Ulmus davidiana 60% edible ethanolic extract for prevention of pericyte apoptosis in diabetic retinopathy.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a disease that causes visual deficiency owing to vascular leakage or abnormal angiogenesis. Pericyte apoptosis is considered one of the main causes of vascular leakage in diabetic retina, but there are few known therapeutic agents that prevent it. Ulmus davidiana is a safe natural product that has been used in traditional medicine and is attracting attention as a potential treatment for various diseases, but its effect on pericyte loss or vascular leakage in DR is not known at all. In the present study, we investigated on the effects of 60% edible ethanolic extract of U. davidiana (U60E) and catechin 7-O-ß-D-apiofuranoside (C7A), a compound of U. davidiana, on pericyte survival and endothelial permeability. U60E and C7A prevented pericyte apoptosis by inhibiting the activation of p38 and JNK induced by increased glucose and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) levels in diabetic retina. Moreover, U60E and C7A reduced endothelial permeability by preventing pericyte apoptosis in co-cultures of pericytes and endothelial cells. These results suggest that U60E and C7A could be a potential therapeutic agent for reducing vascular leakage by preventing pericyte apoptosis in DR.

Development and validation of a simultaneous analytical method for non-steroidal therapeutic compounds in cosmetics using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

Atopic dermatitis is a typical chronic inflammatory skin disease that affects all age groups and requires basic skin care for treatment. Anti-inflammatory and antiallergy steroids are the most frequently used treatments but they are limited due to their side effects caused by a weakening of the immune system. Many consumers focus on performance as a criterion for selecting cosmetics. However, steroids have been illegally used to improve the performance of cosmetics, and consumers have been adversely affected by the corresponding side effects. In this paper, we propose a simple and rapid method using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to simultaneously analyze ten non-permitted atopic therapeutic compounds in cosmetic products: chlorpheniramine maleate, ketotifen fumarate, doxepin hydrochloride, azelastine hydrochloride, bufexamac, clotrimazole, tranilast, fusidic acid, tacrolimus, and pimecrolimus. Additionally, the major characteristic fragment ions for tacrolimus, pimecrolimus, and clotrimazole were identified by time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The specificity, linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, recovery, precision, accuracy, and stability of the proposed method were validated. The limit of detection and quantification were in the ranges of 5.05-203.30 pg/mL and 15.15-609.90 pg/mL, respectively. The proposed analysis method could help improve the safety management of cosmetics.

Upstream high-dose tirofiban does not reduce myocardial infarct size in patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention: a magnetic resonance imaging pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is more effective than fibrinolytic therapy for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), but initial treatment delay to intervention is the main limitation of this strategy. HYPOTHESIS: Upstream use of high-dose tirofiban could reduce myocardial infarct size, using analysis of contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (CE-MRI). METHODS: Patients with STEMI within 12 hours after symptom onset were randomized to a facilitated PCI group (n = 19) or to a primary PCI group (n = 20). The primary endpoint was myocardial infarct size evaluated by the volume of delayed hyperenhancement on CE-MRI at 1 month after index procedure. RESULTS: The baseline clinical characteristics were not significantly different between the 2 groups. Although the incidence of pre-PCI thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) flow grade 2 to 3 was significantly higher in the facilitated PCI group than in the primary PCI group (47.4% vs 15.0%, P = 0.03), the achievement of myocardial blush grade 2 to 3 or ST-segment resolution at 30 minutes after procedure was not significantly different between the facilitated PCI and the primary PCI group (36.8% vs 40%, P = 0.84 and 31.6% vs 20%, P = 0.41, respectively). Infarct size on CE-MRI was similar in the facilitated PCI group and the conventional primary PCI group (22.1% +/- 11.7% vs 25.2% +/- 13.2%, P = 0.44). At 6 months, the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) on echocardiography was 52.6% +/- 10.4% in the facilitated PCI group and 50.9% +/- 9.8% in the primary PCI group (P = 0.68). CONCLUSION: Despite the improvement of initial TIMI flow grade, the upstream use of high-dose tirofiban did not reduce myocardial infarct size measured by CE-MRI.

Low-dose etanercept therapy in moderate to severe psoriasis in Korean.

Etanercept is a fully humanized soluble tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha receptor that competitively inhibits the interaction of TNF-alpha with cell-surface receptors. It was approved as monotherapy for psoriasis in the USA in 2004, but in Korea, no clinical reports on its use for psoriasis are available. We performed a retrospective analysis of 26 moderate-to-severe psoriasis patients who had been treated with etanercept. Patients received twice-weekly injections of 25 mg etanercept s.c. for at least 4 weeks. When the patients achieved a 50% reduction of the psoriasis area severity index (PASI 50) they received once-weekly injections, then biweekly injections were provided for maintenance. Patients were evaluated biweekly by clinical photographs and PASI scoring. Treatment efficacy was as follows. A PASI 75 was achieved in 14 patients (54%) and the mean number of injections before achieving a PASI 75 was 10 +/- 7.5. Patients whose initial PASI was less than 10 (iPASI < 10) showed an earlier response (2.6 +/- 1.3 weeks) and a higher PASI 75 rate (63%), than with iPASI > or = 10 (6.9 +/- 4.5 weeks, 50%). Eight patients (31%) received additional phototherapy or systemic therapy because of insufficient responses or for faster improvements and they were excluded in the efficacy evaluation. Adverse events were observed in eight patients (31%), but were not serious. This is the first report on the effectiveness of low-dose etanercept regimen on Asian psoriasis patients. Results in this study showed that low-dose etanercept therapy is effective for moderate-to-severe Asian psoriasis patients, and it may be a valuable treatment option even for relatively moderate psoriasis patients not responsive to conventional treatment. In addition, the medical cost was relatively low compared to that of the standard regimen for white patients.

An evaluation of buccal infiltrations and inferior alveolar nerve blocks in pulpal anesthesia for mandibular first molars.

We compared the anesthetic efficacy of inferior alveolar nerve blocks (IANBs) with that of buccal infiltrations (BIs) in mandibular first molars. Using a crossover design, all subjects received a standard IANB or a BI of 1.7 mL of 4% articaine with 1:100,000 adrenaline (Septanest; Septodont, Saint-Maru-des-Fosses, France) on two appointments separated by at least 1 week. Pulpal anesthesia was determined by using an electric pulp tester. Electric pulp testing was repeated at 5, 8, 11, 15, 20, 25, and 30 minutes after the injections. Anesthesia was considered successful if the subject did not respond to the maximum output of the pulp tester at two or more consecutive time points. Fifty-four percent of the BI and 43% of the IANB were successful; the difference was not significant (p = 0.34). The onset of pulpal anesthesia was significantly faster with BI (p = 0.03). In conclusion, BI with 4% articaine for mandibular first molars can be a useful alternative for clinicians because compared with IANB it has a faster onset and a similar success rate.