The effect of the leukotriene antagonist pranlukast on pediatric acute otitis media.

OBJECTIVE: Conventional treatment for acute otitis media mainly targets bacteria with antibiotics, neglecting to control for mediators of inflammation. Mediators of inflammation, such as leukotrienes, have been identified in patients with acute otitis media (AOM) or subsequent secretory otitis media (SOM). They can cause functional eustachian tube dysfunction or increase mucous in the middle ear, causing persistent SOM following AOM. The objective of the present study was to evaluate whether or not administration of pranlukast, a widely used leukotriene C4, D4, and E4 antagonist, together with antibiotics could inhibit the progression to SOM. METHODS: Children with AOM, who were from two to 12 years old, were randomly divided into two groups as follows: a control group in which 50 patients received antibiotic-based conventional treatment according to guidelines for treating AOM proposed by the Japan Otological Society (version 2006); and a pranlukast group, in which 52 patients were administered pranlukast for up to 28 days as well as given conventional treatment. Cases were regarded as persistent SOM when a tympanogram was type B or C2 four weeks after treatment was initiated. RESULTS: Two patients in the pranlukast group and 3 patients in the control group were excluded because they relapsed AOM within 28 days after initial treatment. Therefore, the analysis included 50 and 47 subjects in the pranlukast and control groups, respectively. The percentage of patients diagnosed with persistent SOM (22.0%) was significantly smaller in the pranlukast group compared with the control group (44.7%) (p = 0.018, chi-squared test). CONCLUSION: The results indicate that combined treatment of AOM with antibiotics and a leukotriene antagonist to control inflammation is useful for preventing progression to persistent SOM.

Decomposition of ethylene, a flower-senescence hormone, with electrolyzed anode water.

Electrolyzed anode water (EAW) markedly extended the vase life of cut carnation flowers. Therefore, a flower-senescence hormone involving ethylene decomposition by EAW with potassium chloride as an electrolyte was investigated. Ethylene was added externally to EAW, and the reaction between ethylen and the available chlorine in EAW was examined. EAW had a low pH value (2.5), a high concentration of dissolved oxygen, and extremely high redox potential (19.2 mg/l and 1323 mV, respectively) when available chlorine was at a concentration of about 620 microns. The addition of ethylene to EAW led to ethylene decomposition, and an equimolar amount of ethylene chlorohydrine with available chlorine was produced. The ethylene chlorohydrine production was greatly affected by the pH value (pH 2.5, 5.0 and 10.0 were tested), and was faster in an acidic solution. Ethylene chlorohydrine was not produced after ethylene had been added to EAW at pH 2.6 when available chlorine was absent, but was produced after potassium hypochlorite had been added to such EAW. The effect of the pH value of EAW on the vase life of cut carnations was compatible with the decomposition rate of ethylene in EAW of the same pH value. These results suggest that the effect of EAW on the vase life of cut carnations was due to the decomposition of ethylene to ethylene chlorohydrine by chlorine from chlorine compounds.