BACKGROUND The treatment of patients with functional dyspepsia remains unsatisfactory. We assessed the efficacy of itopride, a dopamine D2 antagonist with anti-acetylcholinesterase [corrected] effects, in patients with functional dyspepsia. METHODS Patients with functional dyspepsia were randomly assigned to receive either itopride (50, 100, or 200 mg three times daily) or placebo. After eigh...

We have read with great interest the Comments related to the article entitled " Prevalence of marijuana use among university 20 students in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru " and appreciate the readers' feedback [1]. For our study " Prevalence of marijuana use among university students in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru " [2], a sample size was calculated to meet certain conditions of ac...

The red cell distribution width (RDW), and another red cell discriminant function incorporating RDW (MCV2 x RDW/Hgb x 100) were determined in a group of 30 patients with iron deficiency anemia, 30 patients with beta thalassemia trait, and 30 normal subjects. Both RDW and (MCV2 x RDW/Hgb x 100) mean values were significantly higher in iron deficiency anemia than in beta thalassemia trait (p < 0....

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the sensitivity of acid-fast sputum smears in the diagnosis of pulmonary Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). DESIGN Retrospective chart and radiographic film review. SETTING Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in New York City. PATIENTS All patients with positive sputum cultures for MTB during 1989 to 1991, including 100 with HIV, and 76 without HIV infection...

A growing body of evidence shows that individuals respond not only to the pure economic incentives they face but also to the manner in which such incentives are presented and framed. Such behavior appears to be particularly relevant in analysis of saving choices. Brigitte C. Madrian and Dennis F. Shea (2001), for example, show that changing the default rules for 401(k) enrollment has a signific...

Composting experiments of fish processing wastes and wood by-products were conducted in the Andean-Patagonian Region. Fish wastes were mixed with sawdust + wood shavings (3:l ratio by weight) with two replicates. Materials were mixed and placed in 220-liter PVC reactors. After 20 days, materials were remixed and reloaded in the reactors. Samples were taken at 20, 30, 40, 60, 80 and 100 day inte...

Alterations in the percent and absolute number of thymus-derived (T) and bursa-equivalent (B) lymphocytes in peripheral blood were followed in 10 patients treated with antithymocyte globulin, prednisone, and azathioprine after cardiac transplantation. During the 1st postoperative wk the percent of T cells dropped below 10% in almost all cases (normal range, 65-91%) with a concomitant rise in th...