Therapeutic effectiveness of ristomycin in the visceral form of actinomycosis (experimental research)

Therapeutic efficacy of ristomycin in visceral actinomycosis, a severe disease difficult for diagnosis requiring long-term complex therapy was studied on 24 rabbits. The animals were divided into 4 groups. A model of thoracal actinomycosis was developed. 7 rabbits were treated with ristomycin. The other 7 rabbits were treated with ristomycin in combination with actinolysate, a specific immune preparation. 5 rabbits were treated with actinolysate alone and the other 5 rabbits received no treatment. alone and especially in combination with actinolysate was an efficient therapeutic agent for treatment of severe visceral actinomycosis. This allowed to recommend ristomycin for clinical trials in treatment of the disease.     

Study on the therapeutic effects of interferon and gamma-globulin in experimental Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia]

This study was performed to observe the therapeutic effects of interferon-gamma(IFN-gamma) and gamma-globulin(gamma-globulin) in experimental Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia of immune suppressed mice. After 9 weeks, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole(TMP-SMZ; 10-50 mg/mouse/day), mouse IFN-gamma(5 x 10(4) units/mouse/day) and mouse gamma-globulin(20 mg/mouse/day) were administered to the mice for 3 weeks by the experimental group. The therapeutic efficacy was evaluated by body weights, histopathologic and electron microscopic findings of the lungs, and number of P. carinii cysts by Gomori's methenamine silver stain. Body weights of the mice were significantly increased in the group of combination therapy of TMP-SMZ with IFN-gamma or gamma-globulin, and in the group of TMP-SMZ treatment (p < 0.05), however, little effect was found in the group of gamma-globulin alone. Histopathologic findings of P. carinii pneumonia were much improved in the group of combination therapy of TMP-SMZ with IFN-gamma. Treatment with either TMP-SMZ or IFN-gamma significantly reduced the number of cysts in the P. carinii pneumonia, but gamma-globulin alone was ineffective. In electron microscopic findings of P. carinii pneumonia, the number of trophozoites and cysts were reduced by treatment with either TMP-SMZ or IFN-gamma, and most of the cysts were empty or containing one or two intracystic bodies. The present results suggested, that combination therapy of TMP-SMZ with IFN-gamma had synergistic effects in treatment of P. carinii pneumonia in experimental mice.     

Reconstruction of intact gamma-globulin from S-sulfonated gamma-globulin in vivo.

The conversion of the S-surfonate group in a peptide to a disulfide bond has been observed in vitro. This paper reports that the conversion of this group in human S-sulfonated gamma-globulin (S-GG) appeared to occur in vivo judging from the change in molecular weight of S-GG observed in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and the restoration of hemolytic activity.