Localized Kaposi''s sarcoma in a patient with pemphigus vulgaris

We report the case of a patient with a 13-year history of pemphigus vulgaris (PV) treated with immunosuppressive agents, prednisone and mycophenolate mofetil who had developed lesions of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) on a sole plaque of PV that had been previously treated with intralesional injections of steroids. The lesions were surgically removed and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) demonstrated human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) DNA. There were neither recurrences nor later dissemination of KS following gradual decrease of the immunosuppressive therapy. We suggest that the treatment with intralesional steroids may have influenced the local reactivation of a latent infection of the virus, determining the appearance of this localized KS.     

Evaluation of the rat tail model for estimating dermal absorption of lindane

Dermal absorption of the insecticide lindane was determined following topical application of ring 14C-labeled lindane to the tail of Sprague-Dawley rats. The tail was tested as a practical alternative to the rat mid-dorsal (back) region, and the data obtained were compared to those with rat back and with those of rhesus monkeys in our previous reports. There was no significant difference between total percentage urinary 14C recovery for rats dosed on the tail with occlusive tail covers (52 +/- 6.2%; t1/2 = 2.7 d) compared to those with nonocclusive covers (55 +/- 4.4%; t1/2 = 2.9 d). Neither the total percentage urinary recovery nor the t1/2 values obtained for the rat tail and rat back models differed significantly. Carbon-14 activity was still detectable in urine samples taken after 72 d post-treatment. However, an extensive tissue analysis failed to demonstrate 14C activity persisting at 72 d, with the exception of trace levels detected in blood serum and tail tissue. Advantages of the rat tail model are highlighted.     

Aseptic bone necroses as a late complication following successful treatment of leukemias and severe aplastic anemia

Aseptic bone necrosis is a well known complication after corticosteroid treatment in adults and several hundred cases have been reported. Alterations in fat metabolism with vascular occlusion due to fat embolization, as well as microtraumata and osteoporosis are discussed as etiologic factors. In contrast, aseptic bone necrosis in relation to corticosteroid treatment is rare in children and adolescents. We therefore report 3 patients, aged from 10 to 18 years, suffering from severe aplastic anemia, meningeal relapse after acute lymphocytic leukemia and acute myelocytic leukemia respectively, who developed aseptic bone necrosis 6, 11, and 20 months following the onset of corticoid therapy. The patients survive from 28+ to 50+ months after diagnosis of their initial hematologic disease, as it can be expected today for increasing numbers of patients. We therefore believe, that aseptic bone necrosis may represent a serious therapy related complication and suggest that, diagnostic examination in patients with suspicious complaints of the hip, shoulder or knee should also exclude the possibility of a bone necrosis after leucemic relapse has been ruled out. Since radiological changes only develop several weeks to months after the onset of the clinical symptoms and because of the disabling consequences for patients, misdiagnosed at the beginning, a 99 technetium bone scan should be done as early as possible. Corticosteroids, despite their serious side effects are still being considered as a important part of hematologic therapy and are not being omitted in the near future, so that the earliest possible diagnosis of bone necrosis will remain of great importance.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Flerobuterol: a potential antidepressant drug related to β-adrenergic agonists. Experimental profile in mice

The potential antidepressant effect of flerobuterol (dl-(fluoro-2 phenyl)-1 t-butylamino-2 ethanol), a new drug related to beta-adrenoceptor agonists, was evaluated and compared with imipramine and salbutamol using classical psychopharmacological tests in mice. Like imipramine and salbutamol, flerobuterol (0.5-32 mg kg-1, ip) fully prevented apomorphine (16 mg kg-1, sc)- and partly reversed reserpine- and oxotremorine-induced hypothermia. At higher doses (16-32 mg kg-1), flerobuterol enhanced the toxic effects of yohimbine. Unlike imipramine, flerobuterol and salbutamol did not reduce immobility duration in the behavioural despair test. Salbutamol and flerobuterol decreased locomotor activity. Flerobuterol did not induce mydriasis, did not prevent oxotremorine-induced tremors or salivary and lacrimal gland secretion and did not reduce reserpine-induced palpebral ptosis. Propranolol (8 mg kg-1, ip) but not alpha-methyl-paratyrosine (75 mg kg-1, ip) prevented the flerobuterol-induced antagonism of apomorphine-induced hypothermia. Our results suggest that flerobuterol demonstrates potential antidepressant activity, which could be related to beta-adrenoceptor activation in mice.