bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A Pilot Evaluation of the Safety and Tolerability of Repeat Dose Administration of Long‐Acting Injectable Naltrexone (Vivitrex®) in Patients With Alcohol Dependence
Authors: Johnson Bankole A. , Ait‐Daoud Nassima , Aubin Henri‐Jean , van den Brink Wim , Guzzetta Richard , Loewy John , Silverman Bernard , Ehrich Elliot 
Published: September 2004

Background: Oral naltrexone is currently used as part of a treatment regimen for alcohol‐dependent patients, but its clinical utility is hampered by poor patient adherence. A long‐acting injectable naltrexone formulation (Vivitrex®) was designed to facilitate patient adherence by providing an extended duration of therapeutic naltrexone over 1 month, thereby eliminating the need for daily dosing.Methods: A multicenter, randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled pilot study was conducted to evaluate the safety and tolerability of intramuscular repeat dose administration of this extended‐release naltrexone formulation in DSM‐IV alcohol‐dependent patients. Thirty patients were randomized to treatment with injectable naltrexone (400 mg; n= 25) or a matching placebo injection (n= 5) and were dosed once every 28 days over 4 months. Psychosocial treatment was offered to patients in both treatment groups. Outcome measures related to drinking activity and trough plasma concentrations of naltrexone and its primary metabolite, 6‐β‐naltrexol, were evaluated.Results: Injectable naltrexone was generally safe and well tolerated. Reported adverse events were mild to moderate and resolved without intervention; only two patients discontinued due to adverse events. The most common adverse events (nausea and headache) occurred at a similar rate for patients in both treatment groups. Pharmacokinetic analysis confirmed that therapeutic levels of naltrexone were delivered throughout the four 1‐month treatment cycles.Conclusions: The results of this pilot study provide the basis and methods for a larger, more definitive trial to determine the utility of this long‐acting injectable naltrexone formulation in the treatment of alcohol‐dependent patients.
Sprouting by semi‐arid plants: testing a dichotomy and predictive traits
Authors: Vesk Peter A. , Warton David I. , Westoby Mark 
Published: September 2004

A widely‐used description of vegetation response to fire is that species can be clearly classified as sprouters or non‐sprouters. We aimed to assess: (1) how well this dichotomous classification (sprouter/non‐sprouter) described the responses of a semi‐arid flora to experimental disturbance; (2) how similar were sprouting responses to treatments mimicking intense herbivory and fire; (3) how well easily‐measured traits could predict sprouting. Sprouting was assessed for 45 species from a range of growth forms (grasses, forbs, sub‐shrubs, woody shrubs and trees) from semi‐arid south‐eastern Australia. We used two treatments: clipping at stem base, and clipping followed by burning with a blowtorch.A dichotomy accounted for >60% of deviance explained by species identity. Models with three or four groups were not substantially better. The dichotomy was not between 0% and 100% sprouting, rather between ‘weak’ and ‘strong’ sprouters. Probabilities of sprouting for weak sprouters were 23% after clipping and 6% after burning, while strong sprouters had sprouting probabilities of 90% after clipping and 79% after burning. While sprouting varied in space and time, the dichotomy was robust to this variation. Sprouting ability increased with size in most of the species with variable sprouting.Sprouting was partially related to growth form; grasses sprouted strongly, chenopods weakly, and forb and woody species covered the range of sprouting. Strong sprouters were likely to have more stems per plant, greater basal area, shorter potential height and deeper buds than weak sprouters. A hierarchical model that used growth form and then stems‐per‐plant provided a simple, robust predictor of sprouting.Four‐fifths of species responded consistently to clipping and burning while one‐fifth of species were strong sprouters after clipping but weak sprouters after burning. Burning reduced sprouting most in intermediate sprouters. Differences between sprouting after clipping and burning reflected increased intensity and were related to the depth of buds below ground.
A model for the evolution of pathogen‐induced leaf shedding
Authors: Van Den Berg F. , Van Den Bosch F. 
Published: September 2004

A size‐structured plant population model is developed to study the evolution of pathogen‐induced leaf shedding under various environmental conditions. The evolutionary stable strategy (ESS) of the leaf shedding rate is determined for two scenarios: i) a constant leaf shedding strategy and ii) an infection load driven leaf shedding strategy.The model predicts that ESS leaf shedding rates increase with nutrient availability. No effect of plant density on the ESS leaf shedding rate is found even though disease severity increases with plant density.When auto‐infection, that is increased infection due to spores produced on the plant itself, plays a key role in further disease increase on the plant, shedding leaves removes disease that would otherwise contribute to disease increase on the plant itself. Consequently leaf shedding responses to infections may evolve. When external infection, that is infection due to immigrant spores, is the key determinant, shedding a leaf does not reduce the force of infection on the leaf shedding plant. In this case leaf shedding will not evolve.Under a low external disease pressure adopting an infection driven leaf shedding strategy is more efficient than adopting a constant leaf shedding strategy, since a plant adopting an infection driven leaf shedding strategy does not shed any leaves in the absence of infection, even when leaf shedding rates are high. A plant adopting a constant leaf shedding rate sheds the same amount of leaves regardless of the presence of infection.Based on the results we develop two hypotheses that can be tested if the appropriate plant material is available.
Experimental Helicobacter felis Infection in Transgenic Mice Expressing Human Group IIA Phospholipase A2
Authors: Huhtinen Heikki T. , Grönroos Juha M. , Uksila Jaakko , Grass David S. , Nevalainen Timo J. , Laine V. Jukka O. 
Published: September 2004

ABSTRACTBackground.  Both various virulence factors of Helicobacter pylori and host factors influence the clinical outcome of H. pylori infection. In animal experiments with Helicobacter felis, large variations in the severity of disease have been observed between different mouse strains infected with a single isolate of H. felis. C57BL/6 J mouse strain that lacks the expression of group IIA phospholipase A2 has been shown to develop more severe gastric inflammation than other mouse strains. Thus, group IIA phospholipase A2 has been suggested to play a role in regulating inflammation in gastric mucosa. The aim of this study was to examine the possible role of group IIA phospholipase A2 in experimental Helicobacter infection.Materials and Methods.  Transgenic mice expressing human group IIA phospholipase A2 and their group IIA phospholipase A2 deficient nontransgenic C57BL/6 J littermates were infected with H. felis. The mice were killed 3, 8, and 19 weeks after inoculation of bacteria to determine the histopathological changes in gastric mucosa.Results.  The infected mice developed chronic inflammation in gastric mucosa. We found no differences in the colonization of bacteria between transgenic and nontransgenic mice. At 3 and 8 weeks, no difference was found in the severity of inflammation between the two groups. Nineteen weeks after the administration of bacteria the inflammation was more marked in nontransgenic than transgenic mice. Group IIA phospholipase A2 was expressed by in situ hybridization in the neck cells of the glandular stomach in transgenic mice.Conclusions.  The results of the present study suggest that the endogenous expression of group IIA phospholipase A2 diminishes chronic inflammation in gastric mucosa in experimental H. felis infection in mice.
Molecular Epidemiology and Outcome of Helicobacter pylori Infection in Thailand: a Cultural Cross Roads
Authors: Vilaichone Ratha‐Korn , Mahachai Varocha , Tumwasorn Somying , Wu Jeng‐Yih , Graham David Y. , Yamaoka Yoshio 
Published: September 2004

ABSTRACTBackground.  Thailand is at the cultural cross roads between East and South Asia. It has been suggested that this is also the region where the predominant Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) genotype changes from East Asian to South Asian.Methods.  We compared the molecular epidemiology and outcome of H. pylori infections among different ethnic groups in Thailand (Thai, Thai‐Chinese and Chinese). H. pylori isolates were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction based on cagA, cag right end junction and vacA genotypes.Results.  Ninety‐eight isolates from 38 ethnic Thai, 20 ethnic Chinese and 40 Thai‐Chinese were categorized into East Asian (45%), South/Central Asian (26%), Western (1%) or mixed type (29%). The East Asian genotype was the most common among Chinese (85%) and Thai‐Chinese (55%) (p < .01 compared to ethnic Thai). The ethnicity of the mother among mixed Thai‐Chinese marriages predicted the genotype of the child's H. pylori (e.g. when the mother was Chinese, 84% had East Asian type vs. 29% when the mother was Thai) (p < .001). Gastric cancer was common among ethnic Chinese with East Asian genotype (e.g. all Chinese with gastric cancer or peptic ulcer disease had East Asian genotype, whereas only 40% of Chinese with gastritis had this genotype).Conclusions.  Immigration, intermarriage and the variety of H. pylori genotypes in Thailand suggest that Thailand is an ideal site for epidemiological studies attempting to relate H. pylori genotypes and host factors to outcome. Our data also support the hypothesis that the primary caretaker of the children is most likely the source of the infection.
Characteristics of Helicobacter pylori‐Induced Gastritis and the Effect of H. pylori Eradication in Patients with Chronic Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura
Authors: Ando Takafumi , Tsuzuki Tomoyuki , Mizuno Tomokazu , Minami Masaaki , Ina Kenji , Kusugami Kazuo , Takamatsu Junki , Adachi Kouichi , El‐Omar Emad , Ohta Michio , Goto Hidemi 
Published: September 2004

ABSTRACTBackground.  The association between Helicobacter pylori infection and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) has been reported widely. We investigated the prevalence of H. pylori infection, its virulence profile and the effectiveness of its eradication in patients with ITP.Materials and Methods.  Twenty patients with ITP, 20 with peptic ulcer (10 gastric ulcer (GU), 10 duodenal ulcer (DU)) and 20 with NUD were studied. The virulence profile of the strains was assessed by genotyping for cagA, vacA, iceA, and hpyIIIR/hrgA and by assaying for IL‐8 and DNA fragmentation after incubation with AGS cells. Infected patients and two uninfected ITP patients received triple therapy and platelets were counted before and 1 month, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years after eradication therapy.Results.  H. pylori infection was found in 17 ITP (85%), 20 ulcer (100%) and 13 NUD (65%) patients. Biopsies and strains were collected from five ITP, 20 ulcer and 13 NUD patients. The ITP patients had a pangastritis or corpus‐predominant gastritis pattern. All H. pylori isolates, from ITP, ulcer and NUD patients, were cagA+ and vacA s1/m1, and did not differ in levels of IL‐8 induction or DNA fragmentation. Fifteen ITP (88%) and 17 ulcer (85%) patients had successful eradication of H. pylori. Ten of these 15 (67%) H. pylori‐eradicated ITP patients had platelet recovery. There was no significant change in platelet count in the two ITP patients in whom eradication failed or in the two originally H. pylori‐uninfected ITP patients, or in the treated ulcer patients. Age at onset of ITP was the main determinant of platelet recovery: 100% of patients diagnosed after the age of 60 recovered compared with only 22% of those diagnosed before 50.Conclusions.  H. pylori‐infected ITP patients have a corpus‐predominant pattern of gastritis but the virulence profile of their strains does not differ from that of ulcer or NUD patients. Eradication of H. pylori infection is a good therapeutic option for some patients with chronic ITP, especially for those who develop ITP in older age.
Role of Noninvasive Tests (13C‐Urea Breath Test and Stool Antigen Test) as Additional Tools in Diagnosis of Helicobacter Pylori Infection in Patients with Atrophic Body Gastritis
Authors: Lahner Edith , Vaira Dino , Figura Natale , Pilozzi Emanuela , Pasquali Amelia , Severi Carola , Perna Federico , Fave Gianfranco Delle , Annibale Bruno 
Published: September 2004

ABSTRACTBackground.  Detection of Helicobacter pylori infection in atrophic body gastritis (ABG) is difficult, as during progression of body atrophy, H. pylori disappears.Aim.  To increase the diagnostic yield of detection of active H. pylori infection in atrophic body gastritis patients by using noninvasive tests such as 13C‐Urea Breath Test (13C‐UBT) and H. pylori stool antigen test (HpSA) would be useful.Patients.  27 consecutive patients with newly‐diagnosed atrophic body gastritis (19F/7M, age 27–73 years).Methods.  Gastroscopy with biopsies (antrum n = 3, body n = 3) and histology according to updated Sydney system, H. pylori IgG serology, 13C‐UBT, and HpSA.Results.  All tests used in the diagnosis of H. pylori infection were in agreement in 9/27 atrophic body gastritis patients (33.3%), being all positive in four (14.8%) and all negative in five patients (18.5%). Ten of the 27 (37%) patients were Giemsa stain‐positive and serology‐positive (group I). Seventeen of the 27 (63%) patients were Giemsa stain‐negative: 5/17 with positive serology (group II) and 12/17 with negative serology (group III). In group I, 5/10 (50%) were 13C‐UBT positive and 4/10 (40%) HpSA positive. In group II, two patients were 13C‐UBT positive, but all were HpSA negative. Also in group III, all patients were HpSA negative, but one had a positive 13C‐UBT.Conclusions.  In atrophic body gastritis patients, neither 13C‐UBT nor HpSA per se add useful information regarding active H. pylori infection, but these noninvasive tests may be important in combination with histology and serology to define the H. pylori status in some atrophic body gastritis patients.
Melanoidin, a Food Protein‐Derived Advanced Maillard Reaction Product, Suppresses Helicobacter pylori in vitro and in vivo
Authors: Hiramoto Shigeru , Itoh Kazuro , Shizuuchi Satomi , Kawachi Yasuji , Morishita Yoshirou , Nagase Masao , Suzuki Yoshio , Nobuta Yukio , Sudou Yuhshi , Nakamura Osamu , Kagaya Imae , Goshima Hideo , Kodama Yoshikatsu , Icatro Faustino C. , Koizumi Wasaburo , Saigenji Katsunori , Miura Soichiro , Sugiyama Toshiro , Kimura Nobutake 
Published: September 2004

ABSTRACTBackground.  Extracellular urease proteins located on the surface of Helicobacter pylori are gastric mucin‐targeted adhesins, which play an important role in infection and colonization to the host. In this study we have determined the inhibitory activity of a variety of melanoidins, protein‐derived advanced Maillard reaction products, ubiquitously found in heat‐treated foods, on urease‐gastric mucin adhesion. In addition, we have determined the anticolonization effect of melanoidin I, prepared by the Maillard reaction between casein and lactose, in an animal model and in human subjects infected with this bacterium.Methods.  The inhibitory activity of each compound was determined by a competitive binding assay of labeled gastric mucin to plate‐immobilized urease. Melanoidin I was used in an in vivo trial using euthymic hairless mice as an infection model. Melanoidin I was consumed for 8 weeks by subjects infected with H. pylori. The [13C] urease breath test and H. pylori‐specific antigen in the stool (HpSA) test were performed on subjects at week 0 and week 8.Results.  A variety of food protein‐derived melanoidins strongly inhibited urease‐gastric mucin adhesion in the concentration range of 10 µg/ml to 100 µg/ml. In particular, melanoidin I significantly (p < .05) suppressed colonization of H. pylori in mice when given for 10 weeks via the diets. Eight weeks daily intake of 3 g melanoidin I significantly (p < .05) decreased the optical density of HpSA in subjects.Conclusion.  Foods containing protein‐derived melanoidins may be an alternative to antibiotic‐based therapy to prevent H. pylori that combines safety, ease of administration and efficacy.
Selective and Effective Bactericidal Activity of the Cobalt (II) Cation against Helicobacter pylori
Authors: Bruggraber Sylvaine F. A. , French Gary , Thompson Richard P. H. , Powell Jonathan J. 
Published: September 2004

ABSTRACTBackground.  Although the anti‐Helicobacter pylori activity of bismuth is well established, the therapeutic potential of other metal ions against the organism is not known.Materials and Methods.  We measured the minimum inhibitory concentrations of a series of metal ions, including several cobalt (II) compounds against four type strains and seven clinical isolates of H. pylori using three standard broth culture media and a defined medium. Other intestinal bacteria were also investigated for specificity of action.Results.  Cobalt chloride had marked activity against H. pylori (minimum inhibitory concentration range was 0.03–1.0 mg/l). The effect was specific because other transition metals had no effect and other intestinal bacteria were not affected by cobalt chloride. Activity was attributable to free cobalt ions as ligands inhibited activity in proportion to their affinity for the ions. Inhibition of cobalt activity was also observed in the presence of nickel, in a dose dependent fashion. However, cobalt activity was not directed towards the nickel‐dependent urease enzyme because its effect was similar in wild‐type and urease negative mutant strains of H. pylori. Finally, the viability of H. pylori was reduced at the same rate with 2 mg/l cobalt as with 1 mg/l amoxicillin.Conclusions.  Cobalt competes for nickel in its acquisition by H. pylori, but mediates toxicity in a nonurease dependent fashion. As cobalt MIC is similar to some antibiotics and 10 to a hundred times lower than for bismuth, cobalt may represent an effective form of therapy for H. pylori infection.
Open, Randomized Multicenter Comparative Trial of Rabeprazole, Ofloxacin and Amoxicillin Therapy for Helicobacter pylori Eradication: 7 vs. 14 Day Treatment
Authors: Bosques‐Padilla Francisco J. , Garza‐González Elvira , Calderón‐Lozano Irma E. , Reed‐SanRoman Gerardo , De Ariño Suárez Mauricio , Valdovinos‐Díaz Miguel Á. , Orozco‐Gámiz Antonio , Blancas‐Valencia Juan M. , Tamayo‐de la Cuesta José L. 
Published: September 2004

ABSTRACTBackground.  Because of the increasing resistance to clarithromycin and metronidazole, two of the antibiotics used for the eradication of Helicobacter pylori, new therapeutic alternatives are needed. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of a randomized, comparative trial of 7 vs. 14‐day triple treatment with rabeprazole, ofloxacin and amoxicillin for H. pylori eradication.Material and Methods.  The present authors studied 76 dyspeptic patients infected with H. pylori diagnosed by both histology and a rapid urease test. Patients were randomized to receive rabeprazole (20 mg b.i.d.), plus ofloxacin (400 mg b.i.d.) and amoxicillin (1000 mg b.i.d.) for 7 days (group 1) vs. 14 days (group 2) and were followed by 6 weeks. Eradication was assessed 4 weeks after completing the course of study treatment by the 14C‐urea breath test. Per protocol and intention‐to‐treat eradication rates were determined.Results.  For the intention to treat analysis, the eradication rate was 62.2% for group 1 and 92.3% for group 2 (p = .004). For the per protocol analysis, eradication rate for group 1 was 63.9% and for group 2 was 97.3% (p = .001).Conclusions.  Triple therapy with rabeprazole, amoxicillin and ofloxacin by 14 days was efficient for H. pylori eradication and therefore deserves further study. The same regimen prescribed for 7 days had a significantly lower and unacceptable cure rate and should not be used.
Detection of Helicobacter ganmani‐Like 16S rDNA in Pediatric Liver Tissue
Authors: Tolia Vasundhara , Nilsson Hans‐Olof , Boyer Kimberly , Wuerth Anne , Al‐Soud Waleed Abu , Rabah Raja , Wadström Torkel 
Published: September 2004

ABSTRACTBackground.  To determine the presence of Helicobacter species in the liver biopsy specimens from children with various chronic liver diseases as data in adult literature suggests a possible role of these bacteria in their pathogenesis.Materials and methods.  Paraffin sections of 61 liver biopsies of pediatric patients with miscellaneous diseases and autopsy liver tissue from 10 control subjects with no evidence of preexisting liver disease were examined for the presence of Helicobacter species by a genus‐specific seminested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. PCR–products of positive samples were further characterized by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and DNA‐sequence analysis. Based on those results, a seminested PCR assay for H. ganmani was developed and applied to the samples.Results.  On analysis, 40/61 patient samples were positive in the genus‐specific Helicobacter PCR and 4/10 from the control group. The nucleotide sequences of 16S rDNA fragments were 99–100% similar to mainly Helicobacter sp. ‘liver’ and H. ganmani. PCR‐products similar to H. canis and H. bilis were also found. The 16S rDNAs of control specimens showed similarity to Helicobacter sp. ‘liver’. In the H. ganmani‐specific PCR analysis 19 patients, but none of the controls, were positive.Conclusions.  Amplified Helicobacter 16S rDNAs were related to Helicobacter sp. ‘liver’ or H. ganmani in liver biopsy specimens of pediatric patients. The possible significance of Helicobacter species in pediatric liver diseases needs to be evaluated further in prospective studies.
Identification of a Novel Mutation Affecting Domain V of the 23S rRNA Gene in Helicobacter pylori
Authors: Toracchio Sonia , Aceto Gitana M. , Mariani‐Costantini Renato , Battista Pasquale , Marzio Leonardo 
Published: September 2004

ABSTRACTBackground.  This study analyzes clarithromycin resistance status and 23S rRNA gene mutations in Helicobacter pylori strains from Central Italian patients.Materials and methods.  H. pylori strains from 235 dyspeptic patients (205 with no history of clarithromycin exposure and 30 referred for failure of eradication therapy) were tested for clarithromycin resistance by screening agar method and E‐test. Resistant strains were analyzed for mutations of the 23S rRNA gene by PCR‐RFLP and sequencing.Results.  Primary resistance was observed in strains from 43/205 (21%) patients with no history of clarithromycin exposure and secondary resistance in 30/30 (100%) strains from previously treated patients. A single mutant strain was detected in 54/73 (74%) cases, a mixture of one or more mutant(s) plus the wild type in the remaining 19/73 (26%) cases. One 23S rRNA gene mutation (A→T transversion at nucleotide 2144) in the peptidyltransferase region of domain V was novel.Conclusions.  This study shows: (a) a high prevalence of H. pylori strains with primary or secondary clarithromycin resistance in an urban area of Central Italy; (b) colonization by both mutant and wild‐type H. pylori in the same patient; (c) a novel variant of the H. pylori 23S rRNA gene.