International Journal of Tissue Reactions

Allergic rhinitis is an immunological disorder and an inflammatory response of nasal mucosal membranes. Allergic rhinitis, a state of hypersensitivity, occurs when the body overreacts to a substance such as pollens or dust. A novel, safe polyherbal formulation (Aller-7/NR-A2) has been developed for the treatment of allergic rhinitis using a unique combination of extracts from seven medicinal plants including Phyllanthus emblica, Terminalia chebula, Terminalia bellerica, Albizia lebbeck, Piper nigrum, Zingiber officinale and Piper longum...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the joint count for affected joints and involvement distribution in erosive osteoarthritis (EOA) versus nodal osteoarthritis (NOA) of the hands in patients matched for sex, age, and disease duration. After recruitment of 101 consecutive outpatients affected with EOA, 101 patients affected by NOA were selected and matched for age, sex, and disease duration. Joint count for distal interphalangeal (DIP), proximal interphalangeal (PIP), and first carpo-metacarpal (CMC-1) joints, presenting Kellgren and Lawrence grade 2-4 OA, was performed...

In this study, we tested a new square wave microprocessor-controlled red laser with an extremely low peak power output (<3 mW; very low level laser therapy [vLLLT]) in experimental pain in the rat. Acute inflammation was induced by intraplantar injection of carrageenan, chronic inflammation was induced by complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) and neuropathic pain was produced by sciatic nerve chronic constriction injury (CCI). In our study vLLLT was effective in reducing edema and hyperalgesia in acute and chronic inflammation if administered at the points usually selected for acupuncture...

We describe the case of a 55-year-old man with scleredema of Buschke of the torso complicated by insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Due to (i) the patient's poor general health status, (ii) the similarity between scleroderma and scleredema of Buschke, and (iii) the well known efficacy of factor XIII infusions in scleroderma, we attempted an intravenous treatment with factor XIII. This therapy resulted in marked increase of movements and in softening of the skin, together with ultrasonographic and histopathological improvements...

This randomized, investigator-masked study compared the remanence on the nail surface of commercially available antimycotic nail lacquers containing amorolfine, ciclopirox and tioconazole. The lacquers, to which a coloring agent was added, were applied randomly to the left and right thumbnails and great toenails of 10 healthy volunteers. Volunteers were asked to wash their hands under standardized conditions at 30, 60 and 90 min after product application and to take at least one shower during the study. Photographs were taken immediately after drug application and at 30, 60 and 90 min, i...

Hyaluronan, or hyaluronic acid (HA), is an essential component of extracellular matrices. HA of appropriate molecular weight and concentration can induce osteoblast differentiation and bone formation in vitro. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effects of HA of different molecular weights on ovariectomy (OVX)-induced bone loss in rats. Adult female Sprague Dawley rats were subjected to bilateral OVX or sham surgical procedure (sham). OVX rats were treated with: HA of molecular weight of 0.75 MDa at a dose of 1 mg/kg/day and with HA of molecular weight of 1...

We examined the effect of a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), piroxicam, on apoptosis and matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) activity compared with diclofenac and dexamethasone. The fibrosarcoma (WEHI-164) cell line was used to assess tolerability, MMP-2 activity and apoptosis. Piroxicam, dexamethasone and diclofenac were used at concentrations of 10-200 microg/ml in triplicate and 2-fold dilutions. MMP-2 activity was assessed using zymography. For assessment of apoptosis, the terminal deoxyribonucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) method was used...

Vegetable proteins could be a suitable alternative to animal proteins in the clarification of wine, but their residues could represent a risk for subjects with food allergy or intolerance. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of specific immunoreactivity in red and white wines treated, as must or wine, with vegetable proteins in the clarification process. The proteins considered were prepared from lupins and peas, which are not included among the allergens listed in annex Illbis of Directive 2003/89/EC...

Forty-nine patients with tendonitis (patellar in 16, quadriceps in two, Achilles in 12, rotator cuff disease in 19) and 47 patients with tenosynovitis (acute tenosynovitis in 25, stenosing tenosynovitis in 22) underwent ultrasound (US) and Power Doppler (PD)-US examination. Spectral analysis of flow signals was performed in all patients. Ten patients (six with tendonitis, four with tenosynovitis) were rewired after medical therapy. Six healthy volunteers were also examined for control purposes. Three different patterns of flow distribution were found in patients with tendonitis and active tenosynovitis...

To investigate whether bound thrombin can induce modulation of SMemb expression in vascular smooth muscle (VSM) cells, messenger RNA (mRNA) expression was measured by in situ hybridization (ISH) and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in cultured rabbit aortic VSM cells. To test the concentration- and time-dependent effect of bound thrombin on the expression of SMemb, confluent VSM cells were incubated for 48 h in 10% FBS-DMEM containing 0, 3, 10 and 30 units/ml of bound thrombin. In addition, the confluent VSM cells were incubated for 6, 12, 24 and 48 h in 10% FBS-DMEM containing 10 units/ml of bound thrombin...

Patients with symptomatic osteoarthritis of the cervical spine were treated with very low-power modulated laser (LPL). Two applications were performed at an interval of 20 days. Changes in pain and ultrasound thickness of the soft connective tissue layer above the right and the left superior trapezium were studied. No worsening of pain was observed. Pain improved after the first application of LPL in 9 out of 14 patients, but the difference was not significant. Pain improvement remained stable between the first assessment and the second assessment, which was performed after 20 days...

In patients with psoriasis, 2-6% suffer from flexural psoriasis. Areas where flexural psoriasis is found are the axillae, groin, submammary region, perianal region, and retroauricular fold. Eleven patients with flexural psoriasis were enrolled in this study: six men and five women, aged between 5 and 55 years. All patients had common psoriasis presented with psoriatic lesions involving the axillae, groin and submammary region. Each patient was instructed to apply calcipotriol 50 microg/gm twice daily for 6 weeks...

Immune defects, thyroid abnormalities, infections and coeliac disease are often associated with Down's syndrome (DS). However, the basis of the immune defects is still unclear in DS. In the present study, we show that peripheral CD4 T-cells were decreased in children with DS, while mean values of cytotoxic CD8 T-cells were comparable with those from healthy children. Circulating activated (CD3/HLA-DR positive) T-cells were increased and a large proportion of purified T-cells from DS were also positive for APO-I/FAS (CD95) antigen...

The aim of this study was to evaluate microvascular assessment in patients with Behcet disease (BD) by means of an intravital videocapillaroscopic study. Sixteen BD patients were compared with an equivalent group of healthy subjects matched for age and sex. Videocapillaroscopy (VCP) was performed in peripheral areas and in conjunctiva, and morphological and quantitative parameters were assessed. In both areas VCP showed several morphological alterations (microaneurysms, megacapillaries, desertification areas) detectable in a high percentage of patients; quantitatively we found significant changes of incisuring and sludging score, of capillary loop intermediate branch length (in peripheral areas) and of arteriole/venule diameter (in conjunctiva)...

The purpose of the present study was (i) to compare secretory responses of prolactin and corticosterone to the acute stress of immobilization in male rats of the Lewis and Long Evans strains and (ii) to compare secretion of the two hormones in rats with fully developed adjuvant arthritis (AA) and their relationship with the intensity of the inflammatory reaction. A short immobilization of 5 min induced equal elevations of both hormones in both strains, but 20-min immobilization produced significantly stronger responses in Long Evans rats than in Lewis rats...

D-003 is a mixture of very high molecular weight aliphatic primary acids purified from sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum, L) wax, in which the most abundant component is octacosanoic acid. Experimental studies have shown that D-003 not only shows cholesterol-lowering and antiplatelet effects, but also offers strong protection against plasma lipoprotein oxidation. Previous studies demonstrated that D-003 protected against the histological changes characteristic of Cl4C-induced hepatic injury in rats. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of D-003 in acute hepatotoxicity induced by paracetamol in rats...

D-003 is a mixture of long-chain aliphatic primary acids isolated from sugar cane wax with cholesterol-lowering effects proven in animals and healthy human volunteers. D-003 reduced serum total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in rabbits, while it increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and did not affect triglycerides. D-003 inhibits cholesterol synthesis by regulating, instead of directly inhibiting, hydroxamethylglutaryl-CoA (HMGCoA) reductase activity. Although the ways in which D-003 and statins inhibit cholesterol biosynthesis are not identical, the strong competitive inhibition of cholesterol biosynthesis induced by statins suggests that an enhanced decrease of LDL-C and TC caused by the combined therapy D-003 plus statins is not expected...

The aim of the present study was to determine the safety and efficacy of combined therapy with raloxifene (RLX) and clodronate (CLD) in postmenopausal women. We enrolled 45 women with postmenopausal osteoporosis. The patients were randomly assigned to two different therapeutic groups: RLX 60 mg/day (n = 23) and RLX 60 mg/day plus CLD 100 mg intramuscularly (i.m.) once every 10 days (n = 22); 1 g of calcium and 800 IU of vitamin D3 were also given daily to both groups. Lumbar and femoral bone mineral density (BMD) were assessed at baseline and after 12 months of therapy using the dual X-ray absorptiometry technique (Norland XR36)...

The distribution in parts of the brain and internal organs of 125J-labeled leucopyrokinin (LPK), an insect myotropic peptide injected into the lateral brain ventricle was determined in rats. A high accumulation of this peptide in adrenals and in the hypothalamus and hippocampus of the brain was found. A lesser but significant LPK accumulation in other internal organs and parts of the brain was also observed. The significance of this effect for the biological activity of LPK in rats is discussed.

Gluten or hydrolyzed gluten could be a suitable alternative to animal proteins in the wine clarification process, but their residues could represent a risk for individuals suffering from coeliac disease or allergic to cereal proteins. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of gluten in wines treated with gluten or its hydrolysate in the clarification process and to assess its antigenicity in commercial products. The presence of residual immunoreactive gluten was evaluated by electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and immunoblotting...