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Biomedical subjects

W B Strum

Publications and source records attributed to W B Strum.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Update on traveler's diarrhea.

Traveler's diarrhea affects a substantial number of travelers to high-risk areas of the world. The key to controlling this troublesome disease is prevention. The most important preventive measures depend on educating patients to consume only safe foods and pure water. Physicians cannot overemphasize the importance of avoiding high-risk foods and of boiling water if a safe water supply is not available. Prophylactic medications are a secondary consideration and should be prescribed with discretion. In most cases, diarrhea is mild and self-limited, requiring only fluid and electrolyte replacement and perhaps an antidiarrheal agent. In moderate to severe cases, the addition of an antimicrobial agent may be of benefit. Until an efficacious polyvalent vaccine is developed, caution and common sense, together with discretionary dietary and hygienic practices, are the best defenses against traveler's diarrhea. The ultimate solution is greatly improved sanitation and personal hygiene, especially in high-risk countries. However, only dreamers will consider waiting for this transformation to occur.

Diarrhea

Effect of ethanol and other aliphatic alcohols on the intestinal transport of folates.

The effect of ethanol and other aliphatic alcohols on the intestinal transport of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate and folic acid was examined using everted sacs from rat jejunum. Ethanol added to the mucosal medium inhibited the transport of both folate compounds in a parallel manner, and the inhibition increased with increasing ethanol concentration (0.5-10% v/v). Ethanol at 3% v/v in the mucosal medium caused: depression in the pH dependency of the active transport of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate; higher inhibition in the transport of low concentration (0.1 microM) than high concentration (10 microM) of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, and inhibition in the active accumulation against a concentration gradient of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate and L-leucine. Methanol, propanol and butanol also inhibited the transport of the folate compounds; and in general, the inhibitory effect increased with the increase in the number of carbon atoms in the hydrophobic chain. This study indicates that ethanol and other alcohols inhibit the intestinal transport of folates, that the degree of inhibition is related to the concentration and chain length of the alcohol, that the inhibition is not specific for folates and finally that the mechanism of inhibition is multifactorial.

Alcohols

Prevention of duodenal ulcer recurrence.

Recurrent duodenal ulcers, treated with cimetidine, 400 mg, or ranitidine, 150 mg, once nightly, or with sucralfate, 1 g twice daily, can be prevented in approximately 75% of patients for up to 1 year. Because these drugs are generally of equal efficacy, the choice is based on the patient's previous drug experience and tolerance, potential side effects, risk of drug interaction, frequency of administration, and cost. These medications do not alter the natural history of duodenal ulcer disease, and therapy may need to continue for longer than 1 year if there are no long-term side effects. Extra efforts should be made to help cigarette smokers discontinue smoking. Patients who have recurrent duodenal ulcers during maintenance therapy can be retreated with full-dose therapy. If optimal drug therapy is unsuccessful in preventing frequent recurrences or complications, surgical treatment is indicated.

Anti-Ulcer Agents

Remote recurrence of renal cell carcinoma.

A fifty-nine-year-old man with abnormal liver function tests, fever, and weight loss was found to have a recurrence of renal cell carcinoma which had been latent for twenty-two years. Reactive hepatitis was a prominent associated finding. The important features of remote recurrence of renal cell carcinoma are discussed.

Adenocarcinoma

Inhibitory effect of unconjugated bile acids on the intestinal transport of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate in rat jejunum in vitro.

The effect of the unconjugated bile acids, cholic, deoxycholic, chenodeoxycholic, and ursodeoxycholic acids, and of the conjugated bile acid taurocholic acid on the mucosal-to-serosal transport and tissue uptake of the naturally occurring folate derivative, 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-CH3H4PteGlu) was examined in everted sacs of rat jejunum. Each of the unconjugated bile acids examined inhibited the transport and tissue uptake of 5-CH3H4PteGlu in a concentration dependent manner. At low concentrations (0.01-0.1 mM) of cholic and deoxycholic acids, no structural or functional damage to the intestinal mucosa occurred and the transport of 5-CH3H4PteGlu was inhibited competitively with Ki values of 0.114 mM and 0.055 mM for cholic and deoxycholic acids, respectively. The greater inhibition of 5-CH3H4PteGlu transport by unconjugated bile acids at 1 mM can be attributed to observed structural and functional damage to the intestinal mucosa. The addition of 2 mM lecithin to the mucosal medium failed to prevent the inhibitory effect of 0.1 mM deoxycholic acid on the transport of 0.5 microM 5-CH3H4PteGlu. Compared with the effect of unconjugated bile acids, the conjugated bile acid taurocholic acid (0.01-5 mM) showed no effect on the transport and tissue uptake of 5-CH3H4PteGlu. The results of this study show that intestinal transport and tissue uptake of 5-CH3H4PteGlu are inhibited by unconjugated bile acids in a dose-dependent fashion. The clinical and physiological implications of these observations are discussed.

Animals