Five-year longitudinal study of efficacy and safety of purified Vero cell rabies vaccine for post-exposure prophylaxis of rabies in Indian population.

Three hundred and nine (309) persons, vaccinated against rabies with Purified Vero-cell Rabies (PVR) vaccine from 1991-1995, were included in this five-year longitudinal study. This study was conducted to observe the consistency, immunogenicity, inocuity, safety and efficacy of this vaccine under field conditions. All the 309 persons attended our centre after taking post-exposure vaccination following bites by suspected rabid animals or contact with hydrophobia patients for antirabies antibody titre estimation. The vaccine was very well tolerated by vaccinees with only 7 per cent, complaining of mild to moderate side reactions. On an average, every year 70-100 vaccinees reported at this centre after PVR vaccination. The epidemiological characteristics of rabies based on above data are also discussed in this paper. Serological response, i.e., antirabies antibody titre following vaccination in all these persons were found to be satisfactory with mean antibody titre of 4.25 I.U./ml.

Hypocholesterolemic effect of guargum in overweight adults.

The present investigation was undertaken to study the effect of guargum on plasma cholesterol levels of overweight adults. The consumption of 15 g guargum with normal diet for six weeks produced significant reduction in plasma total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and total cholesterol to HDL-cholesterol ratio. However, HDL-cholesterol levels were not effected by fibre intake.

Radioprotective effects of the immunomodulator AS101.

Ammonium trichloro(dioxyethylene-O-O')tellurate (AS101) is a new synthetic compound previously described by us as having immunomodulating properties and minimal toxicity. Clinical trials are currently in progress with AS101 on AIDS and cancer patients. We found that AS101 was capable of inducing spleen cells and peritoneal exudate cells to secrete high quantities of CSF and IL-1. Because IL-1 has been previously described as a radioprotector and CSF may induce in vivo the proliferation of hemopoietic cells, we designed the present study in order to evaluate the effects of prolonged in vivo injections of AS101 on protection against lethal doses of irradiation, on the recovery pattern of precursor cells, and on the functioning of bone marrow (BM) and spleen cells of mice undergoing sublethal doses of treatment. We demonstrate that pretreatment with AS101 protects mice from lethal effects of ionizing radiation. AS101 was also found to significantly increase the number of BM and spleen cells, the absolute number of granulocyte macrophage-CFU and the secretion of CSF by BM cells. All were tested 9 days after sublethal dose of irradiation was administered. AS101 was found to have all of these radioprotective effects only when administered to mice before irradiation treatment. Moreover, the compound was found to enhance the proportion of CFU-S that enters the S phase of the cell cycle. These findings indicate that AS101 may be a promising agent to be used in reducing the time needed for reconstitution of hemopoietic cells after irradiation treatment.

Dapsone drug compliance study among leprosy patients: a comparison between qualitative and quantitative methods.

The methods currently employed to monitor self-administration of dapsone have been evaluated by comparing the results of the qualitative spot test and quantitative DDS/creatinine ratio test. Random urine samples of 242 leprosy patients, periodically attending the Leprosy Clinic were tested. Although a good correlation between the results of the two tests was evident, the DDS/creatinine ratio technique appeared to be more sensitive than the spot test. The concentration of DDS and its metabolites in urine specimens found to be negative by the spot test, ranged from 3.32-12.37 micrograms of DDS/mg creatinine. The spot test was found to be more specific and stays to be the method of choice, when rapidity and reproducibility are the prime objectives, and sensitivity can be marginally compromised. Acidification of urine prior to the spot test was found to be desirable to rule out false negative and false positive reactions.