A phase III, multicentre, randomised, investigator-masked, cross-over, comparative, non-inferiority trial evaluating the efficacy and tolerability of generic preservative-free Latanoprost (Polpharma S.A.) compared to Xalatan (Pfizer) in patients with ocular hypertension or primary open-angle glaucoma.

Background: Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), often associated with increased intraocular pressure (IOP), can lead to permanent damage of the optic nerve, concomitant visual field loss, and blindness. Latanoprost, a prostaglandin F2α analogue, reduces IOP and is used to treat glaucoma. In this clinical trial, we evaluated the efficacy of Latanoprost Polpharma, a generic preservative-free latanoprost 0.

Climate change and modernization drive structural realignments in European grain production.

Charting the long-term trends in European wheat and maize yields and harvested areas and the relation of yields to climatic and economic drivers, two profound spatial processes become apparent. One consequence of the relatively late modernization of Eastern Europe has been to shift the focus of grain production from West to East. The warming trend prevailing over the past decades in the summer and winter seasons has been accompanied by a South to North shift in the harvested areas.

Successful treatment of a septic aneurysm due to Salmonella enteritidis complicated by the rupture of the pelvis of the kidney.

We report on a 43-year-old patient with septic aneurysm complicated by rupture of the pelvis of the kidney due to Salmonella enteritidis that we treated successfully by empiric therapy, then targeted antibiotic therapy and late surgical intervention with iliofemoral crossover bypass grafting and aneurysm resection. The course was complicated by deep neutropenia and chronic hepatitis C infection.

[János Bolyai's health according to his military files].

János Bolyai (1802-1860) one of the greatest mathematicians of the 19th century, the founder and inventor of non-Euclidean geometry, was born in Transylvania, as son of a Hungarian nobleman and scientist, Farkas Bolyai. Having finished his studies at the Academy for Engineering Corps in Vienna, he joined the army. From 1823 to 1833 he served at different places all over the the Empire.

Substituted phenoxyalkylpiperazines as dopamine D3 receptor ligands.

A novel series of potential antipsychotic agents were prepared by combination of condensed heterocycles containing bridgehead nitrogen with (2-methoxyphenyl)piperazine using phenoxyalkyl spacer of variable length. The affinity of the compounds was determined at rat cloned D3 and rat D2, 5-HT1A receptors by an vitro receptor binding assay. The D3 selectivity of the compounds was calculated from the Ki values.

New semisynthetic vinca alkaloids: chemical, biochemical and cellular studies.

A new semisynthetic anti-tumour bis-indol compound, KAR-2 [3'-(beta-chloroethyl)-2',4'-dioxo-3,5'-spiro-oxazolidino-4-dea cetoxy-vinblastine] with lower toxicity than vinca alkaloids used in chemotherapy binds to calmodulin but, in contrast to vinblastine, does not exhibit anti-calmodulin activity. To investigate whether the modest chemical modification of bis-indol structure is responsible for the lack of anti-calmodulin potency and for the different pharmacological effects, new derivatives have been synthesized for comparative studies. The synthesis of the KAR derivatives are presented.

Interaction of a new bis-indol derivative, KAR-2 with tubulin and its antimitotic activity.

1. KAR-2 (3"-(beta-chloroethyl)-2",4"-dioxo-3,5"-spiro-oxazolidino- 4-deacetoxy-vinblastine), is a bis-indol derivative; catharantine is coupled with the vindoline moiety which contains a substituted oxazolidino group. Our binding studies showed that KAR-2 exhibited high affinity for bovine purified brain tubulin (Kd-3 microM) and it inhibited microtubule assembly at a concentration of 10 nM.