Chemical and pharmacological studies of Phyllanthus caroliniensis in mice

We studied retrospectively the effect of long-term treatment with an inhaled corticosteroid on bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) and clinical asthma in moderate-severe asthmatic subjects. Fifty-eight patients who had used beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) over one year, were enrolled in this study. BHR was measured before and after treatment with BDP by the methods recommended by Japanese Society of Allergology. Moreover we examined the clinical factors and the frequency of acute exacerbations. The results as follows: 1) The mean age was 48.8 years and the mean asthma history was 9.2 years. The mean dose and mean time of BDP administration was 801 micrograms/day and 28.1 months, respectively. 2) Patients during BDP treatment over one year showed about 6-fold mean improvements in BHR, but there were many patients who showed no improvements in BHR. 3) We retrospectively divided all the patients into two groups. Namely, the improved group (n = 25) showed more than 4 fold improvement in BHR and unchanged group (n = 33), less than 4-fold. But there were no significant differences in clinical characteristics and %FEV1 during treatment with BDP. 4) The unchanged group had more near fatal episodes in the past than the improved group. 5) There was significant decrease in acute exacerbation during treatment with BDP, but the unchanged group had more acute exacerbations than the improved group during treatment with BDP. These results indicates that there are many patients who had no improvement on BHR with long term BDP treatment and they have more acute exacerbations due to various stimuli. In conclusion, asthma is recognized chronic inflammatory disease and inhaled corticosteroid therapy has been recommended as the first line therapy. We must further study the clinical problems and underlying mechanisms concerning about treatment with an inhaled corticosteroid.     

Phlegmon of the stomach simulating a perforated ulcer

A new family of cytochrome P450 enzymes, CYP26, has been cloned and characterized in zebra fish, human, and mouse tissues. CYP26 displays specificity toward retinoic acid and it may function as an important regulator or differentiation and a possible modulator of disease states by controlling retinoid concentration and homeostasis.     

Effects of water-soluble polymers and electrolytes on permeability of heavy clay soils

A study has been made of the effects of water-soluble polymers on the filtration and chemical response of gypsum-bearing soils from the Hunger Steppe and takyr-like soils from the Karsha Steppe.Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 34, No. 2, pp. 236–242, February, 1978.     

Erythema elevatum diutinum. Response to dapsone

A patient with a 20-year history is presented as a classic example of erythema elevatum diutinum, with a dramatic response to dapsone therapy, and with interesting features of improvement during pregnancies and occurrence of giant cell tumors of soft tissue, neither of these latter features having been previously reported.     

Role of nitric oxide in the inhibition of cytochrome P450 in the liver of mice infected with Chlamydia trachomatis

In this study, we attempted to determine the effect of a systemic infection with Chlamydia trachomatis on cytochrome P450(CYP)-dependent metabolism in mice. Furthermore, we wanted to assess if these effects were mediated through NO. BALB/c(H-2d) female mice were inoculated intraperitoneally with the C. trachomatis mouse pneumonitis (MoPn) biovar, and induction of NO synthase (NOS) was detected by measuring [NOx] levels and inducible NOS protein content in peritoneal macrophages by Western blotting. Recovery of C. trachomatis from liver, lung, and spleen peaked at 4 days postinfection. Following cotreatment with N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), an inhibitor of NO synthase, there was a significant increase in the intensity and the length of the infection. Six days after inoculation with C. trachomatis, CYP1A- and CYP2B-mediated metabolism in the liver of the mice was diminished up to 49% of control levels. However, when animals were treated with N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester at days 4 and 6 postinfection, the decrease in the metabolism of CYP1A and CYP2B was largely blocked. These results suggest that C. trachomatis infection can depress cytochrome P450 in a manner similar to other types of infections and that NO is likely to be a mediator of this depression. This finding may be of significance to patients taking drugs that are metabolized by phase I enzymes during infections with some bacteria such as C. trachomatis.