epiglucan and Pain

To compare the standard treatment, diltiazem gel 2%, with Levorag® Emulgel for chronic anal fissures.. This was a single-blinded, randomised, controlled, clinical trial with a non-inferiority design. Patients with a chronic anal fissure were randomised to treatment with diltiazem or Levorag® Emulgel twice daily for 8 weeks. Primary endpoint was complete healing of the anal fissure after 12 weeks. Secondary endpoints included incidence of adverse events and efficacy on pain relief.. In total, 55 patients were included. Inclusion was terminated prematurely due to a slow inclusion rate. Complete fissure healing at 12 weeks follow-up was overall achieved in 31 of 55 (56%) patients, 18 of 29 (62%) in the diltiazem group compared with 13 of 26 (50%) in the Levorag® Emulgel group (P = 0.424). Pain relief was significantly better at day seven in patients treated with diltiazem (P = 0.040) compared with Levorag® Emulgel, whereas there were no differences in early (3 days) or late (12 weeks) pain relief. Three patients (10.3%) developed severe perianal exanthema during diltiazem treatment, whereas no side effects were observed in the Levorag® Emulgel group.. The study demonstrated statistical non-inferiority of Levorag® Emulgel compared with diltiazem in the treatment of chronic anal fissure. Diltiazem resulted in a more prompt pain relief and also in a substantial number of local allergic reactions. Levorag® Emulgel may therefore be an alternative in these patients.. Clinicaltrials.gov no. NCT02158013.

Topics: Adult; beta-Glucans; Chronic Disease; Diltiazem; Drug Combinations; Feasibility Studies; Female; Fissure in Ano; Humans; Male; Pain; Plant Extracts; Wound Healing; Young Adult

The aim of this evaluation is to assess the effects of a wound healing gel in a wounds of different aetiologies.. Data was recorded on the wound surface area, tissue type, and patient level of wound pain at baseline (0) and at weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, and 8.. Of the total 39 patients enrolled in the study, 26 patients who complied with the protocol criteria completed the minimum four-week study period. During the 12-week evaluation period, seven of the 26 wounds fully healed and an additional eight wounds showed a reduction in size of more than 50 %. Of the remaining 11, five wounds showed moderate healing progression and six wounds did not respond to treatment. Following the 12 week evaluation time point clinicians reported that a further three wounds healed-a 38 % healing rate.. The results give promise that this advanced gel, containing a macrophage activating substance, can be a tool in re-activating healing in stalled wounds where standard of care is no longer giving the desired healing progression.

Topics: Administration, Cutaneous; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; beta-Glucans; Female; Gels; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Pain; Pain Measurement; Prospective Studies; Wound Healing; Wounds and Injuries

β-d-glucans are polymers of d-glucose monomers found in the cell walls of many bacteria, plants, fungi and yeasts. A variety of β-d-glucans differing in structures have been isolated from various sources and their biological activity to be regulated by various structural factors, such as the primary structure, molecular weight, solubility, and conformation. This study investigated the effect of extraction time and temperature on the yield of β-d-glucan produced by Rhodotorulamucilaginosa. A statistical Doehlert design was applied to determine the important effects and interactions of these independent variables on the yield of β-d-glucan, the dependent variable. Significant models were obtained. The best yield was of 25% obtained after 128min of extraction in a temperature of 72°C. The polysaccharides were characterized as (1⟶3)-β-d-glucan by methods spectroscopic (FT-IR, (1)HNMR and (13)CNMR). In addition, the antinociceptive effect was evaluated using different experimental tests (acetic acid-induced writhing test, formalin test and tail immersion test). The (1⟶3)-β-d-glucan showed a potent peripheral antinociceptive effect, possibly by the inhibition of inflammatory mediators.

Topics: Analgesics; Animals; beta-Glucans; Chemical Fractionation; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Male; Mice; Pain; Rhodotorula; Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared

The objective of this prospective study was to determine if Candida albicans is present in the milk of women suffering from symptoms of severe nipple and deep breast pain.. The symptomatic group included women who reported sore, inflamed, or traumatized nipples or intense stabbing or burning pain. The control group included breastfeeding women without symptoms. The skin of the nipple and areola were washed with detergent and thoroughly rinsed. Milk samples were analyzed for (1 --> 3)-beta-D-glucan and grown on Candida growth medium.. There was no significant difference in (1 --> 3)-beta-D-glucan levels between the control and symptomatic group. No Candida species were culturable either before or after the addition of iron to stimulate growth, with the exception of one patient. The addition of pure C. albicans to milk samples suggested that milk does not inhibit Candida growth.. These data suggest that C. albicans is not present in milk ducts and may not be associated with this syndrome.

Topics: Adult; beta-Glucans; Breast Feeding; Candida albicans; Candidiasis; Case-Control Studies; Female; Humans; Mastitis; Milk, Human; Nipples; Pain; Prospective Studies

A glucan was extracted with hot water from the basidiomycete Pleurotus pulmonarius and shown to have a (1-->3)-linked beta-D-glucopyranosyl main-chain substituted at O-6 of every third unit by single beta-D-glucopyranosyl non-reducing end units. This was shown by mono- and bidimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, methylation analysis, and a controlled Smith degradation. The glucan was tested for its effects on the acetic acid-induced writhing reaction in mice, a typical model for quantifying inflammatory pain. It caused a marked and dose-dependent anti-inflammatory response, demonstrated by the inhibition of leukocyte migration to injured tissues (82 +/- 6%) with an ID50 of 1.19 (0.74-1.92) mg/kg. Furthermore, animals previously treated with the glucan (3 mg/kg i.p.), showed a reduction of 85 +/- 5% of writhes, after receiving the acetic acid injection. Furthermore, in the formalin test, the glucan (3-30 mg/kg, i.p.) also caused significant inhibition of both the early (neurogenic pain) and the late phases (inflammatory pain) of formalin-induced licking. However, it was more potent and effective in relation to the late phase of the formalin test, with mean ID(50) values for the neurogenic and the inflammatory phases of > 30 and 12.9 (6.7-24.6) mg/kg and the inhibitions observed were 43 +/- 5% and 96 +/- 4%, respectively. These data showed that the glucan had potent anti-inflammatory and analgesic (antinociceptive) activities, possibly by the inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokines.

Topics: Acetic Acid; Analgesics; Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Behavior, Animal; Capillary Permeability; Cell Movement; Disease Models, Animal; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Formaldehyde; Glucans; Inflammation; Leukocytes; Male; Mice; Molecular Structure; Pain; Pain Measurement; Pleurotus

Lafoensia pacari St. Hil. (Lythraceae) is used in traditional medicine to treat inflammation. Previously, we demonstrated the anti-inflammatory effect that the ethanolic extract of L. pacari has in Toxocara canis infection (a model of systemic eosinophilia). In this study, we tested the anti-inflammatory activity of the same L. pacari extract in mice injected intraperitoneally with beta-glucan present in fraction 1 (F1) of the Histoplasma capsulatum cell wall (a model of acute eosinophilic inflammation). We also determined the anti-oedematous, analgesic and anti-pyretic effects of L. pacari extract in carrageenan-induced paw oedema, acetic acid writhing and LPS-induced fever, respectively. L. pacari extract significantly inhibited leucocyte recruitment into the peritoneal cavity induced by beta-glucan. In addition, the L. pacari extract presented significant analgesic, anti-oedematous and anti-pyretic effects. Bioassay-guided fractionation of the L. pacari extract in the F1 model led us to identify ellagic acid. As did the extract, ellagic acid presented anti-inflammatory, anti-oedematous and analgesic effects. However, ellagic acid had no anti-pyretic effect, suggesting that other compounds present in the plant stem are responsible for this effect. Nevertheless, our results demonstrate potential therapeutic effects of L. pacari extract and ellagic acid, providing new prospects for the development of drugs to treat pain, oedema and inflammation.

Topics: Acetic Acid; Analgesics; Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; beta-Glucans; Carrageenan; Edema; Ellagic Acid; Female; Fever; Lipopolysaccharides; Lythraceae; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Pain; Pain Measurement; Peritonitis; Plant Bark; Plant Extracts; Plant Stems; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Time Factors