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tSCIENCE Cancer drugs curb arthritic ills MDs say that chlorambucil relieves symptoms of scleroderma, and that cyclophosphamide improves renal effects of lupus A ntnnl,er t,f drur< c>ril;inall)• cle- velul,e,l tu treat cancers are bein„ fmun<1 ttsefnl in treating other clis- ea~.e, as well. At the meeting of the American Rheumatism A>sn earlier this year in 1)etrnit. 3,el>a- rate rel>urt~s dealt wit}1 the u<e uf anti-cancer comlx>un<h, v> treat ar- tiiritis-tN,l>e cliseases. , I)r. Allen H. alaclienzie, of the Cleveland Clinic F(,tmrlatir,n, told the meeting that he had obtainecl l,rt>ntisir,g rrsttlt> -%i'it)t the alkyl;tt- inr agent chlurambucil i Yttrrourhs- Wellcorme'~, l-eukeran ~ in tre,ttinT l 1 patients snffering frr,nt sys- temic scleruderma. This is a seri- (>n~,, l>ru~;re~,sive disease that in- ~,~ e~ the skin, joint,, anc] other 1>art~- of the body, and iz~ often fatal. \r, Irreviuus dru); therapy has. been able to achieve major improvement in patient, or to arrest the pruf;res- sive feature:~ of the disease. Dr. Nlaclielizie treated 11 pa- tieatts ,ttfl'rriir); fron7 sN stenlli,c sclerorlermri ( also known as Prc,- gres-ive systemic sclerosiS ) bv ad- ministering chk,rambucil in a dos- age of 0.1 nig l,er kg of patient's weight per day. The drug was given orally and mean duration of treat- me nt lasted 18.3 nTonths. Results: The researcher reported that chlnrambucil therapy helped imprt,ve all aspects of the disease. Nine of 10 patients who were af- flicted with limited hand motinn were helped hy the clrul;- Fingertip ulcers improved in every case where they were present. Synovitis was cuml>letely sul,lrressecl in 6 patient, in whom this symlttc>ln was present. As a matter of fact, 1)r. 'Nlaclienzie noted that progressive involvement of every organ system was halted in ever\'' hne of thie 1 1 patienltis stuclietl', AMERICAN DRUGGIST • September 7, 1970 He said that ubjective resl>onse to chlnrambucil therapy take~ several tnomth, to appear. Patients. hrnw- ever, became convinced of the l,enc- fits of the drug treatntent within 3 to (, munth~, as finger nu,tirrn inr proves and ulcers heal. In all cases ( i)vdhere weight loss was a factur, theral>r resultecl in a nlearn gain e4f 1-1 ll,s'. 1)r. \1acl:enzie said that there were m, treatment cuml,licati,,ns, "T(asi.c reslu,n,e, tc> chl<,ranlhucil have not l,een .erinu, and tulrraticm hrt> been goo>cl. '.\l>ulest leukr,penia an(1 s<>nte gastrc,intestinal irritatiun hrtve been uhserved- He concludes that "arre,t of prt - gre.sive systemic sclerusi~ ill all RADIOSURGERY: A Swedish neurosur- geon-Prof. Lars Leksell, of Stock- holm's Karolinska Hospital-has de• veloped a radiosurgery system for closed brain operations. Called the Leksell Gamma unit, it consists of a heavily shielded central body with 179 beam sources of radioactive cobalt that destroys diseased brain tissue. these 1 l patients is anomalou-s. since each of these patient., al,l>e,:r, tu qualifi for assignment to a higl, ri.l:, poor prugnusi, l;rrntl,. I susl>ect tl,at mr>:t Wt,uld have shown prul;re~.i wn luf their disease during the tre:it- nient l,eriuell and ]x>ssihlN 2 w,>ul,l have been expected to clie.'~ Cyclophosphamide therapy: Ant,ther anti-cancer clru;;, c~cl - l,husl,haniicle. has been fnnncl tt riul in brinring inll,ruvenent in 1>t~- tient., suffering frunl sy:temic lttlm- erythernatc,u,, ( S1,1: I nel,hritis. A research te<un, heaclecl h% Dr. .-Vfrecl 1'), titeinbrrg t>f Iletlte:'tl:t. :\lcl, told the meeting that the cancer clrug was triecl in 7 Patient~~ suiivr- inr fro,m til.l: nel,hriti., whilc 4 other victim.s ui the disease were given l,lacelw. Dosage of the cvcl>t- hhc,shhamicle averaged 2.2 m,, 1>er kn of hcul\• weight clailY. \Inct ,it the patients un active drug and hlacelx, also received preclnis-me. Ke-~ults shuwe<l that l,est re- slvelse:- wiere seen in thi,Se TV°t-r'it^ttt• Nvith the mildest form of ren.O clis- ease. Symptumatic imlrrc>\ enletit was seen in most ltatient> ,*ettin; cyclr>l,h(,sl)lhamicl.e. 1'laceln> patient~, sht,Nvecl hardly any inll>rt~~ e,llent. tiicle effects, however, were yuitt, s?vere in all patients getting the anti-cancer clru,- and inclucle(l lt»~, of hair, lyml>hul,enia, and uther ccmtplications. The researchers concluded that "cyclohhosl>hanticle, althcrugh tc»ic, can bring an inlprut•ement in s,nnc 1>atients with luhus nephriti.. '\lc;uts for increasing the efficacy and re- chtcin); the tt>xicit) of the ctrug shuulcl be suu),*ht." In anuther stucly presented hY a teanl headed bv Dr. 1. F. hrie< nf titanfur,cL Cal,if, l)'clnp~tc,slthamicle ~ ' Phoimoceu/icol 8 Medicol Sc ence • 45 3

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was found less useful than predni- sone in treating 22 patients suf- fering from such connective tissue diseases as svstemic lupus erythe- matosus and polymvositis. Gold treatment can be of benefit to ntan.• children suffering from the chronic progressive form of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis which is unre- sponsive to the usual ccroservati,,e methods of treatment, according to Los Angeles researchers. 1)rs. Raquel ~1. Hicks, Virgil Hanson, an(l Helen Kornreich told the meeting that the-,• had treated 40 patients Nvith this disease dur- ing the l,as; 10 years. They admin- istered one weekly iniection of gold sodium thiomalate-1 mg l>er kg oi Nveight-for 20 week-,, and then every 2 to 4 weeks thereafter for 2 years if there was improvement. Therapy had to be discontintted in 8 of the children due to a signifi- cant reduction in circulating granu- locN-tes or proteinuria. Nineteen of 30 patients suffering from systemic disease showed improvement. the researchers reported. Aspirin substitute?: Although aspirin has always been the anti- inrlammatorv analgesic of first choice in rheumatoid arthritis, it causes gastrointestinal bleeding in manN - patients when administered in the large doses required to control symptoms of this disease. A research group-headed by Dr. Harvey E. Golden o fthe Chicago Rledical School-told the meeting that choline salicylate appears to cause le;s g i bleeding than aspirin when administered to rheumatoid arthritis patients-while giving the saine beneficial results. The test included 26 patients, none of u•hom had taken corti- costeroicls during the previous 6 months. Half the patients were started on aspirin and the other half on choline salicylate. At the mid- point in the study, each group went on the other drug. Results indicated that most pa- tients showed more blood in their stools while on aspirin than while on the choline salicylate, regardless of which drug was given first. The research team concluded that "choline salicylate may be an alternative salicylate preparation to consider for the treatment of the rheumatdid ,patiient an 1Iwhom g.i. bleeding presents a problem." t I TELEPHARMEDIC S Thefirst vaccine designed to protect against both rubella (German measles) and mumps with a single injeotion has been approved by the government. Merck Sharp & Dohme is marketing it under the name "Biavax• " Anew male anti-fertility com ound, code-named U-5897, is being tested by Upj ohn. Oral or subcutaneous administration of the drug to rats caused them to lose their iertility in less than a week -- but they regained it within a week after treatment was stopped. Treated males showed no loss in libido. Don't take a sauna or steam bath while under the influence of alcohol or drugs such as anticoagulants, antihistamines, hypnotics, vasoconstrictors, vasodilators, narcotics, or tranquilizers, the Federal Trade Commission advises. The agency also says that people suffering from diabetes, heart trouble, or highblood pressure should avoid saunas. Aspirin does not damage chromosomes in human leukocytes, report 3 Hoffmann-LaRoche researchers who tested the effect of the drug on the white blood cells. Some recent studies offered preliminary evidence linking the analgesic with chromosome aberrations.  Hope that stroke victims may some day be able to regain use of paralyzed limbs is seen in experiments conducted by Dr. Lawrence Pinneo of Stanford. The scientist using computer-regulated electricity that is carried into damaged brain tissue on tiny wires, has been able to make a monkey lift food to its mouth with a paralyzed arm. a The best_ treatment for wood alcohol poisoning says Dr. A. M. Potts of the U of Chicago, is to give the patient large quantities of ethyl alcohol -- the stuff that's in whiskey or scotch. He explains that the bodily enzymes, which act on the wood alcohol to produce poisonous chemicals, are diverted by the ethyl alcohol until the body can excrete the poison. Scirncr • 47