Topical Tofacitinib: A Janus Kinase Inhibitor for the Treatment of Vitiligo in an Adolescent Patient.

Vitiligo is an autoimmune skin disease presenting with areas of depigmentation. Recent reports suggest that Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors may be an effective therapy. In this case report, we show our experience with an adolescent patient with a long history of generalized and refractory vitiligo, for which treatment with topical tofacitinib, a JAK inhibitor, associated with phototherapy for 9 months, resulted in near complete repigmentation.

Antifungal activity of two oxadiazole compounds for the paracoccidioidomycosis treatment.

Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is a neglected disease present in Latin America with difficulty in treatment and occurrence of serious sequelae. Thus, the development of alternative therapies is imperative. In the current work, two oxadiazole compounds (LMM5 and LMM11) presented fungicidal activity against Paracoccidioides spp.

Different formulations of vancomycin: In vitro antimicrobial activity against clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

We compared in vitro antimicrobial activity of four vancomycin formulations used clinically against clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus, including methicillin-resistant and -susceptible (MRSA and MSSA, respectively), using different susceptibility assays. The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) against MRSA clinical isolates were significantly different for some vancomycin formulations by the broth microdilution and agar dilution methods. However, these variations would not compromise their clinical use, since the MICs were within the range recommended by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute.

Liver Fatty Acid Composition and Inflammation in Mice Fed with High-Carbohydrate Diet or High-Fat Diet.

Both high-carbohydrate diet (HCD) and high-fat diet (HFD) modulate liver fat accumulation and inflammation, however, there is a lack of data on the potential contribution of carbohydrates and lipids separately. For this reason, the changes in liver fatty acid (FA) composition in male Swiss mice fed with HCD or HFD were compared, at the time points 0 (before starting the diets), and after 7, 14, 28 or 56 days. Activities of stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD-1), ∆-6 desaturase (D6D), elongases and de novo lipogenesis (DNL) were estimated.

Hydroethanolic extract of Smallanthus sonchifolius leaves improves hyperglycemia of streptozotocin induced neonatal diabetic rats.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of hydroethanolic extract of yacon on the hyperglycemia induced by streptozotocin (STZ) in neonatal rats.

Methods: Wistar rats aged two days old received an intraperitoneal injection of STZ (160 mg/kg); after seven weeks, glycosuria was determined and animals with glucose levels above 250 mg/dL were included in the study. Groups of diabetic and non-diabetic rats were treated orally with yacon extract at a dose of 400 mg/kg/d for 14 d.

Pharmacodynamic Evaluation of the Potential Clinical Utility of Fosfomycin and Meropenem in Combination Therapy against KPC-2-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae.

KPC-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae causes serious infections associated with high death rates worldwide. Combination therapy consisting of fosfomycin and a carbapenem is better than monotherapy to combat multidrug-resistant microorganisms, but no dosages for the combination have been defined. The MICs of meropenem and fosfomycin were evaluated against 18 clinical isolates of KPC-2-producing K.

Treating Staphylococcus aureus infections in an intensive care unit at a University Hospital in Brazil.

Background: Optimizing antimicrobial therapy is important for treating patients who are critically ill with Staphylococcus aureus infection, and susceptibility tests are necessary.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate antibacterial therapy after susceptibility testing of S. aureus infections.

Effect of the Combination of Ezetimibe and Simvastatin on Gluconeogenesis and Oxygen Consumption in the Rat Liver.

The aim of this work was to investigate the effects of chronic treatment with the combination of ezetimibe and simvastatin on gluconeogenesis in rat liver. Rats were treated daily for 28 days with the combination of ezetimibe and simvastatin (10/40 mg/kg) by oral gavage. To measure gluconeogenesis and the associated pathways, isolated perfused rat liver was used.

Hepatoprotective Effect of Silymarin (Silybum marianum) on Hepatotoxicity Induced by Acetaminophen in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats.

This study was aimed to investigate the effect of Silymarin (SLM) on the hypertension state and the liver function changes induced by acetaminophen (APAP) in spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR). Animals normotensive (N) or hypertensive (SHR) were treated or not with APAP (3 g/kg, oral) or previously treated with SLM. Twelve hours after APAP administration, plasmatic levels of liver function markers: alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), glucose (GLU), gamma glutamyl transferase (γ-GT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) of all groups, were determined.

Problems related to antifungal prescription: a qualitative study of the views of intensivists.

Rationale And Objective: The choice of the appropriate antifungal medication is essential for therapeutic success. Although guidelines are available in the literature that regulate the consistent use of antifungal, no previous qualitative studies have addressed the difficulties related to the use of antifungal medication, especially in the intensive care unit (ICU). Our objective was to qualitatively investigate how intensivists consider antifungal prescriptions in an adult ICU.

Inhibitory effect of anethole in nonimmune acute inflammation.

Anethole [1-methoxy-4-(1-propenyl)benzene] occurs naturally as a major component of the essential oil of star anise (Illicium verum Hook.f., family Illiciaceae), comprising more than 90 % of its volatile components.

Utilization of fluconazole in an intensive care unit at a university hospital in Brazil.

Background: Fungi have been developing resistance and merit greater attention because these microorganisms are among the major causes of hospital infection.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to characterize the pattern of fluconazole use in an adult intensive care unit.

Setting: The setting was an intensive care unit at a university hospital in Brazil.

Inhibitory Effect of Helicteres gardneriana Ethanol Extract on Acute Inflammation.

The anti-inflammatory effect of an ethanol extract of Helicteres gardneriana (Nees) Castiglioni was assayed in experimental models of pleurisy and microcirculation in situ. Treatment of animals with 500 mg/kg body weight reduced the exudate volume (35% reduction) induced by intrapleural injection of carrageenan and the migration of polymorphonuclear cells into the inflamed pleural cavity of rats (40%). Additionally, rolling and adhesion of leukocytes and the number of leukocytes that migrated toward the perivascular space in response to the carrageenan injection were decreased by the extract (500 mg/kg).

Effects of simvastatin, atorvastatin, ezetimibe, and ezetimibe + simvastatin combination on the inflammatory process and on the liver metabolic changes of arthritic rats.

In this study, simvastatin, atorvastatin, ezetimibe, and ezetimibe + simvastatin combination were administered to arthritic rats, first to determine their effects on the inflammatory response, employing a low-dose adjuvant-induced arthritis model in rats. Arthritis was induced by the subcutaneous injection of a suspension of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (100 μg) in mineral oil [complete Freund's adjuvant used (CFA)] into the plantar surface of the hind paws. Simvastatin(40 mg/kg), atorvastatin(10 mg/kg), ezetimibe(10 mg/kg), ezetimibe(10 mg/kg) + simvastatin(20 mg/kg or 40 mg/kg) were given intragastrically and the treatment began on the day of CFA injection and continued daily up to the 28th day after arthritis induction.

Topical anti-inflammatory effect of hypocholesterolaemic drugs.

Objectives: The topical anti-inflammatory effect of simvastatin, atorvastatin, pravastatin, ezetimibe and combined ezetimibe + simvastatin was investigated, using the croton oil model of ear oedema in mice.

Methods: Simvastatin, atorvastatin, pravastatin, ezetimibe and ezetimibe + simvastatin combination (dissolved in 20 µl of 70% acetone) were topically applied simultaneously with croton oil (200 µg/ear, dissolved in 20 µl of 70% acetone) at the inner surface of each ear. Ear oedema and myeloperoxidase activity, indicative of polymorphonuclear cell migration, were assessed 6 h after inflammatory stimuli.

Protective effects of indomethacin and cyclophosphamide but not of infliximab on liver metabolic changes caused by adjuvant-induced arthritis.

In the study, indomethacin, cyclophosphamide, and infliximab were administered to adjuvant-induced arthritic rats to determine if they were able to prevent the abnormalities caused by arthritis on hepatic metabolism. The drugs were administered to arthritic rats, and at the clinical onset of arthritis (day 14 after adjuvant injection), the livers were perfused to evaluate gluconeogenesis, ureagenesis, oxygen uptake, L: -lactate, pyruvate, and ammonia release from L: -alanine. The effects of the drugs on body weight gain and the signs of arthritis (paw edema, appearance of secondary lesions, and weights of lymphoid tissues) were also evaluated.

Immunomodulatory activity of Zingiber officinale Roscoe, Salvia officinalis L. and Syzygium aromaticum L. essential oils: evidence for humor- and cell-mediated responses.

Objectives: The immunomodulatory effect of ginger, Zingiber officinale (Zingiberaceae), sage, Salvia officinalis (Lamiaceae) and clove, Syzygium aromaticum (Myrtaceae), essential oils were evaluated by studying humor- and cell-mediated immune responses.

Methods: Essential oils were administered to mice (once a day, orally, for a week) previously immunized with sheep red blood cells (SRBCs).

Key Findings: Clove essential oil increased the total white blood cell (WBC) count and enhanced the delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) response in mice.

Anti-inflammatory activity of crude extract and fractions of Nectandra falcifolia leaves.

The present study evaluated the effect of the crude extract of the leaves of Nectandra falcifolia (NEES) Castiglioni and its fractions in different experimental models of inflammation (paw edema, pleurisy, and ear edema). Carrageenan-induced edema of the paw and pleurisy were evaluated in Wistar rats (180-220 g), which were treated with different doses of the total extract (250, 500 mg.kg-1).

Effect of Stryphnodendron adstringens (barbatimão) on energy metabolism in the rat liver.

The action of a barbatimão extract on hepatic energy metabolism was investigated using isolated mitochondria and the perfused rat liver. In mitochondria the barbatimão extract inhibited respiration in the presence of ADP and succinate. Stimulation occurred, however, after ADP phosphorylation (state IV respiration).

Toxicological studies on Stryphnodendron adstringens.

This study was carried out to determine the acute toxicity of total barbatimão extract (LD(50)) after oral administration to mice, and its effect on certain biochemical parameters in plasma of rats after 30 days of administration. The LD(50) value of the extract was 2699 mg/kg. A daily oral administration of extracts at 800 and 1600 mg/kg doses for 30 days caused a decrease in body weight, thymic involution, and an increase of plasma glucose and aspartate aminotransferase levels in the animals.