Effect of furosemide in congestive heart failure.

The diuretic effect of furosemide was studied in 18 patients with congestive heart failure. Subjects were divided into two groups, group I consisting of eight patients with moderate and group II of 10 patients with advanced congestive heart failure. Six hours after bolus injection of furosemide (40 mg), mean urinary sodium was 120.

The behavior of pentaerythritol tetranicotinate in rat gastrointestinal tract as a prodrug.

The gas chromatographic assay method for pentaerythritol tetranicotinate, a nicotinic acid prodrug, and its hydrolysates was developed. The behavior of the drug in gastrointestinal tract was investigated in rat by using the method. The disappearance and hydrolysis of the drug were not observed in the gastric loop until 30 min.

Changes in mitochondrial function by lipid peroxidation and their inhibition by biscoclaurin alkaloid.

During in vitro investigation of changes in mitochondrial function accompanying lipid peroxidation, it was found that cepharanthine, a biscoclaurin alkaloid, protects against such change. Results obtained were as follows: (1) Fe2+ induces lipid peroxidation of isolated mitochondria, resulting in diminished oxidative phosphorylation. (2) This diminishment largely depends on deterioration of ion compartmentation of the membrane and an increase in latent ATPase activity.

Release characteristics of dibucaine dispersed in konjac gels.

A possible use of konjac gel for sustained release of drugs was examined in a monolithic system containing dibucaine. Dibucaine was dispersed in the gel which was prepared by gelation of the konjac flour in a borax solution at 60 degrees. The cumulative amount of the drug released plotted against the square root of time was linear in the monolithic system.

[Degradation of ampicillin by urine of patients with complicated urinary tract infections and its protective effect of dicloxacillin (author's transl)].

In vitro enzymatic degradation rate of ampicillin (AB-PC) in urine of patients with complicated urinary tract infection and its protective effect of dicloxacillin (MDI-PC) was studied using a specific fluorometric assay for aminobenzylpenicilloic acid (AB-PA), which is converted from AB-PC by bacterial beta-lactamase. The results showed that average degradation rate of AB-PC in the urine of 10 patients were 12.2%, 21.