OBJECTIVE Reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) involves the removal of cholesterol from peripheral tissue for excretion in the feces. Here, we determined whether red blood cells (RBCs) can contribute to RCT. METHODS AND RESULTS We performed a series of studies in apolipoprotein AI-deficient mice where the high-density lipoprotein-mediated pathway of RCT is greatly diminished. RBCs carried a hi...

STUDY OBJECTIVE To see whether the community mothers' programme, using lay volunteer mothers to deliver a childhood development programme, could be extended successfully to the travelling community in Ireland. DESIGN This was a prospective study of the travelling community; comparisons were made with results of a previous randomised trial of settled mothers. SETTING A regional health author...

The published literature suggests uncertainty about whether operative or nonoperative treatments are best for femoroacetabular impingement (FAI). Without the same level of uncertainty (equipoise) amongst surgeons, a RCT will be challenging. A qualitative study was conducted to explore the level of equipoise amongst arthroscopic FAI surgeons. In phase 1, 14 hip arthroscopy surgeons were intervie...

This clinical outcomes study aimed to determine the commonly used shoulder tests predictive for rotator cuff tear (RCT). The study was carried out in 2 parts involving 400 patients who attended the senior author’s practice (n = 100/group). Part I compared patients with isolated RCTs and a “No-RCT” group. Part II compared RCT patients (some with isolated RCTs, others with RCTs and combined patho...

PURPOSE To compare ferric sulfate (FS) pulpotomy and primary tooth root canal therapy (RCT) in cariously exposed vital pulps of primary incisors. METHODS A total of 133 incisors in 50 children were randomly selected to be treated by FS pulpotomy (64) or RCT (69). RESULTS Two years after treatment, 77 incisors (41 FS pulpotomy, 36 RCT) were available for clinical and radiographic examination...

OBJECTIVE The ability of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) particles to accept cholesterol from peripheral cells, such as lipid-laden macrophages, and to transport cholesterol to the liver for catabolism and excretion in a process termed reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) is thought to underlie the beneficial cardiovascular effects of elevated HDL. The liver X receptors (LXRs; LXRα and LXRβ) regu...

Reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) pathway from macrophage foam cells initiates when HDL particles cross the endothelium, enter the interstitial fluid, and induce cholesterol efflux from these cells. We injected [(3)H]cholesterol-loaded J774 macrophages into the dorsal skin of mice and measured the transfer of macrophage-derived [(3)H]cholesterol to feces [macrophage-RCT (m-RCT)]. Injection of...

Background and Purpose—We sought to evaluate the efficacy of testing the laryngeal cough reflex in identifying pneumonia risk in acute stroke patients. Methods—We performed a prospective study of 400 consecutive acute stroke patients examined using the reflex cough test (RCT) compared with 204 consecutive acute stroke patients from a sister facility examined without using the RCT. The binary en...

BACKGROUND Patient characteristics and blood pressure-related outcomes in randomized clinical trials (RCTs) differ from clinical practice because of stringent selection criteria. The present study aimed to explore the relationship between clinical trials and clinical practice. We analyzed data from patients enrolled in the "Treatment with Azilsartan Compared to ACE-Inhibitors in Anti-Hypertensi...