The results indicate that caffeine potentiates the toxic effects

of methamphetamine, possibly via a mechanism involving an increase in dopamine release and excess ROS generation. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Background

The use of warfarin reduces the rate of ischemic stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation but requires frequent monitoring and dose adjustment. Rivaroxaban, an oral factor Xa inhibitor, may provide more consistent and predictable anticoagulation than warfarin.

Methods

In a double-blind trial, we randomly assigned 14,264 patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation who were at increased risk for stroke to receive either rivaroxaban (at a daily dose of 20 mg) or dose-adjusted warfarin. buy Idasanutlin The per-protocol, as-treated primary analysis was designed to determine whether rivaroxaban was noninferior to warfarin for the primary end point of stroke or systemic embolism.

Results

In the primary analysis, the primary end point occurred in 188 patients in the rivaroxaban group (1.7% per year) and in 241 in the warfarin group (2.2% per year) (hazard ratio in the rivaroxaban group, 0.79; 95% confidence interval Necrostatin-1 purchase [CI], 0.66 to 0.96; P < 0.001 for noninferiority).

In the intention-to-treat analysis, the primary end point occurred in 269 patients in the rivaroxaban group (2.1% per year) and in 306 patients in the warfarin group (2.4% per year) (hazard ratio, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.74 to 1.03; P < 0.001 for noninferiority; P = 0.12 for superiority). Major and nonmajor clinically relevant bleeding occurred in 1475 patients in the rivaroxaban group (14.9% per year) and in 1449 in the warfarin group (14.5% per year) (hazard

ratio, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.96 to 1.11; P = 0.44), with significant reductions in intracranial hemorrhage (0.5% vs. 0.7%, P = 0.02) and fatal bleeding (0.2% vs. 0.5%, P = 0.003) in the rivaroxaban Epothilone B (EPO906, Patupilone) group.

Conclusions

In patients with atrial fibrillation, rivaroxaban was noninferior to warfarin for the prevention of stroke or systemic embolism. There was no significant between-group difference in the risk of major bleeding, although intracranial and fatal bleeding occurred less frequently in the rivaroxaban group. (Funded by Johnson & Johnson and Bayer; ROCKET AF ClinicalTrials. gov number, NCT00403767.)”
“Background

Daptomycin is a lipopeptide with bactericidal activity that acts on the cell membrane of enterococci and is often used off-label to treat patients infected with vancomycin-resistant enterococci. However, the emergence of resistance to daptomycin during therapy threatens its usefulness.