Biomedical subjects

R Peper

Publications and source records attributed to R Peper.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2007

[Oxcarbazepine in the treatment of epilepsy].

BACKGROUND: Oxcarbazepine (OXC; Timox) is a new antiepileptic drug (AED) chemically related to carbamazepine (CBZ), with comparable efficacy but superior safety according to controlled clinical trials. In a prospective, post-marketing surveillance (PMS) study the efficacy and tolerability of OXC were investigated under conditions of daily routine practice. METHODS: The treatment of 1385 male and female epilepsy patients aged between 1 month and 94 years, who were newly stabilized on OXC or changed over from another AED, was documented in 362 centers over a period of 8 weeks. Efficacy and tolerability were assessed by documenting the frequency of seizures and adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and by global efficacy and tolerability ratings obtained from the patients and investigators. RESULTS: Before the PMS study, 688/1335 patients (49.7 %) had received pre-treatment with CBZ, 342 (24.7 %) had received another AED and 335 (25.6 %) had had no AED pre-treatment (initial OXC monotherapy). In 161 patients pre-treated with CBZ (23,4 % of 688) an immediate (overnight) switch to OXC was performed while most others were switched during a titration phase. Of the patients with CBZ pre-treatment 21 % were switched to OXC at the recommended dose ratio of 1 : 1.4 - 1 : 1.6 (CBZ : OXC) while roughly 60 % were changed to OXC with a lower ratio. In the total sample the median OXC maintenance dose was 900 mg/day. During treatment with OXC the frequency of seizures per 4 weeks decreased by an average of 76 % in comparison to a retrospective pre-phase. 74 % of the patients showed an improved seizure situation, and 40.5 % became seizure-free under OXC (patients with initial monotherapy became seizure-free in 62 % of the cases). 71 % of the patients showed a reduction of their seizure frequency versus baseline by > or = 50 %. ADRs were reported in 10,8 % of the participants (incidence: 1 in 459 days of exposition to OXC; overnight switching from CBZ to OXC: 1 event in 1284 days). Only 2.5 % of the patients terminated OXC administration due to ADRs while 92 % continued treatment with OXC beyond the end of the study. CONCLUSIONS: The results underline the high antiepileptic efficacy and good tolerability of OXC previously demonstrated in controlled clinical trials. When changing from CBZ to OXC, immediate (overnight) switching showed particularly favorable results.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

The effects of group housing on the research use of the laboratory rabbit.

This project evaluated the influence of group housing on common aspects of research use of female laboratory rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Eight rabbits housed individually in conventional cages were compared to a second group of 8 housed as a social group in a proportionately larger enclosure. The group housing method provided increased opportunities for exercise, social contact, and a more novel environment. As a function of housing style, the 2 experimental groups were compared on humoral and delayed hypersensitivity response, feed intake, growth rate, and selected physiological parameters that are considered to reflect stress in most species. Single and group housed rabbits did not significantly differ in physiological and immunological measurements, indicating that the practical research performance (immune response, stress level, growth rates etc.) of these rabbits was not significantly affected by group housing compared with the more traditional single housing. Analysis of group social behaviour indicated that the rabbits preferred small social groups, had preferences for microenvironments within the enclosure, and exhibited behaviours that are not possible when housed singly. Group housing appeared to be a successful method for enriching the environment of female rabbits and aspects of it should be considered in the approach to housing rabbits used in research.

Animals↗

PubMed1978

Searching for multiple targets simultaneously: is it really possible?

In an attempt to clarify the findings of Neisser and his associates with respect to parallel processing of multiple target items in a visual search task, subjects were tested in a multiple-target search situation in which the various target sets were not nested. 20 sessions were run for each subject with 12 trials per day. The targets used were geometric forms, allowing for manipulation of the number of features in each form. The results do not confirm those of Neisser, in fact, the interaction of session x target-set size was in a direction opposite to that predicted by a parallel preattentive processing may in fact have reflected a tendency for subjects to scan for a master set of targets, regardless of which subset of that set was actually present on a given set.

Adult↗

PubMed1978

Use of constant target sets in visual search tasks.

54 subjects participated in a visual scanning study in which each subject was provided with only a single target set (of 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, or 10 letters in length). Eight sessions of 30 trials each were completed for each subject. Although there were slight differences in the rate at which performance improved over trials, this was not systematically related to size of target set. Moreover, even in the last session, there were large differences in performance in the different target sets. These findings suggest that Neisser's evidence for parallel preattentive processing in such tasks may have been confounded by his use of nested target sets and a within-subject design.

Adult↗