Biological activities and wound healing potential of a water-soluble polysaccharide isolated from Glycyrrhiza glabra in Wistar rat.

The present study aimed to evaluate the in vitro antibacterial and antioxidant activities and the in vivo wound healing performance of a polysaccharide isolated from Glycyrrhiza glabra named PSG. It was structurally characterized by Fourier transformed infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, which confirmed the presence of different polysaccharides functional bands. The antioxidant capacity of PSG was determined in vitro and evaluated in vivo through the examination of wound healing capacity. Thirty two rats were randomly divided into four groups: group I was treated with physiological serum (negative control); group II was treated with "CYTOL CENTELLA®"; group III was treated with glycerol and group IV was treated with polysaccharide. The response to treatments was assessed by macroscopic, histologic, and biochemical parameters. Data revealed that our sample exhibited potential antioxidant activities and accelerated significantly the wound healing process, after ten days of treatment, proved by the higher wound appearance scores and a higher content of collagen confirmed by histological examination, when compared with control and "CYTOL CENTELLA®". Overall, these findings proved that this polysaccharide isolated from Glycyrrhiza glabra could be considered as a natural bioactive polymer for therapeutic process in wound healing applications.

[Radiotherapy of chloroma or granulocytic sarcoma: A literature review]. / Radiothérapie des chloromes ou sarcomes granulocytiques: revue de la littérature.

Granulocytic sarcoma, or chloroma, is a rare clinical entity, usually associated with a blood disease, including acute myeloid leukemia. Management strategies are based on the combination of systemic therapy and local therapy (surgery or radiation). Data for radiotherapy dose are derived from retrospective studies and case reports. We conducted a literature review using the Pubmed search engine to clarify the terms and indications for radiotherapy of chloromas.

[Pulmonary diffusion test to NO and CO time course during thoracic radiotherapy for lung cancer: the CONORT prospective study protocol]. / Évolution de la double diffusion au CO et au NO au cours de la radiothérapie pulmonaire pour cancer bronchique : présentation du protocole de l'étude prospective Conort.

Thoracic radiotherapy is a usual treatment for lung cancer. Early-stages may be treated in stereotactic mode while locally advanced stages are usually treated with conventional radiotherapy mode. Pulmonary function tests show that thoracic irradiation has no impact on lung volume such as forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) or forced vital capacity (FCV). However, some studies found that CO (carbon monoxide) diffusing capacity (TLCO) may be altered under thoracic radiotherapy. DLCO alteration is usually symptomatic of either a lesion in the alveolar membrane or a pulmonary capillary alteration. Pulmonary diffusion may be also appreciated by the NO (azote monoxide) diffusion capacity. Moreover, using a double measurement of NO and CO diffusing capacities permit to assess which lung compartment (capillary or membrane) is affected. CONORT is an observational prospective monocentric study, aiming to assess the CO and NO diffusing capacity (as well as other pulmonary function tests) during thoracic radiotherapy. Inclusion criteria are patients with lung cancer, treated by thoracic radiotherapy (conformational or stereotactic), who signed consent. Pulmonary function tests are performed before, during, at the end and six weeks and six months after thoracic irradiation. To estimate a difference of 15% in diffusing capacity test, we have to include 112 patients with a 90% power and a 5% alpha risk. Four months after beginning, 36 patients were included. Preliminary data will be presented at the SFRO meeting.

[Orbital metastasis from mucinous adenocarcinoma of the rectum]. / Métastase orbitaire d'un adénocarcinome mucineux du rectum.

Orbital metastasis from colorectal cancer are extremely rare. Only six cases are described in the literature. The discrepancy between the frequency of colorectal cancer and the rarity of metastasis to the eye and orbit remains paradoxical and enigmatic. We report the case of an 18-year-old young woman with orbital metastasis as the presenting sign of rectal cancer. Proptosis is the most frequent presenting clinical sign. Once the diagnosis is made, the prognosis is poor and treatment is palliative.

In-vitro test of haptocorrin degradation for biological diagnosis of exocrine pancreatic dysfunction using duodenal juice collected during endoscopy.

An in-vitro test of degradation of haptocorrin, a cobalamin-binding glycoprotein, was used to diagnose exocrine pancreatic dysfunction. This radioisotopic test (TDH) required only 50 microliters duodenal juice collected during endoscopy after stimulation with 1 U/kg secretin intravenously. The initial reaction mixture, composed of salivary haptocorrin saturated with cobalt-57-labelled cyanocobalamin and unsaturated intrinsic factor, was incubated with 25 microliters duodenal juice. The percentage of degraded haptocorrin was estimated from the proportion of labelled cyanocobalamin that was transferred from haptocorrin to intrinsic factor. The TDH result was 41.6 +/- 31.7% (SD) in a group of chronic pancreatitis patients (n = 22) and 91.5 +/- 4.8% in the control group (n = 47). The sensitivity and specificity for exocrine pancreatic dysfunction were estimated as 0.91 and 0.96, respectively, for a lower limit of normal values of 81.7%. A hyperbolic relation was found between the TDH and the trypsin or chymotrypsin activity in duodenal juice (p less than 0.001). In this study, the N-benzoyl-tyrosyl-p-aminobenzoic acid test was less sensitive than the TDH, since its result was abnormal in only 64% of the patients. The TDH was easier to carry out and less time-consuming than the determination of pancreatic enzyme output in duodenal juice collected after hormonal stimulation.