ABSTRACT
Animal testing was used to observe skin reaction to plastic hair clips. The results were similar to the reaction caused by standard Raney scalp clips, indicating that this hair clip may be a useful local alternative to imported scalp clips. Clinical trials confirmed the safety of this type of clip in a series of craniotomy procedures.
Subject(s)
Craniotomy/instrumentation , Foreign-Body Reaction/etiology , Scalp/surgery , Surgical Instruments/adverse effects , Animals , Equipment Design , Female , Foreign-Body Reaction/pathology , Guinea Pigs , Male , Materials Testing/economics , Surgical Instruments/economics , ThailandABSTRACT
Methanolic extract of Piper sarmentosum Roxb. (Piperaceae) leaves was studied for the neuromuscular blocking activity in rat phrenic nerve-hemidiaphragm preparations. The plant extract, at concentrations of 3.2, 4.0, 4.8 and 6.4 mg/ml, exhibited an initially transient increase in twitch tension which was followed by a marked dose-related neurally-evoked twitch depression. The neuromuscular blocking effect produced by the plant extract was compared with d-tubocurarine (dTC) and succinylcholine (SCh). The EC50 for neurally-evoked twitch depression of the extract, dTC and SCh was 4.07 mg/ml, 1.1 microM and 15 microM, respectively. The neurally-evoked twitch depression produced by the extract was partially antagonized by tetraethylammonium (TEA) but not by neostigmine (NS). These findings suggested that the plant extract possessed a marked neuromuscular blocking activity at the neuromuscular junction and a possible mechanism which was likely to inhibit neurotransmitter (acetylcholine) release at the presynaptic terminal.
