Faculty Bibliography

Glutamic and aspartic acids were evaluated for their antidotal efficacy in colchicine toxicity. Female adult inbred mice were treated with ip doses of either 1000 mg glutamic acid (GA) or aspartic acid (AA)/kg bw by various treatment schedules relative to the administration of an ip LD5n of 7.8 mg colchicine/kg bw. Mice were observed for survival and changes in body weight. Pretreatment with AA increased survival by 42% (p = 0.01). Concurrent AA treatment improved survival non-significantly (p = 0.07). With post-exposure AA therapy, however, mortality was increased (p = 0.005). No significant beneficial effects of GA occurred. Early AA therapy improves survival in colchicine poisoned mice, but as delay in treatment is increased, AA efficacy is lost

BACKGROUND: Thallium poisoning is now rare but still occurs as a result of homicide attempts. Prussian blue's efficacy in the treatment of experimental thallium poisoning has been demonstrated in animal models, and its use in humans is supported by anecdotal data. Since thallium binds sulfhydryl groups, the use of N-acetylcysteine is also considered as a potential antidote. STUDY OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy of Prussian blue and N-acetylcysteine in a murine model of thallium poisoning. METHODS: Female Swiss albino mice with free access to food and water were used. Two study doses of thallium, given as a subcutaneous injection of thallium acetate dissolved in sterile water, were chosen: 70 mg/kg (LD90) and 85 mg/kg (> LD100). A randomized, placebo controlled study was conducted with survival at 120 h chosen as the outcome measure. Four treatment groups were studied: control, Prussian blue, N-acetylcysteine, and the combination of Prussian blue and N-acetylcysteine. Prussian blue was dissolved in water and given by oral gavage at a dose of 50 mg/kg. N-acetylcysteine was diluted in normal saline and given as intraperitoneal injections of 200 mg/kg. Sterile water by gavage and normal saline by peritoneal injection were given as control treatments whenever an active agent was not given. Survival was recorded over a 120 h study period and compared at 120 h by a Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: At 120 h following subcutaneous injection of thallium 70 mg/kg, only 10% of the control animals survived. Treatment with N-acetylcysteine or Prussian blue increased survival to 35% (p = 0.13) and 50% (p = 0.014), respectively. The addition of N-acetylcysteine to Prussian blue offered no benefit over Prussian blue therapy alone. CONCLUSIONS: Prussian blue was found to decrease mortality from thallium poisoning at a dose equal to the LD90 in this model, but not a dose greater than the LD100. No role for N-acetylcysteine in the treatment of thallium poisoning was demonstrated by this study

In our country the increasing commercialization of medicine is taking control of our medical school faculties, hospitals, and education. There is an overemphasis on health care efficiency, with a dramatic decrease in the commitment to research, an increase in the cost of medical education and resultant staggering student debt, an increasing number of medically uninsured, and an ever-widening gap between the best that American medicine can offer and that which the indigent receive