Albumin nanoparticles carrying cyclodextrins for nasal delivery of the anti-Alzheimer drug tacrine.

Peroral administration of tacrine, the first acetylcholinestearse inhibitor licensed for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, is associated with low bioavailability, due to an extended first-pass methabolism, short elimination half-life and hepatotoxicity. Nasal drug delivery may reduce the degree of these problems. Tacrine hydrochloride nasal delivery is here investigated by means of albumin nanoparticles carrying beta cyclodextrin and two different beta cyclodextrin derivatives (hydroxypropyl beta cyclodextrin and sulphobutylether beta cyclodextrin).

Psychomotor and audiological assessment of infants born to mothers with subclinical thyroid dysfunction in early pregnancy.

Background: To investigate the frequency and the effects of various degrees of maternal thyroid dysfunction in the first trimester of pregnancy, before the onset of fetal thyroid function, on psychomotor and audiological outcome of the offspring.

Methods: In a cohort of 691 pregnant women, undergoing thyroid screening between the 8th and 10th gestational week, eight were found to have a subclinical form of hypothyroidism and one was frankly hypothyroid. Treatment with L-thyroxine was started soon after diagnosis was made.

Reduced hematopoietic function and enhanced radiosensitivity of transforming growth factor-beta1 transgenic mice.

The cytokine transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) has been implicated in some tissue responses to radiation. Previous studies have demonstrated that exogenous TGF-beta1 increased the lethality of radiation in mice, but the effects of endogenous TGF-beta1 have not been investigated. To this end, we examined mice that are transgenic for active TGF-beta1 (Alb/TGF-beta1), over-expressed via an albumin promoter in the liver with resultant elevation of circulating levels of this cytokine.

Fungicidal activity of cecropin A.

Cecropin A (CA) fungicidal properties were explored. Nongerminated and germinated Aspergillus spp. and Fusarium spp.

[Prenatal diagnosis of the pentalogy of Cantrell combined with exencephaly and amniotic band syndrome].

A case of pentalogy of Cantrell associated with exencephaly and amniotic band syndrome, detected by ultrasound and then confirmed by pathological findings, is reported. Both conditions are very rare, usually occurring as a single anomaly; their association has not been reported in the literature. One should consider in differential diagnosis of pentalogy of Cantrell the omphalocele and the body stalk syndrome, and of exencephaly the osteogenesis imperfecta together with disorders of mineralisation.

252Cf plasma-desorption mass spectrometry of lipid A from Enterobacter agglomerans.

Endotoxins from gram-negative bacteria are believed to be causative agents of byssinosis, an occupational pulmonary disease associated with exposure to cotton dust in textile mills. Lipid A preparations from Enterobacter agglomerans, a gram-negative bacterium commonly found in cotton and cotton dust, have been analyzed using plasma-desorption mass spectrometry. Results indicate the existence of at least two lipid A types which differ only by the presence of an additional oxygen atom whose position has been localized to the acyloxyacyl ester-linked side-chain of the distal portion of the molecule.

[HELLP syndrome].

The Hellp syndrome is a rare complication of hypertension in pregnancy, characterized by haemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and thrombocytopenia. Since the disease progresses very rapidly, it is important for successful treatment, to make an early diagnosis, evaluating the typical laboratory data changes, which are evident prior to clinical manifestations. Means of diagnosis and therapeutic approach are described, on the basis of personal experience.

[Transitory osteoporosis in pregnancy; diagnosis with MRI. Case report].

A case of transitory osteoporosis of the hips in pregnancy is reported. Through knowledge of the typical course of the disease and exact diagnosis with MRI, expensive therapy can be avoided. Suspicion of a transitory osteoporosis in pregnancy is a clear indication for performing an MRI.

Biophysical alteration of lung surfactant by extracts of cotton dust.

Byssinosis, a lung disease that can affect cotton mill workers, may be caused in part by lipopolysaccharides (LPS) from Gram negative bacteria. In vitro, LPS complexes with sheep lung surfactant (SLS). To determine whether LPS in extracts of cotton dust alters the biophysical characteristics of lung surfactant, aqueous extracts (1.

[Detection of varicella virus with a DNA probe in fetal blood and amniotic fluid].

In our Centre for Prenatal Diagnosis, we undertook a punctuation of the umbilical cord on a pregnant woman infected with varicella, complicated by viral encephalitis, to diagnose a foetal viraemia. In cooperation with the Toma Laboratory and Clonit Ltd., who have long been working on the development of specific viral genome probes, we succeeded in proving, that the foetus had contracted varicella.

[Lahodny's operation: technique and procedure of the plastic repair of the m. levator ani].

The technical details are described for preparing and carrying out plasty of the ventral medial portion of the elevator ani. These are essential for a successful outcome of this stage of Lahodny's procedure for the surgical treatment of female urinary incontinence and descensus vaginae using an exclusively vaginal approach.

Factors influencing endotoxin concentrations on cotton grown in hot, humid environments: a two year study.

Cotton leaf, bract, fibre from opened bolls, and soil samples were collected weekly during two growing seasons (1984, 1985). Total and Gram negative bacterial populations were determined for each sample. Representative bacterial isolates were identified and endotoxin concentrations determined.

Enterobacter agglomerans lipopolysaccharide-induced changes in pulmonary surfactant as a factor in the pathogenesis of byssinosis.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from Enterobacter agglomerans and pulmonary surfactant mixtures were centrifuged in discontinuous sucrose gradients to determine whether LPS bound to surfactant and examined in a Langmuir trough with a Wilhelmy balance to determine whether LPS altered the surface activity of surfactant. The LPS was found to bind to the surfactant and altered its surface tension properties. The binding of LPS to surfactant in the lung may change the physiological properties of surfactant and be a possible mechanism for the pathogenesis of byssinosis.

Seasonal variation in aerobic bacterial populations and endotoxin concentrations in grain dusts.

Settled and respirable grain dust samples were collected at intervals over a 16-month period at two grain terminals on the lower Mississippi River. Total and gram-negative aerobic bacterial (GNB) populations, as well as endotoxin concentrations, were studied. Plate counts indicated that no viable bacteria were found to be present in the respirable samples.

Mesophilic microorganisms and endotoxin levels on developing cotton plants.

Healthy cotton leaf, bract, fiber and soil were collected twice each week during growing season. These samples were studied to determine the epiphytic total and gram-negative bacterial (GNB) populations and endotoxin levels from seedling development to harvest. Since bract is a significant trash component of raw cotton, a study of the epiphytic bract fungi was performed also.

Lectin grouping of Bacillus thuringiensis serovars.

Twelve lectins, 11 of plant and 1 of animal origin, were tested against the 28 serovars of Bacillus thuringiensis to study their agglutinating specificities. Except for the sialic specific lectin from Limulus polyphemus, tube agglutination assays were performed using lectin concentrations of 10, 50, and 100 micrograms against 0.2 mL of 10(9) cells/mL in a final volume of 1.