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Biomedical subjects

L Molin

Publications and source records attributed to L Molin.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

The effect of thymopentin treatment on the relapse rate in frequently relapsing herpes simplex virus infections.

Twenty-four patients suffering from longstanding severe recurrent herpes simplex, who had not responded to prior therapy, were treated with s.c. thymopentin injections 50 mg, three times weekly, over a period of six weeks. They were followed up at weekly intervals over this period and then six weeks later. Moreover, the longest relapse-free period observed in the year after the treatment was recorded in the investigator's documentation. Thirteen of the 14 patients with labial herpes simplex and 10 of the 13 patients with genital herpes simplex improved markedly as shown by a decrease in the relapse rate of at least 50%, shorter episodes of relapse and improvement of symptoms such as pain and itching. Fourteen of these 27 patients experienced no relapse for a period longer than four months after cessation of the therapy. No serious side-effects were observed. Laboratory examinations before, during and after thymopentin did not reveal significant alterations except for an increase in the T-helper/T-suppressor ratio. The effect of thymopentin is assumed to be due to T-helper cell activation resulting in enhanced interleukin-2 production with subsequent proliferation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes and natural killer cells which are capable of producing immune interferon.

Adult↗

First observations on high-dosed and long-term thymopentin treatment in active rheumatoid arthritis.

In this pilot study carried out in two centres, six male and two female patients with severe active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (average duration over 10 years) were treated with thymopentin 50 mg in the form of prolonged i.v. injection (over 10 min), 3 times weekly for 3 to 20 weeks. Two of these patients were subsequently treated with different s.c. doses of thymopentin in a crossover fashion for more than two years, including periods without any treatment or treatment with placebo. The overall clinical efficacy was judged by assessing pain patterns and joint status and the functional stage of the patients according to Steinbrocker; in addition, the sedimentation rate was measured before and after the therapy. Seven out of eight patients showed definite improvement in their clinical status as assessed by the Steinbrocker scale. Most of the symptoms, particularly pain, capsular swelling, tenderness and morning stiffness, were remarkably reduced within 3 weeks of thymopentin treatment. Sedimentation rate decreased in five out of eight patients. Prolonged i.v. injections seemed to have somewhat better effects than s.c. administration; in the latter group the highest dose (3 X 100 mg/week or higher) produced the best results. During placebo treatment and during the medication-free intervals both groups of patients got worse. No side-effects occurred during the study.

Adult↗

Reproducibility of standard preparation in digoxin radioimmunoassay in plasma and serum.

We studied the reproducibility of standard preparations in digoxin radioimmunoassay in a randomized trial using serum and plasma as matrices. The errors expressed relative to the observed counts per minute (cpm) attributable to each of the procedures involved in the preparation of standards were as follows: preparation of stock solutions and dilutions, 1.3%; addition of diluted solutions to the medium, 1.2%; and residual error due to the assay procedure, 3.7%. No error caused by mixing, portioning, and storage was detected. Heparinized plasma gave lower cpm values than serum at 4.0 ng/ml (p less than 0.01), an effect that would give over- or underestimations by about 5% at that level, depending on the medium used. This suggests that standard and sample matrices should be similar. Our procedure for preparing the standards seems to be reasonably reliable; this is necessary for satisfactory monitoring of patients on digitalis therapy.

Digoxin↗

Granulocyte-mediated release of histamine from mast cells. Effect of myeloperoxidase and its inhibition by antiinflammatory sulfone compounds.

During phagocytosis, neutrophilic and eosinophilic granulocytes undergo metabolic activation and degranulation. This leads to accumulation of H2O2 and myeloperoxidase (MPO) or eosinophilic peroxidase (EPO) in the extracellular environment in inflammation. In the present investigation we show that the MPO-H2O2-halide system can degranulate isolated mast cells with release of histamine and 3H-serotonin. This is accomplished both in a system containing purified human MPO and in one containing phagocytosing neutrophils. When using purified MPO and a H2O2-generating system, the release was rapid, with 50% release after less than 20 min. The direct histamine release required less (0.65-2 micrograms/ml) MPO than did the release of 3H-serotonin (1-6 micrograms/ml). The release reaction was inhibited by azide, catalase but not superoxide dismutase. Studying the effect of the antiinflammatory sulfone compounds dapsone and sulfapyridine on the MPO-mediated histamine release, we show effective inhibition of the histamine release at concentrations of 0.025-0.2 mM of sulfone. 5-aminosalicylic acid exhibited some inhibition only in the cell-free system, whereas sulfasalazine was inactive. The antiinflammatory effect of dapsone in dermatitis herpetiformis and sulfasalazine in ulcerative colitis may in part be explained by their inhibitory effects on the granulocyte-mediated histamine release from mast cells in skin and mucosal tissue.

Anti-Inflammatory Agents↗

[Sacroiliitis].

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Arthritis↗

Oral retinoid in combination with bleomycin, cyclophosphamide, prednisone and transfer factor in mycosis fungoides.

Oral retinoids seem to have been of great benefit in a non-randomized study on advanced mycosis fungoides using two different chemotherapy regimens, one with retinoid, the other without. Both groups also received a 3-drug chemotherapy with bleomycin, cyclophosphamide and prednisone. Complete remission including all signs of lymph-node involvement was found in 8 of 10 patients of the retinoid treated group, while none went into complete remission in the control group. All in the control group died between 3 and 12 months after therapy, whereas all but one in the retinoid treated group are alive. Other treatment differences between the groups were related to the use of transfer factor, topical treatment, and steroid administration. These differences make a final evaluation of the use of retinoids in mycosis fungoides difficult at the present stage. Further studies are needed.

Administration, Oral↗

Determination of tritiated digoxin and metabolites in urine by liquid chromatography.

A liquid chromatographic method for the determination of digoxin, digoxigenin, its mono- and bisdigitoxoside and dihydrodigoxin in urine is described. Doses of 100 muCi of [12 alpha-3H]digoxin and 0.5 mg (640 nmol) of digoxin were administered orally to eight healthy volunteers. The compounds were extracted from urine with methylene chloride containing 3% of heptafluorobutanol. After separation, fractions corresponding to digoxin and the metabolites were measured by liquid scintillation counting. Conjugates of the glycoside metabolites were determined indirectly after pre-treatment of the samples with beta-glucuronidase-arylsulphatase. The detection limit was 0.1 nmol/l. Metabolites amounting to 0.5% of digoxin were assayed with a relative standard deviation of 5%. The advantages of the method are a high recovery in the extraction step, short separation times and the possibility of separate assay of dihydrodigoxin.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗

Precision of digoxin radioimmunoassays and matrix effects: four kits compared.

We studied the interference of the sample matrix on digoxin radioimmunoassays using four commercial kits. Plasma samples from non-digitalized patients of the following categories were assayed: uncomplicated essential hypertension treated with spironolactone, uremia, and acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Digoxin 2.50 nmol/L was added to all samples. Digoxin in plasma from patients on spironolactone was overestimated by two of the kits (means 2.77 and 2.68 nmol/L, respectively; p less than 0.01) and underestimated in samples from uremic patients by one kit (2.32 nmol/L; p less than 0.01). The digoxin content of AMI plasma was overestimated by one kit (2.62 nmol/L; p less than 0.05). Significant differences were found between radioimmunoassays when estimating digoxin concentration in the same category of patient and within individual methods used for different categories. Precision expressed as 95% confidence intervals ranged from 0.43 to 0.80 nmol/L for the kits. Thus, deviations in recorded digoxin concentrations from the true values found, but were of secondary importance because of the relatively low precision of the assays.

Digoxin↗

Photochemotherapy (PUVA) in the pretumour stage of mycosis fungoides: a report from the Scandinavian Mycosis Fungoides Study Group.

Fifty-one patients with mycosis fungoides of pretumour stage were treated with oral 8-MOP and UVA photochemotherapy (PUVA). Complete remission was induced within 2--3 months in 58% of the cases. Twenty-seven patients are still in remission on maintenance therapy 9--53 months after starting treatment. In 9 cases PUVA treatment was stopped due to therapeutic failure and in another 15 cases due to various side effects. Maintenance therapy was given weekly, monthly, or at even longer intervals. Maintenance at long intervals seems preferable.

Adolescent↗

Photochemotherapy (PUVA) in the tumour stage of mycosis fungoides: a report from the Scandinavian Mycosis Fungoides Study Group.

Twenty-five patients with mycosis fungoides in the tumour stage were treated with oral 8-Methoxypsoralen followed by UVA (PUVA), sometimes in combination with topical or systemic chemotherapy. In 17 patients the disease was confined to the skin, in 7 lymph nodes also were involved, and one had visceral involvement. Complete and partial remission was achieved in 14/17 patients with the disease limited to the skin (82%), and partial remission of the skin lesions in 5/8 patients with extracutaneous location.

Adult↗

Gluten-free diet for dermatitis herpetiformis: the long-term effect on cutaneous, immunological and jejunal manifestations.

In 32 patients with dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) we studied the effect of gluten-free (22 patients) and gluten-reduced (10 patients) diet for periods ranging between 15 and 43 months. Variables such as cutaneous manifestations, dependence on dapsone, IgA deposits in the skin, small-bowel function, and jejunal mucosal morphology were studied. 59% of the patients on gluten-free diet could stop dapsone medication and remain symptom-free, compared with 10% on gluten-reduced diet. The time needed to achieve this therapeutic response varied from 5 to 31 months. IgA decreased in the skin to a degree which roughly paralleled the morphological normalization of the jejunal mucosa. In no patient, however, did the IgA completely disappear. It is suggested that IgA is not the main factor inducing DH symptoms, but rather a secondary phenomenon. Repeated jejunal biopsies revealed normalization of the mucosal histology in 52% of the patients on gluten-free diet, compared with none in the gluten-reduced diet group.

Adolescent↗

An evaluation method providing confidence intervals applied to radioimmunoassay.

A method for evaluation of radioimmunoassay results is described. The order of the single tubes in each assay run is randomized. A polynomial is fitted to untransformed data (y = counts per minute; x = concentration of curve.A confidence interval is calculated for each sample, taking into account the variance of the standard curve and that of the actual duplicate assay jointly.

Humans↗

Aspects of the treatment of mycosis fungoides. A report from the Scandinavian Mycosis Fungoides Study Group.

The Scandinavian Mycosis Fungoides Study Group includes dermatologic clinics in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The results of the first three years of activity are presented herein. In plaque stage, topical nitrogen mustard was highly effective. Preceding intravenous tolerance induction seems to be of no value. PUVA induced equally high remission rates. Both modalities were also highly effective in cutaneous tumor stage. In advanced tumor stage and in case of extracutaneous involvement systemic chemotherapy was given. Topical treatment alone was more effective on the cutaneous lesions including tumors than systemic chemotherapy alone. Therefore a combination of topical and systemic treatment is recommended in advanced stages of mycosis fungoides.

Bleomycin↗

Combination chemotherapy in the tumour stage of mycosis fungoides with cyclophosphamide, vincristine, vp-16, adriamycin and prednisolone (cop, chop, cavop): a report from the Scandinavian mycosis fungoides study group.

Combination chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, vincristine, VP-16, adriamycin and prednisolone was given in 9 cases of mycosis fungoides in the tumor stage; 3 of these patients received COP, one received CHOP, and 5 CAVOP. Complete remission was obtained in one case and partial remission in 5, the response rate thus being 6/9. It was impossible, however, to maintain remission. The treatment was reduced or withdrawn owing to toxic effects in 4 cases. These forms of combination chemotherapy are beneficial in non-Hodgkin lymphomas but do not seem to be of value in the tumour stage of mycosis fungoides.

Adult↗