The Det.Belt Server: A Tool to Visualize and Estimate Amphipathic Solvent Belts around Membrane Proteins.

Detergents wrap around membrane proteins to form a belt covering the hydrophobic part of the protein serving for membrane insertion and interaction with lipids. The number of detergent monomers forming this belt is usually unknown to investigators, unless dedicated detergent quantification is undertaken, which for many projects is difficult to setup. Yet, having an approximate knowledge of the amount of detergent forming the belt is extremely useful, to better grasp the protein of interest in interaction with its direct environment rather than picturing the membrane protein "naked".

Long-term intrathecal infusion of morphine in the home care of patients with advanced cancer.

Background: Fear of infections and other complications has made many clinicians avoid intrathecal application of morphine in chronic cancer pain. However, recent comparative studies show that, in long-term treatment, intrathecal morphine administration may give a more satisfactory pain relief with lower doses of morphine and fewer side-effects than epidural administration. In Montpellier Cancer Institute, first cancer pain patients received long-term intrathecal morphine as early as in 1979, and since then more than 400 patients have been treated.

[Long-term intrathecal isobaric morphine therapy].

In order to evaluate long-term intrathecal morphine therapy for cancer pain, whatever its location, 121 patients (80% were ambulatory patients) treated between April 1979 and April 1985 at the Cancer Institute of Montpellier (Centre Paul-Lamarque) were assessed. Morphine was stored in a presternal insulin syringe, protected by a sterile and waterproof dressing. A bolus administration of morphine via a subcutaneous lombo-epigastric subarachnoid catheter was scheduled every 12 h.