Modern wound dressings: Making and properties. II. Wound dressings containing immobilized proteolytic enzymes (a review)

Published data devoted to making and characterization of the properties of polymeric wound dressings with proteolytic action are reviewed. These data are indicative of individual dependence of the physicochemical properties, activity, and stability of each particular enzyme on the type of polymer matrix and the method of immobilization. In order to obtain wound dressings, which are active in physiological medium and retain their activity upon sterilization, it is necessary to optimize the composition and characteristics of a polymer matrix and the enzyme included into its structure. __________ Translated from Khimiko-Farmatsevticheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 40, No. 8, pp. 24–28, August, 2006.     

A Survey of Plants Used as Wild Vegetables in Four Districts of Botswana

A survey of plants used as wild vegetables was conducted in four districts of Botswana in August and September 2005. The objective was to determine which wild plants were used as vegetables in the study area, and to document their cooking and preservation methods. Fourteen species representing seven families were mentioned as wild vegetables. In addition, six species from four families had other uses in traditional medicine. The implications of the documented processing methods on the retention of nutrients in the vegetables are discussed.     

BCR-ABL activity and its response to drugs can be determined in CD34+ CML stem cells by CrkL phosphorylation status using flow cytometry.

In chronic myeloid leukaemia, CD34(+) stem/progenitor cells appear resistant to imatinib mesylate (IM) in vitro and in vivo. To investigate the underlying mechanism(s) of IM resistance, it is essential to quantify Bcr-Abl kinase status at the stem cell level. We developed a flow cytometry method to measure CrkL phosphorylation (P-CrkL) in samples with <10(4) cells. The method was first validated in wild-type (K562) and mutant (BAF3) BCR-ABL(+) as well as BCR-ABL(-) (HL60) cell lines. In response to increasing IM concentration, there was a linear reduction in P-CrkL, which was Bcr-Abl specific and correlated with known resistance. The results were comparable to those from Western blotting. The method also proved to be reproducible with small samples of normal and Ph(+) CD34(+) cells and was able to discriminate between Ph(-), sensitive and resistant Ph(+) cells. This assay should now enable investigators to unravel the mechanism(s) of IM resistance in stem cells.     

Quantifying physical activity in daily life with questionnaires and motion sensors in COPD.

Accurate assessment of the amount and intensity of physical activity in daily life is considered very important due to the close relationship between physical activity level, health, disability and mortality. For this reason, assessment of physical activity in daily life has gained interest in recent years, especially in sedentary populations, such as patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The present article aims to compare and discuss the two kinds of instruments more commonly used to quantify the amount of physical activity performed by COPD patients in daily life: subjective methods (questionnaires, diaries) and motion sensors (electronic or mechanical methods). Their characteristics are summarised and evidence of their validity, reliability and sensitivity is discussed, when available. Subjective methods have practical value mainly in providing the patients' view on their performance in activities of daily living and functional status. However, care must be taken when using subjective methods to accurately quantify the amount of daily physical activity performed. More accurate information is likely to be available with motion sensors rather than questionnaires. The selection of which motion sensor to use for quantification of physical activity in daily life should depend mainly on the purpose of its use.     

Comparison of asthma treatment given in addition to inhaled corticosteroids on airway inflammation and responsiveness.

There is increasing evidence that the assessment of eosinophilic airway inflammation using induced sputum and measurement of airway hyperresponsiveness provides additional, clinically important information concerning asthma control. The aim of this study was to directly compare the effects of different treatments on these markers in patients with asthma and persistent symptoms, despite the use of low-dose inhaled corticosteroids. A double-blind four-way crossover study was performed, which compared a 1-month treatment with budesonide 400 mug b.i.d., additional formoterol, additional montelukast and placebo in 49 patients with uncontrolled asthma despite budesonide 100 mug b.i.d., with each treatment separated by a 4-week washout period. The change in sputum eosinophil count with formoterol (2.4 to 3.8% change, 0.6-fold reduction, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.5-0.9) differed significantly from placebo (2.8 to 2.5% change, 1.1-fold reduction, 95% CI 0.7-1.6) and high-dose budesonide (2.7 to 1.6% change, 1.6-fold reduction, 95% CI 1.2-2.2). The effects of montelukast did not differ from placebo. The changes in methacholine airway responsiveness were small and did not differ between treatments. High-dose budesonide had the broadest range of beneficial effects on other outcomes, including symptom scores, morning peak expiratory flow and forced expiratory volume in one second. In conclusion, treatment given in addition to low-dose inhaled corticosteroids results in modest benefits. Formoterol and high-dose budesonide have contrasting effects on eosinophilic airway inflammation.     

Melioidosis: an important cause of pneumonia in residents of and travellers returned from endemic regions.

Melioidosis is endemic in South East Asia, Asia and northern Australia. Infection usually follows percutaneous inoculation or inhalation of the causative bacterium, Burkholderia pseudomallei, which is present in soil and surface water in the endemic region. While 20-36% of melioidosis cases have no evident predisposing risk factor, the vast majority of fatal cases have an identified risk factor, the most important of which are diabetes, alcoholism and chronic renal disease. Half of all cases present with pneumonia, but there is great clinical diversity, from localised skin ulcers or abscesses without systemic illness to fulminant septic shock with multiple abscesses in the lungs, liver, spleen and kidneys. At least 10% of cases present with a chronic respiratory illness (sick > 2 months) mimicking tuberculosis and often with upper lobe infiltrates and/or cavities on chest radiography. As with tuberculosis, latency with reactivation decades after infection can also occur, although this is rare. Confirmation of diagnosis is by culture of B. pseudomallei from blood, sputum, throat swab or other samples. Microbiology laboratories need to be informed of the possibility of melioidosis, as those not familiar with it can misidentify the organism. Antibiotic therapy is initial intensive therapy with i.v. ceftazidime or meropenem or imipenem +/- cotrimoxazole for > or = 10 days, followed by eradication therapy with cotrimoxazole +/- doxycycline +/- chloramphenicol (first 4 weeks only) for > or = 3 months. Melioidosis has been increasingly recognised in returning travellers in Europe and recently melioidosis and colonisation with B. pseudomallei have been documented in cystic fibrosis patients visiting or resident in endemic areas.     

Acute myocardial infarction after sumatriptan administration for cluster headache

Abstract The pain of cluster headache attacks is severe, excruciating and selectively responsive to subcutaneous sumatriptan. Serious cardiovascular events attributed to sumatriptan are extremely rare and have most often been reported in patients at significant cardiovascular risk, or in overt cardiovascular disease. They also have occurred, however, in patients without evidence of cardiovascular disease. We describe a 42-year-old man with episodic cluster headache without history of coronary artery disease who was admitted to our coronary care unit for acute myocardial infarction after 3 h of subcutaneous injection of sumatriptan. During hospitalisation cluster headache attacks were successfully treated with e.v. indomethacin.     

Making clinical decisions for dental care: concepts to consider

Clinical decisions are often made with incomplete information, yet patient care decisions are made every day. Patients vary clinically, uncertainty exists in diagnostic and prognostic information, and many preventive and treatment alternatives have not been formally assessed for their effectiveness. Because scientific information will never answer all clinical questions, clinical decisions are partially based on probabilistic information.
This paper describes how to apply clinical decision making to diagnosing and managing dental caries and periodontal diseases. By using explicit information to quantify probabilities and outcomes, clinical decision making analyzes decisions made under uncertain conditions and the uncertain impact of clinical information.
Clinical decision making incorporates concepts for preventing, diagnosing and treating dental caries and periodontal diseases: risk assessment, evidence-based dentistry, and multiple oral health outcomes. This information can serve as a tool for clinicians to augment clinical judgment and expertise.