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Ceramic pot filters (CPFs) are an effective means of household water treatment, but the characterization of CPF lifetimes is ongoing. This paper describes a lifetime field study in Guatemala which was made possible by a collaboration between researchers, CPF-using households, and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Disinfection data were collected periodically for two years using field coliform enumeration kits as were flow rate data with the assistance of NGO staff. Consumer acceptance was characterized by surveying householders in the four subject villages at the beginning and end of the study. Flow rate data showed that average CPF flow rates decreased below the recommended minimum of 1 L h-1 after 10 months of use; however, the survey results indicated that the consumers were tolerant of the lower flow rates, and it is reasonable to assume that the daily volume of treated water can be readily increased by refilling the CPFs more frequently. Of greater concern was the finding that disinfection efficacy decreased below the recommended bacterial reduction after 14 months of use because it would not be obvious to users that effectiveness had declined. Finally, the follow-up visits by the researchers and the NGO staff appeared to increase consumer acceptance of the CPFs.

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Cecropia obtusifolia and Marrubium vulgare have been widely used in Mexican traditional medicine for the control of type 2 diabetes. In order to evaluate the clinical effect produced by the aqueous extract from these species on type 2 non-controlled diabetes mellitus, a total of 43 outpatients were included. Based on the European NIDDM (policy group) criteria, only patients with poor response to the conventional treatment were selected. All patients maintained their medical treatment and also received a prepared infusion of the dry leaves of the plant treatment for 21 days. In a double-blind manner, the patients were randomly grouped as follows: 22 patients were treated with C. obtusifolia and 21 with M. vulgare. The fasting blood glucose values were reduced by 15.25% on patients treated with C. obtusifolia, while cholesterol and triglycerides were decreased by 14.62% and 42.0%, respectively (ANOVA p< 0.02). In the case of patients treated with M. vulgare, the plasma glucose level was reduced by 0.64% and cholesterol and triglycerides by 4.16% and 5.78%, respectively. When the results were compared between groups, significant differences in glucose and cholesterol diminution were found. The obtained results showed that the infusion prepared with the leaves of C. obtusifolia (containing 2.99+/-0.14mg of chlorogenic acid/g of dried plant) produced beneficial effects on carbohydrate and lipid metabolisms when it was administered as an adjunct on patients with type 2 diabetes with poor response to conventional medical treatment.

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La iontoforesis es un método basado en la utilización de corriente eléctrica para la administración de fármacos, en forma iónica, a través de la piel, logrando un efecto localizado y minimizando los efectos secundarios. Tradicionalmente se ha aplicado dicha terapia mediante sesiones de 10 a 20 minutos, pero con la nueva forma de administración mediante iontoforesis continua, con el dispositivo Iontopatch®, se logra prolongar la entrega del fármaco entre 12 y 24 horas sin aumentar los efectos secundarios y con mayor comodidad para el paciente. El objetivo de este trabajo consiste en comprobar la validez clínica de la iontoforesis continua mediante el dispositivo Iontopatch® como alternativa a la iontoforesis convencional. Material y métodos: Estudio retrospectivo de 16 pacientes aquejados de epicondilitis, epitrocleítis y metatarsalgias con pobre respuesta al tratamiento convencional con AINE y analgésicos menores no opioides, a los que se les aplicó Iontopatch® conteniendo lidocaína y dexametasona. Valoración del dolor mediante escala visual analógica al inicio, mitad y final del tratamiento. Resultados: Para comparar entre los niveles de dolor basales y posttratamiento se calculó la media y el intervalo de confianza al 95 por ciento, valorando su consistencia con la t de Student, obteniéndose los siguientes resultados: media de EVA basal 7,25 ñ 0,4, media de EVA a mitad de tratamiento 4,4 ñ 0,8 y media de EVA final 1,9 ñ 1,2.Conclusiones: La iontoforesis continua es un método, al menos, tan efectivo como la iontoforesis convencional, lográndose resultados terapéuticos estables sin aumentar los efectos secundarios, ni sistémicos ni locales, con escasas contraindicaciones para su aplicación, y proporcionando mayor comodidad tanto para el paciente como para el clínico (AU)

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Introducción: el término de "síndrome X" incluye aquellos pacientes que presentan dolor torácico típico con prueba de esfuerzo positiva y arterias coronarias angiográficamente normales, en los que se ha descartado previamente la existencia de espasmo coronario, hipertrofia ventricular izquierda, hipertensión arterial sistémica y enfermedad cardiaca valvular. A lo largo de los años la electroestimulación medular ha mostrado su eficacia en el tratamiento de la angina refractaria. La isquemia miocárdica parece desempeñar un papel en la patogenia del síndrome X. Por esta razón, nos decidimos a aplicar la estimulación medular en uno de nuestros pacientes con esta patología. Caso clínico: mujer de 56 diagnosticada de Síndrome X hace 4 años por presentar dolor retroesternal irradiado a mandíbula, ECG basal normal, ergometría clínica y eléctricamente positiva para la isquemia, radiografía de tórax y ecocardiograma sin alteraciones, zonas de menor captación en la gammagrafía de esfuerzo con talio-201 y arterias coronarias normales en la angiografía. Referida a la unidad del dolor por persistencia de crisis anginosas a pesar del tratamiento médico e ingresos repetidos en cardiología. Se procedió implantación de electroestimulador de cordones posteriores. Se realizaron controles a los dos y seis meses tras la implantación. Desde la implantación del generador la enferma refirió en todas las revisiones una mejoría subjetiva del 100 por ciento. No existieron complicaciones. Conclusiones: en nuestro caso clínico se observó una disminución del número y la intensidad de crisis anginosas, de las necesidades de nitritos y del número de ingresos. Además la técnica fue bien tolerada y no se observaron de complicaciones. Los datos de estudios previos y los resultados obtenidos en nuestro caso clínico demuestran que la electroestimulación medular podría ser útil en el enfoque terapéutico del Síndrome X (AU)

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A major problem facing the effective treatment of patients with cancer is how to get the specific antitumor agent into every tumor cell. In this report we describe the use of a strategy that, by using retroviral vectors encoding a truncated human CD5 cDNA, allows the selection of only the infected cells, and we show the ability to obtain, before bone marrow transplantation, a population of 5-fluouracil-treated murine bone marrow cells that are 100% marked. This marked population of bone marrow cells is able to reconstitute the hematopoietic system in lethally irradiated mice, indicating that the surface marker lacks deleterious effects on the functionality of bone marrow cells. No gross abnormalities in hematopoiesis were detected in mice repopulated with CD5-expressing cells. Nevertheless, a significant proportion of the hematopoietic cells no longer expresses the surface marker CD5 in the 9-month-old recipient mice. This transcriptional inactivity of the proviral long terminal repeat (LTR) was accompanied by de novo methylation of the proviral sequences. Our results show that the use of the CD5 as a retrovirally encoded marker enables the rapid, efficient, and nontoxic selection in vitro of infected primary cells, which can entirely reconstitute the hematopoietic system in mice. These results should now greatly enhance the power of studies aimed at addressing questions such as generation of cancer-negative hematopoiesis.

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It has been shown that sequence-specific DNA-binding domains containing zinc fingers can be selected from libraries displayed on filamentous bacteriophage. The affinity and specificity of these peptides are well characterised in vitro, but few data are available to demonstrate specific DNA binding and discrimination between closely related DNA sequences in vivo. Transient transactivation assays were performed in mammalian cells, using expression plasmids which produce different amounts of a model transcription factor containing a phage-selected zinc finger DNA-binding domain, and reporter plasmids which carry systematic variations of the promoter sequence. When the intracellular concentration of the transcription factor was appropriate, activation of gene expression was absolutely dependent on a promoter having the same DNA sequence as that originally used to select the zinc finger domain by phage display. However, excessive intracellular concentrations of the transcription factor resulted in some less-specific DNA binding, leading to gene activation from similar promoters containing a maximum of two base changes. Thus, provided delivery is carefully controlled, highly specific control of gene expression in vivo can be achieved using artificial transcription factors containing phage-selected zinc finger DNA-binding domains.

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BACKGROUND: The main difficulty in providing effective treatment of patients with cancer is distinguishing between tumor and normal cells. The chimeric molecules created by cancer-associated chromosomal abnormalities (such as the BCR-ABL fusion protein) represent ideal therapeutic targets since they are unique to the disease state. A major challenge, however, is how to deliver the specific anti-tumor agent into every tumor cell. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this report we describe the use of a novel strategy to introduce specific anti-tumor reagents into every tumor cell. It uses retroviral vectors encoding both antisense transcripts specific for the BCR-ABLp190 fusion junction (the specific anti-tumor drug) and a truncated human CD5 cDNA, which allows selection of the infected cells. In order to coexpress the antisense molecule with the truncated human CD5 gene, the picornavirus internal ribosome-entry site was incorporated in the constructs. RESULTS: When the antisense transcripts in the CD5-retroviral vector were introduced into Ba/F3+p190 cells rendered interleukin 3 (IL-3) independent by expression of the BCR-ABL sequences, the cells died upon IL-3 withdrawal, as measured by the absence of CD5-positive cells. Control Ba/F3+p210 cells infected with the same virus did not die in the absence of IL-3. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest a novel strategy for cancer treatment which incorporates the use of a retrovirus coexpressing both a selectable surface marker and a tumor-specific agent.

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