Thymopentin in the treatment of juvenile chronic arthritis.

An immunological imbalance is probably one of the major pathogenetic causes of rheumatoid arthritis in adults as well as in children. This aspect is the rationale for the use of immuno-modulating drugs. In our study we evaluated the effects of intravenously-administered thymopentin on systemic and local features in 10 children affected with systemic onset juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA). We also considered the effects of intra-articular thymopentin in 3 children affected with pauciarticular onset JCA.

[Evaluation of the efficacy and tolerance of ceftriaxone in childhood]. / Valutazione dell'efficacia e tollerabilità del ceftriaxone in pediatria.

Between the years 1981 and 1983 we treated with Ceftriaxone (Cx) 34 children--aged 15 days to 13 years--affected with serious infections: 18 infections of lower respiratory tract, 1 sepsis caused by E. Coli, 1 meningitis with cloudy cerebrospinal fluid, 1 submandibular adenitis with otitis, 1 otitis, 12 infections of the urinary tract caused by Proteus mirabilis, E. Coli, Klebsiella oxitocica and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Whenever bacteria were isolated by cultures, sensibility in vitro to Cx was tested. Cx was given i.m. or i.v. at a dose ranging from 50 to 135 mg/Kg/die according to the age and the seriousness of the infections; in 17 children Cx was administered once daily, in the other patients in two divided doses. The following laboratory measurements were obtained before, during and after treatment: complete blood cell count, platelet count, total bilirubin, creatinine, SGOT, SGPT, alkaline phosphatase and urinalysis. Patients were also monitored daily for clinical signs and symptoms such as fever, general conditions, heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure. Twenty children showed a good clinical response (1 sepsis, 1 otitis, 1 adenitis, 1 meningitis, 12 infections of the urinary tract, 4 infections of the lower respiratory tract); urine sterilization was achieved after three days of therapy in all patients with infections of the urinary tract. Remarkable clinical and radiological improvement in 9 patients with infections of lower respiratory tract was observed while in only 4 children with bronchopneumonia therapy was ineffective although the dosage of Cx was adeguate; in these patients a further antibiotic treatment was necessary for a complete recovery.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Drugs and brain mitochondrial enzymatic activities during post-natal development in rat.

The enzymatic activities of two mitochondrial enzymes, i.e. succinate dehydrogenase and NADH-cytochrome c reductase were investigated in the brain of rats at different stages of post-natal development. In addition, the effect of the pharmacological treatment with two drugs, nicergoline and bamethan, able to interact with the alpha or the beta receptors respectively, was evaluated. The results show that both the enzymatic activities rapidly increase in the first days of extra-uterine life, thus indicating an adaptation of mitochondrial oxidative processes to post-natal environmental conditions. The pharmacological treatment with the two drugs does not induce any changes in the enzymatic activities tested.