University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

About: University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston is a education organization based out in Houston, Texas, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 27309 authors who have published 42520 publications receiving 2151596 citations. The organization is also known as: UTHealth & The UT Health Science Center at Houston.

Long-term prevention of skeletal complications of metastatic breast cancer with pamidronate. Protocol 19 Aredia Breast Cancer Study Group.

Abstract: PURPOSEPamidronate, an aminobisphosphonate, has been shown to lower the risk of skeletal complications associated with lytic bone lesions for up to 1 year in women with stage IV breast cancer who received chemotherapy. We studied the long-term effectiveness and safety of continued treatment with intravenous pamidronate infusions for up to 2 years.PATIENTS AND METHODSThree hundred eighty-two women with metastatic breast cancer and lytic bone lesions who received chemotherapy were randomly assigned to receive either 90 mg of pamidronate or placebo intravenously every 3 to 4 weeks in this double-blind, multicenter, parallel-group trial. Patients were evaluated monthly for 2 years for skeletal complications, which included pathologic fractures, need for radiation or surgery to treat bone complications, spinal cord compression, and hypercalcemia. Bone pain, analgesic use, bone biochemical markers, performance status, quality of life, radiologic response in bone, and survival were also evaluated.RESULTSAs in th...

Does early responsive parenting have a special importance for children's development or is consistency across early childhood necessary?

Abstract: The role of early versus ongoing maternal responsiveness in predicting cognitive and social development was examined in home visits for mothers, full-term children (n = 103), and medically low-risk (n = 102) and high-risk (n = 77) preterm children at 5 ages. There were 4 maternal clusters based on warm and contingent responsiveness behaviors observed early (at 6, 12, and 24 months) and late (at 3 and 4 years): high early, high late; high early, low late; low early, moderate late; and low early, low late. Children, especially preterm children, showed faster cognitive growth when mothers were consistently responsive. Social growth was similar in the consistently responsive (high-high) and the early-responsive inconsistent (high-low) clusters, but greater deceleration at 4 years among children with mothers in the inconsistent cluster refuted the notion of a unique role for early responsiveness. The importance of consistent responsiveness, defined by an affective-emotional construct, was evident even when a broader constellation of parenting behaviors was considered.

P. falciparum rosetting mediated by a parasite-variant erythrocyte membrane protein and complement-receptor 1

Abstract: The factors determining disease severity in malaria are complex and include host polymorphisms, acquired immunity and parasite virulence1. Studies in Africa have shown that severe malaria is associated with the ability of erythrocytes infected with the parasite Plasmodium falciparum to bind uninfected erythrocytes and form rosettes2,3,4,5. The molecular basis of rosetting is not well understood, although a group of low-molecular-mass proteins called rosettins have been described as potential parasite ligands6. Infected erythrocytes also bind to endothelial cells, and this interaction is mediated by the parasite-derived variant erythrocyte membrane protein PfEMP1 (refs 7, 8), which is encoded by the var gene family9,10,11. Here we report that the parasite ligand for rosetting in a P. falciparum clone is PfEMP1, encoded by a specific var gene. We also report that complement-receptor 1 (CR1) on erythrocytes plays a role in the formation of rosettes and that erythrocytes with a common African CR1 polymorphism (Sl(a−))12 have reduced adhesion to the domain of PfEMP1 that binds normal erythrocytes. Thus we describe a new adhesive function for PfEMP1 and raise the possibility that CR1 polymorphisms in Africans that influence the interaction between erythrocytes and PfEMP1 may protect against severe malaria.

Incidence and risk factors for immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome during highly active antiretroviral therapy

Abstract: Background: There is little systematic information regarding the immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS). Objective: To determine the incidence, risk factors, and long-term outcome of IRIS in HIV-infected patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) who were coinfected with one of three common opportunistic pathogens. Design: A retrospective cohort identified through a city-wide prospective surveillance program. Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed for 180 HIV-infected patients who received HAART and were coinfected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Mycobacterium avium complex, or Cryptococcus neoformans between 1997 and 2000. Medical records were reviewed for baseline demographics, receipt and type of HAART, response to antiretroviral therapy, development of IRIS, and long-term outcome. Results: In this cohort, 31.7% of patients who received HAART developed IRIS. Patients with IRIS were more likely to have initiated HAART nearer to the time of diagnosis of their opportunistic infection (P < 0.001), to have been antiretroviral naive at time of diagnosis of their opportunistic infection (P < 0.001), and to have a more rapid initial fall in HIV-1 RNA level in response to HAART (P < 0.001). Conclusions: IRIS is common among HIV-infected persons coinfected with M. tuberculosis, M. avium complex, or C. neoformans. Antiretroviral drug-naive patients who start HAART in close proximity to the diagnosis of an opportunistic infection and have a rapid decline in HIV-1 RNA level should be monitored for development of this disorder.