Zentrallaboratorium Deutscher Apotheker

Native extracts of Curcumin and Boswellia are known to exert anti-inflammatory properties, but have poor bioavailability when given orally. Through advanced micellation technology, it has been possible to produce stable solubilisates of these extracts, thereby markedly enhancing their bioavailability and consequently reducing the orally administered dose and reducing their potential adverse effects. In the present study, we compared the chronic anti-inflammatory activities of native curcumin and boswellia extracts with the solubilized form of both in the adjuvant arthritis model upon daily administration for three weeks. Diclofenac was used as reference drug. The combination of solubilisates of curcumin and boswellia extracts showed a better anti-inflammatory effect than either one alone. The reduction in paw volume was reflected in corresponding changes in relevant parameters for mediators of inflammation: TNF-α, IL-6. The findings confirm that the solubilsates of curcumin and boswellia extracts allow the use of much lower doses than required in the native form to achieve a potent anti-inflammatory effect. Moreover the combination of curcumin and boswellia solubilisates show that they potentiate one another to produce a therapeutic effect equivalent to if not more potent than diclofenac. Much better results were obtained with the combination of solubilized xanthohumol and curcumin, which revealed an even more potent anti-inflammatory effect than diclofenac, which has been used as a reference drug, and the combination of solubilized curcumin and boswellia extracts.

We evaluated the pharmacokinetics and safety of the antimicrobial agent triclosan after dermal application of a 2% triclosan-containing cream to six volunteers. Percutaneous absorption calculated from urinary excretion was 5.9% +/- 2.1% of the dose (mean +/- standard deviation). The amount absorbed suggests that daily application of a standard adult dose would result in a systemic exposure 890 times lower than the relevant no-observed-adverse-effect level. Triclosan can be considered safe for use in hydrophobic creams.

The author describes the impacts of hospital restructuring and reform legislation in Germany on the nursing workforce. A descriptive analysis using selected literature is presented. Driven by the increased service needs of an aging population and the imperative to contain health-care costs, the hospital sector is shrinking while increasing its intensity of care delivery. Within this environment, the demand for patient-focused, high-quality nursing care is high, whereas the number of new graduates entering the nursing field is declining. Despite absolute increases in the number of nurses employed by the hospital sector, evidence suggests that hospitals are operating with a nursing workforce deficit. The recent reform law of 1992 mandates several changes with large implications for nursing. These include a linking of the hospital sector with outpatient care; a focus on rigorous, interdisciplinary quality assurance; and a revaluing of the adequacy of hospital nurse staffing. Hospitals will remain the major employers of nurses, with new outpatient sector opportunities. Adequate nurse staffing methodologies, sound personnel retention strategies, and reform of care delivery models are needed to assure high-quality nursing care in the hospital sector.

Serum concentration of carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (cCDT) is used for laboratory diagnosis and follow-up of chronic alcohol abuse. In analyzing by CDTect-RIA (Pharmacia) sera from outpatients with combined pancreas and kidney transplantation and no excessive alcohol consumption, we found above-normal values for cCDT and CDT/transferrin ratios (CDT/Tf) in more than half of the samples. Isoelectric focusing of these samples showed distinct bands of carbohydrate-deficient isotransferrins, supporting the abnormal findings from the CDTect assay. In contrast, diabetics and outpatients who had received only kidney transplants showed normal values for cCDT, CDT/Tf, and isotransferrin patterns. Increased serum Tf, sialidase-producing microorganisms, and immunosuppressive medication were eliminated as causes of these abnormal cCDT and CDT/Tf results. Successful pancreas transplantation leads to hyperinsulinemia and normoglycemia, in contrast to hypoinsulinemia and hyperglycemia in the patients who receive kidney transplants alone. These factors may have pathogenic importance for CDT increase, yielding results falsely interpreted as positive with respect to alcohol abuse in patients with combined pancreas and kidney transplantation.