderate to severe psoriasis and investigate continuous versus interrupted therapy. Methods We conducted a 52-week, multicenter study of 1212 patients randomized to receive adalimumab (40 mg) or placebo every other week for the first 15 weeks. At least 75% improvement in the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score was the criterion for advancement through this multiphase study. Results At week 16, 71% (578 of 814) of adalimumab- and 7% (26 of 398) of placebo-treated patients achieved greater than or equal to 75% improvement in the PASI score. During weeks 33 to 52, the percentage of patients rerandomized to placebo who lost adequate response (defined as Limitations Lack of an active comparator and evaluation of maintenance of response beyond week 52 are limitations. Conclusion Adalimumab is efficacious and well-tolerated in the treatment of chronic plaque psoriasis. Trial Registration Clinical trials.gov. NCT00237887.

Sarcopenic obesity predicts instrumental activities of daily living disability in the elderly.

Abstract: Objective: To determine the association of sarcopenic obesity with the onset of Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) disability in a cohort of 451 elderly men and women followed for up to 8 years. Research Methods and Procedures: Sarcopenic obesity was defined at study baseline as appendicular skeletal muscle mass divided by stature squared <7.26 kg/m2 in men and 5.45 kg/m2 in women and percentage body fat greater than the 60th percentile of the study sample (28% body fat in men and 40% in women). Incident disability was defined as a loss of two or more points from baseline score on the IADL. Subjects with disability at baseline (scores < 8) were excluded. Cox proportional hazards analysis was used to determine the association of baseline sarcopenic obesity with onset of IADL disability, controlling for potential confounders. Results: Subjects with sarcopenic obesity at baseline were two to three times more likely to report onset of IADL disability during follow-up than lean sarcopenic or nonsarcopenic obese subjects and those with normal body composition. The relative risk for incident disability in sarcopenic obese subjects was 2.63 (95% confidence interval, 1.19 to 5.85), adjusting for age, sex, physical activity level, length of follow-up, and prevalent morbidity. Discussion: This is the first study, to our knowledge, to indicate that sarcopenic obesity is independently associated with and precedes the onset of IADL disability in the community-dwelling elderly. The etiology of sarcopenic obesity is unknown but may include a combination of decreases in anabolic signals and obesity-associated increases in catabolic signals in old age.

Computer Programs in Seismology: An Evolving Tool for Instruction and Research

Abstract: Earthquake seismology, like most areas of geophysics, is a fascinating mix of theory, computation, and observation The past 50–60 years of earthquake seismology can be described as a synergistic interaction between the expanding quantity and improving quality of seismic data and important advances in practical wave‐propagation physics and computation An important impetus for many of these developments was the need to monitor and characterize nuclear explosions in the atmosphere, oceans, and underground, which stimulated a major investment in seismology during the 1960s that, combined with the plate tectonics revolution, initiated large growth in the field Substantial effort was invested to produce standard analysis packages and software tools for the processing and analysis of seismic observations As a result, high‐quality seismic data are readily accessible and sufficient computational power to routinely analyze these observations is available to almost everyone Turn‐key seismic networks are available from manufacturers who provide sensors, data acquisition and transmission, event location, and archival functions in a manner that requires training, but not a detailed understanding of the of the hardware or software packages As we advance toward more sophisticated analysis of ever‐larger data sets, including the effects of 3D structure, the practical and theoretical challenges facing students are substantial Students must adapt to research‐quality software and use it to develop the deep insight into seismic‐wave excitation and propagation before they can confidently apply the concepts to more sophisticated earth and earthquake models Although beginning students have the skills to use some tools such as word processors and have some scripting experience, many are less comfortable extending old or developing new analysis tools or even using existing codes to tackle realistic 1D problems The challenge facing educators is to enable students to quickly become proficient in basic seismic data processing so that they can move on to research …

Use of Pharmacogenetic and Clinical Factors to Predict the Therapeutic Dose of Warfarin

Abstract: Initiation of warfarin therapy using trial-and-error dosing is problematic. Our goal was to develop and validate a pharmacogenetic algorithm. In the derivation cohort of 1,015 participants, the independent predictors of therapeutic dose were: VKORC1 polymorphism -1639/3673 G>A (-28% per allele), body surface area (BSA) (+11% per 0.25 m(2)), CYP2C9(*)3 (-33% per allele), CYP2C9(*)2 (-19% per allele), age (-7% per decade), target international normalized ratio (INR) (+11% per 0.5 unit increase), amiodarone use (-22%), smoker status (+10%), race (-9%), and current thrombosis (+7%). This pharmacogenetic equation explained 53-54% of the variability in the warfarin dose in the derivation and validation (N= 292) cohorts. For comparison, a clinical equation explained only 17-22% of the dose variability (P < 0.001). In the validation cohort, we prospectively used the pharmacogenetic-dosing algorithm in patients initiating warfarin therapy, two of whom had a major hemorrhage. To facilitate use of these pharmacogenetic and clinical algorithms, we developed a nonprofit website, http://www.WarfarinDosing.org.