Inhibitory effect of Phlai capsules on skin test responses among allergic rhinitis patients: a randomized, three-way crossover study / 中西医结合学报

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Zingiber cassumunar Roxb., commonly known as Phlai in Thai, has been used as a traditional medicine in Thailand for the treatment of various diseases, including inflammation and chronic airway disease.</p><p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>The purpose of this study was to assess the antihistaminic effect of Phlai on skin testing.</p><p><b>DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTION</b>This was a randomized, open-label, three-way crossover study. Twenty allergic rhinitis (AR) patients were enrolled. In randomized sequence, patients received a single dose of Phlai capsules (100 or 200 mg) or loratadine (10 mg) with a washout period of 1 week between each treatment.</p><p><b>MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES</b>Skin prick testing for histamine and common aeroallergen (house dust mite) were performed before treatment and after 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12 and 24 hours of treatment. The main treatment outcomes were the mean wheal and flare responses to the skin prick test after treatment.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Both 100 mg and 200 mg Phlai doses suppressed wheal and flare responses to house dust mite allergen, but only 200 mg of Phlai capsules significantly suppressed wheal and flare responses to histamine. Repeated measures analysis of variance showed that loratadine caused more wheal and flare suppression than Phlai capsules in responses to the histamine skin prick test. However, there were no significant differences among the effects of 100 mg Phlai capsules, 200 mg Phlai capsules and loratadine in suppression of wheal and flare induced by the mite skin prick test. Both doses of Phlai were well-tolerated with no adverse events.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Both 100 mg (compound D 4 mg) and 200 mg (compound D 8 mg) Phlai capsules, when taken as a single therapeutic dose, inhibited skin reactivity to histamine and mite skin prick tests in AR patients.</p><p><b>TRIAL REGISTRATION</b>Thai clinical trial registry (TCTR20160510001).</p>

Mometasone Furoate Suppresses PMA-Induced MUC-5AC and MUC-2 Production in Human Airway Epithelial Cells / 결핵및호흡기질환

BACKGROUND: Mucus hypersecretion from airway epithelium is a characteristic feature of airway inflammatory diseases. Tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) regulates mucin synthesis. Glucocorticoids including mometasone fuorate (MF) have been used to attenuate airway inflammation. However, effects of MF on mucin production have not been reported. METHODS: Effects of MF and budesonide (BUD) on the phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA)–induction of mucin and TNF-α in human airway epithelial cells (NCI-H292) were investigated in the present study. Confluent NCI-H292 cells were pretreated with PMA (200 nM) for 2 hours. Subsequently, the cells were stimulated with MF (1–500 ng/mL) or BUD (21.5 ng/mL) for 8 hours. Dexamethasone (1 µg/mL) was used as the positive control. Real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to determine MUC2 and MUC5AC mRNA levels. The level of total mucin, MUC2, MUC5AC, and TNF-α in culture supernatants were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: MF and BUD significantly suppressed MUC2 and MUC5AC gene expression in PMA-stimulated NCI-H292 cells. The inhibitory effects of the two steroid drugs were also observed in the production of total mucin, MUC2 and MUC5AC proteins, and TNF-α. CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrated that MF and BUD attenuated mucin and TNF-α production in PMA-induced human airway epithelial cells.

Comparative Analysis of International Research Publications from Thai Dental Faculties between 2000 and 2008

Objective: To study and compare the international publications of research performance during the years 2000 and 2008 from the 8 dental faculties of state universities in Thailand.Materials and Methods: Data were generated using computerized search of the databases of publications listed in the reports from Institute of Scientific Information Web of Science (ISI-WOS), Scopus and PubMed databases.Results: A total number of publications from the years 2000 to 2008 from 8 dental faculties were as followings: Chulalongkorn (CU) = 187; Mahidol  University(MU) = 176; Chiang Mai  University (CMU) = 106; Khon Kaen  University(KKU) = 90; Prince of Songkla (PSU) = 116; Thammasat University  (TU) = 21; Srinakharinwirot  University (SWU) = 19; and Naresuan University (NU) = 6. Based on these data, the dental faculties could be roughly divided into 3 groups: CU and MU; CMU, KKU and PSU; and the 3 recently established TU, SWU and NU. Although the combined number of   publications from these 8 dental faculties did not change much from 2000 to 2005, there was a big jump in the number between the years 2005 and 2006 and this phenomenon was observed for all faculties. In general, the quality of publications, based on journal impact factors, did not vary considerably among these dental faculties. However, it was noted that the research with results leading to publications in journals with high impact factors were mostly performed by staff members who were on leave of absence for higher degrees and/or oversea training. Conclusion: This comparative analysis of publications from the 8 Thai dental faculties between 2000-2008 provided unbiased appraisal of quantity and quality of research publications which roughly paralleled with the time when they were established, from the oldest Chulalongkorn University to the youngest Naresuan University. It is hoped that some of our suggestions and criticisms will be useful in upgrading research performance in Thai dental faculties, thus making them more competitive in national and international arena. Keywords: Thai dental faculties, ISI-WOS, International research publications, Impact factor