Enzyme immunoassay of histamine in foods

A competitive enzyme immunoassay of histamine in foodstuffs has been developed using a monoclonal antibody against a histamine‐benzoquinone adduct. In this assay, histamine present in food samples was treated with 1,4‐benzoquinone to form histamine‐benzoquinone by a simple and quick reaction and a histamine‐benzoquinone‐horse‐radish peroxidase conjugate was used as the labelled hapten. The apparent association constant (K_a) of the antibody used was 3.6 ×10⁶ l/mol and Gibbs’ energy of the immune complex formation has been estimated to find the optimal incubation time of the assay. The method enabled determination of histamine in fish, cheese, wine and beer at a concentration as low as 7 ng/ml with an accuracy of ± 15%. The recovery of the immunoassay was 88.9–114%. Cross‐reactivities of histidine, tyramine, tryptamine and its derivatives were lower than 0.001% and did not affect the assay.     

Self‐reflection and self‐practice in training of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy: an overview

The present paper deals with a developing training element in cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), the self‐practice of therapeutic techniques and the self‐exploration of the person of the therapist. Initially, the current status of this training element in CBT is discussed, and a short note on its terminology is presented. Then an overview of the most important objectives of self‐practice and self‐reflection in CBT, and the concepts and methods of practice of this element is given. The concepts focus on two major aims, the self‐exploration of the person of the therapist within and beyond his or her therapeutic practice, and the self‐application of therapeutic techniques (= self‐practice). In the second part of the paper empirical studies related to the outcome of self‐reflection and self‐practice on the development of the therapist and her or his therapeutic practice are reviewed. The few empirical studies show that trainees experience in their own view substantial professional and personal gains from this training tool, with the professional impact being more important than the personal one. The most important outcomes evaluated by subjective data from the trainees are improvements in self‐insight and self‐awareness and a better understanding of the therapist's role and the therapeutic change process. Additionally, a better understanding of CBT methods and of general therapeutic skills, such as empathy and role‐taking‐competencies, are reported by the trainees. The paper comes to the conclusion that self‐exploration and self‐practice are important components of CBT training. Consequences and recommendations for its integration into training courses for CBT are discussed as well as the necessity for more research in this area. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rectus sheath haematoma requiring laparotomy

Rectus sheath haematoma is a well‐documented but unusual cause of acute abdomen. Combination of clinical features and appropriate radiological investigations can make for a prompt diagnosis. Most authors advocate conservative management and it has been reported that patients were directly discharged from the emergency department. We report a case of rectus sheath haematoma which progressed with clinical deterioration and necessitated surgical intervention for clot evacuation. Causes, physical signs, radiological features and classification of rectus sheath haematoma are discussed. It may be necessary to continue close clinical monitoring after diagnosis of rectus sheath haematoma.     

Efficacy of lumiracoxib in relieving pain associated with knee osteoarthritis: a 6‐week,randomized, double‐blind,parallel‐group study

Aim: The aim of the current study was to assess the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of lumiracoxib 200 mg once daily (o.d.) in relieving osteoarthritis (OA) knee pain in patients in China, Taiwan, and South Korea. Methods: Patients of either sex (aged ≥ 18 years) with symptomatic, primary OA of the knee for ≥ 3 months were eligible for inclusion if they had OA pain intensity of ≥ 40 mm (100 mm visual analogue scale [VAS]) in the target knee joint during the previous 24 h. Patients were required to undergo regular non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drug therapy for ≥ 6 weeks. After 3–7 days of screening, patients were randomized (1 : 1) to receive either lumiracoxib 200 mg o.d. or celecoxib 200 mg o.d. The primary efficacy comparison between the study groups was overall OA pain intensity (VAS) in the target knee after 6 weeks of treatment. Results: The mean overall OA pain intensity (VAS) in the target knee after 6 weeks decreased from 60.6 mm to 35.7 mm and 60.5 mm to 36.1 mm in the lumiracoxib and celecoxib groups, respectively. Both study groups showed similar results in terms of improvement in both patient's and physician's global assessment of disease activity and functional health status. The percentage of adverse events (AEs) in the lumiracoxib and celecoxib groups (40.3% and 37.9%, respectively) was similar, as was the proportion of treatment‐related AEs (21.0% and 18.2%, respectively). Conclusions: Lumiracoxib 200 mg o.d. provided effective and well‐tolerated pain relief similar to that achieved with celecoxib 200 mg o.d. in knee OA patients.     

INVASIVE MUCORMYCOSIS WITH GASTRIC INVOLVEMENT IN A PATIENT WITH SEVERE ATHEROMATOUS VASCULAR DISEASE

Gastric mucormycosis involvement is a rare condition that usually occurs in inmunocompromised patients and frequently has a fatal outcome. We report the case of a 73‐year‐old woman admitted to the intensive care unit with severe bleeding after an acute pulmonary disease. Upper endoscopy disclosed wide and deep necrotic ulcers in the body and fundus of the stomach and greenish exudates with the antrum and the duodenum undamaged. Autopsy revealed an invasive mucormycosis and a severe atheromatosis. Several predisposing factors for mucormycosis infection have been reported until now. We postulate that ischemic gastritis could be a predisposing factor for colonization of zygomycete.     

Evaluation of quinolinic acid induced excitotoxic neurodegeneration in rat striatum by quantitative magnetic resonance imaging in vivo.

Excitotoxic neurodegeneration in the rat striatum was induced by direct injection of quinolinic acid. The degree of damage was evaluated in vivo 1 day later by quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and 7 days later in the same animals by measuring the activities of the neuronal marker enzymes choline acetyltransferase and glutamic acid decarboxylase. Striatal damage assessed using the two approaches was highly correlated. Moreover the cerebroprotective efficacy of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist CGP 40116 was indistinguishable based on all analytical parameters. MRI, however, was more reproducible than the enzymatic methods and was faster and simpler for routine analyses of excitotoxic damage and cerebroprotection in vivo.