The abdomen, thigh, and arm as sites for subcutaneous sodium heparin injections.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate three subcutaneous injection sites for low-dose heparin therapy (5,000 units). One hundred and one subjects were randomly placed in one of three groups. Group A received injections in the abdomen, Group B, in the thigh, and Group C in the arm. Each subject received three injections at the one site. Activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) was measured prior to initiation of heparin and again four hours after the first injection. Bruising was measured at 48, 60, and 72 hours postinjection. There were no statistically significant differences among groups for either changes in APTT or bruising at 60 and 72 hours postinjection. Thus the clinical practice of utilizing the abdomen as the only or preferred site for subcutaneous heparin injections was not supported.     

Randomized trial of bilateral oophorectomy versus tamoxifen in premenopausal women with metastatic breast cancer

A randomized clinical trial was performed to compare the efficacy of bilateral oophorectomy with that of tamoxifen at a dose of 10 mg twice daily in premenopausal women with metastatic breast cancer, and to examine the efficacy of each as a crossover treatment. Initial treatment responses were seen in ten of 27 patients (37%) treated with oophorectomy and seven of 26 patients (27%) treated with tamoxifen. The difference was not statistically significant. Crossover responses were seen in five of 15 patients (33%) treated with oophorectomy, including three responses in ten prior tamoxifen nonresponders; and two of 18 patients (11%) treated with tamoxifen. Time to progression distributions were not significantly different during initial treatment, and no significant differences in survival were noted. Thus, there was no overall disadvantage to the use of tamoxifen as opposed to oophorectomy as initial hormonal therapy, and a failure to respond to tamoxifen did not preclude a response to subsequent oophorectomy. Exploratory data analysis within subsets indicated consistent differential treatment effects in the visceral dominant patients. Of the 16 such patients treated with oophorectomy, eight (50%) experienced objective responses but there were no responses in the 14 patients treated with tamoxifen. In the nine visceral dominant crossover patients who had not responded to initial tamoxifen, three (33%) subsequently responded to oophorectomy. Time to progression distributions within the visceral dominant subset appeared to be better for the patients treated initially with oophorectomy. However, one must be very cautious in drawing conclusions from exploratory subset analyses, especially with the small sample size. Further studies would be required to test any hypothesis of differential organ site responsiveness.     

Three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship analysis of human CYP51 inhibitors.

CYP51 fulfills an essential requirement for all cells, by catalyzing three sequential mono-oxidations within the cholesterol biosynthesis cascade. Inhibition of fungal CYP51 is used as a therapy for treating fungal infections, whereas inhibition of human CYP51 has been considered as a pharmacological approach to treat dyslipidemia and some forms of cancer. To predict the interaction of inhibitors with the active site of human CYP51, a three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship model was constructed. This pharmacophore model of the common structural features of CYP51 inhibitors was built using the program Catalyst from multiple inhibitors (n = 26) of recombinant human CYP51-mediated lanosterol 14alpha-demethylation. The pharmacophore, which consisted of one hydrophobe, one hydrogen bond acceptor, and two ring aromatic features, demonstrated a high correlation between observed and predicted IC(50) values (r = 0.92). Validation of this pharmacophore was performed by predicting the IC(50) of a test set of commercially available (n = 19) and CP-320626-related (n = 48) CYP51 inhibitors. Using predictions below 10 microM as a cutoff indicative of active inhibitors, 16 of 19 commercially available inhibitors (84%) and 38 of 48 CP-320626-related inhibitors (79.2%) were predicted correctly. To better understand how inhibitors fit into the enzyme, potent CYP51 inhibitors were used to build a Cerius(2) receptor surface model representing the volume of the active site. This study has demonstrated the potential for ligand-based computational pharmacophore modeling of human CYP51 and enables a high-throughput screening system for drug discovery and data base mining.     

Increasing muscle strength as a treatment for strabismus: sustained release of insulin-like growth factor-1 in rabbit extraocular muscle.

PURPOSE: Currently, no drug treatment is available for strengthening underacting extraocular muscles (EOM) in strabismus. We showed previously that single injections of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) result in significant but short-term increases in muscle force generation. This study examined the effects of sustained release of IGF-1 on force generation in rabbit superior rectus muscles. METHODS: In adult rabbits, slow-release pellets containing IGF-1 were implanted on the global side of one superior rectus muscle. After 1 week, or 1, 2, 3, or 6 months, treated and control muscles were examined for force generation using an in vitro physiology apparatus. All muscles were prepared for histology and mean myofiber cross-sectional areas were determined. RESULTS: One and 3 months after pellet implantation, treated muscles generated significantly greater force than contralateral control muscles, whereas at 2 months, no significant difference was found. Force per cross-sectional area (mN/cm(2)) at 3 months also increased significantly in the treated muscles. Mean muscle cross-sectional area increased significantly after 1, 2, and 3 months of sustained exposure to IGF-1 compared with controls. After an additional 3 months without IGF-1 exposure, mean cross-sectional areas were significantly greater than controls but significantly reduced compared with areas at 1, 2, and 3 months. CONCLUSIONS: IGF-1 appears to be highly effective in increasing muscle force generation. Because slow release of IGF-1 results in sustained increases in EOM force generation, it may be a potentially useful alternative to surgical resection procedures because it avoids many of the potential long-term biomechanical hazards of resection surgery.     

PET network abnormalities and cognitive decline in patients with mild cognitive impairment.

Temporoparietal and posterior cingulate metabolism deficits characterize patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). A H(2)(15)O resting PET scan covariance pattern, derived by using multivariate techniques, was previously shown to discriminate 17 mild AD patients from 16 healthy controls. This AD covariance pattern revealed hypoperfusion in bilateral inferior parietal lobule and cingulate; and left middle frontal, inferior frontal, precentral, and supramarginal gyri. The AD pattern also revealed hyperperfusion in bilateral insula, lingual gyri, and cuneus; left fusiform and superior occipital gyri; and right parahippocampal gyrus and pulvinar. In an independent sample of 23 outpatients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) followed at 6-month intervals, the AD pattern score was evaluated as a predictor of cognitive decline. In this MCI sample, an H2(15)O resting PET scan was carried out at baseline. Mean duration of follow-up was 48.8 (SD 15.5) months, during which time six of 23 MCI patients converted to AD. In generalized estimating equations (GEE) analyses, controlling for age, sex, education, and baseline neuropsychological scores, increased AD pattern score was associated with greater decline in each neuropsychological test score over time (Mini Mental State Exam, Selective Reminding Test delayed recall, Animal Naming, WAIS-R digit symbol; Ps<0.01-0.001). In summary, a resting PET covariance pattern previously reported to discriminate AD patients from control subjects was applied prospectively to an independent sample of MCI patients and found to predict cognitive decline. Independent replication in larger samples is needed before clinical application can be considered.