Parents' perceptions towards their child's use of inhaled medications for asthma therapy

Objective : Understanding patients' and their parents' perceptions towards asthma medication is important in developing strategies to ensure patient compliance. In this study, parents' perceptions towards their children's use of inhaled medication for asthma treatment were evaluated.
Methodology : A questionnaire was administered by interviewing parents of 210 asthmatic children attending the Department of Paediatrics, National University Hospital.
Results : Our results showed that 76/210 (36%) of parents either felt opposed to inhaler therapy and/or preferred oral medications. The main reasons for their reluctance to use inhalers were related to fear of dependence, side effects and overdosage, and the child's dislike for inhalers. A third of these parents felt that inhalers were only indicated for very severe asthma.
Conclusions : We conclude that a significant proportion of parents have reservations regarding the use of inhalers for the treatment of asthma. These factors should be taken into consideration when planning an effective asthma education programme.     

Neonatal neutropenia and thrombocytopenia following maternal hypertension

Objective : To assess the relationship between the subtypes of hypertension in pregnancy and subsequent neonatal haematology.
Methodology : Retrospective review of the haematology of newborns of hypertensive mothers at a tertiary neonatal unit
Results : Over a 2 year period. 249 infants had full blood examinations. Nineteen (7.6%) were neutropenic and 35 (14.1%) thrombocytopenic, including 11 (4.4%) who were both neutropenic and thrombocytopenic. Neutropenia occurred only in infants whose mothers had severe pre-eclampsia and eclampsia or pre-eclampsia with pre-existing hypertension, whereas thrombocytopenia complicated all maternal hypertension subtypes. Two (10%) of the neutropenic infants developed nosocomial infection while seven (20%) of the thrombocytopenic infants bled. Thirteen (68%) of the neutropenic infants compared with 15 (43%) of the thrombocytopenic infants developed their haematological abnormality within 24 h of birth. All but two infants developed the haematological abnormality by the 5th day of life.
Conclusions : Although haematological abnormalities in infants born to hypertensive mothers are uncommon, serious neonatal complications can occur and therefore early haematological screening of these infants is recommended.     

A cytotoxic lobane diterpene from the formosan soft coral Sinularia inelegans

A new cytotoxic lobane diterpene, ineleganene (1), was isolated from the Formosan soft coral Sinularia inelegans. The structure of compound 1 was determined by 1D and 2D spectral analysis.     

A new experimental model for secondary hyperparathyroidism

We have developed an animal model to study the pathogenesis of secondary hyperparathyroidism by inducing stable uremia in Sprague-Dawley rats by selective microligation of terminal branches of the left renal artery, followed by right nephrectomy. After 4 weeks the animals were killed, the parathyroid glands were removed and weighed, and blood samples were obtained. Of 30 rats, uremia developed in 22 (73%; uremic group) and eight (27%) died or did not become uremic. A sham-operated group of 15 rats served as control (control group). Creatinine levels were 1.8 +/- 0.5 mg/dl in the uremic group versus 0.5 +/- 0.1 mg/dl in the control group (p less than 0.0001). Parathyroid glands were hyperplastic in all rats with uremia and were heavier than parathyroid glands of control animals (70.3 +/- 26 vs 19.1 +/- 8 micrograms; p less than 0.0001). In the group with uremia, parathyroid hormone levels were increased over those of the control group (112.6 +/- 13 vs 28.9 +/- 6.2 pg/ml; p less than 0.0001), whereas osteocalcin levels were similar (36.6 +/- 11 vs 37.5 +/- 1 ng/ml). Serum calcium, phosphate, and alkaline phosphatase levels were similar in both groups. Our model can be used to test hypotheses concerning the treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism and the relative pathogenetic relevance of vitamin D deficiency and phosphate retention.     

Cytotoxic and anti-platelet aggregation constituents from the root wood of Melicope semecarpifolia

A new acetophenone derivative, melicopone, along with twenty-nine known compounds has been isolated from the root wood of Melicope semecarpifolia. The structure of this new compound was determined using spectral analyses. The compound oxynitidine isolated in this study adds the Melicope genus to the benzo[c]phenanthridine-containing members chemotaxonomically. Three isolates were cytotoxic in P-388 and HT-29 cell lines, and anti-platelet aggregation activities were shown for 10 known compounds.     

Cytotoxic chalcones and flavonoids from the leaves of Muntingia calabura

Two new dihydrochalcones, 2',4'-dihydroxy-3'-methoxydihydrochalcone, (-)-3'-methoxy-2',4',beta-trihydroxydihydrochalcone, a new flavanone, (2 S)-(-)-5'-hydroxy-7,3',4'-trimethoxyflavanone, and a new flavonol derivative, muntingone, along with sixteen known compounds, were isolated from the leaves of Muntingia calabura. The structures of these new compounds were determined using spectral analyses including extensive 2D NMR data. Among the isolates, (2 S)-5'-hydroxy-7,3',4'-trimethoxyflavanone, 4'-hydroxy-7-methoxyflavanone, 2',4'-dihydroxychalcone, and 2',4'-dihydroxy-3'-methoxychalcone exhibited cytotoxicity (IC (50) values < 4 microg/mL) against P-388 and/or HT-29 cell lines in vitro.     

New cytotoxic cyclobutanoid amides, a new furanoid lignan and anti-platelet aggregation constituents from Piper arborescens

Three new cyclobutanoid amides with trans-trans-trans configurations, piperarborenine C, piperarborenine D and piperarborenine E, and a new furanoid lignan, (+)-arborone, together with twelve known compounds, were isolated from the stems of Piper arborescens. The structures of these new compounds were determined by means of spectral analyses. Piperarborenine C, (+)-diayangambin, piplartine, piperolactam B, piperolactam C, aristolactam BIII, goniothalactam, and methyl trans-3,4,5-trimethoxycinnamate possessed anti-platelet aggregation activity in vitro. Among them, piplartine showed the most potent anti-platelet aggregation activity induced by collagen and showed an IC50 value of 21.5 microM. Piperarborenines A - E, piperarborenine, aristololactam BIII and goniothalactam showed significant cytotoxic activity (IC50 values < 4 microg/mL) against P-388, HT-29 and A549 cell lines in vitro.     

Cervids as Babesiae hosts, Slovenia

We describe cervids as potential reservoir hosts of Babesia EU1 and B. divergens. Both babesial parasites were found in roe deer. Sequence analysis of 18S rRNA showed 99.7% identity of roe deer Babesia EU1 with the human EU1 strain. B. divergens detected in cervids was 99.6% identical to bovine B. divergens.