Clinical Efficacy of a Dry Extract of Five Herbal Drugs in Acute Viral Rhinosinusitis.

Clinical efficacy of a dry extract of five herbal drugs in acute viral rhinosinusitis.

Filed under: Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation

Rhinology. 2012 Dec; 50(4): 417-26
Jund R, Mondliger M, Steindl H, Stammer H, Stierna P, Bachert C, On Behalf Of The Arhisi Ii Study G

A herbal drug combination (Dry Extract BNO 1016) has been assessed for efficacy and tolerability in patients with acute viral rhinosinusitis.In this randomised, controlled trial patients with symptom duration of up to 3 days, mild to moderate facial pain and a Major Symptom Score (MSS) between 8 and 12 were treated for 15 days with BNO 1016 or placebo (coated tablets administered orally). Primary efficacy endpoint was mean MSS at end of treatment. Secondary outcome measures included treatment response and changes in paranasal sinuses assessed by ultrasonography.Treatment resulted in clinically relevant, significant differences in mean MSS for BNO 1016 versus placebo. BNO 1016 provided symptom relief two days earlier than placebo. The number needed to treat for healing is 8. BNO 1016 was superior regarding responder rates at Day 10 and Day 14 and percentage of patients without signs of acute viral rhinosinusitis assessed by ultrasonography at end of treatment. BNO 1016 was well tolerated; no serious adverse events were reported.The herbal dry extract BNO 1016 is efficacious and well tolerated in patients with acute viral rhinosinusitis. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01146860; EudraCT: 2009-016682-28).
HubMed – drug

 

Differential tissular distribution of Litomosoides sigmodontis microfilariae between microfilaremic and amicrofilaremic mice following experimental infection.

Filed under: Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation

Parasite. 2012 Nov; 19(4): 351-8
Bouchery T, Ehrhardt K, Lefoulon E, Hoffmann W, Bain O, Martin C

Filariases are caused by onchocercid nematodes that are transmitted by arthropod vectors. More than 180 million people are infected worldwide. Mass drug administration has been set up in many endemic areas to control the parasite burden. Although very successful in limiting microfilarial load, transmission has not been completely interrupted in such areas. A proportion of infected patients with lymphatic filariasis or loiasis are known to be amicrofilaremic, as they do not present microfilariae in their bloodstream despite the presence of adult worms. A mirror status also exists in CBA/Ca mice infected with Litomosoides sigmodontis, the well-established model of filariasis. Using this model, the goal of this study was to determine if the kinetics of blood clearance of microfilariae differed between amicrofilaremic CBA/Ca mice and microfilaremic BALB/c mice. For this purpose, a qPCR approach was devised to detect microfilariae in different tissues, after a controlled inoculation of microfilariae. We showed that the rapid clearance of microfilariae from the pleural cavity or from the bloodstream of CBA/Ca mice was associated with a massive accumulation of first stage larvae in the lungs, liver and spleen.
HubMed – drug

 

Iranian Household Financial Protection against Catastrophic Health Care Expenditures.

Filed under: Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation

Iran J Public Health. 2012; 41(9): 62-70
Moghadam MN, Banshi M, Javar MA, Amiresmaili M, Ganjavi S

Protecting households against financial risks is one of objectives of any health system. In this regard, Iran’s fourth five year developmental plan act in its 90th article, articulated decreasing household’s exposure to catastrophic health expenditure to one percent. Hence, this study aimed to measure percentage of Iranian households exposed to catastrophic health expenditures and to explore its determinants.The present descriptive-analytical study was carried out retrospectively. Households whose financial contributions to the health system exceeded 40% of disposable income were considered as exposed to catastrophic healthcare expenditures. Influential factors on catastrophic healthcare expenditures were examined by logistic regression and chi-square test.Of 39,088 households, 80 were excluded due to absence of food expenditures. 2.8% of households were exposed to catastrophic health expenditures. Influential factors on catastrophic healthcare were utilizing ambulatory, hospital, and drug addiction cessation services as well as consuming pharmaceuticals. Socioeconomics characteristics such as health insurance coverage, household size, and economic status were other determinants of exposure to catastrophic healthcare expenditures.Iranian health system has not achieved the objective of reducing catastrophic healthcare expenditure to one percent. Inefficient health insurance coverage, different fee schedules practiced by private and public providers, failure of referral system are considered as probable barriers toward decreasing households’ exposure to catastrophic healthcare expenditures.
HubMed – drug

 

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