Vaccination against the cat flea Ctenocephalides felis felis

Non-chemical control of haematophagous parasites is a desirable goal. We report here on the use of concealed antigens from the major digestive organ of the cat-flea as vaccine components. Rabbits were immunized with various antigens from cat flea midguts, and immunoglobulin from these rabbits was fed to cat fleas in an artifical feeding system. Antibody produced against soluble antigens from the midguts of fed fleas was able to kill fleas in this system. Dogs were then immunized with various antigen preparations, and challenged for a week with live fleas. Significantly fewer live fleas were recovered from dogs immunized with fed midgut supernatant, and recovered live female fleas produced significantly fewer eggs. This study indicates the possibility of vaccination as a means of control of flea, and possibly other blood sucking insect populations.     

Prospective Randomized Study Comparing the Efficacy of Bioequivalent Doses of glycosylated and nonglycosylated rG-CSF for Mobilizing Peripheral Blood Progenitor Cells

Thirty patients diagnosed with breast cancer were included in a prospective randomized study comparing the in vivo priming effect of bioequivalent doses of glycosylated (lenograstim) and nonglycosylated (filgrastim) rG-CSF administration. Analysis of the efficacy of equivalent biological doses of both rG-CSFs showed no significant differences either in the mobilization of the subpopulations of PBPC considered (CD34⁺, CD34⁺/38⁻, CD34⁺/DR⁻), the content of such CD34⁺ cell subsets in the leukapheresis product, or the cost of the mobilization and collection procedures between both recombinant molecules. These results suggest that priming with bioequivalent doses of the two commercially available forms of glycosylated or nonglycosylated rG-CSF has a similar in vivo effect on PBPC mobilization.     

Book Reviews

Books Reviewed in this Article: Clinical Guide to Alcohol Treatment. The Community Reinforcement Approach ROBERT J. MEYERS & JANE ELLEN SMITH Tobacco and Health KAREN SLAMA (Ed.) The Cigarette Papers STANTON A. GLANZ, JOHN SLADE, LISA A. BERO, PETER HANAUER & DEBORAH E. BARNES Snow Job? The War against International Cocaine Trafficking KEVIN JACK RILEY Substance and Shadow: Women and Addiction in the United States STEPHEN R. KANDALL     

Effects of Spascupreel versus hyoscine butylbromide for gastrointestinal cramps in children

BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal spasms and cramps are common in children as well as in adults. Alternative medical practices such as chiropractice and homeopathy are becoming increasingly popular in Europe and the USA. The effectiveness and tolerability of the homeopathic preparation Spascupreel was compared with that of hyoscine butylbromide treatment in children <12 years of age. METHODS: An observational cohort study in 204 children <12 years was conducted over a 1 week treatment period. The efficacy of the respective therapies were evaluated on the effect on severity of spasms and clinical symptoms (pain/cramps, sleep disturbances, distress, eating or drinking difficulties and frequent crying). Compliance was evaluated on a four-point scale from 'very good' to 'low'. Evaluation was done by the practitioner based on information given by the patient or minder. RESULTS: The analysis showed comparative improvements with the homeopathic preparation and hyoscine butylbromide therapy on severity of spasms, pain/cramps, sleep disturbances, eating or drinking difficulties, and frequent crying, all as evaluated by the practitioner. Both treatments were very well tolerated. CONCLUSIONS: For patients opting for a homeopathic therapy, Spascupreel seems to be an effective and well tolerated alternative to conventional therapies in children suffering from gastrointestinal spasms.     

Persistent platelet activation in patients with type 2 diabetes treated with low doses of aspirin

BACKGROUND: The percentage of diabetic patients who do not benefit from the protective effect of aspirin is larger than in other populations at cardiovascular risk. OBJECTIVE: We compared the ability of aspirin to suppress TxA2 and platelet activation in vivo, in type-2 diabetics vs. high-risk non-diabetic patients. METHODS: Urinary 11-dehydro-TXB2, plasma sCD40 L, and sP-selectin were measured, together with indices of low-grade inflammation, glycemic control, and lipid profile, in 82 patients with type-2 diabetes and 39 without diabetes, treated with low doses of aspirin. RESULTS: Urinary 11-dehydro-TxB2, plasma sCD40L and sP-selectin were significantly higher in diabetics than in controls: [38.9 (27.8-63.3) vs. 28.5 (22.5-43.9) ng mmol(-1) of creatinine, P = 0.02], [1.06 (0.42-3.06) vs. 0.35 (0.22-0.95) ng mL(-1); P = 0.0001], [37.0 (16.8-85.6) vs. 20.0 (11.2-35.6) ng mL(-1), P = 0.0001], respectively. The proportion of individuals with diabetes increased across quartiles of 11-dehydro-TxB2, sCD40L, and sP-selectin, with the highest quartiles of 11-dehydro-TxB2, sCD40L and sP-selectin, including 66%, 93.3%, and 93.3% of individuals with diabetes. Markers of platelet activation positively correlated with indices of glycemic control but not with markers of low-grade inflammation. CONCLUSIONS: Platelet dysfunction associated with insufficient glycemic control, may mediate persistent platelet activation under aspirin treatment.     

The Inhalation Toxicology, Genetic Toxicology, and Metabolism of Difluoromethane in the Rat

Difluoromethane (HFC32) is under development as a replacementfor chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in some refrigeration applications.It has been evaluated by standard studies of toxicity, developmentaltoxicity, and genotoxicity. In addition, the metabolism anddisposition of HFC32 was investigated and a physiologicallybased pharmacokinetic (PB-PK) model constructed. Inhalationof HFC32 (up to 50,000 ppm) caused no organ-specific effects,but resulted in slight maternal toxicity to the pregnant ratand rabbit and some fetotoxicity to the rat. HFC32 did not sensitizethe heart to adrenaline. The pharmacokinetics of [¹⁴C]difluoromethane(10,000 to 50,000 ppm/6 hr) revealed that about 2.1% of theinhaled HFC32 was absorbed and that steady state blood levelswere achieved within 2 hr and were proportional to dose. Carbondioxide was the major metabolite of HFC32 at all exposure levels.Carbon monoxide was not detected. The in vivo data were usedto validate a PB-PK model to describe the uptake and metabolismof HFC32. Absorption and distribution are adequately describedusing rat blood:air and tissue:air partition coefficients. Metabolism,which was linear across the dose range, was described by a firstorder rate constant (K_f=8.98 hr^–1). Of the absorbed HFC32,about 63% was metabolized at all doses; however, when metabolismwas expressed as a percentage of the inhaled dose it was muchlower, being about 1.4% of the HFC32 entering the airways. Overall,the results indicate that HFC32 is of very low toxicity andshould be an acceptable alternative to CFCs.     

Individual differences in differentiation among alcohol expectancy domains

Prior research indicates that alcohol-related outcome expectancies represent important etiological factors in the understanding of alcohol use/abuse. Although current multidimensional measures assess several substantively different domains of alcohol-related outcome expectancies, there is growing evidence that they may not possess adequate levels of discriminant validity. Therefore, the present study sought to examine whether reliable between-person differences exist in the ability to differentiate among alcohol expectancy domains. The focus of the study was on three sets of intrapersonal characteristics: cognitive resources, cognitive constraints, and alcohol-related experience. Data were collected via household interviews with a random sample of 1125 adults. Multiple regression analysis revealed that higher levels of cognitive resources were associated with increasing levels of differentiation among alcohol expectancy domains. Results are discussed in terms of implications for the development of new or revised multidimensional alcohol expectancy questionnaires. Directions for future research are also discussed.     

Paternal lineage of alcoholism, cohort effects, and alcoholism criteria

Adoption studies have led to the suggestion that there may be two distinct subgroups of alcoholics with differing genetic contributions. Among 249 male alcoholics we used discriminant analysis to relate the features of type 1 and type 2 alcoholism it the presence or absence of a family history of alcoholism in male paternal relatives. We found that guilt and hinging, features usually attributed to type 1 (milieu-limited) alcoholism, were in fact more prevalent m the family history positive group. An additional cohort analysis found cohort-related variations in type 1/type 2 characteristics. The possible implications of these findings are discussed.