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Medications account for a small portion of the various etiologies of acute pancreatitis. Prompt identification of drugs as the inciting factor decreases disease recurrence and unnecessary invasive diagnostic intervention. This case is a report of fenofibrate-induced acute pancreatitis including a disease recurrence with continuation of fenofibrate which subsequently resolved after drug discontinuation. The patient underwent invasive diagnostic evaluation including endoscopic ultrasound with fine needle aspiration and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). Based on exclusion of other disease etiologies and a positive drug rechallenge, fenofibrate fits as a class 1A medication in the classification of drug-induced pancreatitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Due to the shortage of parenteral caffeine and sodium benzoate, patients were pretreated with caffeine citrate to increase therapeutic seizure duration during electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). To date, no data are available on the use of caffeine citrate during ECT. This retrospective case series was done to demonstrate utilization of caffeine citrate as a substitute for caffeine and sodium benzoate in optimizing ECT. Method: Medical records were reviewed to identify patients who received ECT and caffeine citrate. Physician notes were reviewed to determine the parameters of the ECT procedure, the seizure length, and the dose of caffeine citrate. Each chart was thoroughly studied to find the relationship between seizure duration and dose of caffeine citrate. Results: Of the 12 ECT treatments utilizing caffeine citrate, 9 achieved at least 1 session lasting >30 seconds with an average seizure duration of 35 seconds. Increase in seizure duration ranged from −41% to 276% with an average increase of 48%. Only 3 treatment sessions utilizing caffeine citrate showed no increase in seizure duration. Doses ranged from 120 to 600 mg of both oral and parenteral caffeine citrate. Although increase in seizure duration was achieved for the majority of the ECT sessions, no dose–response correlation could be made. No significant adverse reactions were noted with the use of caffeine citrate during ECT. Conclusion: It was determined that, much like caffeine and sodium benzoate, caffeine citrate does increase the seizure duration. However, this response did vary due to many reasons including small sample size, concomitant medications, duration of illness, and number of ECTs they received in the past and how long ago they received the last ECT. Further research is required to elucidate the effect of these variables on seizure duration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dermatophytes are a group of morphologically and physiologically related moulds, which cause well-defined infection called dermatophytosis. The enzymatic ability of fungi to decompose keratin has long been interpreted as a key innovation in the evolution of animal dermatology. In the present study, keratinase activity profile among Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Trichophyton rubrum, Microsporum canis and Microsporum gypseum isolated on keratin substrates such as human hair, human nail and chicken feather at variable environmental conditions of temperature, pH and metal ions was elucidated. All the above-mentioned fungal strains were isolated from soil using To-KA-Va baiting technique and keratinolytic activity was measured spectrophotometrically. In the temperature range of 30-40 °C and slightly alkaline pH (7.0-8.0), Trichophyton produced the highest activity of keratinase. It can be presumed that high enzyme production of Trichophyton species at normal body temperature range and pH could be an attribute for obligate anthropization in some dermatophytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the development of an endoscopic grading, diagnosis and reporting of myochosis and its link with colonic obstructive symptoms, assessing the obstructive nature of myochosis. Topics include a compilation of descriptors of myochosis, its prevalence in Western population who consumes low-fiber diet, and the potential of the proposed grading system to enhance recognition and reporting of the condition.

Abstract: Unnatural cyclic amino acids (UNAAs) are a new class of boron delivery agents that are in a pre-clinical stage of evaluation. In the present study, the biodistribution of racemic forms of the cis- and trans-isomers of the boronated UNAA 1-amino-3-boronocyclopentanecarboxylic acid (ABCPC) and 1-amino-3-boronocycloheptanecarboxylic acid (ABCHC) were evaluted in B16 melanoma bearing mice and this was compared to l-p-boronophenylalanine (BPA). Boron concentrations were determined by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) at 2.5h following intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of the test agents at a concentration equivalent to 24mg/B/kg. While all compounds attained comparable tumor boron concentrations, the tumor/blood (T/Bl) boron concentration ratios were far superior for both cis-ABCPC and cis-ABCHC compared to BPA (T/Bl=16.4, and 15.1 vs. 5.4). Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) imaging revealed that the cis-ABCPC delivered boron to the nuclei, as well as the cytoplasm of B16 cells. Next, a biodistribution study of cis-ABCPC and BPA was carried out in F98 glioma bearing rats following i.p. administration. Both compounds attained comparable tumor boron concentrations but the tumor/brain (T/Br) boron ratio was superior for cis-ABCPC compared to BPA (6 vs. 3.3). Since UNAAs are water soluble and cannot be metabolized by tumor cells, they could be potentially more effective boron delivery agents than BPA. Our data suggest that further studies are warranted to evaluate these compounds prior to the initiation of clinical studies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Boron delivery characteristics of cis and trans isomers of a boronated unnatural amino acid, 1-amino-3-boronocyclopentanecarboxylic acid (ABCPC) were tested in the B16 mouse model for human melanoma. Both ABCPC isomers delivered comparable boron to B16 melanoma tumor cells as l-p-boronophenylalanine (BPA). Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) analysis revealed the presence of boron throughout the tumor from these compounds, and a near homogeneous distribution between the nucleus and cytoplasm of B16 cells grown in vitro. These encouraging observations support further studies of these new boron carriers in BNCT. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]