Retrospective comparisons of the Swedish

Retrospective comparisons of the Swedish CYC202 ic50 and Dutch cohorts, where different strategies have been used, indicate that a costly, high-dose regimen improves outcome, but not dramatically. A prospective comparison is now underway. Treatment, clinical outcome, clotting factor consumption and socioeconomic

parameters will be compared between the two strategies. Results are expected to provide greater insight into the long-term consequences of the different prophylactic treatment strategies. The economic justification for prophylaxis has been addressed in several studies with varying results. While the majority (implicitly) suggest that prophylaxis is not cost effective at conventional willingness to pay for additional units in health thresholds, their results vary markedly. Closer

inspection suggests that the primary reasons results differ include different definitions of prophylaxis, clotting factor price, discount rates, choice of outcome measures and time horizon. Long-term replacement therapy prophylaxis, selleck chemical for haemophilia has a longstanding tradition in some countries. Cohort studies have shown prophylaxis not only to be superior to treatment on demand in terms of outcome, usually measured as haemophilic arthropathy, but also of quality of life and survival. Because of the rareness of the disease, extensive international collaboration and many years of follow-up are required to perform studies of high scientific merit. Thus, these have been completed only during the last several years. Together with larger and more long-term cohort studies, we now have firm evidence for the benefits of prophylaxis. However, several questions remain such as when to start prophylaxis, dose and dosing and when or if to stop. The focus for current research has increasingly become that of identifying the best strategy for providing a reasonable economic justification of prophylaxis so that countries with fewer economic HA-1077 in vivo resources can also afford

it. In this article, the history of prophylaxis is reviewed and a comparison of the long-term outcomes of high-dose (Swedish) and intermediate-dose (Dutch) regimens are presented. Importantly, the economic justifications for prophylaxis are also examined. (Dr Berntorp) Studies conducted in Sweden by Ramgren and Ahlberg [1,2] during the 1960s showed that persons with haemophilia (PWH) with FVIII or IX levels above 1% of normal rarely developed severe disabling arthropathy. They hypothesized that it was logical to increase the level of factor activity in severe haemophilia to at least 1% by continuous prophylaxis. In The Netherlands, another pioneering country in this field, prophylaxis was introduced in 1968 [3]. Several attempts at prevention of bleeding with prophylaxis were documented during the late 1960s and the 1970s, both in Europe and North America.

Eosinophilic oesophagitis and other causes were ruled out on mult

Eosinophilic oesophagitis and other causes were ruled out on multiple serial biopsies. No NSAID

Fulvestrant mw use was reported. All patients are on optimal acid suppression for years. The mean duration of dysphagia was 2.5 years. Swallowed Fluticasone sprays did not relieve the symptoms. Repeated dilatations were required for symptom control. Over a mean follow up of 5.2 years two patients became symptom free after just one session of Triamcinolone injection and in the others the dilatation interval significantly increased from average of 3 months to 9.6 months Both patients continue to have the mucosal friability but have achieved significant relief of dysphagia. Conclusion: Discussion: This is a report of a hereto unreported presentation of chronic reflux disease with endoscopic appearances of Eosinophilic oesophagitis

with peeling membranes and diffuse strictures. All of our cases were older females and painstakingly repeated biopsies have ruled out Eosinophilic and other forms of non-reflux oesophagitis. The condition seems to respond well to Triamcinolone injection and dilatations. Conclusion: Diffuse membranous oesophagitis with appearance of Eosinophilic oesophagitis can be a rare presentation of Gastro esophageal reflux disease and can be satisfactorily managed with triamcinolone injection and periodic dilatation. Key Word(s): 1. Injection; 2. Dilatation; 3. Diffuse stricturing; 4. Oesophagitis; Presenting Author: GUO TING Additional Authors: DONG LEI Corresponding Author: GUO TING Affiliations: Xi’an Jiaotong University School of Medicine Objective: Studies have found INCB024360 chemical structure that epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which is the major bioactive constituent in green tea, played a key role in the chemoprevention and theraphy for various cancer through different signaling pathway and target moleculor. But whether EGCG exerts the anti-cancer effect by regulating Hippo-YAP (yes-associated protein) signaling pathway, why which is the most crucial for regulating organ size and tumorigenesis, to prevent cell cycle progression is still

unknown. This study is to investigate the effect of EGCG on the cell viability and cell cycle of gastric cancer cell line SGC-7901 and represent its possible mechanism. Methods: Gastric cancer cell line SGC-7901 was cultrued in vitro; MTT assay was used to measure the cell viability; Flow cotometry was used to assese the cell cycle; The mRNA and protein expression of YAP and cyclinD1 were evaluated by reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) and western blot, respectively. Results: 1) Cell viability: the A490 nm values in EGCG treated groups (20 uM, 40 uM, 80 uM, 160 uM) were all signifantly lower than control group (p < 0.05), which suggested that EGCG can reduce the cell viability and inhibit the cell growth. And there was dose-and time-dependent relationship; 2) Cell cycle: EGCG can signifantly inhibit the cell cycle progression (p < 0.

In the group with successful eradication, patients with RM and IM

In the group with successful eradication, patients with RM and IM was 86.8% (33/38) as compared with 83.3% (10/12) in

the failed eradication group. (p = 0.54). Conclusion: Dual therapy using high dose PPI with high dose amoxicillin is a simple and convenient regimen with minimal side effect. It resulted in 72.2% eradication rate in spite of high proportion of RM and IM. The CYP2C19 effect on eradication rate may be overcome by using high dose PPI. The suboptimal eradication rate of this regimen could be due to short duration of therapy so further study looking at extended therapy may be useful. Key Word(s): 1. Dual Therapy; 2. Helicobactor pylori; 3. Fist line therapy; 4. CYP2C19; Presenting Author: DILOROM ISHANKULOVA Additional Authors: GYESIDIN BGB324 molecular weight MIROJOV, SAYFULLO AVEZOV Corresponding Author: DILOROM ISHANKULOVA Affiliations: Institute of Gastroenterology Objective: The most important reason for treatment failures for Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) BVD-523 molecular weight eradication is the increase in antibiotic resistance. Preliminary determination of antibiotic susceptibility increases H. pylori eradication. We aimed to study of the sensitivity of H.pylori strains, circulating in Tajikistan, to antibiotics. Methods: 96

patients (men – 55, women – 41, at the age of 18–59 years, disease duration from 2 months to 8 years) are surveyed. The duodenal ulcer (DU) is diagnosed in 32 patients, chronic gastritis (CG) in 64 patients. Sensitivity of H. pylori to metronidazole, amoxicillin and clarithromycin was determined by a microbiological method. All patients were given the standard triple therapy of the first

line of eradication therapy: omeprazole 40 mg combined with amoxicillin 2000 mg and metronidazole 1200 mg (first schedule) or clarithromycin1000 mg (second schedule) per day within 7 days. Results: H. DCLK1 pylori strains were sensitive to amoxicillin at 31 (96,9%) patients with duodenal ulcer and at 61 (95,3%) patients with chronic gastritis. The average value of sensitivity of H. pylori to amoxicillin is 95.8%, to clarithromycin – 89.6%. Only at 21 of 46 patients sensitivity to metronidazole is revealed. Eradication has been reached at 76% of DU patients and at 68% of the CG patients, given the first schedule and 92 and 85% of patients given the second schedule respectively. Conclusion: Resistance of strains of H.pylori, circulating in Tajikistan, to amoxicillin and clarithromycin is low and also doesn’t exceed threshold values. Metronidazole isn’t recommended for application in eradication therapies because of high resistance of H.pylori to it (54.3%). Key Word(s): 1. H. pylori; 2. resistance; 3.

Reporter assays showed that

Reporter assays showed that FDA approved Drug Library clinical trial the activation of LXRs significantly reduced the transcriptional activity of FOXM1 promoter. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays demonstrated that LXRα but not LXRβ could

bind to an inverted repeat IR2 (-52CCGTCAcgTGACCT-39) in the promoter region of FOXM1 gene. Moreover, FOXM1 expression in liver tissues was also inhibited in the mice fed with LXRs agonists. Conclusion: Taken together, we conclude that LXRα but not LXRβ functions as a transcriptional repressor for the expression of FOXM1. The pathway “LXRα-FOXM1-Cyclin D1/B1” is a novel mechanism by which LXRs suppress the proliferation of HCC cells, suggesting that the pathway may be a novel target for the treatment of HCC. Key Word(s): 1. LXRs; 2. FOXM1; 3. proliferation, cycle; 4. HCC; Presenting Author: QIANGJIAN WANG Additional Authors: JUNLI LAO, XIONGWEN ZOU, YUAN HUANG Corresponding Author:

YUAN HUANG Affiliations: The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University; the first affiliated hospital, liaoning medical schoo Objective: To assess the therapeutic effect of metformin combined with reduced glutathione on patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. SB431542 clinical trial Methods: 150 patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease were randomly divided into three groups, control group, low-dose group and high-dose group, each is 50 patients. Patients in low-dose group were treated with

metformin Casein kinase 1 (250 mg tid) combined with reduced glutathione (0.1 g tid) and patients in high-dose group were treated with metformin (500 mg tid) combined with reduced glutathione (0.1 g tid), while in control group treated with metformin (250 mg tid) for consecutive 6 months. Liver function indexes (ALT, AST, r-GT) and lipid levels (CH, TG, HDL, LDL) were compared before and after treatment. Side-effect was also observed during the experiment. Results: The liver function indexes and lipid levels of three groups were all obviously changed compared with pretherapy at the end point. It of high-dose and low-dose groups were all changed than control group (P < 0.05). And no severe side-effects occurred during the experiment. Conclusion: Metformin combined with reduced glutathione is an effective and safe remedy for treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and with the increase dosage of metformin, the therapeutic effect increased. Key Word(s): 1. NAFLD; 2. metformin; 3. reduced glutathione; Presenting Author: LI CHANGPING Additional Authors: HESHUANG YAN Corresponding Author: LI CHANGPING Affiliations: affliated hospital Objective: To investigate the role of hepatocyte apoptosis, related factors: Fas, FasL, Bcl-2, Bax proteins and Caspase-8 mRNA in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in rats.

In a few cases we held bats overnight and measured bite force in

In a few cases we held bats overnight and measured bite force in the morning after they had warmed up. For bats willing to bite, we recorded the maximum bite force that the bat produced. The mean bite force (biteForce) for a species was the average of the strongest bite for each individual (Table 1). As presented below, our method produces bite forces similar to those of Aguirre et al. (2002). With this in mind, we used their bite force data for two species, this website Phyllostomus hastatus and Noctilio leporinus, because we had muscle and jaw measurements for these species, but not bite forces. We performed our research on live animals following guidelines set by ASM, and

approved by the University of Nebraska’s committee on animal care and use (IACUC). Our standard protocol for testing bite force is that no pain stimulation is used and second, testing is brief and lasts about a minute. Voucher specimens of each species were collected for identification, muscle dissection and measurement. All measurements used here were taken on this sample (normally two adults, a male and female) for each species and averaged. Species and sample sizes of measured individuals

of the 39 species included in this study are presented in Table 1. Lengths measured and illustrated in Fig. 1 include: length from mandibular condyle to tip of coronoid (inputArm), length from mandibular condyle to tip of canine (outputArm), LGK-974 in vivo length from rear of last molar to tip of canine (loadArm), height of dentary at rear of last molar (htDent), width of dentary just posterior to last molar (widDent). Masses measured include: mass of freshly caught animals (bodyMass),

mass of skull including dentary (skullMass, of cleaned and dried bone), sum of masses of left and right temporalis, masseter and pterygoideus jaw muscles dissected from freshly caught specimens (jawmusMass). We also measured width across the zygomatic arches (zygoWidth) on the cranium. All variables were log Astemizole (base 10) transformed before analysis. Our first model uses just bodyMass, a general measure of size, to predict bite force. Next are three models that are based on head size: zygoWidth, jawmusMass and skullMass. Because the head produces the bites we reasoned head-size models might be more closely correlated with bite force, especially if relative head size varies among species. Our next model is more complex because it includes both a measure of size and mechanical advantage in the form of input and output arms. This model is an index of bite force based on mass of fresh jaw muscles and a lever (force × input arm/output arm): Mass of jaw muscle (jawmusMass) is raised to the 2/3 power to obtain a measure linearly related to cross-sectional area. Although the muscleCalc model is a step up in complexity from the jawmusMass model, it is simpler than the biomechanical models that include fiber lengths of muscles and insertion points for each muscle (Herrel et al., 2008; Santana et al.

18 FLI was associated with tumor necrosis factor α soluble recept

18 FLI was associated with tumor necrosis factor α soluble receptor II (Spearman’s ρ = 0.14, P < 0.011) and with leptin (Spearman's ρ = 0.38, P < 0.0001) but not with monocyte chemoattractant protein 1/chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (Spearman's ρ = 0.011, P = 0.86). The levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein were measured in a subgroup of 447 elderly subjects (≥65 years old) to establish its interaction with the lipid profile in the Cremona study19 and was associated

with FLI (Spearman’s ρ = 0.29, P < 0.0001). This work demonstrates an association between FLI and all-cause mortality in middle-aged individuals. FLI was associated not only with hepatic-related mortality but also with CVD and nonhepatic Saracatinib cancer mortality independently of the diabetes/IGT status and metabolic syndrome. For the first time, this surrogate marker was validated as a predictor of all-cause mortality in a population study; moreover, for the first time, an association between NAFLD and mortality rates was established during a 15-year follow-up period. Hepatic-related mortality was independent of the concomitant insulin-resistant state; in contrast, CVD, cancer, and all-cause mortality rates were tightly related to the concomitant

insulin-resistant state estimated with HOMA-IR. CVD and cancer were the two most common causes of death in the Cremona population, and chronic liver disease (cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in particular) accounted for Ipatasertib concentration 7% of all deaths. FLI was associated with an absolute reduction of the survival rate. This finding agrees with the data generated by the population study of Olmsted County, MN, in which NAFLD was associated with reduced survival in the general population with a follow-up period of 7 to 8 years20 and in people with type 2 diabetes with a follow-up period of 11 years.21 Also, the finding that FLI was associated with hepatic-related

mortality (a combination of hepatocellular carcinoma–related mortality and cirrhosis-related Monoiodotyrosine mortality) is in agreement with the Olmsted County study, which also reported higher hepatic-related mortality among people with NAFLD20 with 7 to 8 years of follow-up. The association between FLI and CVD mortality is also in agreement with the reports discussed in the introduction and recently reviewed by Targher et al.,6 who summarized the robust evidence supporting the link between NAFLD and CVD in the literature. In all these studies, fatty livers were established through histological findings, ultrasonography, or surrogate markers such as alanine aminotransferase or GGT levels with different CVD endpoints (nonfatal CVD events, deaths from CVD, revascularization procedures, and all-cause mortality), but the maximum length of these studies was 7 to 8 years.

These patients should be referred to Hepatology units working wit

These patients should be referred to Hepatology units working with a liver transplantation programme. Factors which are associated with a reduced chance of achieving SVR include a high pretreatment HCV viral titre, failure to achieve RVR or JAK inhibitors in development EVR, genotype 1 infection, presence of cirrhosis, older age at the time of infection and African racial origin. A genetic polymorphism near the IL28B gene encoding for interferon-λ-3 has been identified as being associated with a twofold difference in response to PegIFN/ribavirin treatment [12]. Testing for the IL28B polymorphism can now be performed in most hepatology reference

centres and can provide useful information to decide which treatment regimen to start. HCV RNA should be assessed in all HIV-positive persons, as approximately 6% of these individuals fail to develop detectable HCV antibodies so a negative antibody test result should not be interpreted as indicating that the patient does not have HCV infection. The management of these patients has been reviewed recently in the UKHCDO guidelines

[10]. Patients coinfected with HIV and HCV have an approximately twofold greater risk of developing cirrhosis, and progress more rapidly to liver failure compared with HCV PLX4032 datasheet monoinfected individuals. The importance of the need to treat HCV in this patient group should therefore be emphasized. To optimize

response to anti-HCV treatment, HIV infection should be fully suppressed using HAART. HAART regimens should not include zidovudine (AZT) as this is contraindicated with ribavirin because of the potential for severe anaemia. Didanosine and stavudine should also be avoided because of the interaction with ribavirin and the risk of potentially fatal lactic acidosis. The impact of abacavir on treatment responses to HCV combination therapy is currently debated. HIV non-progressors who are maintaining normal CD4 counts, not on HAART should also be encouraged to undertake HCV treatment. Co-infected patients have lower SVRs with PegIFN/ribavirin treatment compared with Arachidonate 15-lipoxygenase monoinfected individuals. In the meta-analysis reported by Franchini, coinfected patients had an overall SVR of 29% [9]. Clinical trials of protease inhibitor based triple therapy are currently ongoing in HIV/HCV coinfected patients to assess, safety and efficacy, as well as drug–drug interactions which can be problematic in this patient population. The first direct acting antivirals belonging to the class of protease inhibitors (boceprevir, telaprevir) have been recently approved, but are restricted to the treatment of HCV genotype 1 infections [13].

Methods: 93 cases suspected small intestine disease from April 20

Methods: 93 cases suspected small intestine disease from April 2009 to December 2012 in our hospital were analyzed, which underwent capsule endoscopy. Results: 93 patients successfully completed the

examination, 73 cases were detected., the positive detection rate was 78.5%. Including 30 cases of vascular malformation, 7 cases of small intestinal parasites, 5 cases of small intestinal ulcer, 3 cases of bleeding, 2 cases of small intestinal interstitialoma, 1 cases of small intestinal multiple abnormal uplift, 1 cases of small intestinal diverticulum, 30 cases of non-specific inflammation, 2 cases of polyp, in which 15 cases had two lesions simultaneously. The patients none had any discomfort and complications in the

capsule endoscopy AZD4547 price examination. Conclusion: Capsule endoscopy has been used in clinical, which high detection ability in small intestine diseases, has high security and good compliance, and has become an important means in the diagnosis of small intestine diseases. Key Word(s): 1. Capsule endoscopy; 2. Small intestine; 3. Diagnosis; Presenting Author: ZHONGQING ZHENG Additional Authors: WENTIAN LIU, ZONGSHUN LV, TAO WANG, XIN CHEN, WEI ZHAO, BANGMAO WANG Corresponding AZD2014 manufacturer Author: ZHONGQING ZHENG, BANGMAO WANG Affiliations: Department of Gastroenterology of Tian Jin Medical University General Hospital Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and the fesibility of peroral endoscopic myotomy

(POEM) for esophageal achalasia (AC). Methods: The clinical data of 87 patients diagnosed as AC and received POEM were reviewed retrospectively in our center during April 2011 and March 2013. The key procedures of POEM were as following, 1) esophageal mucosal incision, 2) submucosal “tunnelling” by endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) technique, 3) endoscopic myotomy of the circular muscle, click here 4) closure of mucosal entry by hemostatic clips. Results: All 87 patients received POEM successfully. The average age was 45.2 years (range 13–71). The average duration of symptoms were 6.6 years (range 2 m–20 y). The mean operation time was 96.5 min (range 40–240) with a mean submucosal tunnelling length of 16.5 cm (range 15–17). The average length of endoscopic myotomy of inner circular muscle was 9.5 cm (range 8–10). No serious complicatios related to POEM were encountered. Dysphagia symptom was relieved significantly during the follow-up period in 87 patients; one patient re-occurred dysphagia and vomiting 1 year after the operation, was relieved by balloon dilation. The mean follow-up period was 8.4 m (range 1–24). Conclusion: As a new minimally invasive therapy for AC, POEM seems to be very effective to relieve patient’s dysphagia symptom in a short period. Further observations and long follow-up are needed to evaluate long-term outcome and complications.

Conclusion: Taken together, our findings suggest that TAT plays a

Conclusion: Taken together, our findings suggest that TAT plays an important suppressive role in the development and progression of HCC. HEPATOLOGY 2010 Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers in

the world, especially in Asia and Africa, with a very poor prognosis.1 It is believed that the pathogenesis of HCC is a long-term process that involves multiple genetic selleck chemicals llc alterations. Deletion of 16q is one of the most frequent chromosomal alterations in primary HCC, as observed in studies using loss of heterozygosity (LOH)2 and comparative genomic hybridization (CGH).3 In our previous CGH study the loss of 16q was observed at a strikingly high rate of 70% in 50 primary HCC cases and this deletion may be an early event in

the pathogenesis of HCC.3 Loss of tumor suppressor gene (TSG), E-cadherin at 16q22, has been reported in hepatitis B virus-associated HCC.4 Using a fine mapping strategy, several distinct minimal deleted regions on 16q were found,2 suggesting the existence of other TSGs on 16q associated with HCC pathogenesis. In order to isolate down-regulated transcripts at 16q, complementary DNAs (cDNAs) generated from a primary Staurosporine supplier HCC tumor with the loss of 16q have been applied to subtract cDNAs generated from its matched nontumor until liver tissue. Most of the subtracted genes are localized at commonly deleted chromosomal regions in HCC including 1p, 4q, 8p, 16q, and 17p (unpublished data). One of the isolated genes is the tyrosine aminotransferase (TAT) gene located at 16q22.1. The TAT gene encodes a mitochondrial protein tyrosine aminotransferase which is present in the liver and breaks down tyrosine in a five-step process into

harmless molecules that are either excreted by the kidneys or used in reactions that produce energy. The liver is the principle site of tyrosine formation as well as degradation. Under normal conditions, intracellular tyrosine levels are tightly controlled; transported tyrosine and tyrosine synthesized from phenylalanine are in different metabolic pools.5 Deficiency of hepatic tyrosine aminotransferase results in tyrosinemia type II (Richner-Hanhart syndrome, RHS). Tyrosinemia is a hereditary disease characterized by elevated blood levels of tyrosine, a building block of most proteins. Mutations in the TAT gene cause a shortage of the enzyme, leading to a toxic accumulation of tyrosine and its byproducts, which can damage the liver, kidneys, nervous system, and other organs and tissues.6 Tyrosinemia has long been considered an important risk factor for HCC.

As these reactions may herald the immunological development of ne

As these reactions may herald the immunological development of neutralizing antibodies to the anti-TNF agent, some patients may develop loss of response and require modification of anti-TNF dose, dose-interval or switch to a different agent altogether. Neurological complications.  Anti-TNF therapy has been associated with development and exacerbation of both central and peripheral demyelination. However, a definite causal link has not been established.87,88 Overall, the incidence of de-novo

demyelinating disease is low.89 The α4-integrin inhibitor, natalizumab, has been associated with PML.5 Other.  Anti-TNF therapy is contraindicated in patients with NYHA class III or IV heart failure due to an increased risk of death observed in trials of these GSK3235025 agents to treat heart failure.90 Hepatic dysfunction and rarely fulminant hepatic failure have been reported with anti-TNF therapy. Psoriatic eczema is the most common dermatological side effect; however, it rarely necessitates cessation of anti-TNF therapy.58 Immunomodulator co-therapy.  The SONIC trial demonstrated that co-immunosuppression with a thiopurine and anti-TNF agent is superior Mitomycin C molecular weight to either agent alone for achieving and maintaining remission in

CD.91 Similar results were not shown in the COMMIT trial for co-immunosupression with anti-TNF agents and methotrexate.92 There is speculation that the addition of azathioprine, 6-mercaptopurine or perhaps methotrexate to anti-TNF reduces anti-drug antibody formation, hence boosting trough levels of the biological agent and rendering Sclareol the anti-TNF response more durable.91 This effect is not reflected in the earlier anti-TNF literature. The benefits of immunomodulator plus anti-TNF treatment must be balanced against increases in the risks of infection and lymphoma. Co-therapy of thiopurine and anti-TNF should be recommended in those with severe disease where maximal efficacy is desired. This is particularly important if few alternative medical options are available including prior loss of response or non-response to an alternative

anti-TNF agent. In UC patients receiving infliximab, co-immunosuppression with azathioprine was superior to azathioprine or infliximab monotherapy.35 Screening and prophylaxis.  History, chest X-ray and IFN-γ release assay screening for TB as well as careful historical and serological screening for potential bacterial and viral pathogens can be recommended,58,75 with subsequent immunization where appropriate. These will likely be related to local practices. Hepatitis B virus, human papilloma virus, influenza (including H1N1), and pneumococcal vaccines are all safe in those on immunosuppressive therapy.93 Live vaccines (VZV, yellow fever, measles-mumps-rubella and oral polio) should be avoided 3 weeks before and 12 weeks after anti-TNF therapy94,95 and where possible given prior to the initiation of immunosuppression.