Chemical resistance of the gram-negative bacteria to different sanitizers in a water purification system

Background  

Purified water for pharmaceutical purposes must be free of microbial contamination and pyrogens. Even with the additional sanitary and disinfecting treatments applied to the system (sequential operational stages), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Pseudomonas alcaligenes, Pseudomonas picketti, Flavobacterium aureum, Acinetobacter lowffi and Pseudomonas diminuta were isolated and identified from a thirteen-stage purification system. To evaluate the efficacy of the chemical agents used in the disinfecting process along with those used to adjust chemical characteristics of the system, over the identified bacteria, the kinetic parameter of killing time (D-value) necessary to inactivate 90% of the initial bioburden (decimal reduction time) was experimentally determined.     

Surgical delivery of drug releasing poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)/poly(ethylene glycol) paste with in vivo effects against glioblastoma

Introduction

The median survival of patients with glioblastoma multiforme (astrocytoma grade 4) remains less than 18 months despite radical surgery, radiotherapy and systemic chemotherapy. Surgical implantation of chemotherapy eluting wafers into the resection cavity has been shown to improve length of survival but the current licensed therapy has several drawbacks. This paper investigates in vivo efficacy of a novel drug eluting paste in glioblastoma.

Methods

Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)/poly(ethylene glycol) (PLGA/PEG) self-sintering paste was loaded with the chemotherapeutic agent etoposide and delivered surgically into partially resected tumours in a flank murine glioblastoma xenograft model.

Results

Surgical delivery of the paste was successful and practical, with no toxicity or surgical morbidity to the animals. The paste was retained in the tumour cavity, and preliminary results suggest a useful antitumour and antiangiogenic effect, particularly at higher doses. Bioluminescent imaging was not affected significantly by the presence of the paste in the tumour.

Conclusions

Chemotherapy loaded PLGA/PEG paste seems to be a promising technology capable of delivering active drugs into partially resected tumours. The preliminary results of this study suggest efficacy with no toxicity and will lead to larger scale efficacy studies in orthotopic glioblastoma models.     

Subthalamic stimulation activates internal pallidus: evidence from cGMP microdialysis in PD patients

Parkinson's disease patients benefit from deep brain stimulation (DBS) in subthalamic nucleus (STN), but the basis for this effect is still disputed. In this intraoperative microdialysis study, we found elevated cGMP extracellular concentrations in the internal segment of the globus pallidus, despite negligible changes in glutamate levels, during a clinically effective STN-DBS. This supports the view that a clinically beneficial effect of STN-DBS is paralleled by an augmentation (and not an inactivation) of the STN output onto the GPi.     

Noncardiogenic pulmonary edema caused by decompression sickness: rapid resolution following hyperbaric therapy

Noncardiogenic pulmonary edema is a recognized but uncommon manifestation of type 2 decompression sickness. It typically occurs within 6 hours of a dive. Because the adult respiratory distress syndrome in this setting is believed to be due to microbubbles in the pulmonary vasculature, recompression in a hyperbaric chamber has been recommended as a form of therapy. A patient developed noncardiogenic pulmonary edema following a seawater dive to 75 feet. There was complete radiologic and clinical resolution within 5 hours of hyperbaric therapy.