Evaluation of the efficacy of isopathic immunotherapy in the treatment of allergic asthma in BALB/C mice.

Introduction: Homeopathy is a therapeutic method based on the fundamental principle of "like cures like." Homeopathic remedies are extremely dilute but involve vigorous shaking at each dilution. Isopathy is one approach of homeopathy, in which the causative agents or products of a disease are used to treat the same disease. Allergen immunotherapy is the only potential disease-modifying treatment for allergic patients. Subcutaneous immunotherapy is more effective than sublingual immunotherapy. However, subcutaneous immunotherapy is ineffective at a low dose, whereas at high doses it can result in an unacceptably high frequency of systemic reactions. In the current study, we evaluated the efficacy of isopathic immunotherapy with highly diluted ovalbumin (HD OVA) in the treatment of OVA-induced allergic asthma in BALB/c mice.Methods: BALB/c mice were sensitized with OVA and alum. Two weeks later, the mice received HD OVA on days 21, 22, 32 and 41 (8 h after the last challenge) of the treatment. The mice were challenged with OVA (5%) aerosols on days 35, 38 and 41 for 20 minutes using an ultrasonic nebulizer and sacrificed the next day.Results: Isopathic immunotherapy significantly reduced lung tissue inflammation, the number of eosinophils in bronchoalveolar fluid, allergen-specific IgE and interleukin-4 production. It also insignificantly increased the production of transforming growth factor-beta and proliferation of regulatory T cells against the allergen.Conclusion: Isopathic immunotherapy may be a good candidate treatment for allergic asthma.

Earthworm extract attenuates silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis through Nrf2-dependent mechanisms.

Silicosis is an occupational pulmonary fibrosis caused by inhalation of silica (SiO2) and there are no ideal drugs to treat this disease. Earthworm extract (EE), a natural nutrient, has been reported to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-apoptosis effects. The purpose of the current study was to test the protective effects of EE against SiO2-induced pulmonary fibrosis and to explore the underlying mechanisms using both in vivo and in vitro models. We found that treatment with EE significantly reduced lung inflammation and fibrosis and improved lung structure and function in SiO2-instilled mice. Further mechanistic investigations revealed that EE administration markedly inhibited SiO2-induced oxidative stress, mitochondrial apoptotic pathway, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in HBE and A549 cells. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Nrf2 activation partly mediates the interventional effects of EE against SiO2-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Our study has identified EE to be a potential anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-fibrotic drug for silicosis.

Toxicity study of mineral medicine haematitum.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Haematitum, a time-honored mineral-based Chinese medicine, has been used medicinally in China for over 2000 years. It is now included in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia and used clinically for treating digestive and respiratory diseases. The Chinese Materia Medica records that it is toxic and should not be taken for a long period, but there are few research reports on the toxicity of Haematitum and its potential toxicity mechanisms. AIM OF THE STUDY: This study aimed to evaluate the toxicity of Haematitum and calcined Haematitum, including organ toxicity, neurotoxicity, and reproductive toxicity. Further, it is also necessary to explore the mechanism of Haematitum toxicity and to provide a reference for the safe clinical use of the drug. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The samples of Haematitum and calcined Haematitum decoctions were prepared. KM mice were treated with samples by gavage for 10 days, and lung damage and apoptosis were assessed by HE staining and TUNEL staining of lung tissues respectively. Metabolomics analysis was performed by HPLC-MS. Metallomics analysis was performed by ICP-MS. In addition, C. elegans was used as a model for 48 h exposure to examine the neurotoxicity and reproductive toxicity-related indices of Haematitum, including locomotor behaviors, growth and development, reproductive behaviors, AChE activities, sensory behaviors, apoptosis, and ROS levels. RESULTS: The use of large doses of Haematitum decoction caused lung damage in mice. Neither calcined Haematitum decoction nor Haematitum decoction at clinically used doses showed organ damage. Metabolomics results showed that disorders in lipid metabolic pathways such as sphingolipid metabolism and glycerophospholipid metabolism may be important factors in Haematitum-induced pulmonary toxicity. High doses of Haematitum decoction caused neurological damage to C. elegans, while low doses of Haematitum decoction and calcined Haematitum decoction showed no significant neurotoxicity. Decoction of Haematitum and calcined Haematitum did not show reproductive toxicity to C. elegans. Toxicity was also not observed in the control group of iron (Ⅱ) and iron (Ⅲ) ions in equal amounts with high doses of Haematitum. CONCLUSIONS: Haematitum is relatively safe for routine doses and short-term use. Calcination can significantly reduce Haematitum toxicity, and this study provides a reference for safe clinical use.

[Effect of Limax lyophilized powder on bronchial asthma].

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of Limax lyophilized powder on bronchial asthma. METHODS: The allergic asthma model was established in guinea pigs by combined utilization of aluminum hydroxide and egg albumin to investigate the effect of Limax lyophilized powder on the bronchial flow and on the level of inflammator in bronchoalveolar lavage and serum. RESULTS: The mortality of asthma laboratory guinea pigs was reduced and the incubation period of asthma was extended significantly in Limax lyophilized powder groups. Its antiasthmatic effect was as efficient as the control drug (aminophylline). The leucocyte count was decreased in peripheral blood and the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. The infiltration of pulmonary tissues eosinophil was also significantly reduced. Further more,the most efficient effects was showed in Limax lyophilized powder at the moderate dosage (63 mg/kg). The bronchial perfusion flow was increased and the level of IL-2 and IL-4 in blood serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was decreased obviously in the aminophylline group and Limax lyophilized powder groups at moderate and high dosage. CONCLUSION: Limax lyophilized powder could inhibit bronchial asthma evidently.

[Influence of compound biejia ruangan prescription on extracelluar matrix in bleomycin induced pulmonary fibrosis rats].

OBJECTIVE: To study the influence of compound Biejia Ruangan Prescription (CBRP) on extracelluar matrix in bleomycin induced pulmonary fibrosis rats. METHOD: 54 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 6 groups (9 rats in each group). Rats in the model control group, positive medicine group, and high, moderate and low CBRP groups were injected with bleomycin A5 by trachea, and rats in sham-model control group with same volume normal saline. 29 days after the injection, CBRP solution of different dosages (1.4 g x kg(-1), 0.7 g x kg(-1), 0.35 g x kg(-1)) was respectively given to rats in the high, moderate and low CBRP group by gavage, while equal volume of normal saline was given to those in the sham-model control group and model control group, and an equal volume of prednisone (0.56 mg x kg(-1)) was given to those in positive medicine control group. On the 80th day, the levels of III-collagen, IV-collagen, laminin and hyaluronic acid in the serum were determined, the determination of hydroxyproline in lung homogenates was analyzed, and the right lung was incised to make pathological sections which were stained with Hematoxylin-Eosin (HE) and Masson staining for pathological diagnosis. RESULT: CBRP could decrease the levels of III-collagen, IV-collagen, laminin and hyaluronic acid in the serum. CONCLUSION: CBRP may play its therapeutic role by leveling down the content of extracellular matrix in rats with pulmonary fibrosis induced by Bleomycin A5.

[Pathohistological changes in guinea pigs experimentally infected with Yersinia enterocolitica serotype 9]. / Patokhistologichni promeni u morski svincheta, eksperimentalno zarazeni s Yersinia enterocolitica serotip 9

A total of forty-five guinea pigs were injected subcutaneously with 0.1 cu cm carboneum tetracholoratum each and were infected with Yersinia enterocolitica serotype 9. Part of the animals (31) were treated at the 24th hour following infection with omnopon (a morphine preparation). All infected guinea pigs developed an infectious process manifested by dystrophic and inflammatory changes in the liver, intestine, spleen, lymph nodes and lungs. Those treated with omnopon manifested a more acute infectious process. After the 13--20th day of infection the lesions became more weakly expressed. On the 50th day the inflammatory reaction was observed in the lymph nodes and spleen only. The mortality rate in both groups was about 50 per cent.

Cholelithiasis in Singapore. I. A necropsy study.

The present necropsy study shows an oriental pattern of gallstone disease in Singapore, namely, a relatively low overall frequency, an equal involvement of both sexes, a high proportion of pigment stones, and the common occurrence of choledocholithiasis associated with pyogenic cholangitis. There is a close association between opium addiction and cholelithiasis in the adult male Chinese in Singapore, and the long-term abuse of opium may be an important aetiological factor in the pathogenesis of oriental cholelithiasis.

Estudo de crianças com síndrome do desconforto respiratório agudo: correlaçäo anatomoclínica radiológica / A study of children with acute respiratory distress syndrome: histopathological, clincal and radiological correlation

Estudo retrospectivo com revisäo dos casos clínicos de Sídrome do Desconforto Respiratório Agudo, realizado no período de out/88 a dez/90 na Unidade de Pacientes Graves do Instituto Fernandes Figueira. Os autores estudaram as características clínicas, radiológicas e histopatológicas de acordo com o estágio evolutivo da doença. Dentre 459 casos estudados, foram selecionados 49 (11 por cento). Onze casos tiveram exame anatomopatológico [biopsia (4), necropsia (8) e foram classificados de acordo com o estágio evolutivo em: fase exsudativa inicial, fase proliferativa celular e fase proliferativa fibrótica. Houve correlaçäo clínica radiológica e anatomopatológica nos casos confirmados com exame histológico. Os autores consideram importante estudos futuros em que a interaçäo entre a pesquisa clínica e experimental permita o melhor conhecimento desta Síndrome na populaçäo pediátrica