CORRELATIONS BETWEEN VIDEO CAPSULE ENDOSCOPIC FINDINGS AND CLINICAL ACTIVITY IN CROHN’S DISEASE

Background and Aims: Video capsule endoscopy (VCE) has become increasingly important as a simple method for observing the entire small intestine. The indications for VCE are obscure gastrointestinal bleeding and investigation of Crohn’s disease (CD). However, the correlation between endoscopic findings obtained by VCE and clinical findings in known cases of CD is not clear, and we therefore investigated this in the present study. Patients and methods: In 30 patients with known CD (Crohn’s disease activity index [CDAI] 0–420; median = 158.3), double contrast enteroclysis (ENT) was performed 1–3 weeks prior to VCE. The relationship between the VCE findings and hematological analysis/CDAI was examined. Results: In 17 of 30 patients, the entire small intestine could be investigated by VCE, whereas in the remaining 13 patients the terminal ileum could not be investigated. The following exhibited positive correlations: total lesions and CDAI (correlation coefficient values: r_s = 0.661, adjusted P < 0.0061), ulcers and C‐reactive protein (CRP) (r_s = 0.607, adjusted P < 0.0061), total lesions and CRP (r_s = 0.604, adjusted P < 0.0061). Conclusions: Analysis with VCE suggests that CDAI and CRP indicate the activity of intestinal lesions in patients with known CD, and that CRP, in particular, is associated with the activity of ulcerative lesions of the intestine. This may contribute to revised guidelines for VCE in the future.     

Dopaminergic transmission in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus to produce acupuncture analgesia in correlation with the pituitary gland

Acupuncture analgesia (AA) caused by low frequency stimulation of the acupuncture point (AP) was abolished by hypophysectomy and adrenalectomy. Termination of the AA producing pathway from the AP to the pituitary gland was in the medial hypothalamic arcuate nucleus (M-HARN). The origin of the descending pain inhibitory system associated with AA was in the posterior HARN (P-HARN). AA in the hypophysectomized rats, and enhanced neuronal activity in the P-HARN that were abolished during acupuncture stimulation, were both restored by intraperitoneal microinjection of 0.5 mg/kg morphine or 0.1 micrograms beta-endorphin into the P-HARN during acupuncture stimulation. Of the analgesia produced by dopamine or beta-endorphin injected into the P-HARN, that caused by beta-endorphin disappeared after denervation of the M-HARN. The P-HARN neurons that responded to acupuncture stimulation also responded to iontophoretic dopamine, but not to iontophoretic morphine nor ultramicroinjected beta-endorphin. The transmission between the M-HARN and P-HARN may be dopaminergic, and beta-endorphin might presynaptically modulate this transmission. Reduction of sodium ions may have been the reason for abolition of AA after adrenalectomy.     

Differentiation of Motor Activity of Normally Active and Hyperactive Boys in Schools: Some Preliminary Results

All non-task-related body movements during school hours were listed in 11 normally active and 12 hyperactive boys. The mean number of movements was 48 +/- 7 per 45 minutes in the normal actives and 79 +/- 16 per 45 minutes in the hyperactives. The rather monotonous increment and decrement of motor activity during the 4-hr registration period was noticed only in hyperactive boys. These results could be a consequence of a circadian rhythm, as there was independence of type of school hours and of teacher personality. The cyclical level of activity in hyperactive boys was sometimes in the range of the normal actives.     

Cavernous sinus involvement in recurrent Nelson's syndrome

Summary Two cases of meningiomas, which are considered to have been caused by the preceding irradiation, are reported. In both cases, the cytokinetic study of the tumour using bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) was performed. The percent of the tumour cells in the S phase of the cell cycle was less than 1% in both cases. The low labelling indices might suggest a relatively slow growing potential of these tumours, though the radiation-induced meningiomas were reported as being rapidly growing and malignant.     

Antihepatotoxic Effects of chlorogenic acid from Anthocephalus cadamba

In the present study, chlorogenic acid (CGA) isolated from Anthocephalus cadamba was screened for hepatoprotective activity by in vitro and in vivo assay methods using carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) as a model of liver injury. Intraperitoneal administration of CGA to mice at a dose of 100 mg/kg body weight for 8 days caused significant reversal in lipid peroxidation, enzymatic leakage, cytochrome P450 (Cyt P450) inactivation and produced enhancement of cellular antioxidant defence in CCl₄-intoxicated mice, revealing that the antioxidative action of CGA is responsible for its liver protective activity. CGA exhibited a better therapeutic protective action than silymarin (SM), in CCl₄-administered mice.     

Synthesis and Antitumour Activity of New Derivatives of Flavone-8-acetic Acid (FAA). Part 2: Ring-Substituted Derivatives

A range of 18 derivatives of flavone-8-acetic acid (FAA) with substituents on the 2-phenyl group have been prepared and their anti-tumour activity evaluated in vitro against a panel of human and murine tumour cell lines and in vivo against MAC 15A. There was no clear-cut relationship between in vitro and in vivo activity but the activity in each situation was found to be very sensitive to the precise substitution pattern with closely related isomers giving widely different activities. Some of the compounds, notably 10b,cj , and r , were active in vivo and these require further studies in order to evaluate their potential for development.     

Synthesis and Structure Elucidation of 5-Aminomethinimino-3-methyl-4-isoxazolecarboxylic Acid Phenylamides and Their Immunological Activity

A series of 5-aminomethinimino-3-methyl-4-isoxazolecarboxylic acid phenylamides 4 has been prepared by condensation of 5-amino-3-methyl-4-isoxazolecarboxylic acid phenylamides 1 with trichloroacetic aldehyde. Alcoholysis of trichloro derivatives 2 gave 5-alkoxymethine derivatives 3 which, on reaction with an appropriate amine, formed the corresponding compounds 4 . The compounds obtained were evaluated for their immunological activity. The properties of three compounds, described in this report, permitted inhibition of the immune response in all possible ways: diminishing both types of immune response ( 4d ), humoral immune response ( 4a ), or cellular immune response ( 4c ). Preparation 4d is comparable in its effectiveness to CsA, so it may be potentially used as an agent for prolongation of the function of transplanted organs. Two other compounds may potentially be used in cases where only one type the immune response is required for combating pathogen invasion.     

N-ω-Carbethoxypentyl-4-quinolones: A New Class of Leukotriene Biosynthesis Inhibitors

6-[(4-Quinolinyl)oxy]hexanoic acids and the corresponding esters were designed and synthesized as inhibitors of the production of arachidonic acid metabolites. The inhibitory activities were assayed in vitro by evaluation of serum leukotriene B₄ and thromboxane B₂ production. While all 6-[(4-quinolinyl)oxy]hexanoic acids and their esters proved to be inactive, the N-alkyl-4-quinolones, obtained as by-products in their synthesis, were found to be a new class of leukotriene biosynthesis inhibitors.