Reviews on Recent Clinical Trials - Volume 5, Issue 2, 2010

During the 80' and the 90's, the role of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) was still not clearly demonstrated. The following development of PR was mainly due to the increasing number of clinical studies providing proofs of its effectiveness, and convincing physicians, institutions, and regulatory agencies about its additional value to conventional pharmacological therapies. In the later years, PR has become an evidence-based no Read More

Although standard anticoagulation, including heparins and vitamin K antagonists (VKA), is clinically beneficial, several unmet needs remain due to several pharmacokinetic and pharmacodymamic limitations. Selective anticoagulant agents have been developed to overcome the drawbacks associated with both heparins and.VKA. Agents selectively targeting factor Xa, IXa and thrombin are alternative anticoagulants in the m Read More

Stress echocardiography is a useful tool for the clinical decision making process, given its accuracy and demonstrated prognostic value. Among available stress echocardiography techniques, exercise is safer and more physiologic, therefore it must be considered the first choice for patients able to exercise. Peak exercise echocardiography has greater sensitivity than post-exercise imaging. Image quality of apical views at pe Read More

Hypofractionated irradiation has an established role in the palliative treatment of patients with advanced medically inoperable non - small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and poor performance status. Also hypofractionated radiotherapy merits careful consideration in the curative treatment of patients with Stage I and II disease using contemporary technology. The biological effect of radiation on tumours is increased as the overall treat Read More

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) with methylaminolevulinate (MAL) has demonstrated high efficacy, minimal side effects, and improved cosmetic outcome in the treatment of its EU-approved clinical indications, i.e. actinic keratoses (AKs), basal cell carcinoma, and Bowen's disease. In addition, PDT with MAL or 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) is approved in the US for the treatment of AK. However, besides anti-tumoral activity, PDT Read More

Malignant solid tumors have been traditionally treated utilizing cytotoxic chemotherapies, which work against rapidly multiplying tumors. The current response evaluation in solid tumor is based on the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST). This method relies mainly on computerized tomography (CT scans) and other imaging modalities by which the diameter of tumors is taken into consideration to asses Read More

Adenoidal hypertrophy is probably the most frequent pathology in the pediatric population. This disorder manifests with several symptoms such as bilateral nasal obstruction, rhinorrhea, cough, snoring, hyponasal speech, hypopnea, and sleep apnea. When tonsillar hypertrophy is also present, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome can manifest. To date, nasal endoscopic examination is the standard technique to diagnose and esti Read More

The no — reflow phenomenon occurs in one third of the patients treated with primary percutanous intervention for acute ST segment elevation myocardial infarction. In addition of the effect of prolonged ischaemia, also reperfusion injury contributes significantly to the microvascular damage in the perfusion territory of the infarct — related coronary artery. In the recent years there has been an increasing interest in the conce Read More