保健食品微生物限度检查的方法学验证

目的:确认对保健食品进行微生物限度检查时,昕采用的细菌、霉菌及酵母菌计数和控制菌检查方法是否适合于该保健食品的微生物限度检查。方法:按2005年版中国药典微生物限度检查法及方法学验证实验要求,对21种保健食品进行了方法学验证。结果:10个品种(血尔口服液、金舒通胶囊、事轻松胶囊、梦玉胶囊等)分别对金黄色葡萄球菌和枯草芽孢杆菌有明显的抑菌作用,阳性对照菌回收率均低于70%。结论:保健食品采用 GB/T4789-2003食品卫生微生物学检查法进行检查时,其检验结果可能不够科学,建议参照2005年版中国药典要求,通过方法验证实验建立合理的检验方法。     

Selenium status of New Zealand infants fed either a selenium supplemented or a standard formula

Objective: New Zealand soils are deficient in the essential micronutrient, selenium. New Zealand infants have low selenium levels at birth and experience a further decline if fed cows milk based formula. This study examined the selenium status of infants fed with a new commercially available selenium supplemented formula.
Methodology Forty-four newborn infants, whose mothers wished to formula feed, were randomized in an open controlled trial to be fed a commercially available selenium supplemented cows milk formula (containing 17 μg Se/L) or an unsupplemented formula (containing 4.6 μg Se/L). Cord, 1 and 3 month blood samples were obtained for selenium status (plasma and red cell selenium and glutathione peroxidase) and thyroid function.
Results Mean plasma selenium and glutathione peroxidase values were significantly higher in supplemented than unsupplemented infants at 1 month (unpaired t -tests; P <0.0001 and P = 0.001 respectively) and 3 months ( P <0.0001 and P = 0.0005). Analysis within treatment groups between time points (paired t -tests) showed that selenium supplementation prevented the fall in plasma selenium from birth to 1 month seen in unsupplemented infants and was associated with a rise in levels between 1 and 3 months ( P = 0.002).
Conclusions Supplementing cows milk formula with selenium to replicate the levels found in breast milk is nutritionally sound. Feeding from a few days of age with a formula containing 17 μg Se/L in infants with low selenium status at birth is sufficient to cause a rise to 80% of adult levels at 3 months of age.     

Radioimmunotherapy with yttrium-90 ibritumomab tiuxetan for patients with relapsed CD20+ B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

The clinical development and US Food and Drug Administration approval in 1997 of the monoclonal anti-CD20 antibody rituximab have been major treatment advances for patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Rituximab produces responses in approximately 50% of cases of relapsed, low grade NHL. Most of these responses are partial remissions; cure remains elusive. One way to enhance the effectiveness of monoclonal antibodies is to chelate radionuclides such as yttrium-90 ((90)Y) to the antibody. ( 90)Y is a high-energy, beta-emitting radioisotope that delivers most of its radiation over a path length of 2 to 5 mm. Therefore, the antibody delivers, or targets, the radiation only to CD20+ cells, sparing normal cells from the radiation. Ibritumomab is the murine anti-CD20 antibody that was engineered to develop the human chimeric antibody rituximab. Tiuxetan is a linker/chelator that is attached to the antibody to form ibritumomab tiuxetan (Zevalin; IDEC Pharmaceuticals, San Diego, CA). Zevalin can be reacted with (111)indium ((111)In) for imaging and (90)Y for therapy. Phase I studies of Zevalin have determined that patients with a baseline platelet count greater than 150,000 10(6)/L receive 0.4 mCi/kg. Patients with a platelet count of 100 to 149,000 10(6)/L should receive 0.3 mCi/kg. Zevalin has a higher overall response rate (ORR) than its cold antibody counterpart rituximab, as demonstrated in two separate clinical trials. The first trial (IDEC 106-04) randomized 143 rituximab-na?ve patients with relapsed NHL to receive rituximab or Zevalin. The ORR for Zevalin was 80% compared with 56% for rituximab (P = 0.002). The second trial (IDEC 106-06) tested the efficacy of Zevalin in patients who were rituxan-refractory; the ORR was 74%. The main toxicity of Zevalin was reversible myelosuppression. These studies indicate that radiolabeled anti-CD20 antibodies can produce a higher ORR than rituximab. Single-dose Zevalin is another treatment alternative for patients with relapsed low grade NHL. It is well-tolerated even by older adults. The exact role of Zevalin in the therapy of NHL is undetermined. New studies are underway to explore whether patients can safely receive a second dose of Zevalin and to combine Zevalin with high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell rescue. The outcome of these studies will be helpful in deciding how best to integrate this new modality into the treatment paradigm of NHL.     

Treatment with ibritumomab tiuxetan radioimmunotherapy in patients with rituximab-refractory follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

PURPOSE: Rituximab is commonly used as a single agent or in combination therapy for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Ibritumomab tiuxetan radioimmunotherapy targets the same antigen as rituximab and has demonstrated efficacy in rituximab-na?ve NHL. This study evaluated ibritumomab tiuxetan in the treatment of rituximab-refractory follicular NHL. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Eligible patients were refractory to rituximab; this was defined as no objective response to rituximab (375 mg/m(2) weekly for 4 weeks) or time to progression (TTP) of < or = 6 months. The ibritumomab tiuxetan treatment regimen consisted of pretreatment with rituximab (250 mg/m(2) intravenously on days 1 and 8) to deplete peripheral blood B cells, then yttrium-90 ibritumomab tiuxetan (0.4 mCi/kg; maximum, 32 mCi) intravenously on day 8, administered on an outpatient basis. An imaging/dosimetry dose of indium-111 ibritumomab tiuxetan (5 mCi) was injected after rituximab (day 1) in 28 patients. RESULTS: Fifty-seven patients were treated. The median age was 54 years, 74% had tumors > or = 5 cm, and all were extensively pretreated (median, four prior therapies; range, one to nine). The estimated radiation-absorbed doses to healthy organs were below the study-defined limit in all patients studied with dosimetry. The overall response rate for the 54 patients with follicular NHL was 74% (15% complete responses and 59% partial responses). The Kaplan-Meier-estimated TTP was 6.8 months (range, 1.1 to > or = 25.9 months) for all patients and 8.7 months for responders. Adverse events were primarily hematologic; the incidence of grade 4 neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, and anemia was 35%, 9%, and 4%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Ibritumomab tiuxetan radioimmunotherapy is effective in rituximab-refractory patients. The only significant toxicity is hematologic.     

Absolute configuration of 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol formed metabolically from 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1- butanone

4-(Methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL) is an important metabolite of the tobacco-specific nitrosamine 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1- (3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK). Using the chiral derivatizing agent, (R)- (+)-alpha-methylbenzyl isocyanate [(R)-(+)-MBIC], previous work has shown that the enantiomeric ratio of metabolically formed NNAL and its glucuronide derivative may be species dependent. However, the absolute configuration of such NNAL has not been previously reported. Synthetically prepared racemic NNAL was converted to diastereomeric esters by reaction with (R)-(+)- and (S)-(-)-alpha-methoxy-alpha- (trifluoromethyl)phenylacetic acid (MTPA) chloride (Mosher's reagent) and the products were characterized by 1H-NMR. Based on chemical shift data, the absolute configuration of NNAL in each diastereomeric ester was assigned. Hydrolysis of (R)-NNAL-(R)-MTPA gave (R)-NNAL. This was converted to the corresponding carbamate by reaction with (R)-(+)-alpha- MBIC and the absolute configurations of the diastereomeric carbamates formed by reaction of (R)- and (S)-NNAL with (R)-(+)-MBIC were thereby assigned. Conversion of metabolically produced NNAL to the same carbamates allowed us to assign the NNAL formed from NNK by rat liver microsomes as (R)-NNAL. The major and minor NNAL-glucuronide diastereomers found in the urine of patas monkeys and humans exposed to NNK were similarly assigned; they were formed from (R)-NNAL and (S)- NNAL, respectively.      

Thoracic empyema: a study of 56 patients

Fifty seven children with thoracic empyema (37 boys and 20 girls) aged less than 12 years were seen at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital between January 1989 and December 1991. Staphylococcus aureus was the most common organism isolated from the pus of these patients (36 (63%) patients). Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the next most common organism, was isolated in 10 (18%) patients. The most common symptoms at presentation were acute illness with fever and cough (51 (89%) patients). All the patients were treated with closed intercostal tube drainage and appropriate antibiotics. Decortication was resorted to in only one patient. There were two deaths and the overall survival rate was 97%.