Anti-inflammatory activity of four Bolivian Baccharis species (Compositae).

Hexanic, dichloromethanic, ethanolic and aqueous extracts from Baccharis obtusifolia HBK, Baccharis latifolia (R. et P.) Pers., Baccharis pentlandii D.C. and Baccharis subulata Wedd., plants used in the traditional medicine of South America have been studied for their in vitro anti-inflammatory activity in cellular systems. Calcium ionophore A23187-stimulated mouse peritoneal macrophages were validated as a source of cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) (prostaglandin E2, PGE2) and 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) (leukotriene C4, LTC4), and mouse peritoneal macrophages stimulated with Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were used for testing cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) (PGE2), nitric oxide (NO) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) activity. Most of the extracts tested were active in all assays.

Relación de Parámetros Clínicos y de Laboratorio del Absceso Hepático en Servicio de Medicina Interna HEODRA de marzo 1996 a diciembre 1998

El absceso hepático es una patología que por tener diferentes formas clínicas de presentación es difícil de establecer su etiología conllevando a problemas en el manejo terapéutico inicial. Por éste motivo se realizó este estudio en el que ser relacionaron parámetros clínicos y de laboratorio para conocer el comporamiento de esta patología en nuestro medio y contribuir de alguna manera al mejor manejo de estos pacientes. Se realizó un estudio de serie de casos que incluyó 33 pacientes con absceso hepático que fueron ingresados al servicio de Medicina Interna en el período de Marzo de 1996 a Diciembre de 1998. Entre los resultados más importantes se encontró, que la mayoría de pacientes eran del sexo masculino, tenían escolaridad primaria, procedían del área urbana y eran mayores de 40 años. Los factores predominantes más importanes fueron alcoholismo, antecedentes personal de amebiasis intestinal y hacinamiento. Todos los pacientes presentaron dolor en hipocondrio derecho, hepatología y leucocitos. El abceso hepático único y localizado en el lóbulo derecho fue el más frecuentemente encontrado. El tratamiento médico fue el más empleado y la letalidad global fue mínima...

Resistance to densification, tensile strength and capsule-filling performance of some pharmaceutical diluents.

The purpose of this study was to compare some indicators of capsule-filling performance, as measured by tapped density under different conditions, and elucidate possible quantitative relationships between variation of capsule fill-weight (%CV) and gravitational and inter-particle forces (attractive or frictional) derived from measurements of particle size, true density, low compression and tensile strength. Five common pharmaceutical diluents (lactose, maize starch, talc, Emcocel and Avicel) were investigated and two capsule-filling methods (pouring powder and dosator nozzle) were employed. It was found that for the pouring-type method the appropriateness of Hausner's ratio (HR), Carr's compressibility index (CC%) and Kawakita's constant (alpha) as indicators of capsule fill-weight variation decreases in the order alpha > CC% > HR; the appropriateness of these indicators also decreases with increasing cylinder size and with impact velocity during tapping. For the dosator-type method the appropriateness of the indicators decreases in the order HR > CC% > alpha, the opposite of that for the pouring-type method; the appropriateness of the indicators increases with decreasing cylinder size and impact velocity. The relationship between %CV and the ratio of inter-particle attractive to gravitational forces calculated from measurements of particle size and true density (Fvdw/Wp) was more significant for the pouring-type capsule-filling method. For the dosator-type method a significant relationship (1% level) was found between %CV and the product of Fvdw/Wp and a function expressing the increase, with packing density (p(f)), in the ratio of frictional to attractive inter-particle forces derived from compression (P) and tensile-strength (T) testing, d(log(P/T))/d(p(f)). The value of tapped density in predictions of capsule-filling performance is affected by the testing conditions in a manner depending on the filling method applied. For the pouring-type method predictions can be based on the ratio of attractive (inter-particle) to gravitational forces, whereas for the dosator-type method the contribution of frictional and attractive forces should, because of packing density change, also be taken into account.