No abstract

Euphrasia single-dose eye drops can effectively and safely be used for various conjunctival conditions by general practitioners and ophthalmologists. A dosage of one drop three times a day seems to be the general prescribed dosage.

No abstract

When injected subcutaneously, extracts from the white berry mistletoe (Viscum album L) lead to a dose-dependent local inflammatory reaction at the injection site. From in vitro investigations with V album extracts, the release of proinflammatory cytokines from peripheral blood mononuclear cells and from a human skin model (Skin(2) model; Advanced Tissue Sciences, La Jolla, CA) is known. This shows dose dependence for mistletoe lectin-I in the range of 0.02 ng/mL to 10.0 ng/mL. In this study, an investigation was conducted of which cytokines are released in the skin by the mistletoe lectin-standardized mistletoe extracts Viscum album QuFrF (VaQuFrF) and Iscador Qu Spzial (IQuS) (Institute Hiscia, Arlesheim, Switzerland) and whether dose dependency exists. The model used for this study is the multilayered skin model EpiDerm (MatTek Corporation, Ashland, MA), which consists of multilayered keratinocytes. The viability of the cell culture was measured after incubation with 0.01, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, and 15.0 ng/mL VaQuFrF or 0.01, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 5.0, and 15.0 ng/mL IQuS. The release of interleukin (IL)-1alpha, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12p(40+70), IL-12p(70), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha), interferon (IFN)-alpha, IFNgamma, granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor, and RANTES was determined after incubation with 0.5 ng/mL of IQuS ng/mL and VaQuFrF. The dose dependency of the release of IL-1alpha and IL-6 after incubation with 0.5 and 15.0 ng/mL VaQuFrF or 0.5 ng/mL, 5.0 ng/mL, and 15.0 ng/mL IQuS and that of the release of IL-1alpha, IL-2, IL-6, IL-10, and TNFalpha after incubation with 0.01 ng/mL, 0.1 ng/mL, 0.2 ng/mL, 0.3 ng/mL, and 0.5 ng/mL VaQuFrF or IQuS were determined. A dose-dependent decrease of cellular viability and an increase of IL-1alpha, IL-6, and TNFalpha as well as the release of IL-8 could be demonstrated. These results are compatible with the hypothesis that the subcutaneous injection of VaQuFrF and IQuS leads to a release of proinflammatory cytokines at the injection site.

Iscador^®, an aqueous extract of Viscum album L., has been used for more than 80 years as an anticancer drug. Due to its immunomodulatory potential, since the onset of the AIDS epidemic it has also been applied in the treatment of HIV-positive and AIDS patients in the form of the preparation V. album QuFrF (VaQuFrF; Labor Hiscia, Arlesheim, Switzerland). In in vitro investigations, incubation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells with V. album L. extracts resulted in stimulation of lymphocyte activity with increased gene expression and release of various cytokines and also of interferon gamma (IFN-γ). In the latent phase, HIV positives exhibit only slightly elevated IFN-γ concentrations in serum in comparison with HIV negatives, but in the acute phase of AIDS, there is an increase in levels of IFN-γ. As the assay of cytokine levels in serum is a simple method of measuring immune system reactions, the aim of this trial was to determine whether increases in serum IFN-γ levels in HIV positives and HIV negatives can be detected using this method after repeated injections of VaQuFrF. Five healthy subjects and 13 HIV-positive patients were investigated. IFN-γ concentrations in serum were assayed using an ELISA test kit (ELISA test; ENDOGEN, Cambridge, Mass., USA). No drug-related elevation of serum IFN-γ was observed at any time point during the trial. It can thus be concluded that this method is not suitable for direct investigation of the immunomodulatory effects of VaQuFrF in vivo.