Treatment of Raynaud's syndrome with calcium entry blockers

The authors have presented the results of a 14-day open randomized trial of the efficacy of 3 calcium inlet blocking agents: nifedipine, verapamil and phendilin in 61 patients with Raynaud's syndrome. In the group of patients receiving 30-80 mg of nifedipine (20) there was a significant decrease in the frequency and expression of Raynaud's syndrome attacks, a positive effect of varying degree was noted in 19 patients. The drug raised slightly the skin and muscular blood flow and skin temperature. The use of 120-360 mg of verapamil in 21 patients caused no significant inhibition of Raynaud's syndrome and rise of hemocirculation. Phendilin (150-300 mg) though being comparable with nifedipine in efficacy, often produced side-effects resulting in the drug cancellation (8 out of 20). The efficacy of the calcium inlet blocking agents, especially nifedipine, for therapy of Raynaud's syndrome was emphasized.     

Radiation dose reduction during hysterosalpingography: an application of scanning-beam digital radiography

Hysterosalpingography was performed in 31 patients by means of a low-dose scanning-beam digital radiographic system. The technique permits adequate evaluation of gynecologic abnormalities while allowing significant reduction in radiation: 2.4-mR (6.1 X 10(-7) C/kg) exposure to the skin and 0.7-mrad (7 X 10(-6) Gy) mean dose to the ovaries per image obtained. Sixteen patients demonstrated readily recognizable and documented abnormalities, corroborated by laparoscopy, laparotomy, or other supportive evidence.     

Importance of an acid milieu in the sucralfate-induced gastroprotection against ethanol damage

Sucralfate is known for its gastroprotective properties in humans and rats, but the importance of intragastric pH in this protection is a subject of controversy. This study, performed on healthy young volunteers and rats, was designed to compare the gastroprotective effects of sucralfate with those of sucralfate combined with ranitidine or of sucralfate adjusted to pHs varying from 1 to 7. In humans the mucosal damage induced by 40% ethanol spray after 4 days of pretreatment with placebo, sucralfate (1 g four times daily), ranitidine (150 mg three times daily), or the combination of sucralfate plus ranitidine was evaluated by means of endoscopy with mucosal biopsy and histologic examination. Sucralfate alone reduced the endoscopic score significantly (compared with placebo) and prevented deep necrotic lesions. Neither ranitidine alone nor its combination with sucralfate prevented ethanol-induced endoscopic and histologic mucosal changes. In rats acute gastric lesions were induced by 100% ethanol. Sucralfate was relatively more effective in mucosal protection against ethanol when given at lower pH (1 or 2) than at original pH (4.5) and failed to protect at neutral pH (7.0). Pretreatment with ranitidine, which by itself did not change ethanol damage, greatly reduced the protection afforded by sucralfate. We conclude that sucralfate protects the gastric mucosa against ethanol damage both in humans and in rats and that this protection is dependent on the presence of an acidic intragastric pH.     

Comparative evaluation of the treatment of Sj?gren's syndrome with anti-rheumatic preparations

The paper is devoted to comparative assessment of combined therapy of prednisolone, chlorambucil, chloroquine phosphate and ibuprofen at small doses and its effect on clinicolaboratory signs of Sjogren's disease in 80 patients in the course of 1 and 5 years. Patients of the control group received only local therapy of the parotid glands. The results have demonstrated that combined therapy at small doses of prednisolone and chlorambucil (5 mg + 4 mg) is an effective method of treatment of the stomatological, ophthalmological and articular manifestations of SD and is also capable of preventing the systemic signs of disease. Combined therapy with chloroquine phosphate and ibuprofen neither influenced the clinicolaboratory signs of disease nor prevented disease progression with the development of systemic signs of diseases of various degrees. Disease progression was observed in 80% of patients receiving no basic drugs or receiving chloroquine phosphate+ibuprofen while in groups of patients receiving small doses of prednisolone and chloambucil disease progression was observed in 20% only.