Phase II trial of copper zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD) in treatment of Crohn's disease.

Bovine CuZnSOD was used during an 8-year period as an anti-inflammatory drug in 26 patients with severe Crohn's disease, usually after failure of corticotherapy, or when this drug was avoided because of side-effects or abscesses. This was a Phase II trial during which doses, routes of administration and concomitant therapies were progressively modified. The acceptability was excellent with the free enzyme. We obtained 19/26 very good short term responses, and 82% good results on long term evolution. The efficacy of SOD as an anti-inflammatory drug in Crohn's disease needs to be confirmed by controlled trials.

Limitations of potassium cardioplegia during cardiac ischemic arrest: a phosphorus 31 nuclear magnetic resonance study.

Cold K+ cardioplegia is commonly used to preserve the myocardium during surgical ischemia. Since the K+-induced membrane depolarization could cause a Ca2+-mediated breakdown of adenosine triphosphate, this study compared the influence of different electrolytes on high-energy phosphate metabolism during cardioplegic arrest phosphate metabolism during cardioplegic arrest and subsequent recovery of mechanical function. An isolated working heart was subjected to hypothermic ischemia for one hour. Metabolic studies were assessed on phosphorus 31 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Results show that (1) K+ cardioplegia is harmful when the Ca2+ content is equal to 2 mEq/I; (2) deleterious effects of K+ are markedly reduced by lowering the Ca2+ content; (3) the most adequate preservation is provided by a Mg2+-rich-Ca2+-poor perfusate; (4) this protection is not enhanced by addition of K+. Finally, 31P NMR appears particularly appropriate for evaluating myocardial protection techniques since it allows noninvasive serial monitoring of high-energy phosphate content and subsequent correlation with functional recovery after ischemia.

[Preliminary study of the therapeutic effect of superoxide dismutase in 7 cases of Behçet's disease]. / Etude préliminaire de l'effet thérapeutique de la superoxyde dismutase dans sept cas de maladie de Behçet.

Neutrophils of patients with Behçet's syndrome generate increased amounts of oxygen free radicals. This phenomenon is inhibited by superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase and is implicated in vasculitis. We treated seven patients with active Behçet's syndrome by CuZn SOD intramuscularis with dramatic improvement of clinical symptoms.

[Postoperative haemodynamic evaluation of myocardial protection by physicochemical cardioplegia. Hyperkaliemic, hyperosmolar and acid solution at 4 degrees C (author's transl)]. / Evaluation hémodynamique post-opératoire de la protection myocardique par cardioplégie physico-chimique. Solution à 4 degrees C, hyperkaliémique, hyperosmolaire et acide.

Myocardial protection by a combination of cardiac hypothermia and chemical cardioplegia (high concentration of K+ and Mg++, hyperosmolarity, acid pH), was studied during 20 valve replacements. Essentially assessed on the basis of repeated measurements of postoperative cardiac output, the results were compared with those obtained previously using local hypothermia only (20 patients) and hypothermic cardioplegia using Ringer Lactate (20 patients). Analysis of haemodynamic data, which thus involved 60 patients, indicated the superiority of physicochemical cardioplegia, and this for clamping periods of up to 2 hours, but also showed the desirability of changes in the protection protocol during the ischaemia phase and during reperfusion which might improve the results.