Evaluation of an Oral Rehydration Solution with Na+ 60 mmol/l in Infants Hospitalized for Acute Diarrhoea or Treated as Outpatients

ABSTRACT. An oral rehydration solution (ORS) containing 60 mmol/l of Na'(ORS₆₀) was compared in a randomized trial with the ORS of WHO formula (Na⁺ 90 mmol/l = ORS₉₀) for the treatment of diarrhoeal dehydration in 66 hospitalized infants aged 3 to 34 months. The infants had a 5±3 % dehydration, and received within 6–10 hours 76±32 ml/kg of ORS₆₀ or 74±41 ml/kg of ORS₉₀ corresponding to a sodium input of 4.6±1.9 mmol/kg and 6.6±3.7 mmol/kg, respectively. Both treatments were found adequate and equally effective for the correction of dehydration and sodium deficit. The same ORS_M was also compared to a commercial low sodium glucose-electrolyte solution (sodium 35 mmol/l, glucose 3.5 g/1) for ambulatory treatment of acute diarrhoea in infants. Satisfactory rehydration was achieved within 6 hours in 19 of 23 infants receiving ORS₆₀ as opposed to 6 of 18 infants receiving the commercial solution (p<0.001); the poor result with the latter was in most cases attributed to a refusal by the infant to consume the sweetish solution. It is concluded that ORS₆₀ is suitable for the treatment of isotonic diarrhoeal dehydration in hospitalized children as well as outpatients.     

Protective effect of pentoxifylline plus thalidomide against septic shock in mice

Mortality caused by septic shock in experimental animals is reduced by thalidomide, an inhibitor of tumour necrosis factor alpha. Another drug that could act on the pathophysiological mechanisms of septic shock is pentoxifylline, an inhibitor of platelet aggregation that increases the flexibility of the erythrocyte membrane and has fibrinolytic activity. We studied the effect of pentoxifylline alone and combined with thalidomide in septic shock; 97 NIH mice were injected with lipopolysaccharides of Salmonella abortus equi and D galactosamine. Animals were separated in 4 groups; group A (n = 20) was used as control, group B (n = 15) received thalidomide 50 mg/kg, group C (n = 20) received pentoxifylline 40 mg/kg, and group D (n = 15) received thalidomide plus pentoxifylline. Mortality was recorded every hour. Additionally, 5 animals from each group were sacrificed 8 h after the induction of septic shock for histological analysis of heart, lung, brain, kidney, small intestine, adrenal glands and liver. Microscopic findings were rated as absent, mild, moderate and severe damage. In control animals histological analysis showed intense haemorrhage and necrosis in all organs studied. When compared with controls, treatment with pentoxifylline plus thalidomide reduced mortality (P < 0.03). The tissue damage was less severe in animals from the groups that received pentoxifylline or pentoxifylline plus thalidomide (P < 0.05). Pentoxifylline seems to potentiate the beneficial effects of thalidomide, reducing mortality and attenuating the pathological changes produced by septic shock.     

The sebotrophic action of growth hormone (BGH) in the rat

Sebum production of rats was assessed by measuring the levels of fat extractable by diethyl ether from samples of hair clipped immediately after shampooing with sodium lauryl sulphate and 2 days later. By the use of matched litter mates in was unequivocally demonstrated that the response of the sebaceous glands to testosterone is virtually abolished by hypophysectomy and that it can be completely restored by pure bovine growth hormone.     

Genotype does not predict severity of behavioural phenotype in juvenile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (Batten disease)

Aim The primary aim of this investigation was to examine genotype and clinical phenotype differences in individuals with juvenile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (JNCL) who were homozygous for a common disease‐causing deletion or compound heterozygous. The secondary aim was to cross‐validate the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Unified Batten Disease Rating Scale (UBDRS), a disease‐specific JNCL rating scale. Method Sixty individuals (28 males, 32 females; mean age 15y 1mo, SD 4y 9mo, range 5y 8mo–31y 1mo) with JNCL completed the UBDRS. Results No significant genotype and clinical phenotype differences were identified when comparing individuals homozygous for the deletion with a heterogeneous group of compound heterozygous individuals. There were significant correlations among related behaviour items and scales on the CBCL and UBDRS (Spearman’s rho ranging from 0.39 [p<0.05] to 0.72 [p<0.01]). Behaviour and physical function ratings were uncorrelated, supporting divergent validity of these two constructs in JNCL. Interpretation Previous reports of genotype and clinical phenotype differences were unsupported in this investigation, which did not find differences between individuals homozygous or heterozygous for the CLN3 deletion. The CBCL, an already validated measure of behaviour problems, appears valid for use in JNCL and cross‐validates well with the UBDRS.     

A Case-Control Study of Peripartum Cardiomyopathy Using the Rochester Epidemiology Project

BackgroundThe incidence of peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is known through referral center databases that may be affected by referral, misclassification, and other biases. We sought to determine the community-based incidence and natural history of PPCM using the Rochester Epidemiology Project.Methods and ResultsIncident cases of PPCM occurring between January 1, 1970, and December 31, 2014, were identified in Olmsted County, Minnesota. A total of 15 PPCM cases were confirmed yielding an incidence of 20.3 cases per 100,000 live births in Olmsted County, Minnesota. Clinical information, disease characteristics, and outcomes were extracted from medical records in a 27-county region of the Rochester Epidemiology Project including Olmsted County and matched in a 1:2 ratio with pregnant women without PPCM. A total of 48 women were identified with PPCM in the expanded 27-county region. There was 1 death and no transplants over a median of 7.3 years of follow-up. Six of the 23 women with subsequent pregnancies developed recurrent PPCM, all of whom recovered. Migraine and anxiety were identified as novel possible risk factors for PPCM.ConclusionsThe population-based incidence of PPCM was 20.3 cases per 100,000 live births in Olmsted County, Minnesota. Cardiovascular outcomes were generally excellent in this community cohort.     

In-vivo Release of a GnRH Agonist from a Slow-release Poly(lactide-glycolide) Copolymer Preparation: Comparison in Rat,Rabbit and Guinea-Pig

Abstract— Different batches of 50:50 poly((±)-lactide-glycolide) copolymer (PLG) were used as biodegradable carriers for D-Phe⁶-gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRHa) in the form of injectable long-acting implants loaded with 10% GnRHa and tracer amounts of [¹²⁵I]GnRHa. After their injection subcutaneously into rats, rabbits, and guinea-pigs, the release kinetics of the peptide were determined by counting the radioactivity remaining in the implants (i) after recovery from the rats after death or (ii) directly on the skin above the injection site of rabbits and guinea-pigs in-vivo. No significant differences in the release pattern of the peptide amongst the three species whether the release process was controlled by diffusion or by degradation of the polymeric matrix were found. It is concluded that the results of in-vivo release tests using laboratory animals are valid for man and that enzymes are not involved in the degradation of the polymeric matrix. The results may be of general importance for the use of long-term release PLG formulations of highly active drugs, especially peptides and proteins.