Publications by authors named "Jacqueline S Birks"
Article Synopsis
- * The OxHARP trial included 75 participants with mild-to-moderate brain changes and compared the effects of sildenafil, cilostazol, and a placebo over three weeks using various measures of brain blood flow and function.
- * Results showed that while sildenafil did not change cerebral pulsatility compared to placebo or cilostazol, it did lead to significant increases in blood flow, suggesting some positive effects on cerebrovascular function.
Article Synopsis
- Transdermal capillary blood (TCB) sampling was evaluated as a practical alternative to traditional venous blood sampling for measuring C-peptide and islet autoantibodies in individuals with type 1 diabetes.
- In a study with 91 participants, TCB demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity in detecting levels of C-peptide compared to venous sampling, with very few sample failures.
- Most participants preferred TCB sampling over venous sampling, indicating it could be a more acceptable method for monitoring diabetes biomarkers in clinical settings.
Background: Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia in older people. One approach to symptomatic treatment of Alzheimer's disease is to enhance cholinergic neurotransmission in the brain by blocking the action of the enzyme responsible for the breakdown of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. This can be done by a group of drugs known as cholinesterase inhibitors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Treatment of hyperglycemia in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with improved maternal and neonatal outcomes and requires intensive clinical input. This is currently achieved by hospital clinic attendance every 2 to 4 weeks with limited opportunity for intervention between these visits.
Objective: We conducted a randomized controlled trial to determine whether the use of a mobile phone-based real-time blood glucose management system to manage women with GDM remotely was as effective in controlling blood glucose as standard care through clinic attendance.
Background: Evidence suggests that interleukin (IL)-1β is important in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and its complications and that inhibiting IL-1β may favorably affect vascular disease progression.
Objectives: The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of IL-1β inhibition with canakinumab versus placebo on arterial structure and function, determined by magnetic resonance imaging.
Methods: Patients (N = 189) with atherosclerotic disease and either type 2 diabetes mellitus or impaired glucose tolerance were randomized to receive placebo (n = 94) or canakinumab 150 mg monthly (n = 95) for 12 months.
Background: Alzheimer's disease is the commonest cause of dementia affecting older people. One of the therapeutic strategies aimed at ameliorating the clinical manifestations of Alzheimer's disease is to enhance cholinergic neurotransmission in the brain by the use of cholinesterase inhibitors to delay the breakdown of acetylcholine released into synaptic clefts. Tacrine, the first of the cholinesterase inhibitors to undergo extensive trials for this purpose, was associated with significant adverse effects including hepatotoxicity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Alzheimer's disease is the commonest cause of dementia affecting older people. One of the therapeutic strategies aimed at ameliorating the clinical manifestations of Alzheimer's disease is to enhance cholinergic neurotransmission in the brain by the use of cholinesterase inhibitors to delay the breakdown of acetylcholine released into synaptic clefts. Tacrine, the first of the cholinesterase inhibitors to undergo extensive trials for this purpose, was associated with significant adverse effects including hepatotoxicity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF