A randomized, double blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial of silymarin in ulcerative colitis / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the clinical efficacy of silymarin in ulcerative colitis (UC) patients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A randomized double blinded placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted in 80 UC patients whose disease had been documented and were in remission state between September 2009 and October 2010. Patients were assigned to silymarin group (42 cases) and placebo group (38 cases) using a random number table. Either silymarin (140 mg) or placebo (lactose mono-hydrate, corn starch magnesium stearate) tablets were given once daily for 6 months along with their standard therapy. The efficacies were assessed by disease activity index (DAI), frequency difference of the disease flare-up, and paraclinical data.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Ten patients (4 in the silymarin group due to nausea and 6 in the placebo group due to disease flare-up and abdominal pain) discontinued the study. An improvement in hemoglobin level (11.8±1.6 g/dL vs. 13.4±1.2 g/dL,P<0.05) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (23.7±11.5 mm/h vs.10.8±3.2 mm/h,P<0.05) was observed in the silymarin group but not in the placebo group. DAI significantly decreased in the silymarin group and reached from 11.3±3.5 to 10.7±2.8 (P<0.05). Thirty-five out of 38 patients in the silymarin group were in complete remission with no flare-up after 6 months as compared to 21 out of 32 patients in the placebo group (P=0.5000).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Silymarin as a natural supplement may be used in UC patients to maintain remission.</p>

Antioxidants and infertility treatment, the role of Satureja Khuzestanica: a mini-systematic review

The use of antioxidants in the treatment of infertility has been suggested and recent studies have indicated that oral administration of Satureja Khuzestanica essential oil [SKEO] to rats induces significant antioxidative effects. This systematic review was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of antioxidants in infertility and also to assess the effectiveness of Satureja Khuzestanica in infertility management. Pubmed, Scopus, and Cochrane Library were searched for relevant trials published from respective database inception dates to August 2010. Study selection, and data extraction were performed by authors. Fifteen trials on evaluation of antioxidants in infertility and seven studies on the effectiveness of Satureja Khuzestanica were identified. Only 4 of the 15 trials were with application of allocation concealment and three studies were done in in-vitro environment. Despite the methodological and clinical heterogeneity of the trials, 14 of the 15 [93.33%] trials showed an improvement in either sperm quality or pregnancy rate after antioxidant therapy. The human and animal studies of Satureja Khuzestanica showed a significant antioxidative potential of the plant and its effectiveness for infertility improvement. The use of oral antioxidants in infertility could improve sperm quality and pregnancy rates. Improved fertility observed by SKEO in rats might be due to its antioxidative effect. Further studies and clinical trials in humans are necessary to evaluate SKEO effectiveness in fertility disturbances

comparative study of bolus administration and continuous infusion of ranitidine on gastric PH with intragastric PH-probe

The high mortality rate associated with significant bleeding from stress ulceration has promoted efforts to prevent this complication in critically ill patients. Gastric pH is a key factor in the pathogenesis of stress ulceration and maintaining a pH of 4 or greater reduces the risk for development of the gastric ulceration. Our aim was to compare effects of intravenous bolus administration and continuous intravenous infusion of ranitidine on gastric pH in critically ill patients at the intensive care unit [ICU]. Twenty patients who met the inclusion criteria were entered this prospective, randomized, cross over study. A total of 1500 gastric pH measurement was obtained for each phase of the study. Continuous infusion of ranitidine maintained a gastric pH greater than 4 over a longer period than that of bolus administration [22.1 hrs vs. 14.2 hrs, respectively; P<0.001]. The pH-monitoring device which was made locally, was comparable to a standard international device. This study showed that continuous infusion of ranitidine was more effective than administration of an equivalent dose of the drug by bolus in maintaining the appropriate gastric pH required for the prevention of stress ulceration