To determine the adjuvant potential of artemisinin with a soluble leishmanial antigen in vaccinating BALB/c mice.
Seventy two female BALB/c mice were randomly assigned into six groups. The mice were vaccinated with soluble leishmania antigens (SLA) alone, artemisinin co-administered with SLA, SLA and Bacille Calmette Guérin (BCG) vaccine, and artemisinin and BCG alone. Unvaccinated mice formed the control group. The induction of cell-mediated immunity following vaccination was determined by measuring in vitro lymphocyte proliferation and the production of interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5 and gamma interferon (IFN-γ) determined by flow cytometry. Protection against L. major was determined by quantifying parasite burdens in L. major infected footpads using a limiting dilution assay and by measuring lesion sizes of the infected footpad compared to the contralateral uninfected footpad.
Mice receiving SLA plus artemisinin produced significantly high levels of IL-4 and IL-5 (P < 0.05) and low levels of IFN-γ, resulting in exacerbated disease. In addition, subcutaneous administration of SLA + artemisinin, artemisinin alone or SLA alone resulted in the development of large footpad swellings and high parasite loads that were comparable to those of the control unvaccinated mice (P > 0.05), resulting in exacerbated disease.
These data suggest that artemisinin is not a suitable adjuvant for Leishmania vaccines. However, since artemisinin has been shown to be effective against Leishmania parasites in vitro and in vivo, further studies ought to be conducted to determine its immunochemotherapeutic potential when co-administered with Leishmania antigens.
To investigated the apical constriction morphology of maxillary first premolars in the Chinese population.
Eighty recently extracted human maxillary first premolars from a native Chinese population were used. The number and shape of apical constrictions were recorded under a dental operating microscope (DOM) at 12.5 × 2.5 magnification. After access preparation, a new K-file was inserted into the canal until the tip of the file was just seen at the apical constriction under the DOM. The teeth with files in the canals were X-rayed from a mesiodistal direction using a direct digital radiography (DDR) system, and the distance between the file tip and the center of radiographic apex was directly measured from the computer screen using DDR measurement software.
The percentage of teeth with an apical constriction was 78.5% (102/130). The most common apical constriction shapes were oval (55.9%) and round (35.3%). The mean distance between the apical constriction and the anatomical tip of the root was 0.61 mm, and 84.3% (86/102) were within 1 mm.
The most common shape of an apical constriction was oval or round, and the distance to the apex was mostly within 1 mm, indicating that root canal therapy should stop 1 mm from the radiographic apex.
To assess the efficacy and toxicity of gefitinib as a single agent treatment in Chinese patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Forty-five patients with advanced NSCLC were treated with gefitinib at 250 mg daily until the disease progressed or the patient could not tolerate the toxicity.
None of the patients achieved a complete response (CR), while 15 patients achieved a partial remission (PR) and 17 experienced a stable disease (SD). Thirteen patients continued to have a progressive disease (PD). The response rate and the disease control rate were 33.3% and 71.1%, respectively. The symptom remission rate was 72.5%, and the median remission time was 8 days. The median survival time was 15.3 months. The median progression-free survival time was 6.0 months. The most common toxicities included rash (53.3%) and diarrhea (33.3%). Dehydration and pruritus of the skin developed in 26.7% and 22.2% of the patients, respectively. Hepatic toxicity occurred in 6.7% of patients and oral ulceration occurred in 4.4% of patients.
Single agent treatment with gefitinib is effective against advanced NSCLC, and is well tolerated in Chinese patients.
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