This report describes two patients who received verapamil because of supraventricular arrhythmias. The patients both developed severe hypotension and signs of left ventricular compromise. The hypotension and left ventricular compromise were promptly reversed by administration of intravenous calcium chloride. The dramatic improvement was documented clinically and in one case by two-dimensional echocardiography.

Arrhythmias, Cardiac↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Climatotherapy of psoriasis and hypertension in elderly patients at the Dead-Sea.

The responses of various age-groups of psoriatic patients to a four-week period of climatotherapy at the Dead-Sea was compared in three separate studies. In the first study, plaque clearance following climatotherapy was evaluated in a group of 688 psoriatics, as a function of age, sex and duration of the disease. Neither the age of the patient when treated, nor the duration of the disease, appeared to influence the degree of plaque clearance. However, when the age at onset of the disease was evaluated as the comparative parameter-a decrease in the rate of response with increasing patients' age was recorded. In the second study, the type and incidence of side effects after climatotherapy was studied in 502 patients aged over 65, and in more than 4,500 younger psoriatics. There was no difference in the type and frequency of side effects between the two age-groups. The most frequent side effects were: slight sun burn (8.2%), sun allergy (5.0%), common cold (3.4%), leg oedema (2.0%), diarrhea (1.4%) and herpes simplex (0.8%). In all cases the side-effects disappeared within a few days. In the third study, the reduction in the diastolic and systolic blood pressures in a group of 1,142 hypertensive psoriatics was evaluated as a function of time. It was demonstrated that while there was no significant age-dependent difference in lowering their diastolic blood pressure throughout the study, differences in lowering systolic measurements between the younger (< 40 y) and older (> 65 y) hypertensive patients were highly significant. On the basis of these studies we conclude that psoriatics aged 65 and over benefit from climatotherapy at the Dead-Sea no less than younger patients, and that, irrespective of age, high blood pressure is not a contraindication for this treatment in psoriatic patients at the Dead-Sea.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Fluoro-clomiphene and its synthetic precursors: synthesis and receptor binding.

In an attempt to synthesize compounds with selective estrogen-receptor binding, fluoro- and amino-clomiphene were totally synthesized from benzyl chloride, and their estrogenic/antiestrogenic activity as well as that of some of their chemical intermediates was evaluated. The triazene prepared from the amino-clomiphene was converted into fluoro-clomiphene with 39% yield. In the uterotropic test, both amino- and fluoro-clomiphene exerted mild equipotent estrogenic activity, with minimal saturation doses being 50 and 100 micrograms/rat/day for three days. In the receptor binding test both derivatives demonstrated similar displacement, with an A50% value in the 10(-5) M range, as compared to 10(-6) M for clomiphene and 10(-9) M for diethyl-stilbestrol. This synthesis may be useful for the preparation of 18F-labeled clomiphene for biodistribution studies.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The Dead Sea and psoriasis. Historical and geographic background.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Balneology↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Efficacy of sustained-release radioprotective drugs in vivo.

In previous publications from this laboratory we suggested the use of radioprotective drugs in a sustained-release form as a practical way to cope with their high toxicity and quick metabolism and excretion. Cysteine and cysteamine, well-established radioprotectants, were used as model drugs and compressed at various concentrations (0-65%) into an insoluble tablet matrix, composed of ethylcellulose and stearic acid at various ratios and compression pressures. We demonstrated in vitro that when the release rate of the radioprotectants was measured under nitrogen, the kinetic data conformed with the Higuchi square root of time equation, indicating that the release of both drugs correlates with Higuchi's diffusional mechanism. In the present in vivo study, tablets containing cysteine or cysteamine in a slow-release matrix were implanted, into the stomachs of female rats. The rats were irradiated at various time intervals up to 12 h after implantation and their survival recorded daily. Utilizing a 1:3 ratio of ethylcellulose:stearic acid as a matrix, the protective effect of the drugs was remarkable eight hours after tablet implantation. The results reported indicate that slow-release tablet formulation is a possible method for delivering of radioprotective drugs over an extended period of time.

Animals↗