Rho Chi Lecture Award. Is it possible to teach scientific creativity in the pharmaceutical sciences? Anecdotes and memorabilia

Finally, and what may be a fitting end for this recounting, there is a quotation of Francis Bacon's that gives a poetic interpretation of creativity in the scientist: "A scientist is neither an 'ant,' storing what it finds lying about ready-made, nor a 'spider,' spinning a web out of what its entrails secrete. He is a bee, visiting innumerable flowers and collecting the nectar it finds in them; but storing not this nectar in its crude state but the honey into which it turns."     

From IL-15 to IL-33: the never-ending list of new players in inflammation. Is it time to forget the humble aspirin and move ahead?

The study of the inflammatory response has seen a tremendous expansion over the last 30 years. Advancements in technology and better knowledge of the ethiopathogenesis of several inflammatory conditions have facilitated this process allowing researchers to almost reach the core of problem. Thus, we now know that inflammation can be manifested in many different ways depending on the context that has elicited it. Viral and infectious, allergic and autoimmune, carcinogenic and resolutive are just a few examples of how inflammation can disguise itself.However, and most intriguingly, it appears that the more we try to discover “an ideal target” and delineate borders for a specific class of inflammatory conditions the more we find similarities, overlaps or often links that we did not predict. These somehow disappointing findings have pushed researchers towards a frantic search for new and more “reliable” targets. As result, we have recently seen a surge of many novel mediators of inflammation. If we just limit our focus to inflammatory cytokines, the main topic of this commentary, the list seems never-ending: IL-15, IL-17, IL-18, IL-21, IL-22, IL-23, IL-27 and IL-33. Are these cytokines destined to supersede prostaglandins and other autacoids for their key role in inflammation? Are we going to see a cheap and effective alternative to aspirin on the supermarket shelves in the next few years?Here we summarize the most recent findings on the biological effects of these new inflammatory cytokines and discuss how these discoveries might influence our current view on therapeutic approaches to treat inflammation.     

Is it possible to achieve bacterial eradication in otitis media with effusion by empirical antibiotic high doses and concomitant administration of acetaminophen? A microbiological and pharmacological study in the gerbil model

The efficacy of amoxycillin-clavulanic acid (10 and 15 mg/kg amoxycillin) and erythromycin (20 and 50 mg/kg) was assessed in a gerbil model of otitis media with effusion induced by beta-lactamase-producing Haemophilus influenzae. Animals were divided into groups receiving acetaminophen concomitantly or not receiving it. Treatment started 2 h post-middle ear inoculation and continued t.i.d. for up to three doses. Middle ear samples were obtained on day 2 post-inoculation. Amoxycillin-clavulanic acid showed significantly higher efficacy than erythromycin, regardless of acetaminophen administration (P<0.05). Amoxycillin-clavulanic acid middle ear concentrations exceeded the amoxycillin MIC (1/0.5 microg/ml) by 1.88-fold, whereas erythromycin concentrations were below MIC level of 4 microg/ml. Animals receiving acetaminophen showed significantly fewer polymorphonuclear cells and more Haemophilus organisms in the middle ear exudate.