Homeopathic medicine and presidential health: homeopathic influences upon two Ohio presidents

Forty-five diabetes patients with painful peripheral polyneuropathy were enrolled in a 3-month observational study comparing the therapeutic efficacy of Milgamma tablets (50 mg benfothiamine and 0.25 mg cyancobalamine) with parallel randomized treatment assignment with the conventional vitamin B complex treatment regimen Neurobex. Thirty patients in group one were randomized to receive two Milgamma tablets qid for three weeks followed by 1 Milgamma tablet tid for 9 weeks. In group two 15 patients received two Neurobex tablets tid for the entire 3-month study period. Therapeutic efficacy was assessed on the basis of within-patient differences in pain severity between Milgamma and Neurobex-treated patients and in vibration perception thresholds using the Rydel-Seiffer biothesiometer at baseline and at the end of the study. Statistically significant relief of both background and peak neuropathic pain was achieved in all of the Milgamma-treated patients and vibration perception thresholds dramatically improved with a median of 1.56 measured on the biothesiometer scale (t = 3.24, P < 0.01). The sensory symptoms improvement was insignificant in the Neurobex-treated patient group and the changes in the vibration perception thresholds failed to reach statistical significance. The therapeutic efficacy of Milgamma was greater in patients with early-stage diabetes as compared with those with advanced diabetic neuropathy. No adverse reactions were observed following the administration of the medication. Our results underscore the importance of Milgamma tablets as an indispensable element in the therapeutic regimen of patients with painful diabetic polyneuropathy.     

Phospholipase A2 in human placental serum

Intervillous blood was collected from term placentae at delivery, and sera were tested for phospholipase A2 under various experimental conditions. Enzyme activity was found to develop upon extended storage in the cold or at 37 degrees C. The enzyme is reversibly inhibited by dithiothreitol, requires Ca++ ions for activity, and tolerates various detergents. The apparent molecular weight is 42 kDa. In all these parameters the serum enzyme behaves similar to the 42 kDa phospholipase A2 which we recently purified to homogeneity from thoroughly washed placental tissue. Serum phospholipase A2 appears to be generated by proteolytic processing from a slightly larger inactive precursor which was detected immunochemically. Most likely this protein originates from fetal cells and may be released by membrane damage. We conclude that both placental serum and tissue harbour a novel type of phospholipase A2 which is distinct from cytosolic and secretory phospholipases A2. Preference for arachidonate containing substrate suggests a role in eicosanoid production within gestational tissues.     

Adenovirus enhancement of polyethylenimine-mediated transfer of regulated genes in differentiated cells

Efficient gene transfer is a prerequisite for analysing regulation of transfected promoters. We combined the DNA binding property of the cationic polymer polyethylenimine (PEI) and the potent endocytic activity of adenovirus in a PEI-DNA-adenovirus complex which provided efficient plasmid delivery in differentiated cultured cells. We transfected 3T3-F442A adipocytes, C2.7 myocytes and FAO hepatoma cells with a construct containing the simian virus 40 promoter fused to the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) gene, using a combination of PEI and 200 p.f.u. per cell of replication-deficient type 5 adenovirus. Resulting CAT activities varied according to the cell type reaching about 0.6, 8 and 38 units/mg protein for respectively 3T3-F442A, FAO and C2.7 cells. Increases in transfection efficiencies were 140- to 300-fold when compared with those obtained with PEI alone. Then we tested physiologically regulated promoters: the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase gene promoter in 3T3-F442A or FAO cells and the hexokinase II gene promoter in C2.7 myocytes. Gene expression was appropriately increased by clofibrate, dexamethasone and insulin for 3T3-F442A, FAO and C2.7 cells, respectively. Thus, the combination of PEI and adenovirus is a simple, efficient, inexpensive and versatile method of gene transfer which is applicable to several differentiated cells and provides a physiologically coherent transgene regulation. We name this method PEI-adenofection.     

Proteolytic processing of ricin A chain is not required for cytotoxicity

PURPOSE: To evaluate prospectively the use of peripherally inserted central catheters in a large pediatric population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: During a 3-year period, data were collected prospectively on 523 consecutive attempts to place peripherally inserted central catheters in children. Patients underwent radiologically guided placement because attempts were unsuccessful on the inpatient units or a patient request was made. Fluoroscopy with use of contrast material and venography were used to place catheters and document the position of the catheter tip. Follow-up data were collected until treatment cessation or catheter removal. RESULTS: Among 523 attempts, 486 (92.9%) catheters were successfully placed. In the 37 (7.1%) unsuccessful cases, more than half of these children were younger than 24 months of age or weighed less than 5 kg. Ages of patients in whom 523 placement attempts were made ranged from 3 weeks to 18 years (mean, 6.9 years). Catheters were in place from 1 to 390 days (mean, 20 days). Frequency of infection was 1.9% (nine cases); incidence of infection was 0.93 per 1,000 catheter-placement days. There were two cases (0.4%) of central venous thrombosis. Most patients were discharged within 2 days of catheter placement. CONCLUSION: Fluoroscopically guided placement of peripherally inserted central catheters is a safe and effective method for establishing intermediate- and long-term central venous access in the pediatric population.     

Analysis of electrical phenomena accompanying the growth of Neurospora crassa hyphae: theory and experiment

To describe electrical phenomena observed in growth of Neurospora crassa hyphae, a theoretical model was developed considering the hypha as a one-dimensional electric cable with non-uniform longitudinal distribution of current sources reflecting the activity of proton pumps. A profile of the density of the pump current along the hypha is proposed, at which the results of simulation quantitatively coincide with the results of physiological experiments. The model values of energy coupling in the growth zones were estimated. The experimental dependence of the elongation rate of regenerating apical hypha fragments on their lengths was determined. Based on the comparison of these experimental results with the results of analysis of the model, the contribution of the axial metabolite transport, from the distal parts of the hypha to the apical part, to the dynamics of the apical cell growth was estimated. The possibility of evaluating the intensity of high-molecular-weight syntheses and/or accumulation of substances in granules was demonstrated. The growth rate of the regenerating hypha fragments was shown to correlate with the electric current flowing into the apical fragment 0.2-mm in length.     

Food intake and weight of lactating rats maintained on different protein-calorie diets, and pup growth

Studies on rats maintained on low-protein-calorie diets during the lactation period show that food intake decreases. This process results in weight loss and a delay in litter development. The purpose of the present study was to determine the alterations in food intake, maternal weight and litter growth during lactation when dams were exposed to diets with different levels of protein and carbohydrate. Female Wistar rats receiving one of 4 different diets, A (N = 14), B (N = 14), C (N = 9) and D (N = 9), were used. Diet A contained 16% protein and 66% carbohydrate; diet B, 6% protein and 77% carbohydrate; diet C, 6% protein and 66% carbohydrate; diet D, 16% protein and 56% carbohydrate. Thus, C and D diets were hypocaloric, while A and B were isocaloric. The intake of a low-protein diet in groups B and C affected the weight of dams and litters during the last two weeks of lactation, while the low-calorie diets limited the growth of D litters at 21 days compared with A litters, but had no effect on the weight of D dams. Group B showed an increase in intake during the first five days of lactation, resulting in a behavioral calorie compensation due to the increase in carbohydrate content, but the intake decreased during the last part of lactation. Food intake regulation predominantly involves the recruitment of a variety of peripheral satiety systems that attempt to decrease the central feeding command system.     

Cryoprecipitate prepared from plasma virally inactivated by the solvent detergent method

The newly discovered peptide nociceptin/orphanin FQ has been found to increase reactivity to pain and to influence locomotor activity after intracerebroventricular administration. This study investigated the possible role of hippocampal nociceptin/orphanin FQ in spatial learning and in spontaneous locomotion. Male rats were trained in the Morris water task after microinjection of 10 nmol nociceptin/orphanin FQ or artificial cerebrospinal fluid (as control) into the CA3 region of the dorsal hippocampus. Nociceptin/orphanin FQ was found to severely impair spatial learning without interfering with swimming performance. Intrahippocampal injection of nociceptin/ orphanin FQ markedly decreased exploratory locomotor activity including vertical movements (rearing). The data suggest that nociceptin/orphanin FQ is a potent modulator of synaptic plasticity within the hippocampus.