Medical edema protection--clinical benefit in patients with chronic deep vein incompetence. A placebo controlled double blind study.

In a randomized placebo controlled parallel double blind study on 40 patients suffering from venous edema in chronic deep vein incompetence, the edema-reducing effect of horse chestnut seed extract vs. placebo, being the main test variable, was demonstrated by hydroplethysmography to be statistically significant. In addition, measurements of leg volume under aggravated conditions (edema provocation) were conducted, which yielded the same results. Additional measurements of leg circumference tendentially confirm the demonstrated clinical efficacy of verum, as is true for phlebody-namometric measurements (pressure at rest, minimum pressure, replenishment time) as well. By measuring the leg volume before and after edema provocation, it could be shown that the clinical benefit for the patient is present in all everyday situations (in movement as well as on sitting or standing). Treatment with an edema protective agent of the horse chestnut seed extract type is thus a useful adjunct to compression therapy. The tested preparation were well tolerated.

Metabolic activities of Lactobacillus brevis. Effect of pH, glucose and butane-2,3-diol.

The effect of pH on the metabolic activities of Lactobacillus brevis was studied. Significant changes in the patterns of volatile components were found at pH 6. Butan-2-ol was formed; the concentration of propan-1-ol was increased by 38,5% at pH 6, 62% at pH 4.5, and 30% at pH 3.0. The effect of glucose and butane-2,3-diol on the production of volatile components was examined. It was shown that propan-1-ol was formed exclusively from glucose, whereas ethyl acetate, butan-2-ol and other unknown substances were formed from butane-2,3-diol. The course of ethyl acetate formation from butane-2,3-diol is discussed.

[Chemical structure and anti-inflammatory activity in the group of substituted indole-3-acetic acids (author's transl)]. / Chemische Struktur und antiphlogistische Wirkung in der Reihe der substituierten Indol-3-essigsäuren.

The chemical structure of the indometacin molecule was systematically modified with the aim of producing a substance with increased anti-inflammatory activity and improved tolerance. In addition to the variations of the methylene group of the indole-3-acetic acid and substituents on the indole nucleus of indometacin, particular attention was paid to the modification of the carboxyl group of the acetic acid side chain. Among the indometacin esters, one derivative, the [1-(4-chlorobenzoyl)-5-methoxy-2-methylindole-3-acetoxy] acetic acid (54), showed an activity approximately twice that of indometacin in the kaolin edema test in the rat paw. Chemical modification of the new compound 54 did not further improve the activity. These studies suggest that specific substitutions on the indole nucleus, in combination with the acetic acid side chain as in 1, and especially the acetoxy acetic acid side chain in 54 are responsible for the high anti-inflammatory activity of this class of substances. Several methods for the synthesis of acemetacin are described.