In vitro effects of plant essential oils on non-specific immune parameters of red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus L.

Phytochemicals such as plant essential oils (EOs) have been reported to favour various activities in the innate immune system of fish. Thus, the aim of this study was to verify the in vitro effect of three different plant EOs (Ocimum americanum, Cymbopogon flexuosus and Melaleuca alternifolia) on non-specific immune parameters and erythrocyte osmotic fragility of red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus. Concentrations of each plant EO evaluated in preparations of head-kidney macrophages, blood leucocytes and blood plasma were as follows: 0.0 (control), 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, 8.0, and 16.0 µg/ml. Red drum head-kidney macrophages significantly increased extracellular superoxide anion production when exposed (20 h) to O. americanum EO (1.0-8.0 µg/ml) and C. flexuosus EO (2.0 and 4.0 µg/ml). The respiratory burst of blood leucocytes (NBT test) significantly increased in all concentrations when compared to the respective control group, for all EOs. At the highest concentration (16.0 µg/ml), C. flexuosus EO significantly inhibited the haemolytic activity of complement system in red drum blood after 1 h exposure. None of the tested concentrations significantly altered plasma lysozyme activity or erythrocyte osmotic fragility after exposing (1 h) red drum whole blood to each EO. This study demonstrated that these plant EOs are capable of triggering superoxide anion production in red drum leucocytes (head-kidney macrophages and/or blood leucocytes). In vivo studies are warranted to address their potential as immunostimulants in the diet of red drum and other aquacultured species.

Spectroscopic alterations on enamel and dentin after nanosecond Nd:YAG laser irradiation.

Laser irradiation on hard tissue has produced a resistant surface that is likely to prevent caries. In this study, human enamel and dentine were exposed to nanosecond pulsed Nd:YAG laser with energy densities of 20-40 J/cm(2) and pulse width of 6 ns inducing chemical changes in these tissues. Infrared analysis of human dental enamel and dentine was performed using the KBr method (2mg sample/300 mg KBr). A correlation between non-lased and lased spectra was performed that gives an indication of the changes in organic and inorganic compounds after laser-tissue interaction. Spectra of teeth simultaneously show the inorganic and organic parts of the tissue. The principal bands: amide bands A, I, II, and III from the collagen-matrix, phosphate from the mineral content, and carbonate bands were identified. The normalized area of peak versus peak position was determined. Changes of the bands attributed to the collagen matrix were verified after Nd:YAG irradiation. The present results suggest a chemical modification of organic and mineral compounds by laser. The spectral results indicated an alteration in the absorption bands relative to, essentially, organic compounds.

Medical and surgical treatments for tinnitus: the efficacy of combined treatment with sulodexide and melatonin.

AIM: Tinnitus is the perception of sound in the absence of an apparent acoustic stimulus. A widespread and highly debilitating disease difficult to cure. Several treatments have been advocated for tinnitus in the last years, including surgery, pharmacotherapy, counseling, cognitive behavioral therapy, sound therapy, but unfortunately without definitive conclusions. The surgery treatments could represent an important therapeutic choice on specific subgroups of tinnitus with defined causes but obviously this approach represent an invasive treatment and it should be considered with extreme caution and then, alternative pharmacological options should be investigated. METHODS: In this retrospective study 30 patients with tinnitus were treated with sulodexide (250 LSU BID, in the morning and in the evening) and melatonin (3 mg in the evening before going to sleep) for 80 days. The evaluations were performed comparing different parameters at basal (T0) and after 40 days (T1) and 80 days (T2) of treatment. RESULTS: The results of Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) and acufenometry showed a significative improvement of tinnitus after treatment with sulodexide and melatonin. In particular, THI total score was reduced from 37±20 to 27±18 (P<0.001) and 21±19 (P<0.001) at T1 and T2, respectively. The percentage of patients with improved symptoms (i.e. reduced score at THI) was 76.7% at T1 and 90.0% at T2. Finally a significant improvement was also detected in the tone audiometry test. No side effects were observed during the treatment period. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the combined use of sulodexide, a natural glycosaminoglycan with antithrombotic, profibrinolytic and vascular anti-inflammatory properties used in the treatment of many vascular diseases, included the vertigo of vascular origin and melatonin, a neurohormone produced by the pineal gland and related to multiple physiological functions, confirms to an important and promising therapeutically option in the tinnitus management.

Cancer and comorbidity in older patients: a descriptive profile.

In 1992, the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) initiated a study to assess the prevalence of comorbid conditions in elderly patients with cancer. Seven cancer sites were selected for the study: breast, cervix, ovary, prostate, colon, stomach, and urinary bladder. This report on approximately 7600 patients in the study sample describes the NIA/NCI approach to developing information on comorbidity in elderly patients and addresses the chronic disease burden (i.e., comorbidity) and severity for six particular conditions: arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, gastrointestinal problems, heart-related conditions, and hypertension. Data on comorbidity were collected by abstracting information from hospital medical records. Patients were registered in six geographic areas of the NCI Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program. A stratified random sample of patients aged 55 to 64, 65 to 74, and 75 years or older-with the index cancers were selected. Comorbidity data were matched with data from the conventional SEER monitoring system. Analyses showed that hypertension is the most prevalent condition and is also much more common as a current management problem rather than as history for the NIA/NCI SEER Study patients. Heart conditions varied slightly in the percentage of severity reported, but percentages for all tumors remained within a range of 13 to 26% for current and past categories. A similar range was observed for arthritis, with the higher percentage seen in the current problem category. For episodic complaints (e.g., gastrointestinal problems), a medical history was more common, except for cancers that involve complaints associated with the malignancy (e.g., colon and stomach cancers and, to a lesser extent, ovarian cancer). COPD and diabetes were less prevalent. Analyses currently under way will determine the impact of a patient's comorbidity burden on the cancer care continuum of diagnosis, treatment, and survival. The broad and independent effects of chronic conditions, singly and in combination, are being examined.

New and interesting Laboulbeniales parasitic on Brazilian Diptera.

Three new Laboulbeniales occurring on Brazilian Diptera are described. These are Stigmatomyces cearensis, parasitic on Guttipsilopa (Nesopsilopa) stonei (Mathis & Wirth) (Ephydridae); Stigmatmyces gratiellae, parasitic on Cressonomyia meridionalis (Cresson) (Ephydridae); and Stigmatomyces litoralis, parasitic on Glenanthe caribea Mathis and Paraglenanthe bahamensis Wirth (both Ephydridae). Fifteen other dipterophilous Laboulbeniales are reported for the first time from Brazil. The synonomy between Stigmatomyces notiphilae Thaxt. and S. leucophengae Thaxt. also is proposed.

The effect of phytohormones produced by Arthrobacter sp. on the phosphatase activity in plant roots.

Phytohormonal activity (auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins) was tested in the supernatant of a culture of Arthrobacter sp. Crude extract of the phytohormonal fraction was used as substrate for the growth of Lactuca sativa seedlings. Treating with bacterial hormones resulted in an increased plant develop- ment. Furthermore, a sharp increase of the acid phosphatase activity was observed in the roots.

[Occlusions and perforations caused by carcinoma of the colon and rectum]. / Occlusioni e perforazioni da carcinoma del colon e del retto

A group of 137 patients observed at the Emergency Surgery and First Aid Division of the Fatebenefratelli Hospital of Milan between 1971 and 1974 is examined. The patients all presented a clinical picture of occlusion and/or perforation of the colon and rectum due to carcinoma, requiring emergency surgery. The clinical material examined is analysed and the surgical treatment adopted and the results obtained reported. Post-operative mortality was 16.8% in cases of occlusion, 21.6% in cases of perforation, and 36.4% in mixed cases. 63 patients, i.e. 46%, were subjected to more or less extensive resection and the mortality in this group was 11.2%; in the remaining 74 patients, ax only palliative measures were possible and mortality was 28.3%. It is observed, finally, that among emergency colon operations, right colectomy carried out immediately offers encouraging results, while resection of the left colon, apart from certain special cases, should be preceded by decompressive colostomy.

[Abdominal visceral lesions in patients with multiple trauma]. / Le lesioni viscerali addominali nel politraumatizzato.

The paper describes a series of 385 cases of multiple injuries which were treated between 1987 and 1991 at the Emergency Unit of the Fatebenefratelli Hospital in Milan. Special attention was paid to abdominal trauma and visceral injuries in terms of both diagnosis and treatment.

[Our experience with emergency surgical treatment of acute cholecystitis]. / La nostra esperienza nel trattamento chirurgico d'ungenza delle colecistiti acute.

A clinical series of 580 patents (318, F, 199 M) personally observed at the Emergency Surgery and First Aid Division of the Fatebenefratelli and Ophthalmic Hospital Board of Milan between 1975 and 1980, and suffering from acute inflammation of the bile ways (gall bladder empyemas, acute cholecystitis, gangrene of the gall bladder, haemobilia due to gall bladder puncture), has been examined. Of these patients, 558 were subjected to surgery between 12 hours and 6 days after admittance. Operated patients are subdivided into 4 groups on the basis of their anatomo-pathological form and the average time interval between admittance and intervention. Critical examination shows that their behaviour with respect to acute inflammatory forms of the gall bladder can be split up as follows: 1) immediate surgery (within 12 hours) for empyematous and/or punctured forms; 2) emergency surgery (within 2 days of admittance) for cases with certain diagnosis backed up by historical and X-ray data pointing to calculosis of the gall bladder; 3) early surgery (within 3 days) for cases with certain diagnosis but without prior X-ray documentation; 4) deferred surgical intervention (within 6 days) for patients without X-ray documentation and in whom immediate medical treatment leads to a rapid improvement in the clinical picture. The very good clinical results obtained and the observation of a low mortality and morbility index (comparable to those of surgery of choice) suggest that early surgery is certainly the therapy of choice when dealing with acute cholecystitis.

Correlación entre el grado de hipertensión arterial y el índice de estrés oxidativo. Estudio de cohorte en una población de pacientes hipertensos sistémicos en República Dominicana / Correlation between the arterial hypertension degree and oxidative stress index. Cohort study in a population of systemic hypertensive patients in Dominican Republic

Introducción: la hipertensión arterial (HTA) es una de las mayores cargas de enfermedad y riesgo para infarto cardíaco, la insuficiencia cardíaca y el fallo renal. Se reconoce que el estrés oxidativo (EO) es un determinante en el desarrollo de complicaciones y el progreso de la HTA. Se determinó el índice de EO (IEO) en individuos con HTA y en un grupo sano control, para evaluar su posible correlación. Materiales y métodos: se midió IEO en una población de 112 individuos con HTA de distintos grados entre 50 y 70 años escogidos al azar y se comparó con los valores de un grupo control de voluntarios sanos, con la intención de definir el grado de correlación entre los niveles del IEO y la severidad de HTA, mediante la medición de biomarcadores para el EO en lisado de eritrocitos. Resultados: a pesar de que los beneficios de la terapia antioxidante (TAO) no han sido definitivamente probadas, en gran parte porque las enfermedades complejas no dependen de un solo componente fisiopatogénico, el EO sigue siendo una piedra angular en el desarrollo de complicaciones y el empeoramiento de los cuadros clínicos de muchos padecimientos. La demostración de biomarcardores específicos mejora la posibilidad de una TAO dirigida. El presente ensayo demostró que la edad, el género y la etnia no influyen en el IEO y que el EO fue severo en los casos de HTA iii, moderado en HTA ii y estuvo ausente en el subgrupo con HTA grado i. Conclusiones: estos resultados sugieren una relación entre los niveles de EO y severidad de HTA y sustenta evidencias para diseñar nuevos ensayos clínicos que evalúen la eficacia de una TAO adyuvante en el manejo de la HTA

Introduction: Arterial hypertension (AHT) is one of the major burdens of disease and risk for cardiac infarction, heart failure and renal failure. It is recognized that the oxidative stress (OS) is a determining factor in the development of complications and the progress of the AHT. OS Index (OSI) in individuals with AHT and a healthy control group, was determined to assess their possible correlation. Methods: OSI was measured in a population of 112 individuals with AHT of different levels between 50 and 70 years old, chosen at random and compared with the values of healthy volunteers control group with the aim of defining the degree of correlation between the levels of the OSI and the AHT severity, by measuring biomarkers for OS in a red cell lysate. Discussion: Despite the benefits of an antioxidant therapy (AOT) have not been definitely proven, largely because the complex diseases do not depend on a single pathophysiological component, OS remains as a cornerstone in the development of complications and the worsening of the clinical pictures of many ailments. The demonstration of specific biomarkers improve the possibility of an addressed AOT. This trial showed th at the age, gender and ethnicity do not influence the OSI and that OS was severe in HTA iii cases, moderate in HTA ii cases and was absent in the subgroup with HTA i. Conclusions: These results suggest a relationship between levels of EO and severity of hypertension and support evidence to design new clinical trials assessing the efficacy of an adjuvant AOT in the management of HTA