Effect of goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) and kava kava (Piper methysticum) supplementation on digoxin pharmacokinetics in humans.

Phytochemical-mediated modulation of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and other drug transporters may give rise to many herb-drug interactions. Serial plasma concentration-time profiles of the P-gp substrate, digoxin, were used to determine whether supplementation with goldenseal or kava kava modified P-gp activity in vivo. Twenty healthy volunteers were randomly assigned to receive a standardized goldenseal (3210 mg daily) or kava kava (1227 mg daily) supplement for 14 days, followed by a 30-day washout period. Subjects were also randomized to receive rifampin (600 mg daily, 7 days) and clarithromycin (1000 mg daily, 7 days) as positive controls for P-gp induction and inhibition, respectively. Digoxin (Lanoxin, 0.5 mg) was administered p.o. before and at the end of each supplementation and control period. Serial digoxin plasma concentrations were obtained over 24 h and analyzed by chemiluminescent immunoassay. Comparisons of area under the curve (AUC)((0-3)), AUC((0-24)), C(max,) CL/F, and elimination half-life were used to assess the effects of goldenseal, kava kava, rifampin, and clarithromycin on digoxin pharmacokinetics. Rifampin produced significant reductions (p < 0.01) in AUC((0-3)), AUC((0-24)), CL/F, t(1/2), and C(max), whereas clarithromycin increased these parameters significantly (p < 0.01). With the exception of goldenseal's effect on C(max) (14% increase), no statistically significant effects on digoxin pharmacokinetics were observed following supplementation with either goldenseal or kava kava. When compared with rifampin and clarithromycin, supplementation with these specific formulations of goldenseal or kava kava did not appear to affect digoxin pharmacokinetics, suggesting that these supplements are not potent modulators of P-gp in vivo.     

Inhibition of phosphoribosylpyrophosphate synthetase by 4-methoxy-(MRPP) and 4-amino-8-(D-ribofuranosylamino) pyrimido[5,4-d]pyrimidine (ARPP)

The basis for the antitumor activities of the exocyclic amino nucleosides 4-amino-(ARPP) and 4-methoxy-8-(D-ribofuranosylamino)pyrimido[5,4-d]pyrimidine (MRPP) was investigated. The primary target of these nucleosides appeared to be 5-phospho-alpha-D-ribofuranose-1-pyrophosphate (PRPP) synthetase. MRPP-5'-monophosphate was a competitive inhibitor (Ki = 40 microM) of the activation of this enzyme by the cofactor inorganic phosphate (K alpha = 2.2 mM). Consequently, ARPP and MRPP treatment of WI-L2 cultures rapidly inhibited both de novo pyrimidine and purine synthesis as well as the nucleotide salvage reactions dependent on PRPP, ARPP or MRPP treatment completely prevented [14C]bicarbonate incorporation into acid-soluble pyrimidine and purine nucleotides. The rate of salvage of [8-14C]hypoxanthine to form IMP was decreased by 85%. Treatment of cells with these agents caused a 50% reduction in the steady-state level of PRPP. When the capacity of the treated cells for sustained synthesis of PRPP was examined by adenine incorporation, the rate of adenine uptake was inhibited by greater than 50%. In vivo treatment of BDF1 mice with a single dose of ARPP (173 mg/kg) or MRPP (62 mg/kg) extended the mean life span of the mice, which had been inoculated intraperitoneally 1 day earlier with 1 x 10(6) L1210 murine leukemia cells, by 62 and 82% respectively. These studies indicate that MRPP and ARPP inhibit PRPP synthetase, and that PRPP synthetase may be a viable target in the development of certain antitumor agents.     

The recognition of emotional expression in prosopagnosia: decoding whole and part faces.

Prosopagnosia is currently viewed within the constraints of two competing theories of face recognition, one highlighting the analysis of features, the other focusing on configural processing of the whole face. This study investigated the role of feature analysis versus whole face configural processing in the recognition of facial expression. A prosopagnosic patient, SC made expression decisions from whole and incomplete (eyes-only and mouth-only) faces where features had been obscured. SC was impaired at recognizing some (e.g., anger, sadness, and fear), but not all (e.g., happiness) emotional expressions from the whole face. Analyses of his performance on incomplete faces indicated that his recognition of some expressions actually improved relative to his performance on the whole face condition. We argue that in SC interference from damaged configural processes seem to override an intact ability to utilize part-based or local feature cues.     

Impaired coagulation in accidental hypothermia of the elderly

Six elderly patients with accidental hypothermia were prospectively evaluated for impaired coagulation. All patients had abnormal coagulation profiles. Three patients with severe coagulopathies and serious underlying conditions died while hypothermic. Despite investigation, no cause for disordered coagulation was found in four patients. We conclude that hypothermia per se contributes to disordered coagulation in the elderly.     

Dose estimation in strontium-89 radiotherapy of metastatic prostatic carcinoma.

Strontium-89 radiotherapy is becoming an important treatment in the palliation of bone pain from osteoblastic metastases. The absorbed dose delivered to bone metastases during 89Sr radiotherapy has been estimated in four patients with metastatic prostatic carcinoma. Patients were injected with a tracer dose of 85Sr-chloride. Blood and urine samples were obtained during the week following injection. Strontium-85 scintigrams of metastases and normal bone were obtained up to 8 wk postinjection. Half of the patients showed elevated whole-body retention; plasma-strontium concentrations were decreased from normal values. Uptake of strontium in metastases was 2-25 times that in normal bone but rates of washout of strontium from metastases were similar to those from normal bone. Absorbed doses delivered in infinite time to the metastases by 89Sr ranged from 21 +/- 4 to 231 +/- 56 cGy/MBq with a median value of 68 cGy/MBq. Doses to red marrow were less by a factor of 2 to 50. These absorbed doses are sufficiently large to be expected to produce a therapeutic benefit.     

Measuring maternal mortality: An overview of opportunities and options for developing countries

Background  

There is currently an unprecedented expressed need and demand for estimates of maternal mortality in developing countries. This has been stimulated in part by the creation of a Millennium Development Goal that will be judged partly on the basis of reductions in maternal mortality by 2015.     

Models of face recognition and delusional misidentification: a critical review

The "two-route model of face recognition" proposed by Bauer (1984) and adopted by Ellis and Young (1990), has become a widely accepted model in studies of face processing disorders, including both prosopagnosia and the delusional misidentification syndromes. We review the origin and application of the two-route model of face recognition in examining both the neuroanatomical pathways and the cognitive pathways to face recognition. With respect to the neuroanatomy, we conclude that face recognition is subserved by a single pathway, the ventral visual pathway, as there is no evidence to suggest that the dorsal visual pathway is capable of visual recognition or of providing an affective response to familiar stimuli. We demonstrate how operation of the ventral visual pathway and its connections to the amygdala can parsimoniously account for the findings in the literature on prosopagnosia and delusional misidentification syndromes. In addition, we propose a cognitive model of face processing stemming from the work of Bruce and Young (1986). Our model involves two pathways subsequent to the system responsible for face recognition: one pathway to a system containing semantic and biographical information about the seen face, and a second pathway to a system responsible for the generation of an affective response to faces that are familiar. We demonstrate how this cognitive model can explain the dissociations between overt and covert recognition observed in prosopagnosia and the Capgras delusion.     

102T/C polymorphism of serotonin receptor type 2A gene is not associated with schizophrenia in either Chinese or British populations

Several pieces of evidence implicate serotonin receptors in the aetiology of schizophrenia, and recently a number of studies have reported a genetic association between the 102T/C polymorphism of serotonin receptor type 2A gene and schizophrenia. Unfortunately a number of failures to replicate these positive associations in both Caucasian and Chinese populations have also been reported. We have examined the 102T/C polymorphism by PCR amplification and restriction analysis of DNA from: 202 schizophrenics and 202 controls from Shanghai; 112 schizophrenics and 224 parents from Chengdu, Cina; and 253 schizophrenics and 244 controls from the the UK. We find no evidence of association or transmission disequilibrium between the 102T/C polymorphism and schizophrenia in any of the groups we have examined. We conclude that either the original positive reports occurred by chance or any effect must be minimal, and urge caution in interpreting small positive results derived using data from different centres.