The comparison between the efficacy of high dose acyclovir and erythromycin on the period and signs of pitiriasis rosea

Background:

Pityriasis Rosea (PR) is an acute inflammatory and self-limiting skin disorder, sometimes with troublesome symptoms. To date, there are few treatments available for this disorder.

Aim:

Compare the traditional treatment with erythromycin to a newly introduced antiviral treatment acyclovir for PR.

Materials and Methods:

Patients with clinically confirmed diagnosis of PR, matching our exclusion criteria, were enrolled. They were randomized in two groups that received high-dose oral acyclovir or erythromycin. The participants were evaluated two, four, and eight weeks after commencement of the study and followed for one year.

Results:

A total of 30 patients including 15 males and 15 females completed the study. After eight weeks, 13 patients in the acyclovir group experienced complete response, while in the erythromycin group only six patients had complete response (P < 0.05). Also, patients in the acyclovir group experienced faster resolution of pruritus in comparison with the erythromycin group (not significant). No adverse drug reaction was detected in both groups.

Conclusion:

It seemed that a high-dose of oral acyclovir was a safe and effective therapy for PR, although this remained to be confirmed in larger studies.     

Topical effectiveness of kiwifruit versus fibrinolysin ointment on removal of necrotic tissue of full‐thickness burns in male rats

Formation of necrotic tissues is a major issue affecting treatment of full‐thickness burns. This study was designed to compare topical effectiveness of applying kiwifruit versus fibrinolysin on removal of necrotic tissue of burns. Ten adult male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to three groups. For group 1, the right‐side wounds were treated with kiwifruit and the other side with fibrinolysin. For group 2, the wounds on the right side were treated with kiwifruit or fibrinolysin, and the left sides were kept as control group 2. All wounds in group 3 were considered as control group 1. The control wounds were left to heal naturally. In each group and for each wound, the time of debridement were noted. The results indicated that for the wounds where kiwifruit was applied, the average time for removal of dead tissue was 5.7 days, which is significantly shorter than the average 18.5 days it took for treatment with fibrinolysin (p = 0.02). However, there were no significant differences between control wounds 1 and 2. Findings of the present study can open new horizons and provide a new treatment modality for patients with deep burns.     

Alteration of hepatic cells glucose metabolism as a non-cholinergic detoxication mechanism in counteracting diazinon-induced oxidative stress

The aim of this study was to evaluate effects of acute exposure to various doses of diazinon, a widely used synthetic organophosphorus (OP) insecticide on plasma glucose, hepatic cells key enzymes of glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis, and oxidative stress in rats. Diazinon was administered by gavage at doses of 15, 30 and 60 mg/ kg. The liver was perfused and removed under anaesthesia. The activities of glycogen phosphorylase (GP), phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) were analysed in liver homogenate. Administration of diazinon (15, 30 and 60 mg/kg) increased plasma glucose concentrations by 101.43% (P = 0.001), 103.68% (P = 0.000) and 160.65% (P = 0.000) of control, respectively. Diazinon (15, 30 and 60 mg/kg) increased hepatic GP activity by 43.5% (P = 0.05), 70.3% (P = 0.00) and 117.2% (P = 0.02) of control, respectively. In addition, diazinon (30 and 60 mg/kg) increased hepatic PEPCK by 77.3% (P = 0.000) and 93.5% (P = 0.000) of control, respectively. Diazinon (30 and 60 mg/kg) decreased liver TAC by 38% (P = 0.046) and 48% (P = 0.000) of control, respectively. Also diazinon (30 and 60 mg/kg) increased hepatic cell liver lipid peroxidation by 77% (P = 0.05) and 280% (P = 0.000) of control. The correlations between plasma glucose and hepatic cells TBARS (r2 = 0.537, P = 0.02), between plasma glucose and ChE activity (r2 = 0.81, P = 0.049) and between plasma glucose and hepatic cells GP activity (r2 = 0.833, P = 0.04) were significant. It is concluded that the liver cells are a site of toxic action of diazinon. Diazinon increases glucose release from liver into blood through activation of glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis as a detoxication non-cholinergic mechanism to overwhelm diazinon-induced toxic stress. The results are in accordance with the hypothesis that OPs are a predisposing factor of diabetes.     

Associação do Genótipo e Fenótipo da Paraoxonase-1 com Angiografia Positiva para Doença Arterial Coronariana

BackgroundIt has been shown that increased serum PON1 levels are protective against several disorders. Several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the PON1 gene have been reported to be associated with serum enzyme protein levels and activity.ObjectiveTo investigate the association of SNPs of PON1 and serum paraoxonase activity with coronary artery disease (CAD).MethodsA total of 601 unrelated patients who underwent coronary angiography including those who had >50% stenosis (N=266) and those with <30% stenosis (N=335) were studied. The Paraoxonase gene rs662 and rs840560 SNPs were determined using the ARMS-PCR method and the rs705379 SNP was genotyped using PCR-RFLP analysis. Serum paraoxonase activity was measured using paraoxon as a substrate. A p value of p<0.05 was considered as significant.ResultsSerum paraoxonase activity was not significantly different between the study groups. After adjustment for age, sex, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia, the GG genotype and co-dominant model of rs662 was positively associated with a positive angiogram (respectively, OR=2.424, 95%CI [1.123-5.233], p<0.05, OR=1.663, 95%CI [1.086-2.547]). Serum paraoxonase activity was significantly higher in the G allele and GG variant of rs662, A allele and AA variant of rs854560 and C allele and CC variant of rs705379. The haplotype analysis has shown that the ATC haplotype was significantly more prevalent among the angiogram negative group. The analysis between groups indicated that the A allele of rs662 was significantly associated with lower paraoxonase activity in the positive angiogram group (p=0.019).ConclusionsThe presence of the G allele of the rs662 single nucleotide polymorphism is independently associated to increased risk of CAD.