ABSTRACT
Desoxyfructo-serotonin (DFS) has shown good results in clinical trials of LL patients. After clinical trials in Bamako (Mali) reported in three articles, clinical trials began in India, at Bombay. Acute toxicity tests done in Paris and chronic toxicity tests done in India had shown absence of side effects. This was also confirmed after pre-clinical pharmacology. In vitro tests show that DFS enhances cellular immune response. Receptors for anti-erythrocyte antibody on LL macrophages are demonstrated by erythrocyte rosetting. Infection with M. leprae markedly reduces rosetting. But in the presence of DFS this reduction in rosetting is not observed. Patient's peripheral blood lymphocytes, sensitised with leprosy antigen, show a low level of rosetting with patients' macrophages. DFS greatly enhances the lymphocyte-macrophage interaction. DFS has an important anti-stress activity. Gastric ulcer induced in rats by restraint were reduced by 40% (Mester et al.) and 50% (Das Neves). DFS increased the uptake of serotonin by LL patients platelets. HPLC studies were done to see the level of DFS in the plasma, in the serum and in the urine of LL patients and controls. We are synthetising new lyposoluble derivatives in order to make easier the penetration of DFS and a long time effect.
Subject(s)
Leprostatic Agents/therapeutic use , Leprosy, Lepromatous/drug therapy , Serotonin/analogs & derivatives , Clinical Trials as Topic , Humans , Leprostatic Agents/pharmacokinetics , Leprosy, Lepromatous/immunology , Leprosy, Lepromatous/metabolism , Rosette Formation , Serotonin/pharmacokinetics , Serotonin/therapeutic useABSTRACT
To examine the anti-leprosy effect of deoxyfructoserotonin the drug was given in a dose of 10 mg/kg for 6 months to 6 patients with active lepromatous leprosy, in accordance with the WHO-THELEP protocol. Clinical and histological assessment and mouse foot-pad studies suggest that the drug has some anti-leprosy effect.
Subject(s)
Leprostatic Agents/therapeutic use , Leprosy/drug therapy , Serotonin/analogs & derivatives , Adult , Biopsy , Capsules , Clinical Trials as Topic , Humans , Isoniazid/administration & dosage , Isoniazid/urine , Leprostatic Agents/administration & dosage , Leprosy/pathology , Male , Serotonin/administration & dosage , Serotonin/therapeutic use , Time FactorsSubject(s)
Leprosy/immunology , Mycobacterium leprae/drug effects , Serotonin/analogs & derivatives , Animals , Cells, Cultured , Humans , Immunity, Cellular , Leprosy/microbiology , Leprosy/pathology , Macrophages/drug effects , Macrophages/microbiology , Mice , Schwann Cells/drug effects , Schwann Cells/microbiology , Sciatic Nerve/drug effects , Serotonin/pharmacologyABSTRACT
Primary cultures of human breast carcinoma cells were treated for 24 hours with different concentrations of anticancer drugs followed by labelling with 3H-thymidine and 3H-uridine and subsequent autoradiographic processing to study the effect of drugs on nucleic acid synthesis in these cells. 3H-uridine autoradiography was more sensitive than 3H-thymidine autoradiography in the assessment of lethal effects. The results showed that individual neoplasms varied in drug response. This method may be useful for predicting the effectiveness of drugs for treatment of individual cases and also for screening new drugs for anticancer activity.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Agents , Breast Neoplasms/drug therapy , Autoradiography , Breast Neoplasms/pathology , Female , Humans , Methotrexate/therapeutic use , Microscopy, Electron , Thymidine/metabolism , Uridine/metabolism , Vincristine/therapeutic useABSTRACT
Mycobacterium leprae separated from armadillo tissues stored at -80 degrees C is similar to that from human sources in its ability to take up 3H-labelled 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA). Several inhibitors were studied which showed complete or partial inhibition of [3H]DOPA uptake. These findings suggest that M. leprae isolated from frozen tissue possesses an active uptake system for [3H]DOPA.
Subject(s)
Armadillos/microbiology , Dihydroxyphenylalanine/metabolism , Mycobacterium leprae/metabolism , Xenarthra/microbiology , Animals , Ascorbic Acid/pharmacology , Chelating Agents/pharmacology , Spleen/microbiology , TemperatureABSTRACT
Mycobacterium leprae separated from armadillo tissues stored at -80 degrees C is similar to that from human sources in its ability to take up 3H-labelled 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA). Several inhibitors were studied which showed complete or partial inhibition of [3H]DOPA uptake. These findings suggest that M. leprae isolated from frozen tissue possesses an active uptake system for [3H]DOPA.
