Evaluation of antidiarrhoeal effects of Psidium guajava L. (Myrtaceae) aqueous leaf extract in mice

O extrato aquoso bruto de folhas de Psidium guajava L.(Myrtaceae) foi estudado quanto às suas atividades antidiarréicas, a fim de racionalizar o seu uso na medicina tradicional.As amostras causaram a diminuição nos movimentos intestinais em camundongos.Estes resultados sugerem que o extrato aquoso de folhas de P.guajava pode ser utilizado na medicina tradicional no tratamento de diarréias não específicas.

Occurrence of bisphenol-F-diglycidyl ether (BFDGE) in fish canned in oil.

The levels of bisphenol-F-diglycidyl ether (BFDGE) were quantified as part of a European survey on the migration of residues of epoxy resins into oil from canned fish. The contents of BFDGE in cans, lids and fish collected from all 15 Member States of the European Union and Switzerland were analysed in 382 samples. Cans and lids were separately extracted with acetonitrile. The extraction from fish was carried out with hexane followed by re-extraction with acetonitrile. The analysis was performed by reverse phase HPLC with fluorescence detection. BFDGE could be detected in 12% of the fish, 24% of the cans and 18% of the lids. Only 3% of the fish contained BFDGE in concentrations considerably above 1 mg/kg. In addition to the presented data, a comparison was made with the levels of BADGE (bisphenol-A-diglycidyl ether) analysed in the same products in the context of a previous study.

Monitoring of bisphenol-A-diglycidyl-ether (BADGE) in canned fish in oil.

A survey at the European levels was initiated on the quantification of bisphenol-A-diglycidyl-ether (BADGE) in canned fish in oil in order to assess the exposure of BADGE. A total of 382 canned fish sample were collected from all 15 Member States and Switzerland and analysed for BADGE in fish. The fish was extracted first with hexane and reextracted with acetonitrile, followed by a membrane filtration and reverse phase HPLC analysis with fluorescence detection. The analysis of the fish showed that about 3% of the samples contained BADGE at a level above 1 mg/kg. The samples exceeding the limit by a larger margin were mostly from anchovy cans and cans manufactured in 1991-1995.

Oxidative damage and transforming growth factor beta 1 expression in pretumoral and tumoral lesions of human intestine.

The aim of this study was to evaluate a possible relationship between oxidative stress and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF beta 1) expression in human colon adenocarcinoma. Crohn's disease, an inflammatory pathology of the intestine often regarded to as precancerous, was also examined. Indices of impaired redox balance were monitored in blood and in bioptic samples from 10 adult patients with adenocarcinoma of the colon and from five patients with Crohn's disease. On tissue samples TGF beta 1 mRNA expression was also determined. Ten healthy adults provided normal reference values for plasma indices of oxidative stress, and normal tissue distant from the lesions was used for comparative analysis. Fluorescent adducts with plasma proteins of malonaldehyde (MDA) and 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE) were significantly lower than controls in the plasma from cancer patients and significantly higher in the plasma from Crohn's patients. In adenocarcinoma biopsies, susceptibility to lipid peroxidation processes and TGF beta 1 expression were below the relative control; in Crohn's disease, lipid peroxidation and cytokine expression were both above the relative control. The findings obtained suggest the existence of an association between oxidative damage and fibrogenic cytokine expression in the human intestine. Further studies are needed to conclusively prove the correlation between the two events.

Transient increase in total serum alkaline phosphatase predicts radiological response to systemic therapy in breast cancer patients with osteolytic and mixed bone metastases.

Assessment of the response of bone metastases to endocrine or chemotherapy is difficult, and true response rate is probably underestimated by UICC criteria. Biochemical markers of osteoblast activity, which is linked with bone healing, could be useful for early detection of treatment response. We studied changes in osteoblast function, assessed by serial serum total alkaline phosphatase (tALP) at 0, 1, 2, 3 months from the start of systemic therapy, in 31 patients bearing bone metastases from advanced breast cancer. After 1 month of endocrine or cytotoxic treatment, all responding patients (7/31) showed a significant rise in tALP (mean increase: 351 IU/l, p < 0.05) followed by a gradual decrease over the subsequent months (tALP flare). Transient increase in tALP was also found in 2/16 patients with stable disease who benefited from therapy. 2/8 patients with progressive disease showed a rise indistinguishable from responders, but the subsequent decrease was not apparent. These observations suggest that serum tALP profile is an earlier predictor of response than X-rays.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy with adriamycin, cisplatin, vincristine and cyclophosphamide (ADOC) in invasive thymomas: results in six patients.

BACKGROUND: Locally advanced malignant thymomas are usually radically resectable in about 60% of stage III but hardly ever in stage IVA. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery could improve both resection rate and curability. Cisplatin containing regimens have repeatedly been found to be highly active in advanced disease, with overall response rates ranging from 80%-90%. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 3 patients with stage III and 3 with stage IVA invasive thymomas, according to Masaoka staging, entered the study. Histology was: lymphoepithelial 4 cases, epithelial 2 cases. 4 cycles of the ADOC scheme--Adriamycin (40 mg/sqm), cisplatin (50 mg/sqm) on day 1, vincristine (0.6 mg/sqm) on day 2, and cyclophosphamide (700 mg/sqm) on day 3, every 21 days--were administered to 5 patients, while 1 patient received 5 cycles. RESULTS: 5/6 patients (83.3%) attained partial responses and underwent radical surgery followed by two further ADOC cycles. The disease-free intervals were 5+, 6+, 15+, 16+, 26+ months. One patient showing stable disease at the end of the fifth cycle was referred to radiotherapy. Toxicity was tolerable: grade III (WHO) nausea/vomiting and leukopenia grade III occurred in 2 patients each. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the ADOC scheme is active as a neoadjuvant approach in invasive thymoma stages III and IVA, rendering possible radical resectability in 83% of patients.

Influence of anatomic site and age on the replication and differentiation of rat adipocyte precursors in culture.

Using a propagating cell culture system of adipocyte precursors from 70-400-g rats, we explored the possibility that regional variations in properties of adipose tissue may reflect site-specific characteristics intrinsic to the cells, rather than extracellular influences. Initially, studies were made of the nature of the fibroblastlike cells from perirenal adipose tissue stroma. Using colony-forming techniques, it was shown that these cells were adipocyte precursors; each confluent colony that was derived from a single cell displayed differentiated adipocytes. This characteristic was evident in cells from rats of all ages and persisted during secondary culture. At all ages of rats studied, perirenal cells replicated more rapidly than epididymal precursors, e.g., for 179-g rats the population-doubling times were 19.3 +/- 0.7 vs. 25.5 +/- 1.2 h (means +/- SEM, P less than 0.03). With aging of the rats, the replication rate of their perirenal cells decreased progressively. Under clonal conditions, the colony size distribution of both perirenal and epididymal precursors revealed heterogeneity in their capacity for replication, perirenal cells showing greater proliferation. These also differentiated more extensively by morphologic and enzymatic criteria. Age and site had effects that persisted through many cell generations; however, high-fat feeding had no perpetuating influence. The dissimilar properties of perirenal as compared with epididymal precursors may reflect differences in regulation of gene expression. The data are also compatible with a later development in embryological life of perirenal tissue. We suggest that the composition of the adipocyte precursor pool is an important determinant of the growth of adipose tissue that occurs in response to a nutrient load. Interregional or interindividual variation in composition may explain regional and individual differences in fat accumulation.