A multicentre, randomized, single-blind comparison of topical clindamycin 1%/benzoyl peroxide 5% once-daily gel versus clindamycin 1% twice-daily gel in the treatment of mild to moderate acne vulgaris in Chinese patients.

BACKGROUND: Acne vulgaris affects up to 54% of Chinese adolescents. Combination therapy has become the recommended standard of care for acne. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of clindamycin (1%) and benzoyl peroxide (5%) (CDP/BPO) gel once daily vs. clindamycin (1%) (CDP) monotherapy gel twice daily in Chinese patients with mild to moderate acne. METHODS: 1020 patients (aged 12-45 years) with mild to moderate acne were randomized (1 : 1); 1016 patients were treated with CDP/BPO (n = 500) or CDP (n = 516) for a 12-week treatment period. Efficacy assessments were performed at baseline, and at weeks 1, 2, 4, 8 and 12; and primarily included change in total lesion count (inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesions), and proportion of patients with a minimum 2-grade improvement in Investigator's Static Global Assessment (ISGA) score. Patient safety and local tolerability were also evaluated. RESULTS: Patients in CDP/BPO group showed a greater per cent reduction in total lesion count compared with patients in CDP group at week 12 (delta = -0.05; 95% CI = -0.09, -0.02; P = 0.003); statistically significant reduction in lesion count was noted as early as week 1 and continued through week 12. A greater proportion of patients in CDP/BPO group showed a ≥2-grade improvement in ISGA score at week 12 compared with CDP group (30.2% vs. 22.7%; P = 0.018). Overall, the incidence of adverse events (AEs) was higher in the CDP/BPO group (14.4%) than in the CDP group (7.9%); the most commonly reported events were generally related to application site reactions (erythema, pruritus and swelling). Incidence of drug-related AEs was 8.6% in CDP/BPO group and 1.2% in CDP group. Both groups showed trends towards reduction in investigator and subject rated local tolerability scores. CONCLUSION: CDP/BPO gel demonstrated superior efficacy over CDP gel along with acceptable safety and tolerability in Chinese patients with mild to moderate acne. GOV NUMBER: NCT01915732.

Efficacy and safety of desloratadine combined with dipyridamole in the treatment of chronic urticaria.

Chronic urticaria (CU) imposes profound impairment on patient's quality of life. Our study was done to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of desloratadine combined with dipyridamole, which is a platelet adhesion inhibitor in the treatment of CU. A randomized study was done in 64 autoimmunity CU patients with positive autologous plasma skin test (APST): 34 patients as treatment and 30 controls. The treatment group was treated with desloratadine and dipyridamole, and the control group was treated with desloratadine only. The efficiency and side-effect were evaluated at the end of treatment. The levels of fragment F(1+2) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in all patients at pre- and post-treatment. The clinical effectiveness rates of treatment and control group were, respectively, 85.20% (21 cured, 8 obvious effectiveness) and 70% (14 cured, 7 obvious effectiveness); they have a significant difference (x = 4.09, P < 0.05). Before treatment, the weals and pruritus in the treatment and control group were, respectively, (1.74 +/- 0.90, 1.79 +/- 0.73) and (1.67 +/- 0.84, 1.73 +/- 0.78). After treatment, the weals and pruritus in treatment and control group were, respectively, (0.38 +/- 0.73, 0.58 +/- 0.89) and (0.67 +/- 0.96, 1.10 +/- 1.12). These findings provide new insights into the pathogenesis of CU and suggest new therapeutic opportunities for treating this disease.

Recent Rice stripe virus Epidemics in Zhejiang Province, China, and Experiments on Sowing Date, Disease-Yield Loss Relationships, and Seedling Susceptibility.

Rice stripe virus, transmitted by the small brown planthopper Laodelphax striatellus, has recently reemerged as a major disease in Zhejiang province, eastern China. Intensive surveys during 2003 to 2006 demonstrated how the disease has spread rapidly from the northern to central and eastern regions with increasing incidence each year. In bioassays, the highest proportions of viruliferous vectors were from regions where the disease was most severe. The greatest disease incidence was in the earliest sown plants, and substantial control could be achieved by delaying planting from late May to mid-June. In experiments where different proportions of infected plants were established (by inoculation or varying the sowing date), average yield losses were 0.8% for every 1% increase in disease incidence. In inoculation experiments, young seedlings, particularly those at the three- to five-leaf stage, were the most susceptible, whereas ≤1% of plants inoculated at or after the elongation stage developed symptoms. Recent epidemics appear to have resulted from large populations of viruliferous vectors colonizing rice seedlings at the most susceptible stage. This is probably because of changes in cropping practice, recent warmer winters in Zhejiang province, and the development of resistance or tolerance to the insecticides widely used (triazophos, synthetic pyrethroids, and Imidacloprid).

Inhibitory effect of interferon and tumor necrosis factor on human luteal function in vitro.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether immunological mechanisms may be involved in human luteal function. DESIGN: The effects of the cytokines, interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha), interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) on steroidogenesis by human luteal cells were examined in vitro. The dispersed human luteal cells, obtained from a total of 17 women at laparotomy, were cultured separately in the presence or absence of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and IFNs/TNF-alpha with the medium being replaced at 48 hours. The medium was collected at 48 and 96 hours for steroid assays. RESULTS: The IFN-alpha had no significant effect on the production of estradiol or progesterone (P), whereas a dose-related inhibition of basal, as well as hCG-stimulated P formation, was observed after the addition of IFN-gamma (10 to 1,000 U/mL). Progesterone production was inhibited to about 45% of the control at 48 hours and even lower at 96 hours (n = 6, P < 0.001). The combination of IFN-gamma and low doses of TNF-alpha induced a further significant inhibition, whereas there was no effect of TNF-alpha alone. This inhibitory effect of IFN-gamma could be completely neutralized with a monoclonal antibody to IFN-gamma. Incubation with the antibody alone increased the production of P from luteal cells in culture, suggesting a local tonic inhibitory action of endogenous IFN-gamma. CONCLUSION: Interferon-gamma and TNF-alpha, whose function classically is known as antiviral, also may play a role in human luteal regression by inhibiting luteal P production.