Stability of famotidine 20 and 40 mg/L and amino acids in total parenteral nutrient solutions

The stability of famotidine in total parenteral nutrient (TPN) solutions and the concentrations of amino acids in the presence of famotidine were determined. Two famotidine concentrations (20 mg/L and 40 mg/L) and two amino acid concentrations (20 g/L and 42.5 g/L) were studied under the following storage conditions: refrigerated for 24 hours and then kept at room temperature (20-22 degrees C) for 24 hours, at room temperature for 48 hours, or refrigerated for seven days. Control TPN solutions were studied under the same storage conditions. TPN solutions also contained dextrose 25%, electrolytes, trace elements, and vitamins. Famotidine concentration was determined at 0, 24, and 48 hours and at seven days by high-performance liquid chromatography. Amino acid concentration was determined in the TPN solutions containing 42.5 g/L of amino acids without famotidine and with famotidine 40 mg/L under both 48-hour storage conditions. At 24 hours, all solutions retained at least 95% of the initial famotidine concentration. Seven of the eight famotidine solutions retained more than 95% of the initial famotidine concentration at 48 hours. All samples refrigerated for seven days retained more than 95% of the initial famotidine concentration. The concentration of amino acids in TPN solutions containing 42.5 g/L of amino acids was not affected by the addition of famotidine 40 mg/L under either 48-hour storage condition. Famotidine in concentrations of 20 mg/L and 40 mg/L is stable under the studied 48-hour storage conditions in TPN solutions containing amino acid concentrations of either 20 g/L or 42.5 g/L.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

S-nitrosoglutathione-containing hydrogel accelerates rat cutaneous wound repair

BACKGROUND: Nitric oxide (NO) plays a key role in wound repair and S-nitrosothiols like S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) are well known NO donors. METHODS: Animals were separated in two groups and submitted to excisional wounds on the dorsal surface at the first day. GSNO (100 microm)-containing hydrogels were topically applied on the wound bed in the GSNO group, daily, during the first 4 days. Control group was topically treated with hydrogel without GSNO for the same period. Wound contraction and re-epithelialization were measured. Animals were sacrificed 21 days after wounding. Samples of lesion and normal tissue were formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded for histological analysis. RESULTS: Wound contraction, measured 14 and 21 days after wounding, was greater in the GSNO group than in the control group (P<0.05 for both). The re-epithelialized wound area, measured 14 days after wounding, was higher in the GSNO group than in the control group (P<0.05). A higher amount of inflammatory cells was observed in superficial and deep areas of the granulation tissue of the control group compared to the GSNO group. Twenty-one days after wounding, thin red-yellow collagen fibers arranged perpendicularly to the surface were found in the granulation tissue of the control group, whereas in the GSNO-treated group collagen fibers were thicker and arranged parallel to the surface. Increased number of mast cells was observed in the GSNO group compared with that in the control group. Vascularization and myofibroblast distribution were similar in both groups. CONCLUSION: Topical application of GSNO-containing hydrogel during the early phases of rat cutaneous wound repair accelerates wound closure and re-epithelialization and affects granulation tissue organization.     

Buspirone treatment of aggression and anxiety in mentally retarded patients: a multiple-baseline, placebo lead-in study

Buspirone, a new anxiolytic agent, was used in a multiple-baseline, placebo lead-in study for the treatment of aggression and anxiety in six mentally retarded adult patients. The findings demonstrate buspirone's effectiveness in reducing aggression and anxiety in a mentally retarded group of subjects without causing deleterious cognitive side effects. The authors review a body of literature on animal and human subjects where buspirone was used in the treatment of aggression and other mental disorders. Unlike neuroleptics and benzodiazepines, buspirone does not cause sedation which can compromise adaptive and intellectual capacities and thus reduce the patient's potential to benefit from training programs.     

Colorectal carcinoma: importance of clinical and pathological factors in survival.

A series of clinicopathological variables was assessed on 312 patients undergoing surgical resection for primary colorectal cancer. Although the presence of venous invasion was related to mortality (P = 0.02), classifying invasion into involvement of thick-walled or thin-walled veins did not produce a variable of prognostic value. Intestinal obstruction (P = 0.04) and the macroscopic appearance of the tumour (P = 0.04) were related to mortality from colorectal cancer, but not from all causes of death. Duke''s stage, increasing patient age and poorly differentiated tumours were the variables which were individually most significantly related to poor prognosis (P < 0.001 for each analysis). Cox''s regression analysis identified these three variables as independent predictors of outcome in colorectal cancer. This study confirms that Duke''s stage, patient age and tumour differentiation are still the most important clinicopathological variables in colorectal cancer.     

Stone-forming potential of milk or calcium-fortified orange juice in idiopathic hypercalciuric adults.

Milk and orange juice (OJ) fortified with calcium-citrate-malate (CCM; calcium-citrate-malate salt is a coined term to describe a trademarked calcium delivery system found only in Citrus Hill Plus Calcium) were evaluated for their potential to alter urine chemistries and crystallization during the course of an eleven week, crossover study. Six male and six female, non-stone-forming, idiopathic hypercalciuric adults consumed 600 mg per day as beverage calcium for four consecutive weeks. The results show that both milk and CCM-fortified OJ (CCM-OJ) were well tolerated by male and female hypercalciurics since few significant changes occurred in overall urinary chemistry profiles. CCM-OJ did, however, significantly (P less than or equal to 0.05) increase urinary pH relative to milk in both sexes and urinary citrate concentration in women only. Both of these urinary parameters were significantly increased by CCM-OJ in both sexes relative to the basal period. The combined pH and citrate effects are recognized to protect against calcium oxalate stone formation through formation of the soluble calcium citrate salt. These data indicate that either milk or CCM-fortified orange juice can be consumed, at least within the limits tested, as a dietary source of calcium without increasing the risk of stone formation in a calcium-sensitive subpopulation. That the urine chemistries and crystallization of such calcium-sensitive individuals does not significantly change with the consumption of either beverage implies that the urine of normal individuals would be exceedingly unlikely to change as well.