Antibacterial activity of Croton roxburghii Balak. against the enteric pathogens.

In this study, the antibacterial activity of crude (aqueous and alcoholic) extracts of the bark and leaf of Croton roxburghii Balak. (Euphorbiaceae) was tested against enteric pathogens causing urinary tract infection (UTI) using the agar cup method, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), time kill kinetics and synergy study. The ethanol extract exhibited a significant and broad spectrum of inhibition as compared to the aqueous extract of both the bark and leaf. The highest antibacterial activity was observed against Staphylococcus aureus followed by enteropathogenic and enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli. The diameter of inhibition zones varied from 10 to 18 mm for both aqueous and alcoholic extracts. The MIC value ranged from 356 to 625 µg/ml. This could justify the traditional use of this plant in dysentery and other infections.

Significance of circulating C1q-binding activity in chronic liver disease: a study of 133 cases.

Circulating immune complexes (CIC) were measured in 133 biopsy-proven patients with various liver diseases. The correlation between CIC levels and other laboratory findings was investigated in each disease group, in order to assess if the increased C1q-binding activity found in these patients was related to particular features of the disease. CIC levels were not significantly different in HBsAg-positive and HBsAg-negative patients. No correlation was found between CIC levels and serum bilirubin, AST, ALT and C3 levels. A negative correlation with C4 levels and a positive correlation with immunoglobulin levels were found in the majority of the patients, while prothrombin time and albumin levels were negatively correlated to CIC levels only in patients with chronic active hepatitis. Increased CIC levels could represent a response to gut-associated antigens, a passive accumulation due to reduced hepatic function or both.

[Prevalence of antibodies against the hepatitis B virus in alcoholic liver diseases]. / Prevalenza degli anticorpi contro il virus dell'epatite B nelle epatopatie alcoliche.

The prevalence of serum antibody to hepatitis B virus antigen (anti-HBs and anti-HBc) were determined in biopsy proven alcoholic liver disease (n = 60), compared with: an age and sex-matched hospital control population (n = 60), HBsAg-negative chronic liver disease (n = 27), renal unit patients (n = 32) and volunteer blood donors (n = 286). All sera were HBsAg negative (RIA). The prevalence of total hepatitis B virus antibody was significantly increased (p less than 0,001) in alcoholic liver disease (71%), as well as in renal unit patients (65%) and non-alcoholic liver disease (66%), versus hospital controls (35%) and blood donors (43%). These data suggest that hepatitis B virus infection might be a factor in selecting which alcoholic patients go to develop hepatic damage.

[Clinical evaluation, in the field of pediatrics, of a microagglutination test for research on anti-polysaccharide antibodies of a group of Streptococcus pyogenes]. / Valutazione clinica, in campo pediatrico, di un test di microagglutinazione per la ricerca di anticorpi anti-polisaccharide di gruppo dello streptococcus pyogenes.

The diagnostic and prognostic utility of a new microagglutination test for the evaluation of antibodies to group A streptococcal polysaccharide are evaluated in different streptococcal and post-streptococcal diseases. The basal titers of a group of 834 children from 1 to 12 years old non affected with apparent or recent streptococcal infections are examined to establish the normal values related to age. From this study, it results the diagnostic utility of the test especially in pharyngotonsillar, pulmonary, pyodermitic, adenitic, glomerulonephritic infections and in the Schoenlein-Henoch syndrome. Particularly in little children, even under 1 year old, the antigenic stimulation of antibodies to group A streptococcal polysaccharide is very good, on the contrary at this age the anticorpoiesis against streptococcal extracellular antigens is not very efficacious. Persistence beyond a year of elevated values of antipolysaccharide antibodies are observed in rheumatic disease with carditis and also in rheumatic disease without carditis, in glomerulonephritis and in common streptococcal infections in 11.1-68% of cases. The possible prognostic significance of these data is discussed.

[HBsAg frequency in asymptomatic heroin users living in Milan (author's transl)]. / Incidenza dell'antigene HBs in eroinomani asintomatici della citta' di Milano.

185 asymptomatic heroin addicts in whom the incidence of positivity as for HBsAg was 9.1%, were examined. From the anamnesis, these carriers has a higher frequency of icteric events in comparison with patient controls, while they did not show differences in distribution according to age, duration of the toxicomania and regional origin of the family. 38 heroin addicts were alcoholics too: 6/38 were HBs carriers, whereas 11/147 non alcoholic were carriers. The group of HBsAg positive addicts showed an analogous alteration of the transaminase levels as regards the patient controls, while the incidence of hypoalbuminemia and hypergammaglobulinemia was higher. In consideration of these results, the possible responsibility of toxic factors (alcohol) and alterations of the immune reactivity as to the prolonged permanence of HBsAg in circle is discussed.

Decline in incidence of hepatitis A infection in Milan. A serologic study.

The availability of serum samples collected in 1958 and in 1977 from healthy individuals of Milan, has provided an opportunity to compare the prevalence of anti-HAV and anti-HBs in the same area at a distance of about 20 years. The results obtained show a general drop of anti-HAV rate from 1958 to 1977. Difference in antibody prevalence was found to be significantly remarkable (35.7% versus 3.6%, P < 0.05 and 78.6% versus 26.9%, P < 0.01) in the youngest age groups examined (1-5 and 6-15 years old). Moreover the plateau of antibody acquisition was reached over 30 years of age in people selected in 1958 and over 50 years in 1977. No substantial difference was found in anti-HBs prevalence in sera collected in 1958 and in 1977 (29.2% versus 29.3%). The finding of a decline in hepatitis A infection may reflect the improvements in public health and hygienic conditions which occurred in our city in the last decades, whereas with regard to hepatitis B, the maintenance of the same incidence of infection may be due to different contributory factors.