Itraconazole therapy for infant hemangioma: Two case reports.

BACKGROUND: Infantile hemangiomas (IHs) are the most common childhood benign tumors, showing distinctive progression characteristics and outcomes. Due to the high demand for aesthetics among parents of IH babies, early intervention is critical in some cases. ß-Adrenergic blockers and corticosteroids are first-line medications for IHs, while itraconazole, an antifungal medicine, has shown positive results in recent years. CASE SUMMARY: In the present study, itraconazole was applied to treat two IH cases. The therapeutic course lasted 80-90 d, during which the visible lesion faded by more than 90%. Moreover, no obvious side effects were reported, and the compliance of the baby and parents was desirable. CONCLUSION: Although these outcomes further support itraconazole as an effective therapeutic choice for IHs, large-scale clinical and basic studies are still warranted to improve further treatment.

Cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory active plicamine alkaloids from Zephyranthes grandiflora.

Phytochemical investigation on the 95% EtOH extract of the whole plants of Zephyranthes grandiflora resulted in the isolation of six new 4a-epi-plicamine-type alkaloids, zephygranditines A-F (1-6), including three novel 11,12-seco-plicamine-type alkaloids. The structures of the isolated compounds were established based on 1D and 2D (1H1H COSY, HMQC, and HMBC) NMR spectroscopy, in addition to high resolution mass spectrometry. The isolated alkaloids were tested in vitro for cytotoxic potential against seven malignant melanoma cell lines and inhibitory activity for nitric oxide (NO) production and Cox-1/Cox-2. As a result, alkaloids 1-3 exhibited some cytotoxic activity against all the tested tumor cell lines with IC50 values <20 µM and 1 and 2 displayed anti-inflammatory activity in both assay of inhibitory activity for nitric oxide production and Cox-1/Cox-2.

Lycodine type alkaloids from Lycopodiastrum casuarinoides with cytotoxic and cholinesterase inhibitory activities.

A chemical investigation on the 70% EtOH extract of the aerial parts of Lycopodiastrum casuarinoides led to the isolation of six novel lycodine type alkaloids, lycocasuarines A-F (1-6). The structures of the isolated compounds were established based on 1D and 2D (1H1H COSY, HMQC, and HMBC) NMR spectroscopy, in addition to high resolution mass spectrometry. The isolated alkaloids were tested in vitro for cytotoxic potentials against seven malignant melanoma cell lines as well as acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrocholinesterase (BuChE) inhibitory activities. As a result, alkaloids 1 and 3 exhibited significant cytotoxic activities against all the tested tumor cell lines with IC50 values <10 µM and the inhibitory activities for AchE (0.94 ±â€¯0.15 and 0.24 ±â€¯0.03 µM, respectively) and BuchE (1.82 ±â€¯0.12 and 7.31 ±â€¯0.42 µM, respectively).