This study examined the impact of switching from another antipsychotic to ziprasidone on the distribution of the number of risk factors for MetS in subjects with schizophrenia or related psychotic disorders. Research design and methods: In this 1 year, open-label, prospective study, all subjects received ziprasidone 40-160 mg/day. Standard exclusion criteria included treatment resistance, physical health disorders, and substance abuse. The primary end point was the percentage of subjects achieving a reduction from baseline

of at least one risk factor for MetS at end point (week 52 or premature discontinuation) in the per-protocol population (treated for at least 16 weeks). Secondary end points included the mean change from baseline in number of JNK-IN-8 in vivo MetS risk factors, the prevalence of PLX3397 datasheet MetS, individual MetS risk factors (waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and glucose), and 10 year coronary heart disease (Framingham score) risk. Clinical trial registration: www.clinicaltrials.gov: NCT00748566. Main outcome measures: Of 114 evaluable subjects, 58.77% demonstrated one less MetS risk factor at week 52 (last observation carried forward) compared with baseline. Secondary end points also improved, with reductions in other metabolic parameters (fasting low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol

and serum insulin, weight, body mass index and glycosylated hemoglobin [HbA(1c)]). The 10 year coronary heart disease risk decreased continually over time. The open-label and uncontrolled design is a limitation of the study. Conclusions:

Ziprasidone treatment reduced both the rate of MetS and its individual risk factors in subjects with schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders. The results have implications for the selection of first-line treatments in schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders, and provide treatment options for subjects who have developed MetS as a result of other antipsychotics.”
“Chlamydia trachomatis causes a high number of sexually transmitted infections worldwide, but reproducible and precise strain typing to link partners is lacking. We evaluated multilocus selleck chemical sequence typing (MLST) for this purpose by detecting sequence types (STs) concordant for the ompA genotype, a single-locus typing standard. We tested samples collected during April 2000 October 2003 from members of established heterosexual partnerships (dyads) in the Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, area who self-reported being coital partners within the previous 30 days. C. trachomatis DNA from 28 dyads was tested by MLST; sequences were aligned and analyzed for ST and phylogenetic relationships. MLST detected 9 C. trachomatis STs, 4 unique to Indianapolis; STs were identical within each dyad.