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Background: Behçet's disease (BD) is a recurrent inflammatory disease involving chronic recurrent oral aphthous ulcers (aphthae), uveitis, skin lesions and genital ulcers. We prospectively investigated the efficacy of rebamipide, a gastroprotective drug, against oral aphthous ulcers in BD patients. Methods: In a multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 35 patients with BD, having as the main symptom oral aphthosis, were randomised to receive rebamipide 300 mg/day or placebo for 12 to 24 weeks between August 1994 and December 1996. Oral aphthosis must have occurred within 4 weeks prior to enrolment and must have been visible for at least 7 days during that time. Oral aphthae count and pain scores were recorded daily in a diary by the patients themselves. Monthly aphthae count and pain scores were defined as the sum of aphthae count and pain scores for a month, respectively. Investigators rated the global improvement in aphthae count and pain using a 6-point scale. The rate of change in monthly aphthae count and pain scores in the first 3 and last 3 months of treatment were assessed in patients with more severe symptoms whose aphthae count and pain score were >28 at baseline (trial entry). Results: The rate of moderate or marked improvement in aphthae count and pain was 36% (5 of 14 subjects) in the placebo group and 65% (11 of 17 subjects) in the rebamipide group. During months 2 to 6 of treatment, aphthae count tended to increase and reached a peak at month 4 in the placebo group but decreased in the rebamipide group. Pain score decreased to the same extent in both groups for [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sixty-six rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients were analyzed retrospectively to assess the incidence and risk factors for elevation of serum hepatic aminotransferases during methotrexate (MTX) therapy. The effect of folate supplementation on serum ALT and RA activity was evaluated prospectively in 14 patients who showed a sustained high serum level of ALT. The frequency of elevation of serum AST or ALT was 4-5 times greater than in patients taking other DMARDs. Multivariate linear regression analysis demonstrated that elevation of ALT was independently associated with sex (female), obesity, baseline ALT, MTX dose, and gastrointestinal side effects. Folate supplementation caused ALT levels to decrease in all patients within 3 months. Eleven patients showed no change of RA activity, but 3 patients dropped out of the study because of the exacerbation of RA. These results suggest that careful monitoring of serum hepatic aminotransferases is necessary in patients with predisposing factors, especially those receiving more than 0.15 mg/kg of MTX weekly. Folate supplementation can reverse the sustained elevation of ALT, but might cause exacerbation of RA in some patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potentiating effect of the soluble factors released from normal or diseased lymphocytes on neutrophil functions were investigated in the presence or absence of mitogens and wall preparations of Streptococcus pyogenes. When normal T lymphocyte populations were stimulated with T cell mitogens or with streptococcal preparations, the supernatants from these cultures potentiated neutrophil chemotaxis, phagocytosis and O2- generation. Upon gel-filtration of these stimulated lymphocyte supernatants, the neutrophil-potentiating activity was inactivated by trypsin or by a 30-min incubation at 130°C, but was not. affected by acid treatment at pH 2 or heat treatment at 56°C For 60 min. Its activity was almost not affected by antisera against human interleukin-1, inteleukin-2, interferon-gamma or tumour necrosis factor. With the stimulation of T cell mitogens. the supernatants released from the lymphocytes of not only the patients with Behçet's disease but also healthy and diseased controls enhanced neutrophil functions. However, supernatants from streptococcal preparation-stimulated lymphocytes from patients with Behçet's disease had a higher potentiating effect on neutrophil functions. Our study suggests that the enhanced neutrophil functions in patients with Behçet's disease may be related to an abnormally high level of circulating activated T cells in these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spleen cells obtained from ACI rats bearing a syngeneic hepatoma (9098) (TBR spleen cells) shows a strongly depressed mitogen responses to concanavalin A (Con A) and to phytohaemagglutinin-P (P1-IA) at various concentrations ol the tested mitogens. The activity of suppressor cells in TBR spleens was demonstrated in mixtures with normal spleen cells where a marked depression of' the mitogen response was observed. The properties of tumour-induced suppressor cells were adherent to plastic or nylon wool phagocytic, and radioresistant (maybe macrophages). The Con A response of TBR spleen cells was more completely restored than was the PHA response alter the removal of adherent or phagocytic cells. The suppression when THR spleen cells (2,0(X) i-ad) were added to normal spleen cells at 0. 24. and 45 h after culture initiation was greater in the PLIA response than in the Con A response. The PHA assay appeared to be more sensitive method than the Con A assay for the detection of suppressor cell activity in tumour bearing rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to define the participation of cysteinyl leukotrienes (LTs) or thromboxane A2 in the pathogenesis of aspirin-sensitive asthma (ASA). Leukotriene E4 (LTE4) and 11-dehydrothromboxane B2 (11DTXB2) values in spot urine were measured in 22 asthmatics with a history of aspirin sensitivity and in 17 without such a history (non-aspirin-sensitive asthma [NASA]) in the outpatient clinic. The urinary LTE4 value was significantly higher in ASA patients than in NASA (340 ± 47 vs 65 ± 15 pg/mg.cr, P< 0.001), but there was no significant difference in urinary 11DTXB2 between the two groups (891 ± 77 vs 657 ± 90 pg/mg.cr). A high value of LTE4 was not associated with type of asthma, severity of disease, oral prednisolone treatment, sex, or age. A higher value of 11DTXB2 was observed in the atopic type than the nonatopic type in ASA (1086 ± 111 vs 697 ± 147 pg/mg.cr, P< 0.05). No correlation was observed between urinary LTE4 and 11DTXB2 in either ASA or NASA. In conclusion, LTs may play an important role in the pathogenesis of ASA, and TXA2 in the pathogenesis of the atopic type in ASA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

No fewer than five sets of diagnostic criteria for Behçet's disease are currently in use. The International Study Group have therefore undertaken an extensive study of existing criteria and have developed recommended new international criteria based on the collection of data from 914 patients with Behçet's disease and 308 controls, of whom 886 (97%) and 97 respectively had mouth ulceration. It is recommended that these new criteria should replace the existing criteria sets although further studies are required to evaluate their performance in new patient groups. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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