Efficacy of oral streptokinase-streptodornase in the treatment of ankle sprains.

To evaluate the analgesic and antiinflammatory properties of oral streptokinase-streptodornase (SS) in cases of minor trauma, 190 patients with ankle sprains were studied. Subjects were randomly given an active drug or a placebo in doses of two tablets three times a day for eight days. A scoring system was used to rate the following symptoms: spontaneous pain, mobilization pain, wearing pain, articular disability, flaccidity, muscular spasm, edema, and hematoma. Each symptom was categorized as none (0), mild (1), moderate (3), or severe (4). Patients were evaluated at the beginning of the study and on the fourth and eighth days of treatment. At the end of the trial, the decrease in each symptom score was significantly greater in patients receiving SS than in patients receiving a placebo. Analgesic intake during the study was also noticeably lower in the SS group. The incidence of drug-induced side effects (mainly abdominal discomfort) was minimal. Oral SS ameliorates the inflammatory symptoms associated with ankle sprains and therefore may be used as an alternative to nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs.

[Vascularization between spleen and liver following splenohepatoplasty. Angiographic studies in cirrhotic rats]. / Vaskularisierung zwischen Milz und Leber nach Splenohepatoplastik. Angiographische Studie an zirrhotischen Ratten.

Portocaval shunt is no definite therapeutic solution to portal hypertension. Total bypass of the portal flow, off the liver, is accompanied, in such cases, by sooner liver failure and higher rates of encephalopathy. The view was generally defended that arterialisation of the liver might result in accelerated regeneration of the liver and in an improvement of hepatocellular functionality. Numerous animal experiments and clinical investigations were, therefore, aimed at arterialisation of the hepatic section of the portal vein, following portocaval shunt. Studies were also conducted into splenohepatoplasty. Portal obstruction was found to be avoidable by that technique, and liver arterialisation could be achieved at low pressure. The authors, in their experimental study, succeeded in radiographic representation of neovascularisation which had been achieved between spleen and liver by means of splenohepatoplasty.

A new laser Doppler interface for the continuous measurement of the rat gastric mucosal blood flow.

The laser Doppler system (LD) has been proposed for a tissue blood flowmetry. However, its accuracy is dependent on the pressure and direction of the laser probe. Therefore, we have devised a new interface for the measurement of the gastric mucosal blood flow in rats keeping the probe constant in pressure and direction. This interface is a small cylinder with one end fixed upon the gastric serosa and the other end fixed externally upon the skin. The laser probe adjusts exactly in direction and pressure inside this button. The LD apparatus processes two shifted beams with a differential amplification and a root mean square. It delivers an index (LDI) from 0 to 10. This interface was tested in 3 groups of rats, comparing the mucosal (open stomach) with the serosal gastric LDI and the same serosal LDI with a 133Xe washout flow. Finally, the interface was used in control and restrained rats. The gastric serosal LDI was found to be similar to the mucosal LDI. The correlation between the LDI and the 133Xe washout flow was good, with a coefficient of 0.9. Finally, the LDI of the gastric mucosal blood was significantly different in control and stressed rats. This new interface makes the LD more reliable for the monitoring of gastric mucosal flowmetry. It has the same accuracy as the xenon washout and additionally it is simpler, cheaper and may be repeated or even be used continuously.