The benefit of stool mycobacterial examination to diagnose pulmonary tuberculosis for adult and elderly patients.

Background: In patients with suspected pulmonary tuberculosis, who have difficulty in expectorating sputum, alternative specimens by invasive procedures, gastric aspirate or sputum suction, are not always available in the feeble elderly. Several studies report the benefit of stool test for pediatric or HIV infected patients, but few in adult patients.

Objective: To evaluate the benefit of stool examination as non-invasive alternative test to detect (MTB) infection.

Distinct activation mechanisms trigger the trypanocidal activity of DNA damaging prodrugs.

Quinone-based compounds have been exploited to treat infectious diseases and cancer, with such chemicals often functioning as inhibitors of key metabolic pathways or as prodrugs. Here, we screened an aziridinyl 1,4-benzoquinone (ABQ) library against the causative agents of trypanosomiasis, and cutaneous leishmaniasis, identifying several potent structures that exhibited EC values of <100 nM. However, these compounds also displayed significant toxicity towards mammalian cells indicating that they are not suitable therapies for systemic infections.

Pharmacoethnicity of docetaxel-induced severe neutropenia: integrated analysis of published phase II and III trials.

Background: Ethnic differences in drug susceptibility and toxicity are a major concern, not only in drug development but also in the clinical setting. We review the toxicity profiles of docetaxel according to dose and ethnicity.

Methods: We analyzed phase II and III clinical trials that included a once-every-3-weeks single-agent docetaxel arm.

Skeletal affinity of Tc(V)-DMS is bone cell mediated and pH dependent.

In spite of recent advances in bone cellular and molecular biology, there is still a poor correlation between these parameters and data obtained from bone scintigraphy. Diphosphonate derivatives radiolabelled with technetium-99m (Tc-BPs) have long been recognised as bone-seeking agents with an affinity for areas of active mineralisation. However, during clinical trials with a pH-sensitive tumour agent, the pentavalent technetium complex of dimercaptosuccinic acid [Tc(V)-DMS] showed a noticeable osteotropic character only in bone pathologies (bone metastases, Paget's diseases) and lacked accumulation in normal mature bone.