Ethanol-induced urticaria: a case report.

Urticaria, after ingesting ethanol, is rare. A 36-year-old Caucasian male developed multiple, generalized, pruritic urticarial lesions 5 to 15 minutes after drinking alcoholic beverages of any type. A blinded challenge with 5 mL of chemically pure 95% ethanol in concentrated grape juice caused urticaria and an elevation of plasma histamine. Pure grape juice alone was unreactive. Prick skin tests with Brewers' yeast, ethanol, acetaldehyde, and acetic acid were negative. Hydroxyzine (25 mg, p.o., q.i.d.), given for three days prior to challenge, inhibited skin response and histamine release. Biopsy of the urticarial lesions caused by ethanol ingestion showed mast cell degranulation. In this subject, ethanol appeared to directly affect mast cell mediator release by non-IgE mechanisms.

Analysis of plasma histamine: a modification of the enzymatic isotopic assay.

The enzymatic isotopic analysis of histamine requires extraction and concentration of [3H]-1-methylhistamine from the reaction mixture. The assay was modified to include enzymatic reaction at 0 degrees C to reduce blank values and direct application of protein-free reaction mixture to a thin-layer chromatography plate for isolating of the product. The analysis was quantitative down to 100 pg/ml of histamine, adequate for monitoring plasma histamine content.

Indium-111 oxine platelet survival in dogs: effect of doxorubicin and Dacron grafts.

The cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin was found to acutely decrease platelet survival times in beagle dogs as determined using platelets labeled with [111In]oxine. Recovery was rapid, with platelet survival times returning to normal within 3 wk of cessation of treatment. Doxorubicin (1.5 mg/kg i.v. every 3 wk for a total of four doses) also delayed the return of platelet survival times to normal when given to beagle dogs following placement of thoracoabdominal aortic Dacron grafts. It is not known whether or not this may have clinical significance.

Failure of Verapamil in inhibiting allergen-induced histamine release in vivo.

In order to evaluate the effect of Verapamil on human cutaneous anaphylactic responses, ragweed-sensitive individuals were skin tested with ragweed, ragweed plus Verapamil, and Verapamil alone. In addition, using a skin chamber technique, the effect of Verapamil on antigen-induced histamine release in vivo was investigated. The results suggest that Verapamil, applied locally in non-irritant doses, does not affect Type I hypersensitivity skin reactions.

Inhibitory effect of hydroxyzine on antigen-induced histamine release in vivo.

By use of a modified heat-suction, skin blister technique, we found that oral hydroxyzine, 25 mg four times a day, inhibits antigen-induced ultrastructural changes of mast cells and in vivo histamine release in the skin of ragweed-sensitive individuals. To our knowledge this is the first demonstration that an orally active antihistamine can inhibit in vivo cutaneous anaphylactic reactions.

Acute cardiovascular effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in pregnant anesthetized sheep.

The effects of pulmonary artery infusion of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta 9-THC), 0.5 mg/kg, have been studied in four pregnant sheep. Cardiac output (CO) decreased from a baseline of 4.49 +/- 0.91 l/min (mean +/- s.e.m.) to 4.19 +/- 0.87 at 3 min, 3.69 +/- 0.76 at 5 min, and 3.35 +/- 0.77 at 15 min post infusion and returned to baseline by 1 h post infusion. Maternal blood pressure (MBP) decreased from 114 +/- 9 to a nadir of 69 +/- 8 mmHg at 15 min post infusion. Uterine artery blood flow (UTABF) increased from 256 +/- 88 to 317 +/- 132 ml/min at 3 min post infusion, but this was not statistically significant. Maternal acidosis, hypercapnia, and hypoxemia also developed during the first 15 min post infusion. Although fetal blood pressure (FBP) decreased throughout the 1st h post infusion, statistically significant changes in FBP or fetal heart rate (FHR) were not observed. Umbilical artery blood flow (UMABF) increased from 188 +/- 58 to 211 +/- 68 1/min at 5 min post infusion and declined thereafter. This change was also statistically significant. As in the ewe the fetus developed acidosis and hypoxemia, but hypercapnia, although present, was not statistically significant. A single animal was studied following i.v. infusion of delta 9-THC (1 mg/kg). More pronounced effects, including a decrease in UTABF and UMABF, were noted. The sheep were maintained under pentobarbital anesthesia for the duration of the study.

Nonfamilial, vibration-induced angioedema.

Vibratory angioedema is a rare form of physical angioedema. A Mexican-American boy presented with vibration-related prolonged angioedema of the hands at age 16. After the use of a controlled vibratory stimulus, 10 volunteers and seven members of the family (three generations) developed expected transient erythema and whealing reaction of the skin at the site of contact. However, with the same vibrating stimulus the patient developed large erythematous swelling that lasted for 12 hr. Vibratory challenge study revealed a rapid rise and fall in plasma histamine. No increase in levels of plasma histamine were detected from the nonstimulated arm. Prausnitz-Küstner testing was negative. Light and electron microscopic study of the mast cell revealed degranulation and extensive fragmentation of the granules from the stimulated site. No degranulation was seen in the contralateral unstimulated site. A state of tolerance to vibration was induced by graded increased exposure to vibratory stimulus and the patient's clinical problem was eliminated.

Correlation of biological activity and high-pressure liquid chromatographic retention index for a series of propranolol, barbiturate, and anthranilic acid analogues.

The antiarrhythmic activity of propranolol analogues, the inotropic activity of propranolol analogues, the anti-inflammatory activity of anthranilic acids, the hypnotic activity of barbiturates, and the inhibition of cell division by barbiturates were correlated with either octanol--water partition coefficients or with high-pressure liquid chromatographic retention indices. The retention index, which was a scale based on the relative retention of the drug and a series of C3--C23 2-ketoalkanes, was found to give higher correlations with biological activity than was found between octanol--water partition coefficients and biological activity. Only in the case of the anthranilic acids was the retention index found to give the lower correlation.

Relationship of nonspecific antiarrhythmic and negative inotropic activity with physicochemical parameters of propranolol analogues.

In an attempt to separate the nonspecific antiarrhythmic activity of propranolol from its negative inotropic effects, analogues containing hydrophilic and lipophilic substituents on the nitrogen and on the naphthyl ring were prepared and tested in an isolated tissue preparation. Though it had been predicted that analogues containing a very hydrophilic group on the nitrogen would have the highest antiarrhythmic/negative inotropic effect ratio, it was found that both effects increased identically when the lipophilicity of either the nitrogen or ring substituent was increased.