Effects of mepartricin on estradiol and testosterone serum levels and on prostatic estrogen, androgen and adrenergic receptor concentrations in adult rats.

The effects induced by oral administration of 0, 5 and 20 mg of meparticin kg(-1)of body weight for 28 days (group 1, 2 and 3, respectively) upon prostatic estrogen, androgen, alpha(1)- and beta-adrenergic receptor concentrations and on estradiol and testosterone serum levels in adult male rats were studied. The effects produced by mepartricin treatments on the weight and dimension of the gland were investigated. Both mepartricin dosages induced significant decreases (P< 0.05) of the absolute and relative weights and of the dimensions of the prostate. A significant dose-dependent decrease (P< 0.05) in estradiol serum levels was observed in treated rats, whereas no significant modifications were found in testosterone serum levels. As far as prostatic steroid receptor concentrations were concerned, a significant (P< 0.05) decrease in estrogen receptor number was observed in both treated groups, whilst a significant increase (P< 0.05) of androgen receptor concentrations was recorded only in rats treated with 20 mg mepartricin kg(-1). Conversely, a dose-dependent up-regulation of both prostatic alpha(1)- and beta-AR was found. Data obtained suggest that the prostatic alpha(1)-AR expression may be strongly influenced by estrogen deprivation (mepartricin treatment), therefore the combination of estrogen suppression (mepartricin) and adrenergic suppression (alpha(1)-AR blockers) may be suggested as a possible pharmacotherapeutic strategy for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Physiotherapy for children with cerebral palsy. Evidence for its efficacy.

Physiotherapy is currently the most popular therapeutic intervention for cerebral palsy. This therapy requires highly trained personnel, diverse equipment, and parental cooperation. Notwithstanding the expense and commitment required for the implementation of a therapeutic program, a computer search of the literature published in English during the past 15 years revealed only nine studies pertaining to the efficacy and no study addressing the effectiveness of this intervention. A critical review of this literature, employing 14 methodological and reporting criteria, revealed that only three studies adequately fulfilled nine of the criteria; the remaining studies used a less rigorous design. Of those three articles, two used statistical analysis and concluded that the results were negative, while the third utilized clinical analysis only and demonstrated positive results. Evidence for the usefulness of this therapy has yet to be demonstrated; with the presently available methodologies it is ethically imperative to institute a properly designed, collaborative, multicenter, randomized, controlled trial.