BACKGROUND Symptom and pulmonary function measures of asthma severity are used for severity classification in practice guidelines. However, there is limited methodological evidence in support of their validity and utility. AIM To validate initial symptom and forced expiratory volume (FEV1) measures of asthma severity with the subsequent risks of exacerbations resulting in emergency room (ER) ...

BACKGROUND In a previous controlled study, we demonstrated that preseasonal grass pollen immunotherapy for 3 years was effective in children. Moreover, a significant clinical benefit could still be observed 6 years after discontinuation of specific immunotherapy (SIT). In the current study, we examined the same group of patients again to investigate whether there is a prolonged benefit 12 years...

AIMS/INTRODUCTION To assess the efficacy and safety of acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) on diabetic peripheral neuropathy compared with methylcobalamin (MC). MATERIALS AND METHODS This was a multicenter, randomized, parallel-group, double-blind, double-dummy, positive-controlled, non-inferior phase II clinical trial. Diabetic patients with abnormal nerve conduction test results were randomized in a 1...

background: to compare the efficacy of metronidazole versus placebo in the control of gaseous symptoms inpatients with functional bowel disease. materials and methods: in the absence of organic or systemic diseases, all cases with chief complaints of bloating and normal laboratory tests were consecutively enrolled in this double-blind study. lactase deficiency and bacterial overgrowth were rule...

selective estrogen receptor modulators (serms) such as raloxifene have already shown beneficial effects on negative, positive and general psychopathology symptoms in postmenopausal women with schizophrenia. the purpose of the present investigation was to assess the efficacy of raloxifene as an adjuvant agent in the treatment of men with chronic schizophrenia in an 8-week double-blind and placeb...

INTRODUCTION Acupuncture has been progressively included in the practice of mainstream medicine in recent decades. The State of Sao Paulo Cancer Institute is a public hospital established in 2008 and its acupuncture service follows the experience and model of several oncology centres in the USA, aiming to optimise the treatment of symptoms such as postoperative pain, oncological pain, neuropath...

BACKGROUND The role of bile in the genesis of oesophageal symptoms and disease is incompletely understood. A new method of ambulatory bile monitoring may help to define this role. AIMS To establish the relationship between symptom events and acid and bile reflux episodes. PATIENTS 59 consecutive patients presenting for further investigation of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. METHODS Al...

BACKGROUND The Survey of Autonomic Symptom (SAS) scale was reported as an easy instrument to assess the autonomic symptoms in patients with early diabetic neuropathy. In this study, we investigated the relationship between the SAS scale and the parameters of cardiac autonomic neuropathy (CAN) in Korean patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN). METHODS The SAS scale was tested in 30 ...