{\it Helicobacter pylori\/}: An infectious consideration when screening patients with complaints of dyspepsia

Historically, abdominal complaints have been generally dealt with palliatively. Seldom were underlying causes given consideration. However, in 1982 (Warren & Marshall, 1983), the identification of the bacterial agent Helicobacter pylori (known hereafter in this paper as H. pylori) as a potential link between gastrointestinal complaints such as gastric and duodenal ulcers, Crohn's Disease, and some forms of gastric cancer has given rise for concern. In 1994, the National Institute for Health recommended that patients with complaints of dyspepsia be studied for the occurrence of H. pylori. This study proposes to study the occurrence of H. pylori in patients who complain with dyspepsia with a relatively non invasive screening technique to be done in an office setting. The study findings were considered signifcant if p $\le$.05. This study indicated that 49% of patients with complaints of dyspepsia were postive for H. pylori infection with p =.000. ^

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel Folic Acid Receptor-Targeted, β-Cyclodextrin-Based Drug Complexes for Cancer Treatment

Drug targeting is an active area of research and nano-scaled drug delivery systems hold tremendous potential for the treatment of neoplasms. In this study, a novel cyclodextrin (CD)-based nanoparticle drug delivery system has been assembled and characterized for the therapy of folate receptor-positive [FR(+)] cancer. Water-soluble folic acid (FA)-conjugated CD carriers (FACDs) were successfully synthesized and their structures were confirmed by 1D/2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MALDI-TOF-MS), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and circular dichroism. Drug complexes of adamatane (Ada) and cytotoxic doxorubicin (Dox) with FACD were readily obtained by mixed solvent precipitation. The average size of FACD-Ada-Dox was 1.5–2.5 nm. The host-guest association constant Ka was 1,639 M−1 as determined by induced circular dichroism and the hydrophilicity of the FACDs was greatly enhanced compared to unmodified CD. Cellular uptake and FR binding competitive experiments demonstrated an efficient and preferentially targeted delivery of Dox into FR-positive tumor cells and a sustained drug release profile was seen in vitro. The delivery of Dox into FR(+) cancer cells via endocytosis was observed by confocal microscopy and drug uptake of the targeted nanoparticles was 8-fold greater than that of non-targeted drug complexes. Our docking results suggest that FA, FACD and FACD-Ada-Dox could bind human hedgehog interacting protein that contains a FR domain. Mouse cardiomyocytes as well as fibroblast treated with FACD-Ada-Dox had significantly lower levels of reactive oxygen species, with increased content of glutathione and glutathione peroxidase activity, indicating a reduced potential for Dox-induced cardiotoxicity. These results indicate that the targeted drug complex possesses high drug association and sustained drug release properties with good biocompatibility and physiological stability. The novel FA-conjugated β-CD based drug complex might be promising as an anti-tumor treatment for FR(+) cancer.