Hodgsonox, a new class of sesquiterpene from the liverwort Lepidolaena hodgsoniae. Isolation directed by insecticidal activity.

Hodgsonox (1), a new insecticidal sesquiterpene, has been isolated from the New Zealand liverwort Lepidolaena hodgsoniae. The structure was elucidated on the basis of 2D NMR analysis of 1 and a synthetic epoxide derivative (2). Hodgsonox represents a new class of sesquiterpene with a cyclopenta[5,1-c]pyran ring system fused to an oxirane ring. The combination of a mono- and a 1,1 disubstituted double bond flanking the oxygenated carbon of a the pyran ring is a unique structural feature. Hodgsonox is toxic to larvae of the blowfly Lucilia cuprina.

The lack of effect of benzalkonium chloride on the cilia of the nasal mucosa in patients with perennial allergic rhinitis: a combined functional, light, scanning and transmission electron microscopy study.

BACKGROUND: Controversy still exists about the effect of 0.02% benzalkonium chloride (BKC), a preservative in many nasal sprays, on human nasal epithelium in vivo. OBJECTIVE: To determine the safety of BKC by assessing its effect on the function and morphology of cilia of human nasal epithelium. METHODS: A single-centre, double-blind nasal biopsy study in 22 patients with perennial allergic rhinitis, receiving fluticasone propionate aqueous nasal spray (FPANS) containing BKC, BKC plus placebo or placebo alone for 6 weeks. Before, at two weekly intervals during treatment and 2 weeks after treatment ceased an indigocarmine saccharine transport time (ICST) was performed. RESULTS: ICST results did not significantly vary between the groups. There was no statistical relationship between the number of ciliated cells present and the treatment the patients received. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy examination showed no effects of BKC. CONCLUSION: Despite reports of its ciliostatic effects in vitro, BKC did not have such an effect when it was applied for 6 weeks (with/without fluticasone propionate) to the nasal mucosa of perennial allergic rhinitis patients in vivo.

Relationship between mammographic features and hormone receptor content in patients with breast cancer.

Recurrences of breast cancer are more responsive to hormone therapy if the tumors are positive for estrogen receptors or progesterone receptors. To assess the relationship between hormone receptor content, mammographic tumor morphology, and breast parenchymal patterns, we reviewed charts and mammograms of 210 patients with primary unilateral breast cancer. Mammograms of tumors in 97 patients were divided morphologically into five groups: (1) spiculated mass, (2) architectural distortion, (3) calcifications only, (4) circumscribed mass, and (5) tumor not visible. Estrogen receptor positivity was 81% (39/48) in group 1, 37% (7/19) in group 2, 17% (2/12) in group 3, 31% (4/13) in group 4, and 60% (3/5) in group 5 (P less than .001). Mean estrogen receptor content was also significantly different among groups (P less than .001). There was no statistically significant association between tumor morphology and progesterone receptors, or between calcifications and receptor status. In all 210 patients, hormone-receptor-positive tumors showed no association with mammographic parenchymal pattern. When direct assay of estrogen receptors is unavailable, mammographic appearance of the tumor may suggest the estrogen receptor status.

Radiologic contribution to the management of patients undergoing extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy.

Since its first clinical application in 1980, the use of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) has dramatically changed the treatment of urinary tract stone disease. More than 80% of patients with urolithiasis will undergo ESWL as a first line therapy. Detection of stones, appropriateness of ESWL treatment, successful stone therapy, termination of the ESWL procedure, and evaluation of treatment complications are all dependent on radiologic input. The application of adjuvant interventional radiologic percutaneous techniques will extend the use of ESWL to an additional 15% of patients and reduce the need for surgical intervention. Additionally, percutaneous techniques can be used to improve success rates in problematic cases and to treat complications related to the ESWL procedure. This article discusses the pre- and postprocedural radiologic evaluation of patients undergoing ESWL. Adjuvant interventional radiologic techniques useful in the management of these patients are also discussed.

Association of long lasting unsurmountable histamine H2 blockade and gastric carcinoid tumours in the rat.

The oral administration of loxtidine, a potent histamine H2-antagonist, to a total of 378 rats at doses of 50, 185, or 685 mg/kg/day for 116 weeks resulted in the late formation of carcinoid tumours of the gastric fundus. The first such tumour was detected after 712 days of treatment. There was no dose related response; 11 rats at the low level of treatment were affected, 12 at the intermediate and 11 at the high. Twenty seven females but only seven males were affected. No gastric tumours were found in the 228 controls. There is no evidence that loxtidine acts as a direct carcinogen and it is suggested that the tumours were the result of prolonged achlorhydria produced by a potent unsurmountable histamine H2 receptor antagonist.