A total of 80 patients with chronic, stable psoriasis, 34 of whom also had psoriatic arthritis, were treated with 1122 mg/day eicosapentaenoic acid ethyl ester and 756 mg/day docosahexaenoic acid ethyl ester. Before the study and after 4 and 8 weeks of treatment a Psoriatic Association scoring index (PASI) score was assessed. Before treatment the mean PASI score was 3.56, after 4 weeks 1.98 and after 8 weeks 1.24; the decrease in the score was highly significant (P less than 0.001). The degree of pruritus decreased most rapidly, followed by scaling and induration of the plaques, and erythema was most persistent. At the end of the trial, seven patients were completely healed and in 13 other patients more than 75% healing was observed but in 14 patients the result was poor. The majority of patients with psoriatic arthritis reported a subjective improvement in joint pain during the study. It is concluded that polyunsaturated ethyl ester lipids may be useful for the treatment of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis and may provide an important adjuvant to standard therapy of both conditions.

Glycosides of flavonols such as quercetin, are found in the edible portions of most food vegetables. Flavonols present in plants as glycosides can be freed during fermentation. We have compared the DNA-damaging activity of quercetin, rutin (3-o-rutinoside of quercetin) and a fermented flavonoid-containing beverage, red wine, for different genetic end-points under different metabolic conditions. The genotoxicity of quercetin, rutin and commercial red wine has been studied for the induction of: (i) reverse mutation in the Ames assay; (ii) SOS functions in the SOS Chromotest; (iii) sister-chromatid exchanges (SCEs) in human lymphocytes. While in the Ames assay the mutagenicity of quercetin is enhanced by the presence of rat liver microsomal enzymes (S9) or the respective cytosolic fraction (S100), genotoxicity is reduced when the induction of SOS responses is assessed using the SOS Chromotest. Similarly, the induction of SCEs is lowered when testing in the presence of liver enzymes. Rutin has no activity whatsoever. Detection of activity of red wine in the three assays is not dependent upon hydrolysis by glycosidases and its content of quercetin accounts almost entirely for the levels of genotoxicity detected. The results suggest that the putative genotoxic metabolites of quercetin vary for different genetic end-points considered and that the metabolic fate of flavonoids might partly account for the conflicting data about their genotoxicity in vivo and carcinogenic activity.

809 no effect on the surface or caused the appearance of a watery fluid, which could be drained off. Whether this fluid was a condensation of water molecules from the air or represented an actual secretion is not known. The mucous layer of control tissue had a glossy appearance, but was never watery.5 . EBect on Ciliary Resistance to Mechanical Trauma. It was noted that positive ions rendered the cilia peculiarly vulnerable to mechanical trauma. A single, very gentle stroke with a cotton-tipped swab dipped in Ringer's solution, which had no lasting effect on the control, completely stopped ciliary activity over all or most of the surface of the tissue receiving positive ions, This enhanced vulnerability completely disappeared when the tissue was exposed to negative ions. It also disappeared if the tissue was allowed to stand in the control chamber for an hour or more.It is not at all obvious on a priori grounds that air ions should possess any capacity to influence biological systems. Nevertheless, evidence is collecting which establishes such activity in several areas. For example, positive ions reduce the succinoxidase content of the rat adrenal gland(4), and negative ions raise the COZ combining power of hamster blood plasma( 7). During the past 2 years we studied the response of microorganisms sus-pended in very small drops of water when exposed to positive and negative air ions and have secured quantitatively reproducible alterations in survival curves ( 3 ) .While we have as yet developed no theory to account for the action of air ions on the rabbit trachea, it is possible that some of the changes we noted in the rate of water evaporation from droplets containing bacteria (3) may have significance here as well. A study of the inter-relationships and possible interdependence of the effects described in this series of experiments is currently in progress.Gibson and Doisy( 1 ) made the interesting observation, in normal human subjects, that ingestion of sodium lactate results in a striking if transitory decrease in the urinary excretion of uric acid, accompanied by a slight rise in plasma uric acid, suggesting "an elevated threshold in the kidney." Quick (2 ) , Michael ( 3 ) and Nichols et aL(4) confirmed the de-

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