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Dabigatran etexilate is an oral compound that is converted after absorption by a serum esterase to dabigatran, a direct competitive inhibitor of thrombin.
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Current indications for cardiac-resynchronization therapy (CRT) require that patients have New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class III or Class IV heart-failure symptoms. However, long-standing ventricular dyssynchrony can lead to left-ventricular remodeling and decreased left-ventricular ejection fraction.
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The timing of mitral valve surgery in patients with severe organic mitral regurgitation (MR), but without symptoms, is controversial.
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Concerns about the potential increased risk of prostate cancer associated with high intakes of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA; 18:3n-3) were re-assessed by the authors of this systematic review, but the aforementioned concerns could not be completely allayed.
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There is no agreed upon standard therapy for men experiencing inflammatory chronic prostatitis/ chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS). The results of this strong clinical trial suggest that a 12-week course of therapy with a specific pollen extract is significantly more effective than placebo in reducing the symptoms of CP/CPPS, especially pain.
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The oral absorption and clearance of either amoxicillin or cefaclor was tested in women who also ingested cranberry juice cocktail. Although there was modest slowing of absorption (amoxicillin and cefaclor) and decreased maximum serum drug concentration (cefaclor) when the cranberry groups were compared to control groups (water), the overall clinical effect seemed to be negligible.
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One-third of adults older than age 40 has vestibular dysfunction.
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In a mouse model of atherosclerosis, researchers showed that a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet with a macronutrient profile that approximates the maintenance phase of well-known low-carbohydrate diets in humans significantly worsens the development and severity of aortic atherosclerosis in the absence of significant changes in well-established biomarkers for cardiovascular disease. In addition, such a diet appears to impair neovascularization in response to ischemia.
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This survey study assessed religious behavior, affective state, and health behaviors in a group of 167 adult cancer survivors. A measure of religious experience was associated with self-confidence, while religious struggle was associated with feelings of guilt, and all were associated with some health behaviors. After controlling for affective state, associations with the religion variables were no longer statistically significant, though a measurable indirect effect, mediated by affective state, could be detected.
