Permeability of an actinomycoma for ristomycin (experimental studies)

In vitro studies showed that ristomycin was the most active against actinomycetes causing actinomycosis as compared to benzylpenicillin, ampicillin, methicillin and lincomycin. The growth of the test microbes was inhibited by ristomycin in concentrations of 61--122 mg/ml. Since ristomycin was the most active against actinomycetes, its levels in the blood, parenchymatous organs, capsule and pus of actinomycomas of 5 rabbits infected wtih actino nycosis in the submaxillary area were determined. In the control healthy rabbit, the ristomycin levels were determined in the blood and organs. Ristomycin was administered intravenously in a single dose of 7000 mg/kg. Its concentrations in the animals were determined in 2.5 hours. The results of the experiments showed that ristomycin penetrated in therapeutic concentrations into the connective tissue capsule of actinomycoma. As for the other antibiotics tested earlier, they failed to penetrate this barrier. In 3 infected rabbits, ristomycin penetrated even the pus contained in actinomycoma. Ristomycin provides therapeutic concentrations in the disease focus and may produce a satisfactory therapeutic effect in treatment of actinomycosis.     

Therapeutic effectiveness of gamma-globulin on experimental burns

Experiments on rabbits were made to examine excretory-absorption liver function and the blood kallikrein-kinin system after thermal burn and treatment with gamma-globulin immune to burn skin toxin. Immunotherapy leads to a more rapid and effective recovery of the functional indicators in the burnt animals than in burns without or with the treatment by nonimmune preparations. It was demonstrated that specific detoxification plays an important role in multiple modality treatment of burn disease.     

Subclinical form of the American visceral leishmaniasis

The subclinical form of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) shows nonspecific clinical manifestations, with difficulties being frequently met in its clinical characterization and diagnostic confirmation. Thus, the objective of the present study was to define the clinical-laboratory profile of this clinical form. A cohort study was conducted in the state of Maranh?o, Brazil, from January/1998 to December/2000, with monthly follow-up of 784 children aged 0-5 years. Based on the clinical-laboratory parameters reported in the literature, four categories were established, with the children being classified (according to their clinical-evolutive behavior) as asymptomatic (N = 144), as having the subclinical form (N = 33) or the acute form (N = 12) or as subjects "without VL" (N = 595). Multiple discriminant analysis demonstrated that the combination of fever, hepatomegaly, hyperglobulinemia, and increased blood sedimentation rate (BSR) can predict the subclinical form of VL as long as it is not associated with splenomegaly or leukopenia. Subjects with the subclinical form did not show prolonged or intermittent evolution or progression to the acute form of VL. Subclinical cases have a profile differing from the remaining clinical forms of VL, being best characterized by the combination of fever, hepatomegaly, hyperglobulinemia, and increased BSR.     

Chemotherapy of experimental visceral leishmaniasis in the opossum

Visceral leishmaniasis is a severe chronic disease of people and animals. The disease is caused by several subspecies of a protozoal organism, Leishmania donovani. If not treated, visceral leishmaniasis is often fatal. The most commonly used chemotherapeutic agents to treat the disease are pentavalent antimonials, which can be toxic, must be administered by parenteral routes, and are sometimes ineffective. In this study, meglumine antimoniate, a pentavalent antimony, was compared with WR 6026, an 8-aminoquinoline derivative, as to antileishmanial efficacy. The results indicate that either of these 2 drugs are effective in the suppression of amastigotes in the liver and spleen of the opossum. Despite the marked parasite suppression in the liver and spleen of the infected opossums, the experimental disease was fatal in all of the infected opossums, regardless of the therapy.     

Evaluation of the effectiveness of antibacterial substances in treating an experimental form of bubonic plague in monkeys]

The modelling of glandular plague and selection of the conditions for estimating the efficacy of new antibacterials for the treatment of the infection were performed on hamadryads (baboons). The experiments showed that the average LD50 of the culture of a highly virulent strain of Yersinia pestis on its subcutaneous administration to the animals was 2089 viable microbes. In 18 per cent of the episodes the experimental glandular plague in the animals was complicated by secondary plague pneumonia. Subcutaneous administration of 2 x 10(7) viable microbial cell of the plague pathogen caused acute sepsis and the animal death. The treatment of the experimental glandular plague in the hamadryads demonstrated that new antibacterials such as amikacin, netilmicin, ceftriaxone, cefotaxime, ceftizoxime, doxycycline, rifampicin, ofloxacin and ciprofloxacin were not inferior in their efficacy to streptomycin and tetracycline successfully used in the therapy of patients with plague.     

Anemia in experimental visceral leishmaniasis in hamsters.

Experimental infection of hamsters with Leishmania donovani caused visceral leishmaniasis in which hematological changes occurred. The infected hamsters were anemic and reticulocyte counts were high. No significant change in the serum erythropoietin level was noted. Red cell membrane Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase and acetylcholinesterase activities increased. Osmotic fragility of the erythrocytes from infected animals increased. The level of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate of the red cells increased with the degree of anemia.     

Therapeutic efficacy of 4-(adamantyl-1)-1-(1-aminobutyl) benzene in experimental fungal pathology

Antifungal activity of an adamantane derivative, i. e. 4-(adamantyl-1)-1-(1-aminobutyl) benzol was studied in experiments in vivo in a model of generalized infection and local skin injury. In doses of 0.1 LD50, 0.001 LD50, 0.001 LD50 (intraperitoneal administration) it had a therapeutic effect on generalized candidiasis and promoted 60-80-percent survival of the laboratory animals. Its application as 1-percent ointment to Candida albicans infected skin prevented the wound formation in rabbits and showed therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of infected wounds in albino rats.     

Type-II alveolocytes in the treatment of the pulmonary form of oxygen poisoning (electron microscopic and morphometric research)

The effect of cytochrome C, thymalin and their combination has been studied concerning morphofunctional state of alveolocytes of the II type (A II) in the lungs of 33 non-inbred white rats at the pulmonary form of oxygen poisoning. The phenomenon develops, when the animals are in pure oxygen under pressure of 0.25 MPa for 10 h. The ultrastructural stereological analysis demonstrates that after exposure of the mice in the barochamber, immediately after decompression and during the 1st and the 3d day in the animals not given the pharmacological preparations in the A II diffuse and local edema develops in hyaloplasm, certain changes develop in mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum. Comparing to intact animals, a relative volume of the lamellar bodies decreases nearly two times, the volume of mitochondria increases by 1.5 times, amount of A II drops. While treating the pulmonary form of oxygen poisoning with cytochrome C or thymalin, in 3 days after beginning to administer the preparations, the relative volume of the lamellar bodies increase by 1.5 times in comparison with those in the group of untreated animals, and at the combined administration-by 2.5 times. This demonstrates stimulation of the pulmonary surfactant synthesis. When the preparations are applied together, by the 3d day the relative volume of mitochondria and amount of A II do not differ from the corresponding indices in intact animals.