Haemophilus influenzae associated scleritis

AIMS: To describe the clinical course and treatment of Haemophilus influenzae associated scleritis. METHODS: Retrospective case series. RESULTS: Three patients developed scleritis associated with ocular H influenzae infection. Past medical history, review of systems, and laboratory testing for underlying collagen vascular disorders were negative in two patients. One patient had arthritis associated with an antinuclear antibody titre of 1:160 and a Westergren erythrocyte sedimentation rate of 83 mm in the first hour. Each patient had ocular surgery more than 6 months before developing scleritis. Two had cataract extraction and one had strabismus surgery. Nodular abscesses associated with areas of scleral necrosis were present in each case. Culture of these abscesses revealed H influenzae in all patients. Treatments included topical, subconjunctival, and systemic antibiotics. Scleral inflammation resolved and visual acuity improved in each case. CONCLUSION: H influenzae infection may be associated with scleritis. Accurate diagnosis and treatment may preserve ocular integrity and good visual acuity.     

Study of the antinociceptive action of the ethanolic extract and the triterpene 24-hydroxytormentic acid isolated from the stem bark of Ocotea suaveolens

We describe here the antinociceptive action of the crude extract (CE), the chemical isolation and characterisation and preliminary pharmacological analysis of 24-hydroxytormentic acid, isolated from the stem bark of Ocotea suaveolens (Lauraceae). The CE given by i.p. or p.o. routes, 30 min and 1 h prior, produced significant inhibition of abdominal constrictions caused by acetic acid and also inhibited both phases of formalin-induced licking in mice. The antinociception caused by the CE, given by i.p. and p.o. routes, lasted up to 4 and 2h, respectively. When assessed in the hot-plate test, the CE was inactive. Its antinociceptive action was not associated with non-specific effects such as muscle relaxation or sedation. The antinociception of CE was not influenced by naloxone, L-arginine or DL-p-chlorophenylalanine methyl ester, when assessed against the formalin assay. The triterpene 24-hydroxytormentic acid, given i.p. 30 min before testing, produced significant, dose-related and equipotent antinociceptive action against both phases of formalin-induced licking in mice. These results demonstrate, for the first time, the occurrence of the triterpene 24-hydroxytormentic acid in the stem bark of Ocotea suaveolens, and show that the CE and 24-hydroxytormentic acid exhibit marked antinociception against the neurogenic and the inflamamtory algesic responses induced by formalin in mice. The mechanism by which this compound and CE produces antinociception still remains unclear, but is unlikely to involve the activation of opioid, nitric oxide or serotonin systems or non-specific peripheral or central depressant actions.     

Grossamide and N-trans-caffeoyltyramine from Annona crassiflora seeds

Grossamide, and N-trans-caffeoyltyramine, were isolated for the first time from the seeds of Annona crassiflora Mart, and in the Annonaceae family.     

Ultrasonigraphic Evidence of Abnormal Lymphatic Vessels in Young Men with Adult Wuchereria Bancrofti Infection in the Scrotal Area

Purpose

We determined the prevalence and magnitude of dilatation of the lymphatic vessels of the spermatic cord in men infected with Wuchereria bancrofti, which is a known major cause of hydrocele in the tropics.

Materials and Methods

Scrotal ultrasound was performed with a 7.5 MHz, transducer in 78 men from Recife, Brazil (endemic for filariasis) and in 15 from a nonendemic area.

Results

Among men from Recife the lymphatic vessels were dilated (1.3 to 15.0 mm., mean 3.8) at the location of the adult worm. Vessel diameter was not associated with hydrocele.

Conclusions

Lymphatic dilatation was observed in all men with ultrasonographically detectable W. bancrofti infection, even those who were asymptomatic.     

Ethics and biomedical research in Amerindian societies in Brazil

This paper discusses the ethics of biomedical research in Amerindian populations of Brazil, focusing on the obtainment of informed consent in field work involving the collection of biological samples. The authors emphasize that the current legislation does not specifically regulate biomedical research in these populations. From an anthropological standpoint, the authors discuss some of the difficulties in obtaining a "truly" informed consent. The relevance of the discussion on research ethics is of growing importance due to the possibility of commercial use of human biological samples, as illustrated by the ongoing debate on the granting of patents to human genetic materials.     

Myrcene mimics the peripheral analgesic activity of lemongrass tea.

Oral administration of an infusion of lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) fresh leaves to rats produced a dose-dependent analgesia for the hyperalgesia induced by subplantar injections of either carrageenin or prostaglandin E2, but did not affect that induced by dibutyryl cyclic AMP. These results indicate a peripheral site of action which was confirmed with the essential oil obtained by steam distillation of the leaves. Silica gel column fractionation of the essential oil allowed the identification of myrcene as the major analgesic component in the oil. Identification of the components was made by thin-layer chromatography and checked by mass spectrometry. The peripheral analgesic effect of myrcene was confirmed by testing a standard commercial preparation on the hyperalgesia induced by prostaglandin in the rat paw test and upon the contortions induced by intraperitoneal injections of iloprost in mice. In contrast to the central analgesic effect of morphine, myrcene did not cause tolerance on repeated injection in rats. This analgesic activity supports the use of lemongrass tea as a "sedative" in folk medicine. Terpenes such as myrcene may constitute a lead for the development of new peripheral analgesics with a profile of action different from that of the aspirin-like drugs.     

The effect of growth hormone on the growth failure of chronic renal failure

To investigate the effects of growth hormone (GH) on the reversal of growth failure in uremia, recombinant human GH (rhGH) was administered to rats with chronic renal failure (CRF). The dosage of rhGH was 3 IU/day (i.p.) for 13 days after the induction of CRF by 5/6 nephrectomy. Animals were classified into four groups: untreated nephrectomized rats (NX,n=40), GH-treated nephrectomized rats (NX+GH,n=18), sham-operated rats fed ad libitum (SHAMAL,n=27), and sham-operated rats pair-fed with 10 NX rats (SHAMPF,n=10). NX and NX+GH rats developed a similar and moderate degree of CRF, serum urea nitrogen being (mean±SEM) 49±3 and 54±4 mg/dl, respectively, compared with 16±4 and 19±0 mg/dl in SHAMAL and SHAMPF groups. Weight (56.0±3.3 g) and length (3.5±0.1 cm) gains of NX rats were lower than those of SHAMAL rats (94.2±4.0 g,P<-0.0001 and 4.1±0.2 cm,P<-0.01). Growth of the SHAMPF group and the matched NX rats was not significantly different. Weight (56.2±5.0 g) and length (3.4±0.2 cm) gains of NX+GH and NX rats were similar, the beneficial effect of GH therapy on growth being observed in only those animals with more severe degrees of uremia. This growth-promoting action resulted from greater food efficiency and not from stimulated food intake. The hypercholesterolemia seen in NX rats, 81±2 mg/dl versus 55±3 mg/dl in SHAMAL (P0.0001), was not increased in the NX+GH group, 87±3 mg/dl. There was a positive and significant correlation between serum cholesterol and serum urea nitrogen values in NX and NX+GH animals. This study suggests that growth impairment of mild CRF is mainly due to malnutrition and is refractory to GH administration. GH therapy improves the growth rate of animals with advanced CRF without aggravating their lipid abnormalities.     

Headache and family history

In two headache questionnaire surveys we inquired about the occurrence of headache in the mothers, fathers, siblings and children of the respondents. In total, 633 people completed valid questionnaires, 260 in the first survey and 373 in the second. The hypothesis was that familial headache occurrence would be positively associated with headache frequency. In each survey, the regression of headache frequency on the number of parents having headache was highly significant. Neither sex nor the sibling and children variables were significant predictors. In the cross-tabulations of the parental occurrence of headache with headache frequency we saw a clear "break-point" between the "no headache" and the headache frequency categories studied. For the final analyses the dichotomy "headache/no headache" was related in fourfold tables to headache occurrence in the father and the mother separately, and to the number of headache parents. The positive associations were not simply due to the large number of migraine cases since they remained after removing the migraineurs.     

Motor neuron diseases in the university hospital of Fortaleza (Northeastern Brazil): a clinico-demographic analysis of 87 cases

In this retrospective (1980-1998) study, we have analyzed clinico-demographically, from the records of the University Hospital of Fortaleza (Brazil), a group of 87 patients showing signs and symptoms of motor neuron diseases (MNDs). Their diagnosis was determined clinically and laboratorially. The WFN criteria were used for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis. The clinico-demographic analysis of the 87 cases of MNDs showed that 4 were diagnosed as spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), 5 cases as ALS subsets: 2 as progressive bulbar paralysis (PBP), 2 as progressive muscular atrophy (PMA) and 1 as monomelic amyotrophy (MA), and 78 cases of ALS. The latter comprised 51 males and 27 females, with a mean age of 42.02 years. They were sub-divided into 4 groups according to age: from 15 to 29 years (n= 17), 30 to 39 years (n= 18), 40 to 69 years (n= 39) and 70 to 78 years (n= 4). From the 78 ALS patients, 76 were of the classic sporadic form whilst only 2 were of the familial form. The analysis of the 87 patients with MNDs from the University Hospital of Fortaleza showed a predominance of ALS patients, with a high number of cases of juvenile and early onset adult sporadic ALS.