Acute and Chronic Toxicity of an Aqueous Fraction of the Stem Bark of Stryphnodendron adstringens (Barbatimão) in Rodents

Stryphnodendron adstringens has a high tannin content and is used as an antiseptic and antimicrobial and in the treatment of leucorrhea, gonorrhea, wound healing, and gastritis. The present study evaluated the toxic effects of the heptamer prodelphinidin (F2) from the stem bark of S. adstringens in rodents. In the acute toxicity test, the mice that received oral doses exhibited reversible effects, with an LD 50 of 3.015 mg ⋅ kg −1 . In the chronic toxicity test at 90 days, Wistar rats were treated with different doses of F2 (10, 100, and 200 mg ⋅ kg −1 ). In the biochemical, hematological, and histopathological examinations and open-field test, the different dose groups did not exhibit significant differences compared with controls. The present results indicate that F2 from the stem bark of S. adstringens caused no toxicity with acute and chronic oral treatment in rodents at the doses administered

Body mass index influences the response to infliximab in ankylosing spondylitis

INTRODUCTION: The excess of adipose tissue in obese individuals may have immunomodulating properties and pharmacokinetic consequences. The aim of this study was to determine whether body mass index (BMI) affects response to infliximab (IFX) in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients. METHODS: In 155 patients retrospectively included with active AS, the BMI was calculated before initiation of IFX treatment (5 mg/kg intravenously). After 6 months of treatment, changes from baseline in BASDAI, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) pain, C-reactive protein (CRP) level, and total dose of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID) were dichotomized with a threshold corresponding to a decrease of 50% of initial level of the measure, into binary variables assessing response to IFX (BASDAI50, VAS50, CRP50, NSAID50). Whether the BMI was predictive of the response to IFX therapy according to these definitions was assessed with logistic regression. RESULTS: Multivariate analysis found that a higher BMI was associated with a lower response for BASDAI50 (P = 0.0003; OR, 0.87; 95% CI (0.81 to 0.94)), VAS50 (P < 0.0001; OR, 0.87; 95% CI (0.80 to 0.93)); CRP50 (P = 0.0279; OR, 0.93; 95% CI (0.88 to 0.99)), and NSAID50 (P = 0.0077; OR, 0.91; 95% CI (0.85 to 0.97)), criteria. According to the three WHO BMI categories, similar results were found for BASDAI50 (77.6%, 48.9%, and 26.5%; P < 0.0001), VAS50 (72.6%, 40.4%, and 16.7%; P < 0.0001); CRP50 (87.5%, 65.7%, and 38.5%; P = 0.0001), and NSAID50 (63.2%, 51.5%, and 34.6%; P = 0.06). CONCLUSIONS: This study provides the first evidence that a high BMI negatively influences the response to IFX in AS. Further prospective studies, including assessment of the fat mass, pharmacokinetics, and adipokines dosages are mandatory to elucidate the role of obesity in AS IFX response

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements