ABSTRACT
The emergence of resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum and Mycobacterium tuberculosis underscores the need for novel drugs that are effective against these microorganisms. As part of our screening programme of the flora of Puerto Rico, we tested a number of ethanol extracts of higher plants for antiplasmodial and antimycobacterial activities. A total of 40 extracts belonging to 23 plant families and 37 species were tested for antiplasmodial activity. Five extracts demonstrated activity against Plasmodium falciparum in vitro (50%-100% parasite suppression at 5 microg/mL). Another 63 extracts belonging to 30 plant families and 50 species were tested in vitro against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Two extracts were found to be active, Ficus citrifolia and Pisonia borinquena (85% or more inhibition of microbial growth at 100 microg/mL of extract).
Subject(s)
Antimalarials/pharmacology , Antitubercular Agents/pharmacology , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/drug effects , Phytotherapy , Plant Extracts/pharmacology , Plants, Medicinal , Plasmodium falciparum/drug effects , Animals , Antimalarials/therapeutic use , Antitubercular Agents/therapeutic use , Humans , Medicine, Traditional , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Parasitic Sensitivity Tests , Plant Extracts/therapeutic use , Plant Structures , Puerto RicoABSTRACT
We report a free-floating left atrial thrombus detected by 2-dimensional echocardiography in a patient with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Two-dimensional echocardiography permitted definitive diagnosis, thereby indicating emergency cardiac surgery. To our knowledge, this is the first reported detection of a free-floating left atrial thrombus by 2-dimensional echocardiography in a patient with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
ABSTRACT
The following report presents M-mode and two-dimensional echocardiographic findings in a case of mitral valve aneurysm. M-mode echocardiography showed abnormal intravalvular echoes during diastole and a linear echo in the left atrium, with a motion pattern similar to that of the anterior mitral valve leaflet. By allowing visualization of the aneurysmal sac, two-dimensional echocardiography proved to be a more specific diagnostic method.
ABSTRACT
The prognosis in patients with left bundle-branch block (LBBB) is related primarily to the presence or absence of underlying cardiac disease. Because coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common underlying disease found in these patients, it would be desirable, in the presence of LBBB, to have a noninvasive method of differentiating between patients with and without CAD. We reviewed our experience in patients with LBBB who had undergone coronary arteriography with regard to electrocardiographic (ECG) stress testing, exercise radionuclide ventriculography (RNV), and exercise thallium scintigraphy; we also reviewed their clinical histories. A clinical history of typical angina pectoris was specific for CAD, a false-positive history being present in only one of 12 patients without CAD. The frequency of a positive ECG ST response to exercise was equal in patients with and without CAD. False-positive ejection fraction and wall-motion responses to exercise were frequent by RNV. A modification of the usual RNV criteria for positivity improved specificity but resulted in poor sensitivity for CAD. False-positive thallium study results also were. frequent in these patients. The perfusion defects usually involved the ventricular septum; the inferior and posterior walls were involved only in patients with CAD. We conclude that the usual noninvasive diagnostic tests for CAD are of limited value in patients with LBBB.
