Antidiarrhoeal activity of leaf methanolic extract of Rauwolfia serpentina

Objective

To evaluate the antidiarrhoeal property of methanol extract of the leaves of Rauwolfia serpentina (R. serpentina) in experimental diarrhoea induced by castor oil in mice.

Methods

Doses of 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg R. serpentina leaf methanol extracts were administered to castor oil induced diarrhoea mice to determine its antidiarrhoeal activity.

Results

All doses of the extract and the reference drug atropine sulphate (3 mg/kg, i.p.) produced a dose-dependent reduction in intestinal weight and fluid volume. The extracts also significantly reduced the intestinal transit in charcoal meal test when compared to diphenoxylate Hcl (5 mg/kg, p.o.).

Conclusions

The results show that the extract of R. serpentina leaves has a significant antidiarrhoeal activity and supports its traditional uses in herbal medicine.     

The growth of brain tumors can be suppressed by multiple transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells expressing cytosine deaminase

Suicide genes have recently emerged as an attractive alternative therapy for the treatment of various types of intractable cancers.The efficacy of suicide gene therapy relies on efficient gene delivery to target tissues and the localized concentration of final geneproducts.     

A prospective randomized comparison of total body irradiation-etoposide versus busulfan-cyclophosphamide as preparatory regimens for bone marrow transplantation in patients with leukemia who were not in first remission: a Southwest Oncology Group study

Two novel preparatory regimens for conditioning of patients with leukemia for allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) from histocompatible sibling donors have been tested in a phase III trial under the auspices of the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG 8612). These two regimens consisted either of fractionated total body irradiation and etoposide (FTBI/VP-16) or high-dose busulfan with cyclophosphamide (BU/CY). Only patients who had failed prior conventional management at least once were study eligible, ie, no patients with acute leukemia in first remission (CR) or in first chronic phase (CP) of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) participated. Patients were stratified according to the following risk criteria: "good-risk" patients were those who were in second CR of their acute leukemia or in accelerated phase (AP) of CML; "poor-risk" patients had further advanced stages of leukemia. During a 52-month period, 131 patients were registered of whom 122 (93%) were study eligible. Sixty-one eligible patients were randomized to the FTBI/VP-16 arm and 61 to the BU/CY regimen. Of these 122 patients, 114 (93%) proceeded to BMT according to protocol. Posttransplant immunosuppression to prevent graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) consisted of cyclosporine and prednisone (CSA/PSE). Neither overall survival nor disease-free survival (DFS) differed significantly between the two treatment groups (P = .89 and .69, respectively). Estimated DFS for "good-risk" patients who had been prepared with the FTBI/VP-16 regimen was 55% +/- 11%, as compared with patients treated with BU/CY whose DFS figure was 34% +/- 10% (P = .30). For "poor-risk" candidates, the DFS rates at 24 months were 17% +/- 6% (for FTBI/VP-16) and 24% +/- 8% (for BU/CY), respectively (P = .81). These figures do not differ significantly, especially in view of the fact that the "good- risk" patients prepared with the FTBI/VP-16 regimen were younger than those treated with BU/CY. Both regimens were well tolerated with no regimen-related deaths encountered during the 6-week period after BMT. This study also confirmed the efficacy of the CSA/PSE combination in the prevention of GVHD with 23 of 113 (20%) of BMT recipients developing moderate to severe acute GVHD. The leading cause for treatment failure was leukemic relapse (45 of the 114 BMT recipients suffered a recurrence of their leukemia), whereas 38 patients died without evidence of relapse. Thirty-one patients are alive and in continued CR after marrow transplantation; four are alive in relapse.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Mesenchymal hamartoma of the liver: radiologic-pathologic correlation

Mesenchymal hamartoma of the liver (MHL) is an uncommon cystic mass of infancy that is a developmental anomaly rather than a neoplasm. Fourteen cases of MHL were retrospectively reviewed. Grossly, MHL is a solitary mass with cystic spaces of variable size. Patients are seen initially with painless progressive abdominal enlargement. On plain films, MHL appears as a large, noncalcified mass in the right upper quadrant. Scintigraphy is helpful in confirming its hepatic origin. Ultrasonography and computed tomography demonstrate a large multiloculated mass with considerable variation in the size of septa and cystic spaces. Angiographically, MHL is avascular or hypovascular. Recognition of these radiographic findings allows a correct diagnosis to be made in many cases. With resection, the prognosis is excellent.     

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF BREAST SCREENING IN TERMS OF PATIENTS' PERCEIVED HEALTH ANXIETIES

SUMMARY This study aimed to assess and compare the impact of letter of invitation, initial breast screening mammography, and subsequent recall procedures on the level of anxiety over breast problems. The survey of females undergoing routine breast screening procedures in a primary care setting is part of the first wave of a national breast screening programme in the UK. Women aged 50-64 registered with six general practices (n=2618) were invited by letter to attend for screening. Their self-perceived impact of receipt of invitation letter, attendance at initial screening, and recall, in terms of anxiety and concern about breast problems, was measured by a self-report questionnaire and the physical, emotional and social dysfunction subscales of the Psychological Consequences of Screening Mammography Questionnaire (PCQ). Overall, subjects' anxiety levels diminished between the receipt of their invitation letter and the completion of their screening examination. Subjects did not, however, respond to the letter of invitation and screening procedure in a homogeneous manner. In a sample of 1253, the letter of invitation reduced anxiety about breast problems in 39.7%, increased anxiety in 24.6%, and had no appreciable effect in 35.7%. In the 1280 who attended for breast screening, the examination procedure reduced anxiety about breast problems in 55.9%, increased anxiety in 12.8%, and had no appreciable effect in 31.3%. In a smaller sample (n=33) who completed questionnaires at recall, there were significant increases in PCQ-measured anxiety. Throughout the study, the PCQ was sensitive to change in anxiety over breast problems. We conclude that screening procedures can either increase or reduce anxiety about breast problems, or have no appreciable effect. Subjects' perception of the impact of receiving the letter of invitation and undergoing the screening examination procedure is related to previous levels of concern over breast problems. Conclusions about the psychological effect of breast screening cannot be drawn without consideration of the time and place of the baseline assessment. Participants in breast screening programmes therefore cannot be considered a homogeneous entity. Caution should be exercised when assessing the impact of screening procedures on entire populations as this approach might mask an important diversity of response.     

Loss of membrane-dependent factor Va cleavage: a mechanistic interpretation of the pathology of protein CVermont

Clinical manifestations of arterial and venous thrombosis in a family with protein C deficiency was associated with two mutations in the light chain of protein C: Glu20-->Ala and Val34-->Met. Further studies showed that the mutation Glu20-->Ala which eliminated a gamma- carboxylation site was exclusively responsible for the anticoagulant defect of activated protein C (APC). Membrane-bound human factor Va is inactivated by APC after two sequential cleavages of the heavy chain at Arg506 and Arg306. Human factor Va inactivation by human recombinant APC (rAPC) and a mutant molecule with an alanine instead of a glutamic acid at position 20 (rAPC(gamma 20A)) was investigated in the presence and absence of phospholipid vesicles. During a 2-hour incubation period of the cofactor with either rAPC or rAPC(gamma 20A). In the absence of a membrane surface, factor Va is cleaved quantitatively at Arg506 and retains approximately 60% of its initial cofactor activity. After a 2- hour incubation period with rAPC membrane-bound factor Va has no cofactor activity, whereas in the presence of a membrane surface and rAPC(gamma 20A) factor Va retains 60% of its initial cofactor activity. The completed loss in factor Va cofactor activity upon incubation of the membrane-bound cofactor with phospholipid vesicles and rAPC is associated with cleavages at Arg506 and Arg306, whereas membrane-bound factor Va cleavage at Arg306 by rAPC(gamma 20A) is impaired, resulting in a cofactor that is cleaved at Arg506. Slow cleavage at Arg306 occurs when membrane-bound factor Va is incubated with rAPC(gamma 20A) and only small amounts of fragments of M(r) = 45,000 and 30,000 are noticed. Our data show that the genetic defect which leads to the absence of a gamma-carboxylation site at Glu20 impairs membrane binding of human APC, which in turn is required for cleavage of factor Va at Arg306 and inactivation of the cofactor. The consequence of impaired membrane-dependent cleavage at Arg306 is manifested in vivo by venous and arterial thrombosis.