A survey of hospitals in New York State treating psychiatric patients with chemical abuse disorders.

Eighty-eight of 143 hospitals in New York State providing psychiatric inpatient treatment responded to a mailed questionnaire designed to determine the size of three subgroups of chemical abusers--alcohol abusers, drug abusers, and polychemical abusers--among inpatients with psychiatric diagnoses, as well as the availability of services for these patients. Data for New York City and its metropolitan area were analyzed separately. In 1987 almost one-third of psychiatric admissions both in and outside the metropolitan area had comorbid chemical abuse disorders. Seventy-five percent of patients in the metropolitan area with comorbid chemical abuse had a drug abuse disorder; in rural areas 88 percent of patients with chemical abuse disorders abused alcohol. Both hospital- and community-based aftercare services, especially in the metropolitan area, were less available to psychiatric patients with chemical abuse than to patients without these disorders.     

Curcumin Reduces Burn Progression in Rats

Objectives Cutaneous burns are dynamic injuries with a central zone of necrosis surrounded by a zone of ischemia. Conversion of this ischemic zone to full necrosis over the days following injury is due in part to highly reactive oxygen radicals. Curcumin is a component of the Oriental spice turmeric that has been shown to have antioxidant and antiapoptotic properties. The authors hypothesized that treatment of burns with curcumin would reduce the conversion of the ischemic zone to full necrosis. Methods This was a randomized controlled experiment. Twenty Sprague‐Dawley rats were used. Two burns were created on each animal's dorsum using a brass comb with four rectangular prongs preheated in boiling water and applied for 30 seconds, resulting in four rectangular 10 × 20–mm full‐thickness burns separated by three 5 × 20–mm unburned interspaces (zone of ischemia). Animals were randomized to curcumin or vehicle by oral gavage 30 minutes before injury and at 24, 48, and 72 hours after injury. Wounds were observed at one, two, and three days after injury for visual evidence of necrosis in the unburned interspaces. Full‐thickness biopsy specimens from the interspaces were evaluated with hematoxylin and eosin staining seven days after injury for evidence of necrosis. The percentage of interspaces that progressed to necrosis was compared with chi‐square tests. Results Forty comb burns with 120 unburned interspaces were created, evenly distributed between curcumin and vehicle alone. The percentage of interspaces that progressed to full‐thickness necrosis at one, two, three, and seven days after injury in the curcumin and vehicle groups were 30% versus 63% (p = 0.003), 30% versus 70% (p < 0.001), 63% versus 95% (p = 0.02), and 63% versus 95% (p = 0.02), respectively. Conclusions Pretreatment of rats with oral curcumin followed by once‐daily oral treatment for three days reduced the percentage of unburned skin interspaces that progressed to full necrosis.     

Flavocoxid is as effective as naproxen for managing the signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis of the knee in humans: a short-term randomized,double-blind pilot study

Flavocoxid (Limbrel), a proprietary mixture of flavonoid molecules (baicalin and catechin), was tested against a traditional nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, naproxen, for the management of the signs and symptoms of moderate osteoarthritis (OA) in humans. Discomfort and global disease activity were used as the primary end points, and safety assessments were also taken for both treatments as a secondary endpoint. In this double-blind study, 103 subjects were randomly assigned to receive either flavocoxid [500 mg twice daily (BID)] or naproxen (500 mg BID) in a 1-month onset of action trial. Outcome measures included the short Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index, subject Visual Analogue Scale for discomfort and global response, and investigator Visual Analogue Scale for global response and fecal occult blood. Both flavocoxid and naproxen showed significant reduction in the signs and symptoms of knee OA (P ≤ .001). There were no statistically detectable differences between the flavocoxid and naproxen groups with respect to any of the outcome variables. Similarly, there were no statistically detectable differences between the groups with respect to any adverse event, although there was a trend toward a higher incidence of edema and nonspecific musculoskeletal discomfort in the naproxen group. In this short-term pilot study, flavocoxid was as effective as naproxen in controlling the signs and symptoms of OA of the knee and would present a safe and effective option for those individuals on traditional nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors. A low incidence of adverse events was reported for both groups.     

Molecular genetics and transfusion management in a child with Bernard Soulier syndrome.

We present a case of Bernard Soulier syndrome in a 9-year-old boy caused by a novel genetic mutation. This child was shown to be homozygous for a single nucleotide deletion (c.1077delG) in the GP1BA gene not previously reported. Clinically, the boy has become refractory to platelet transfusions with both allo-antibodies and iso-antibodies and a massive transfusion requirement for ongoing haemorrhage. We describe the critical role that the blood product transfusion continues to play in the management of Bernard Soulier syndrome and discuss therapeutic options in these patients.