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Ethanol-induced acute gastric ulceration (EIGU) is widely studied. ATP dependent potassium channel (KATP) modulators are thought to interfere with some physiologic functions of the stomach. We have studied the effects of different doses of KATP modulators (diazoxide as agonist and glibenclamide as antagonist) on EIGU in rats. Gastric lesions were quantified. Fasting blood glucose (FBS) levels were measured enzymatically. EIGU was prevented by diazoxide and aggravated by glibenclamide. Diazoxide increased and glibenclamide decreased FBS respectively. The present study shows that KATP modulators are involved in the production of EIGU with a mechanism which remains to be elucidated.

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Negative symptoms are still a major obstacle in the recovery of schizophrenic patients. Many attempts to develop novel drugs affecting negative symptoms of schizophrenia have yielded insignificant results. This study evaluates the effects of bromocriptine, a dopamine agonist, on negative symptoms of schizophrenia utilizing a placebo-controlled crossover double-blind clinical trial. Methodology: To eliminate interfering factors, only patients with significant negative symptoms who did not have signs of depression, drug side effects, active psychosis, significant somatic diseases, substance abuse, or contraindications for bromocriptine were included. Among 61 patients, only 14 fulfilled inclusion criteria, two of them refrained from taking part. Patients were randomly divided into test and placebo groups and were treated for 13 weeks; for 6 weeks the test group received bromocriptine and the other received placebo, followed by a one week wash-out period during which both groups received placebo, after that groups were exchanged. Subjects were treated with 15 milligrams of bromocriptine and tested with Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), which is a standard test for measuring positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Data analyzed using Wilcoxon sign-rank test. Conclusions: This trial showed that addition of bromocriptine to antipsychotic drugs did not increase the risk of psychosis and reduced negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

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Dithranol is a potent agent in treating psoriasis but its adverse effects on intact skin have limited its usage. There are many proposed mediators for its adverse effects including prostaglandins, histamine, platelet activating factor and free radicals. In this study we examined the effect of different agents (diazepam, terfenadine, indomethacin and garlic extract) on dithranol-induced skin damage in mice. Animals were treated with different drugs before local application of dithranol cream on the right buttock. Skin biopsy was performed after 48 or 96 hours. Diazepam (3 mg/Kg), terfenadine (20 mg/Kg), indomethacin (25 mg/Kg) and garlic extract (1% and 2%) were all capable of reducing dithranol-induced skin damage. It seems that the role of prostaglandins, histamine and platelet activating factor in the pathogenesis of dithranol-induced skin damage is inevitable. Garlic extract effect might be mediated by platelet activating factor but it needs further work to be proven.

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Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} The in-vitro immunomodulatory activity of Bauhinia variegata Linn (Caesalpiniaceae) stem bark extracts on human neutrophils was carried out in the present study. The acetone-water, aqueous extracts and isolated compound (tannin) of Bauhinia variegata stem bark were screened for their possible immunomodulatory activity by assessing nitroblue tetrazolium test, phagocytosis of killed Candida albicans , candidacidal assay, neutrophil locomotion and chemotaxis. All the extracts were tested at concentrations viz. 10 mg/ml, 20 mg/ml, 50 mg/ml, 100 mg/ml and 1000 mg/ml. The acetone:water and isolated compound of Bauhinia variegata Linn stem bark showed predominantly significant activity on in vitro human neutrophils in all parameters, which are comparable to standard and control at different concentration indicating the possible immunostimulating effect.

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