Synergistic interactions between resveratrol and doxorubicin inhibit angiogenesis both in vitro and in vivo

Resveratrol is a polyphenolic compound which is found in many nutrients including grapes, peanuts, raspberries, and apples. Anti-proliferative, anti-angiogenic and apoptotic effects of resveratrol have been shown on various cancer cells. Doxorubicin is considered as one of the most effective anticancer agents and reveals its antitumor activity by induction of apoptosis and inhibition of angiogenesis. Our study reports for the first time the potent ability of resveratrol in combination with doxorubicin to inhibit angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo. The cytotoxic effect of resveratrol (1.56-100 μM), doxorubicin (0.01-0.92 µM) and their combination were analyzed in the human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) by ATP assay. In vitro angiogenesis was evaluated using tube formation assay in HUVECs. In vivo anti-angiogenic activity was assessed in a chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) model using fertilized chicken eggs. All test groups were compared to thalidomide as a positive control, three concentrations of resveratrol (10-5-2.5 µg/pellet) and a 2 µg/pellet concentration of doxorubicin was examined. All data were evaluated statistically. Resveratrol and doxorubicin alone displayed inhibitory effects on angiogenesis and cell viability at higher doses. However, the combination of resveratrol and doxorubicin exhibited a significant dose-dependent inhibition of CAM angiogenesis in vivo as well as proliferation and tube formation in HUVECs compared to the positive control (±)-thalidomide. Our results suggest that resveratrol in combination with doxorubicin is a novel strategy in the prevention and treatment of angiogenesis.

The influence of Microgynon and Diane-35, two sub-fifty ovulation inhibitors, on voice function in women

The early days of oral contraceptives showed some evidence that these medications may have caused undesirable side effects on the voice, mainly in terms of virilization. In a random study carried out at the university hospitals of Jena and Berlin (Charité), two more recent drugs were tested in this regard, one containing cyproterone acetate (Diane-35) and the other one levonorgestrel (Microgynon), both from Schering. Ninety-one patients took part in extensive clinical and instrumental phoniatric investigations of voice function over a period of one year. No significant side effects on the voice could be proven for the two preparations. Gynecological and clinical effects of both Diane-35 and Microgynon were similar during the one-year study period. Women taking Diane-35 had less intracyclic bleedings and amenorrhea. Also, acne was more favorably influenced by Diane-35.

Multicentred, phase III clinical trial of norethisterone enanthate 50 mg plus estradiol valerate 5 mg as a monthly injectable contraceptive; final three-year report

Norethisterone enanthate (NET-EN) 50 mg combined with estradiol valerate (EV) 5 mg was studied as a once-a-month injectable contraceptive with regard to effectiveness, cycle control, adverse events and acceptability. In eight Family Planning Centres from five Latin American countries, 931 fertile women were followed-up for a period of 36 months, providing a total of 15,787 woman-months of experience. Only one pregnancy occurred: in the first treated month a few days before the second injection (failure rate 0.08 per 100 woman-years). Under treatment, the first cycle was drastically shortened in most cases, but thereafter cycles tended to recover to pre-treatment patterns. There was a significant decrease of hypermenorrhoea and dysmenorrheic cycles. Intracyclic bleeding and spotting appeared in 1.8% and 2.2%, respectively, and amenorrhea in 2.8% of cycles. The incidence of other adverse events was very low with the exception of weight gain of more than 2 kg (36.8%). The continuation rate at 12 months was 64.7%, at 24 months 31.0% and at 36 months 20.4%. The cumulative discontinuation rate due to bleeding problems was 6.1% and 7.2% due to adverse events at 36 months. The treatment was shown to be a highly effective contraceptive method that offers fairly good cycle control, good tolerance and a continuation rate that makes it suitable for use in family planning programmes in the Latin American area.

A multicentred, two-year, phase III clinical trial of norethisterone enanthate 50 mg plus estradiol valerate 5 mg as a monthly injectable contraceptive

Norethisterone enanthate (NET-EN) 50 mg combined with estradiol valerate (EV) 5 mg was studied as a once-a-month injectable contraceptive with regard to effectiveness, cycle control, adverse events and acceptability. In eight Family Planning Centres from 5 Latin American countries, 652 fertile women were followed-up for a period of 24 months, providing a total of 10,689 woman-months of experience. Only 1 pregnancy occurred, in the first treated month a few days before the second injection (failure rate 0.11 per 100 woman-years). Under treatment, the first cycle was drastically shortened in most cases, but thereafter cycles tended to recover to pre-treatment patterns. There was a significant decrease of hypermenorrhea and dysmenorrheic cycles. Intracyclic bleeding and spotting appeared in 1.2% and 2.4%, respectively, and amenorrhea in 2.5% of cycles. Incidence of other adverse events was very low with the exception of weight gain of 2 Kg (28%). Continuation rate at 12 months was 64.7%. The cumulative discontinuation rate due to bleeding problems was 7.4% and 10.7% due to adverse events at 24 months.

Ovulation inhibitors containing cyproterone acetate or desogestrel in the treatment of hyperandrogenic symptoms

An open, randomized, multicenter study was carried out to compare two oral contraceptives as regards their therapeutic efficacy in androgenization symptoms such as acne, seborrhea and hirsutism in women. The preparations used were the combination of 2 mg cyproterone acetate (CPA) with 0.035 mg ethinyl estradiol (EE) (Diane 35, Schering AG, Berlin-West) and 0.150 mg desogestrel (DG) with 0.03 mg ethinyl estradiol (Marvelon, Organon, Oss, The Netherlands). The duration of therapy was 9 months. The combination of CPA-EE was used by 83 patients for 658 cycles and the combination of DG-EE by 79 women for 618 cycles. No pregnancy occurred under either therapy. Both preparations are well tolerated. However, some side-effects, such as reduced libido, nervousness and breast tenderness, were observed more frequently (p less than 0.05) in the DG-EE group than among the users of the CPA-EE combination. The therapeutic outcome was better in the CPA-EE group, especially in cases of facial acne (p less than 0.05). Seborrheic symptoms also responded better to the CPA-EE therapy. The results show that the CPA-EE combination is superior to the DG-EE combination in the treatment of acne and seborrhoea.