The effects of magnesium sulphate and EDTA in the hypercholesterolaemic rabbit

Incorporation of proteinase inhibitors into silk-based delivery devices for enhanced control of degradation and drug release

Controlling the rate of silk degradation is critical to its potential use in biomedical applications, including drug delivery and tissue engineering. The effect of protease concentration on accelerating degradation, and the use of ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) on reducing rates of degradation and on drug release from silk-based drug carriers was studied. Increased rates of proteolysis resulted in increased dye release from silk carriers, while EDTA release from the silk carriers inhibited proteolysis. The sustained release of EDTA from silk carriers in combination with the release of the small molecule anti-convulsant adenosine was investigated in vitro. This combination of factors resulted in delayed release of adenosine by inhibiting proteolytic activity. These results introduce a promising strategy to control drug delivery through the regulation of silk degradation rate, achieved via manipulation of local proteolytic activity. This ability to modulate enzyme function could be applicable to a range of silk biomaterial formats as well as other biodegradable polymers where enzymatic functions control biomaterial degradation and drug release rates.

Calcification in coronary artery disease can be reversed by EDTA-tetracycline long-term chemotherapy

Atherosclerosis is a complex process with multiple mechanisms and factors contributing to its initiation and progression. Detection and quantification of coronary artery calcium (CAC) scores with electron beam tomography has been shown to correlate with obstructive and nonobstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). Pathogen-triggered calcification could play a role in CAD. Recent reports suggest that infectious blood nanobacteria (NB) emerge to be such a trigger. So far, minimal or no reversal of atherosclerosis has been claimed by therapies with iv ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt (EDTA), antibiotics, or other regimens, and therapies for atherosclerosis remain non-curative. We have now combined EDTA with antibiotic tetracycline (comET), an in vitro proven nanobacteriocidal treatment, and tested comET therapy in patients with documented CAD. Three hypotheses were probed: (1) Are NB present in patients with CAD?; (2) Does treatment with comET affect blood NB antigen and serology?; (3) Does a comET decrease CAC scores? One hundred patients with stable CAD and positive CAC scores were enrolled into a 4 month study of comET therapy. ComET therapy is composed of (1) Nutraceutical Powder (Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Niacin, Folic Acid, Selenium, EDTA, l-Arginine, l-Lysine, l-Ornithine, Bromelain, Trypsin, CoQ10, Grapeseed Extract, Hawthorn Berry, Papain) 5cm(3) taken orally every evening; (2) Tetracycline HCl 500mg taken orally every evening; (3) EDTA 1500mg taken in a rectal suppository base every evening. CAC scoring was repeated at 4 months and serum samples were analyzed for NB antigen and serology at baseline, 2 and 4 months. Complete blood count, metabolic panel, liver function, C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and lipids were analyzed at baseline and 4 months. Seventy-seven patients completed the study and all patients were positive for NB serology, antigen or both. Responders (n = 44; 57%) had significant decreases in total CAC scores (P = 0.001), the average decrease being 14%. Non-responders (n = 33; 44%) had no change or had increases in CAC scores. Angina was decreased or ablated in 16 of 19 patients (84%). Lipid profiles improved to non-atherogenic direction significantly (P = 0.001), a remarkable finding in a patient group where 86% were on continuous statin medication already before the trial. No adverse physiologic effects were seen in renal, hepatic, or hematopoetic systems. In conclusion, CAC scores decreased during ComET therapy trial in most CAD patients inferring regression of calcified coronary artery plaque volume. The patients tolerated the therapy well and their angina and lipid profiles improved. Further treatment trials for long term therapy with matched controls are warranted.

Pharmacological activity of deep-sea water: examination of hyperlipemia prevention and medical treatment effect

When normal rabbits were administered various samples of deep-sea water, their biochemical values changed within normal limits, and no differences from distilled water administration (control) group levels were observed. Furthermore, no histopathological changes were observed in internal organs on the 28th day after administration. The serum total cholesterol (T-Cho) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-Cho) levels of normal rabbits fed with a 1% cholesterol-containing diet simultaneously administered deep-sea water (desalinated water, hardness 28, 300, and 1200) increased with time up to about 1500 mg/dl. However, the degrees of increase were smaller than those of the control group, which received distilled water. Furthermore, when prepared hyperlipemia rabbits were administered deep-sea water (desalinated water, hardness 28, 300, and 1200), there were no significant changes in aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-Cho), or triglyceride (TG) levels. On the other hand, T-Cho and LDL-Cho levels were reduced when the rabbits were changed to normal food, and the degree of reduction was more than that of the control group. In the liver and main artery bow, as the hardness of the deep-sea water increased, the accumulation of lipid and permeation of macrophages was reduced. This result was well in agreement with the results of the T-Cho and LDL-Cho levels. From these results, it is clear that deep-sea water controls the increase of serum lipid values (T-Cho and LDL-Cho) of cholesterol-fed rabbits, and promotes the reduction of serum lipid hyperlipemia rabbits. The minerals in deep-sea water greatly influence this effect.