Antifungal and antioxidant compounds from the root bark of Fagara zanthoxyloides

Phytochemical investigation of the CH 2 Cl 2 extract of Fagara zanthoxyloides Lam. (Rutaceae) led to the isolation of eleven compounds. One phenylethanoid derivative is a new natural product. The isolation of the antifungal and the antioxidant compounds was monitored by direct TLC bioautographic assays. The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated by classical spectroscopic methods including UV, NMR, MS and HR-MS.     

Interest of the cervical gland dissection after radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the necessity and morbidity of neck dissection after radiation therapy within organ preservation treatment. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We present a retrospective study of 64 patients, treated initially by radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy for squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck with cervical metastases (> 2 cm), who underwent post-radiation neck dissection between January 1992 and August 2000. Eight (13%) patients were classified T1, nineteen (30%) T2, twenty (31%) T3, eleven (17%) T4 and six (9%) Tx. Eleven patients had N1 neck disease (17%), fifteen patients N2a (24%), eleven patients N2b (17%) and twenty-seven patients N3 (42%). RESULTS: Follow-up ranged from 3 to 86 months with a mean of 39 months. The average length of time between neck dissection and the end of treatment was 60 days. Complications were recorded in 21 patients (33%). Forty-four (68%) of 64 patients had microscopic residual disease. Eight (72%) of 11 patients with N1 neck disease and 17 (63%) of 27 patients with N3 neck disease had pathology. Initial N status was not a predictive factor of microscopic residual disease (p = 0.51). There was no significant relationship between clinical residual adenopathy and microscopic residual disease (p = 0.53). Fourteen patients are still alive without recurrent disease. Eight (57%) of these 14 patients had a positive pathology at the time of neck dissection. The mean follow-up time of these patients is 32.6 months, with a follow up longer than 2 years for half of them (n = 7). CONCLUSION: Neck dissection after radiation was planned for all patients with an initial node > 2 cm in diameter regardless of clinical response in the neck. We confirm that neck dissection appears to be safe after radiotherapy and is necessary because it improves quality of life and prevents fatal evolution with uncontrollable neck disease.     

Giant pleomorphic adenoma of the submaxillary gland: case report

We report an exceptional case of giant cell tumor of the submaxillary gland in a 76-year-old woman. The tumor progressed slowly over a period of 40 years. Submaxillectomy removed a 3-kg mass before fixation. The postoperative period was uneventful and the patient was discharged fifteen days later. Pathology examination revealed a pleomorphous adenoma developed within the salivary gland.     

A home nutritional rehabilitation trial for severly malnourished children

A nutritional rehabilitation trial for severely malnourished children aged 6 to 36 months (weight/height index using Z-score of less than -3 as the reference mean) was conducted in the poor suburban areas of Dakar, Senegal. Its purpose was to determine the effectiveness of a rehabilitation programme delivered in the home as compared to one provided in a nutritional recovery center (CREN). Ninety-seven children benefited from rehabilitation at home and 51 at the CREN. At the end of two months of rehabilitation and after five months of charting their weight, the average weight gain was better in the group followed at home, but it still remained well under the 50 g/day recommended by WHO. Within the two groups, all of the children stayed underweight, with an average weight/height index Z-score of less than -2.5 in the group followed at home, and a Z-score of less than -2.9 in the other group. The dropouts and the death rates in the two groups were comparable. The presence and availability of the mother as well as health education sessions adapted to each specific case through interpersonal communication seem to be the elements favouring the most effective rehabilitation being in the home.     

Gastric pneumatosis as a sign of duodenal stenosis in a child with Down syndrome

A case of gastric pneumatosis is described in a 6 month old girl with Down syndrome. Plain abdominal radiographs showed a radiolucent rim within the gastric wall and a dilated stomach. Ultrasonography showed diffuse echoic streaks of air in the gastric wall, pneumobilia and gastroduodenal dilatation. Upper GI series showed duodenal stenosis. Gastric pneumatosis (air within the gastric wall), is an unusual radiographic finding. It may be of mechanical or inflammatory origin or, in some rare cases, remain unexplained.     

Comparative study of intramacrophagic penetration and action on phagocytosis of a macrolide (spiramycin) and a fluoroquinolone (pefloxacin)

Antibiotic-phagocyte interaction is an important parameter involved in the elimination process of intracellular bacteria. The aim of the present study was to compare, using the same model, the phagocytic uptake and the intracellular activity of a macrolide and a quinolone. Accumulation of spiramycin and pefloxacin by guinea pig peritoneal macrophages (GPpM) was studied by means of a velocity-gradient centrifugation technique and expression of the ratio of the cellular concentration of antibiotic to the extracellular concentration (IC-EC). Three aspects of Staphylococcus aureus (209-P) phagocytosis were studied: 1) the phagocytic capacity (PC), mean number of ingested cocci by GpPM; 2) the phagocytic activity (PA), percentage of phagocyting GpPM with at least one bacterium; 3) the number of intracellular viable bacteria (IVB). Phagocytic capacity and phagocytic activity were determined by fluorescence microscopy using S. aureus stained with acridine orange. Intracellular viable bacteria were quantified by standard colony counts (CFU). The ratios of intracellular to extracellular concentration of pefloxacin and spiramycin are respectively 9 and 23. Pretreatment of guinea-pig peritoneal macrophages with 10 mg/l of each antibiotic does not modify phagocytic capacity and phagocytic activity, but lead to a decrease of intracellular viable bacteria. S. aureus pretreatment with 1/4 the MIC of each antibiotic increased phagocytic capacity and phagocytic activity and decrease intracellular viable bacteria (especially spiramycin).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

New vectors of Rift Valley fever in West Africa.

After an outbreak of Rift Valley fever in Southern Mauritania in 1987, entomologic studies were conducted in a bordering region in Sénégal from 1991 to 1996 to identify the sylvatic vectors of Rift Valley fever virus. The virus was isolated from the floodwater mosquitoes Aedes vexans and Ae. ochraceus. In 1974 and 1983, the virus had been isolated from Ae. dalzieli. Although these vectors differ from the main vectors in East and South Africa, they use the same type of breeding sites and also feed on cattle and sheep. Although enzootic vectors have now been identified in West Africa, the factors causing outbreaks remain unclear.