[50 years' of use of liver biopsy in clinical diagnosis in Zagreb]. / 50-godisnjica primjene klinicke dijagnosticke metode biopsije jetre u Zagrebu.

The author presents his clinical experience and that of his collaborators with the use of liver biopsy as a useful diagnostic method. This paper is written on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the introduction of this method into clinical practice in Croatia.

Endoscopic studies of nabumetone in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. A comparative endoscopic and histologic evaluation.

Gastric tolerance to 1 g of nabumetone administered in a single nightly dose was assessed in two trials in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Gastroscopy and histology of mucosal biopsy specimens were performed before and after the end of treatment in both trials. Trial 1 was an open study that compared the effects of 1 g of nabumetone at night with those of naproxen (dose, 500 mg twice daily) and indomethacin (dose, 50 mg three times daily) in 41 hospitalized patients. After three weeks of treatment, nabumetone was significantly better tolerated than naproxen or indomethacin. Trial 2 was a randomized trial with 24 patients per group that compared 1 g of nabumetone given at night with 250 mg of naproxen given in the morning and 500 mg given at night for a period of three months. This single-blind study revealed that the number of patients with microscopic or macroscopic mucosal lesions was significantly smaller following intake of nabumetone. Concerning efficacy, as judged clinically by a rheumatologist, treatment with nabumetone was superior as well.

Pirenzepin in gastric and duodenal ulcer: a double-blind trial.

In seventy-five out-patients with gastric and duodenal ulcer a comparative double-blind trial with pirenzepin against placebo was performed. The dose was 50 mg pirenzepin daily or placebo respectively, the duration of treatment being 4 weeks. The healing effect of pirenzepin in duodenal ulcer patients could be proven endoscopically and was statistically significant when compared with placebo (p less than or equal to 0.05). Strong evidence for the therapeutic efficacy of pirenzepin could be further demonstrated in both duodenal and gastric ulcer patients by measuring the marked reduction of ulcer size, even though statistical difference against placebo in gastric ulcers was not fully achieved. Pirenzepin was well tolerated by all patients, except for a mild case of diarrhoea which occurred in one patient. No patient complained of dryness of the mouth or of blurred vision.

[Effect of a benzopyrone compound on liver function. Short communication (author's transl)]. / Die Wirkung eines Benzopyron-Präparates auf die Leberfunktion. Kurze Mitteilung

The results of the presented double-blind trial proved that the benzopyrone compound Venalot, a combination of coumarin and troxerutin used in the treatment of local inflammatory oedemas of traumetic, phlebopathic and lymphostatic origin, can be administered unhestitatingly in case of severe parenchymatous liver damages even in a dosage which was chosed higher than that recommended and usually given (2 depot tablets b.d.).