University of Pittsburgh

About: University of Pittsburgh is a education organization based out in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Transplantation. The organization has 87042 authors who have published 201012 publications receiving 9656783 citations. The organization is also known as: Pitt & Western University of Pennsylvania.

Relation of C-Reactive Protein and Coronary Heart Disease in the MRFIT Nested Case-Control Study

Abstract: The authors measured the relation between C-reactive protein, alpha 1 acid glycoprotein and albumin, an acute phase protein, and subsequent risk of myocardial infarction and coronary heart disease death in a nested case-control study among the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT) participants There were 98 myocardial infarction cases, 148 coronary heart disease deaths, and 491 controls The cases and controls were followed for up to 17 years for deaths and 6-7 years for myocardial infarction cases and controls There was a significant association between available distribution of C-reactive protein and subsequent coronary heart disease mortality For smokers at baseline, the risk of coronary heart disease deaths in quartile 4 of C-reactive protein as compared with quartile 1 was 43 (95% confidence interval 174-108) The association persisted when adjusted for characteristics related to smoking and smoking cessation during the trial and to pulmonary function There was no relation between alpha 1 acid glycoprotein and either myocardial infarction or coronary heart disease death Albumin was inversely related to coronary heart disease death only for deaths that occurred between 7 and 13 years after baseline, consistent with previous MRFIT analyses This is the first prospective study in "healthy but high risk individuals" to document the relation between C-reactive protein and coronary heart disease mortality

Psychological and behavioral treatment of insomnia:update of the recent evidence (1998-2004).

Abstract: Background Recognition that psychological and behavioral factors play an important role in insomnia has led to increased interest in therapies targeting these factors. A review paper published in 1999 summarized the evidence regarding the efficacy of psychological and behavioral treatments for persistent insomnia. The present review provides an update of the evidence published since the original paper. As with the original paper, this review was conducted by a task force commissioned by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine in order to update its practice parameters on psychological and behavioral therapies for insomnia. Methods A systematic review was conducted on 37 treatment studies (N = 2246 subjects/patients) published between 1998 and 2004 inclusively and identified through Psyclnfo and Medline searches. Each study was systematically reviewed with a standard coding sheet and the following information was extracted: Study design, sample (number of participants, age, gender), diagnosis, type of treatments and controls, primary and secondary outcome measures, and main findings. Criteria for inclusion of a study were as follows: (a) the main sleep diagnosis was insomnia (primary or comorbid), (b) at least 1 treatment condition was psychological or behavioral in content, (c) the study design was a randomized controlled trial, a nonrandomized group design, a clinical case series or a single subject experimental design with a minimum of 10 subjects, and (d) the study included at least 1 of the following as dependent variables: sleep onset latency, number and/or duration of awakenings, total sleep time, sleep efficiency, or sleep quality. Results Psychological and behavioral therapies produced reliable changes in several sleep parameters of individuals with either primary insomnia or insomnia associated with medical and psychiatric disorders. Nine studies documented the benefits of insomnia treatment in older adults or for facilitating discontinuation of medication among chronic hypnotic users. Sleep improvements achieved with treatment were well sustained over time; however, with the exception of reduced psychological symptoms/ distress, there was limited evidence that improved sleep led to clinically meaningful changes in other indices of morbidity (e.g., daytime fatigue). Five treatments met criteria for empirically-supported psychological treatments for insomnia: Stimulus control therapy, relaxation, paradoxical intention, sleep restriction, and cognitive-behavior therapy. Discussion These updated findings provide additional evidence in support of the original review's conclusions as to the efficacy and generalizability of psychological and behavioral therapies for persistent insomnia. Nonetheless, further research is needed to develop therapies that would optimize outcomes and reduce morbidity, as would studies of treatment mechanisms, mediators, and moderators of outcomes. Effectiveness studies are also needed to validate those therapies when implemented in clinical settings (primary care), by non-sleep specialists. There is also a need to disseminate more effectively the available evidence in support of psychological and behavioral interventions to health-care practitioners working on the front line.

Bone marrow-derived dendritic cells pulsed with synthetic tumour peptides elicit protective and therapeutic antitumour immunity

Abstract: Bone marrow-derived dendritic cells pulsed with synthetic tumour peptides elicit protective and therapeutic antitumour immunity

The Politics of regulation

Abstract: The article presents a review of the book “The Politics of Regulation,” edited by James Q. Wilson.

Addition of ifosfamide and etoposide to standard chemotherapy for Ewing's sarcoma and primitive neuroectodermal tumor of bone.

Abstract: Background Ewing's sarcoma and primitive neuroectodermal tumor of bone are closely related, highly malignant tumors of children, adolescents, and young adults. A new drug combination, ifosfamide and etoposide, was highly effective in patients with Ewing's sarcoma or primitive neuroectodermal tumor of bone who had a relapse after standard therapy. We designed a study to test whether the addition of these drugs to a standard regimen would improve the survival of patients with newly diagnosed disease. Methods Patients 30 years old or younger with Ewing's sarcoma, primitive neuroectodermal tumor of bone, or primitive sarcoma of bone were eligible. The patients were randomly assigned to receive 49 weeks of standard chemotherapy with doxorubicin, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, and dactinomycin or experimental therapy with these four drugs alternating with courses of ifosfamide and etoposide. Results A total of 518 patients met the eligibility requirements. Of 120 patients with metastatic disease, 62 were random...