For Patients With Primary Biliary Cirrhosis, Rituximab A Possible Treatment Option
An open-label study of rituximab, a monoclonal antibody for human CD20, was shown to be safe in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) who had an incomplete response to the standard ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) therapy, also known as Ursodiol. Study details available in the February issue of Hepatology a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, report that rituximab was successful in reducing the level of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) - a protein used to measure liver injury... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)
Lower Residual Renal Function is a Risk Factor for Depression and Impaired Health-Related Quality of Life in Korean Peritoneal Dialysis Patients.
This study included 105 patients maintaining PD at Seoul National University Hospital. Data were collected from electronic medical record. Korean Beck's Depression Inventory and Korean version of Kidney Disease Quality of Life short form, version 1.3 were used to evaluate depression and HRQOL, respectively. Moderate to severe depression was found in 24.8% of patients. Patients with lower normalized protein equivalent of nitrogen appearance (nPNA) (lt; 1.2 g/kg/day), lower weekly renal Kt/V(urea) (lt; 0.2), and lower serum albumin level (⤠4.0 g/dL) were associated with depression (P lt; 0.05). Among them, lower weekly renal Kt/V(urea) was the only independent risk factor associated with depression (OR = 3.1, P = 0.007). Depressed patients showed significantly lower scores in every dim...
