Use Of Conventional Drugs Research Articles

Cost–benefit evaluation of homeopathic vs. conventional therapy in respiratory diseases

A retrospective observational study was conducted on 105 of 233 patients seen at the Homeopathic Clinic, Campo di Marte Hospital, Lucca, from October 1998 to May 2003. All patients were resident in Lucca and affected by respiratory diseases. We considered both the expenses for pharmacological therapy of specific drugs for treatment of the pathology in question (specific chemical/therapeutic subgroup) and the overall cost per patient in the year preceding homeopathic therapy in comparison with the first and second year subsequent to homeopathic treatment. The data were obtained by means of the patient's identifying code available in the pharmaceutical prescription archives of the Local Health Authority 2, Lucca. A control group has been formed to compare and confirm the results. Patients with asthma (8 patients) and recurring episodes of respiratory infections (16 patients) with a chronic consumption of conventional medicine were subsequently compared with a control group of 16 and 32 patients, respectively. The Friedman test was used for statistical analysis. Patients who used a specific pharmacological therapy (chemical/therapeutic subgroup) for respiratory diseases reduced their pharmacological expenses by −46.29% (105 pt.) in the first year ( P P P P =N.S.). Where the data for expenses were compared to the control group for patients affected by chronic asthma, we noted a reduction in expenses for specific chemical/therapeutic subgroup for the group in homeopathic treatment of −71.1% vs. an increase of +12.3% in the group treated with conventional drugs after the first year of follow-up and respectively a reduction of −54.4% for homeopathic treatment vs. +45.2% after the second year for patients treated with conventional drugs. Compared to the control group for patients affected by recurrent respiratory infections, we recorded: +8.6% expenses for specific drugs (chemical/therapeutic subgroup) in the control group vs. −35.8% in the homeopathic group after the first year of follow-up; in the second year +7.8% in the control group vs. −43.6% in the homeopathic group. We can conclude that homeopathic treatment for respiratory diseases leads to a significant reduction in the use of conventional drugs for these diseases. Download high-res image (167KB) Download full-size image

Concomitant herbal medicine and conventional drug use at primary chronic disease clinics in Trinidad

Concomitant herbal medicine and conventional drug use at primary chronic disease clinics in Trinidad

Suppression of viral infectivity through lethal defection.

RNA viruses replicate with a very high error rate and give rise to heterogeneous, highly plastic populations able to adapt very rapidly to changing environments. Viral diseases are thus difficult to control because of the appearance of drug-resistant mutants, and it becomes essential to seek mechanisms able to force the extinction of the quasispecies before adaptation emerges. An alternative to the use of conventional drugs consists in increasing the replication error rate through the use of mutagens. Here, we report about persistent infections of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus treated with fluorouracil, where a progressive debilitation of infectivity leading to eventual extinction occurs. The transition to extinction is accompanied by the production of large amounts of RNA, indicating that the replicative ability of the quasispecies is not strongly impaired by the mutagen. By means of experimental and theoretical approaches, we propose that a fraction of the RNA molecules synthesized can behave as a defective subpopulation able to drive the viable class extinct. Our results lead to the identification of two extinction pathways, one at high amounts of mutagen, where the quasispecies completely loses its ability to infect and replicate, and a second one, at lower amounts of mutagen, where replication continues while the infective class gets extinct because of the action of defectors. The results bear on a potential application of increased mutagenesis as an antiviral strategy in that low doses of a mutagenic agent may suffice to drive persistent virus to extinction.

Progressive resistance of BTK-143 osteosarcoma cells to Apo2L/TRAIL-induced apoptosis is mediated by acquisition of DcR2/TRAIL-R4 expression: resensitisation with chemotherapy.

Apo2 ligand (Apo2L, also known as TRAIL) is a member of the tumour necrosis factor (TNF) family of cytokines that selectively induces the death of cancer cells, but not of normal cells. We observed that recombinant Apo2L/TRAIL was proapoptotic in early-passage BTK-143 osteogenic sarcoma cells, inducing 80% cell death during a 24 h treatment period. Apo2L/TRAIL-induced apoptosis was blocked by caspase inhibition. With increasing passage in culture, BTK-143 cells became progressively resistant to the apoptotic effects of Apo2L/TRAIL. RNA and flow cytometric analysis demonstrated that resistance to Apo2L/TRAIL was paralleled by progressive acquisition of the decoy receptor, DcR2. Blocking of DcR2 function with a specific anti-DcR2 antibody restored sensitivity to Apo2L/TRAIL in a dose-dependent manner. Importantly, treatment of resistant cells with the chemotherapeutic agents doxorubicin, cisplatin and etoposide reversed the resistance to Apo2L/TRAIL, which was associated with drug-induced upregulation of mRNA encoding the death receptors DR4 and DR5. BTK-143 cells thus represent a useful model system to investigate both the mechanisms of acquisition of resistance of tumour cells to Apo2L/TRAIL and the use of conventional drugs and novel agents to overcome resistance to Apo2L/TRAIL.

Hepatotoxicity of botanicals.

Hepatic impairment resulting from the use of conventional drugs is widely acknowledged, but there is less awareness of the potential hepatotoxicity of herbal preparations and other botanicals, many of which are believed to be harmless and are commonly used for self-medication without supervision. The aim of this paper is to examine the evidence for hepatotoxicity of botanicals and draw conclusions regarding their pathology, safety and applications. Current literature on the hepatotoxicity of herbal drugs and other botanicals is reviewed. The aetiology, clinical picture and treatment of mushroom (Amanita) poisoning are described. Hepatotoxic effects have been reported for some Chinese herbal medicines (such as Jin Bu Huan, Ma-Huang and Sho-saiko-to), pyrrolizidine alkaloid-containing plants, germander (Teucrium chamaedrys), chaparral (Larrea tridentata), Atractylis gummifera, Callilepsis laureola, and others. The frequency with which botanicals cause hepatic damage is unclear. There is a lack of controlled treatment trials and the few studies published to date do not clarify the incidence of adverse effects. Many plant products do not seem to lead to toxic effects in everyone taking them, and they commonly lack a strict dose-dependency. For some products, such as Sho-saiko-to, the picture is confused further by demonstrations of hepatoprotective properties for some components. Mushroom poisoning is mostly due to the accidental consumption of Amanita species. Treatment with silymarin, thioctic acid, penicillin and liver transplantation have been shown to be effective but require early diagnosis. Severe liver injury, including acute and chronic abnormalities and even cirrhotic transformation and liver failure, has been described after the ingestion of a wide range of herbal products and other botanical ingredients, such as mushrooms. It is concluded that in certain situations herbal products may be just as harmful as conventional drugs.

Influence of Histamine and Serotonin Antagonists on the Growth of Xenografted Human Colorectal Tumors<xref ref-type="fn" rid="fn2">2</xref><xref ref-type="fn" rid="fn3">3</xref>

Four lines of human colorectal cancer were established and serially propagated as subcutaneous xenographs in immunosuppressed inbred CBA/Lac mice. Established xenografts were then used to investigate the influence of a serotonin antagonist (BW 501c) and a histamine H2 receptor antagonists (Cimetidine) on xenograft growth. The growth of each of the four tumor lines was significantly inhibited by BW 501c throughout the treatment, whereas the growth of only two tumor lines was significantly inhibited by Cimetidine treatment. The response of individual tumor lines was not predictable on the basis of either tumor histopathology or the natural growth rate of the untreated xenograft. A number of alternative, but not mutually exclusive, hypotheses are suggested to explain the results. One hypothesis proposes that colorectal tumors are composed of subpopulations of tumor cells that are variously dependent on or independent of amine hormones. Another hypothesis is that tumor cells exhibit temporal changes in hormone sensitivity to amine hormones during treatment. Finally, it is suggested that serotonin and/or histamine H2 antagonists may be useful in preventing the repopulation of colorectal carcinomas following antineoplastic therapy with the use of conventional drugs.

Age and Drug Use by Rural and Urban Adolescents

This is a survey undertaken to assess the importance of age in determining the use of both conventional (licit) and deviant (illicit) drugs among junior and high school students in the Brazos Valley, Texas, in 1976. In addition the age-drug use relationships were examined in terms of the age, sex, and residence of the respondents. The results show that the use of conventional drugs (e.g., tobacco and alcohol) increases with age, but no such relationship obtains for deviant drugs. Curvilinear relationships are evidenced in the deviant drug-age relationships. Patterns of drug use appear to be characteristic by specific sex, racial, and residential subgroups. Black females, especially those from rural areas use deviant drugs such as hallucinogens, heroin, cocaine, and solvents at rates which equal or exceed the rates of other subgroups, but are 30 per cent less likely to use beer than urban white females.

ELECTRICAL CONVERSION OF VENTRICUALAR TACHYCARDIA.

Termination of ventricular tachycardia using an external countershock was electively attempted in 21 episodes of ventricular tachycardia occurring in 12 patients. In all cases, myocardial depressant drugs had been tried unsuccessfully prior to attempted electrical conversion. The tachyardia was successfully converted in 20 of the 21 episodes. In six cases, an alternating-current (ac) discharge was used, with successful conversion five times. In 15 cases, a synchronized direct-current (dc) discharge was employed with 14 successful conversions. The only failure in both series occurred in the same patient, who could not be successfully converted with either ac or dc. Ventricular fibrillation was precipitated by the shock once in each group of patients, and was controlled by the application of further countershock. The use of an externally applied shock, either ac or dc, proved to be a safe and effective method of treating ventricular tachycardia when the use of conventional drugs was either unsuccessful or deemed hazardous.