Evaluation of Cuspidaria pulchra and its Isolated Compounds Against Schistosoma mansoni Adult Worms

The present study has investigated the chemical composition of the bioactive EtOAc fraction of Cuspidaria pulchra aerial parts, as well as its schistosomicidal activities against Schistosoma mansoni adult worms in vitro. To this end, the crude ethanol extract obtained from the aerial parts of C. pulchra (Bignoniaceae) was partitioned with n-hexane, EtOAc, and n-BuOH. The EtOAc fraction was purified by preparative HPLC, which afforded 3,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde (1), p-coumaric acid (2), p-hydroxybenzoic acid (3), ursolic acid (4), and oleanolic acid (5). The bioassay results indicated that the crude ethanol extract and the EtOAc fraction at 100 µg/mL killed the adult schistosomes in vitro. Compounds 1 and 3 at 100 µm were only able to separate coupled S. mansoni adult worms

Serum S100B Levels in Patients with Lupus Erythematosus: Preliminary Observation

S100B is an astrocytic calcium-binding protein which has been proposed as a biochemical marker of brain damage or dysfunction in acute and chronic diseases. We investigated whether serum S100B levels could be related to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) activity. Patients were grouped as having inactive SLE (ISLE), active SLE without central nervous system (CNS) involvement (ASLE), or active SLE with unequivocal neurologic or psychiatric manifestation (NPSLE). The control group consisted of age- and sex-matched healthy blood donors. S100B levels were determined using a luminescence immunoassay. All SLE groups had higher levels of serum S100B than the control group. Among the SLE groups, significantly higher levels of serum S100B protein were found in the NPSLE group than in the ISLE and ASLE groups, and there was no significant difference in S100B levels between the ISLE and ASLE groups. These preliminary results point to a putative relevance of serum S100B protein levels in SLE patients, specifically concerning CNS involvement present in this disease