Comparison of cefuroxime and co-amoxiclav in the treatment of acute sinusitis in a sample of the Iranian population.

OBJECTIVES: Acute sinusitis is a common upper respiratory tract infection worldwide, which can be severely complicated if inappropriate treatment is applied. The aim of this study was to assess and compare efficacy of cefuroxime and co-amoxiclav in the treatment of acute sinusitis in an Iranian sample population. METHODS: A randomized clinical trial, comparing the efficacy of two oral antibiotics, cefuroxime and co-amoxiclav in the treatment of acute sinusitis, was conducted in 2007. A total of 99 patients were enrolled in the study. The clinical diagnosis of acute sinusitis was based on association of suborbital pain, purulent rhinorrhea and purulent discharge on the middle nasal meatus. All patients were also radiographically examined and their diagnoses were confirmed. Patients were randomly assigned to either receive 10 days of treatment with cefuroxime 250 mg twice daily (n=57) or receive co-amoxiclav 500/125 mg three times daily (n=42). Patients responses to treatment were assessed during and at the end of the treatment. RESULTS: A satisfactory clinical outcome (cure or improvement of symptoms) was found in 86% (49/57) and 71.4% (30/42) of the clinically evaluable patients treated with cefuroxime or co-amoxiclav, respectively (p >0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggest that cefuroxime (twice daily) is comparably effective as co-amoxiclav (three times a day) in the treatment of patients with acute sinusitis.

Cycloartanes from Euphorbia aellenii Rech. f. and their Antiproliferative Activity.

The cytotoxic chloroform fraction of Euphorbia aellenii afforded two cycloartane type triterpenes-cycloart-25-en-3ß,24-diol (1) and 24-methylene-cycloartan-3ß-ol (2)-for the first time from this plant. Preparation of cycloartane derivatives, 3ß, 24-O-diacetyl-cycloart-25-en as compound 3 and 3ß-O-acetyl-24-methylene-cycloartan (4) were conducted by acetylating of 1 and 2, respectively. The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic methods and their activities evaluated by proliferation assay on human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs). Comparing the results suggested that anti-proliferation effect of these compounds on PBLs might be due to the presence of free 3-OH group while masking the free OH groups by acetylation, could induce proliferation activity.

Association between the DRD2 A1 allele and opium addiction in the Iranian population.

Dysfunction of the central dopaminergic neurotransmission has been suggested to play an important role in the etiology of certain neuropsychiatric disorders such as drug abuse. It has been shown that the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) gene dysfunction is associated with multi-drug addiction. Addiction to opium is the most common form of drug abuse in Iran. We studied the allelic association between DRD2 Taq I A polymorphism in 100 opium-dependent Iranian patients and 130 unrelated controls. A 310 bp (base pair) region surrounding Taq I site at the DRD2 locus was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the PCR product was incubated with Taq I restriction enzyme. The A1 allele remained intact while the A2 allele was cut. Significant association was observed between A1 allele and addiction in the patients group (P < 0.0001). Moreover, the frequency of A1A1 genotype was significantly higher in opium users than controls (P < 0.0001). Our result indicates that DRD2 might be involved in the pathophysiology of opium addiction.