In vivo toxicity and bioavailability of Taxol and a paclitaxel/beta-cyclodextrin formulation in a rat model during HIPEC.

BACKGROUND: Peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) remains a dreaded clinical syndrome and a common evolution of gastrointestinal and ovarian cancers. In recent years, hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) after cytoreductive surgery has emerged as a promising strategy in the management of PC. In this study, a novel paclitaxel (Pac) formulation was investigated for its toxicity and bioavailability during HIPEC compared with Taxol. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The maximum tolerated dose (MTD) after HIPEC of both formulations (Taxol and Pac/RAME-beta-CD) was determined. MTD was defined as the highest nonlethal dose with a reduction in body weight of < or = 10% over 2 weeks. Blood parameters (red blood cell and white blood cell count, creatinine, ALT, and GGT) were evaluated over 20 days. Bioavailability of both Pac formulations after HIPEC was determined under normothermic (37 degrees C) and hyperthermic (41 degrees C) conditions for 90 min. RESULTS: Following HIPEC, both formulations had a similar MTD: 0.24 mg paclitaxel per ml. Red blood cell count decreased to a minimum after 10 days and was not fully recovered after 20 days for both formulations. White blood cell monitoring showed a significant increase in neutrocytes at day 10 and 15 for the Pac/RAME-beta-CD formulation. Liver and kidney parameters did not change significantly. Bioavailability data of Pac/RAME-beta-CD showed a 40-fold increase of the area under the curve (AUC) of plasma concentrations compared with Taxol. Hyperthermia yielded no significant differences in bioavailability data. CONCLUSION: These results showed that both formulations had a similar toxicity profile but differed significantly in bioavailability.

PET visualization of microglia in multiple sclerosis patients using [11C]PK11195.

Activated microglia are involved in the immune response of multiple sclerosis (MS). The peripheral benzodiazepine receptor (PBR) is expressed on microglia and up-regulated after neuronal injury. [11C]PK11195 is a positron emission tomography (PET) radioligand for the PBR. The objective of the present study was to investigate [11C]PK11195 imaging in MS patients and its additional value over magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) concerning the immuno-pathophysiological process. Seven healthy and 22 MS subjects were included. Semiquantitative [11C]PK11195 uptake values were assessed with normalization on cortical grey matter. Uptake in Gadolinium-lesions was significantly increased compared with normal white matter. Uptake in T2-lesions was generally decreased, suggesting a PBR down-regulation. However, uptake values increased whenever a clinical or MR-relapse was present, suggestive for a dynamic process with a transient PBR up-regulation. During disease progression, an increase of normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) uptake was found, propagating NAWM as the possible real burden of disease. In conclusion, [11C]PK11195 and PET are able to demonstrate inflammatory processes with microglial involvement in MS.

Fluorescent screening of phytoplankton and organic compounds in sea water.

The flow-through spectrofluorometers, FLUO-IMAGER, were developed to measure the abundance of phytoplankton, including the analysis of pigment composition and concentration of organic pollution and dissolved organic matter (DOM), in continuous mode. The measurements can be carried out without the time-consuming pretreatment of water samples. The analytical concept uses the technique of spectral fluorescent signatures (SFS), based on the systematized spectral library comprising the SFS of major phytoplankton species and chemical pollution. The SFS technique has been applied for several years in qualitative and quantitative screening of organic compounds and phytoplankton in the Baltic, North and Norwegian Seas. The results of the analysis of phytoplankton pigments, the dynamic processes of bloom development, DOM and oil pollution are presented.