Investigation of the absorption of hypericin into the skin of hairless mice.

The skin absorption of hypericin was evaluated in hairless mice to develop an optimised hypericin topical formulation that could be used in the clinical study of psoriasis. Hypericin (0.01-1.0%) in Beeler basis, polyethylene glycol ointment, carbopol gel, cetomacrogol cream, petrolatum or emulsifying ointment, with and without skin-absorption enhancers (isopropylidene glycerol and diethylene glycol monoethyl ether), was tested in-vivo on hairless mice skin. Using a skin-stripping technique and the intrinsic fluorescence of hypericin under standardised UV365 irradiation, it was demonstrated that the absorption of hypericin very much depended on the vehicle used. The concentrations of hypericin in the skin were then estimated by HPLC analysis. For this purpose, two vehicles were employed, with which hypericin penetrated the skin of hairless mice well (emulsifying ointment with isopropylidene glycerol) or very poorly (polyethylene glycol ointment). In the case of emulsifying ointment with isopropylidene glycerol (0.05% hypericin), a substantial concentration of hypericin (8.6+/-3.2 microg g(-1)) (mean +/- s.d., n = 5) was found in the skin. With polyethylene glycol ointment, however, only a limited hypericin skin concentration (0.38+/-0-34 microg g(-1), n = 5) was achieved. These results show that emulsifying ointment with polyethylene glycol holds promise as an effective topical vehicle for the treatment of skin diseases, such as psoriasis, with hypericin.

Hypertrophic lymphocytic gastritis with a gastric carcinoma.

Lymphocytic gastritis is a recently described gastric inflammation, characterized by an increased intraepithelial lymphocytic infiltrate mainly composed of T-lymphocytes. Endoscopically it correlates mainly with diffuse varioliform gastritis. Ménétrier's disease is a hypertrophic gastropathy with enlarged gastric folds. The histological picture is that of foveolar hyperplasia and glandular cysts of the mucosa. A few small series of lymphocytic gastritis with microscopic and endoscopic features of Ménétrier's disease have been published previously. We describe a similar case associated with a gastric adenocarcinoma.

Antitumour activity of photosensitized hypericin on A431 cell xenografts.

The in vivo antitumour activity of the natural photosensitizer hypericin was evaluated. Athymic nude mice xenografted with A431 cells were intraperitoneally administered with different hypericin doses and the tumours were locally irradiated 2 h later with white light (180 J/cm2) using a cold light source. When treatment was started one day after tumour inoculation, a dose-dependent antitumour effect was observed in light-treated animals. Complete inhibition of the tumour growth was achieved with 2.5 mg/kg hypericin. When the efficacy of a single hypericin dose (5 mg/kg) followed by a single light treatment on established tumours (60 mm3) was investigated, an 80% reduction in tumour mass was seen. Furthermore, an accumulation of the photosensitizer in A431 xenografts was observed after local light irradiation. Our results strongly suggest that hypericin holds promise as a new, safe, efficient and selective PDT photosensitizer.

Massive eosinophilic ascites: differential diagnosis between idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome and eosinophilic gastroenteritis.

This paper describes a patient with massive eosinophilic ascites as presenting manifestation probably due to idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome. Eosinophilic ascites and stomach wall involvement were the first detected abnormalities. The subsequent course was characterised by interstitial pulmonary disease and pleural and pericardial effusion. Grand mal epilepsy and numbness of the left arm indicated central nervous system involvement. Treatment with corticosteroids resulted in complete remission. The differential diagnosis of eosinophilic gastroenteritis and idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome is discussed.