Rapid improvement of symptomatology with pantoprazole, amoxycillin and metronidazole in Helicobacter pylori-positive duodenal ulcer patients.

Background/aims: To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of a new 1-week triple therapy regimen consisting of pantoprazole, amoxycillin and metronidazole.

Methodology: The study involved 51 Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) positive patients (M:30, F:21, mean age: 52.

Effect of tauroursodeoxycholic acid on biliary lipid composition. A dose-response study.

Tauroursodeoxycholic acid has been proposed for the treatment of hepatobiliary disease, but data on the enrichment of biliary tauroursodeoxycholic acid pool and on changes of biliary lipids after administration of the compound are scarce. We studied the composition of biliary lipids in a series of 33 patients with radiolucent stones, before and after treatment with tauroursodeoxycholic acid, 3.5 - 16.

Influence of ceftizoxime on the immune system.

In the last few years the interest about the influence on host/parasite relations exerted by antibiotics has increased. In this study we have studied the effect of ceftizoxime, a third generation cephalosporin, on some functional parameters of human macrophages and granulocytes. Ceftizoxime does not seem to exert any stimulatory effect on phagocytosis and chemotaxis, but at the same time it allows these cells to explicate their functions during an infective process.