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Donating to the Terrapin Club
Season Tickets
How long has the Terpoint system been in effect?
The Terpoint System has been in effect since 1995. Terpoints are the most objective method of determining your status as a donor because the athletic department does not determine your Terpoints, you do!
How are my Terpoints calculated?
Terpoints are calculated as follows:
Current Gift (8 points per $100)
+ Cumulative gifts (4 points per $100)
+ Consecutive years of donating1 (1 – 10 years: 8 points per year, 11 – 20 years: 12 points per year, 21 – 30 years: 16 points per year, 31+ years: 20 points per year)
+ Donation referrals2
+ Deferred gift3
+ Years as Season Ticket Holder for Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball and/or Football (6 points per sport season per year)4
This sum equals your total number of Terpoints.Please note: 1 If you skip a year of donating, your consecutive years of giving to the Terrapin Club Scholarship Fund drops back to one (1) year when you rejoin.
2 Based on initial gift of donor.
3 Terpoints for irrevocable deferred gifts are based on the Net Present Value of the irrevocable deferred gift.
4 Six (6) Terpoints are awarded for each sport season that the donor both purchased season tickets and was an active donor of the TCSF.
What's the difference between Terpoints and Terpoint Priority Rank?
Terpoints are the actual number of points determined from the above calculation. Terpoint Priority Rank is the relative ranking of one donor within the total donation of the TCSF. The person with the most Terpoints is ranked #1.
What is the point difference between My Current Annual Gift and My Cumulative Gifts?
Your current gift to the TCSF earns 8 points per $100. Your historical giving, which is classified as "cumulative," earns 4 points per $100. Weighting your current gift higher than your cumulative giving rewards you for keeping your donation current and allowing us to provide scholarships to student athletes. Your gift to the TCSF stays "current" for one year (365 days) from the day that we process your gift. While it is current, you are awarded 8 points per $100 for that gift. The day after that year time frame is up (on the 366th day), your gift moves to the cumulative category, therefore, awarded 4 points per $100. Any historical giving is part of your cumulative or lifetime giving to the TCSF.
Why does My Priority Rank and number of Terpoints fluctuate from report to report?
Remember Terpoints and your rank are fluid numbers based on the contribution activity of all TCSF donors. Terpoints are not calculated by adding new points to existing points totals. They are determined by using the mathematical formula listed above. This determines your new total Terpoints and priority rank.
How can I increase My Terpoints?
The easiest way to increase your Terpoints is by increasing your annual gift to the Terrapin Club Scholarship Fund or by making a capital gift.
How can I increase My Terpoints without increasing my annual gift?
Referring new donors is the best way to increase your Terpoints without increasing your annual giving. You receive 4 points per $100 given by the donor you refer. To ensure you receive credit to your account, make sure the donor you refer lists your name on their donation application.
How can I check My Terpoints?
Your Terpoints and Priority Rank are available by accessing your own personal donor page at www.terrapinclub.com. Your Terpoints and priority rank are also listed on each donation renewal letter that is mailed to you, as well as, basketball and football renewal notices.
Why should I give to the Terrapin Club Scholarship Fund?
TCSF donors can take pride in knowing that they are providing educational opportunities for University of Maryland student-athletes. Currently, there are over 500 student athletes who receive athletic scholarship support. Being a TCSF donor is a great way to support and stay connected with the University of Maryland, the state's flagship institution.
How can I stay involved now that I've graduated?
Recent graduates are encouraged to stay involved with Maryland Athletics and join the Young Alumni Program. First-year graduates pay only $25. New graduates receive all the benefits (see the table of benefits) of a paid Silver donor, including the opportunity to purchase football and basketball seats and an annual subscription to Terrapin Times.
What benefits do I receive for being a donor?
Donation benefits vary by giving level. All donations must be paid in full by June 1 for the upcoming school year. Review the list of benefits here.
How do I get Terrapin Club Scholarship Fund license plates?
TCSF license plates are available to active TCSF donors only. To purchase plates, please call the TCSF office at (301) 314-7020 to obtain a Motor Vehicle Administration application. Please return the form and check to the TCSF office and submit a check of $35 mad payable to the University of Maryland College Park Foundation (one-tie scholarship gift) and a $25 check made payable to the MVA (vanity cost of the plate).
Can I transfer my donation to another person?
The Terrapin Club Scholarship Fund considers a married couple to be joint donors. Therefore, if one spouse passes away or is otherwise unable to maintain the donation, the other spouse is eligible to maintain the donation and the associated benefits. The TCSF does not allow donations to be transferred to other individuals including, but not limited to non-related persons, siblings or children. The rationale behind this policy is the TCSF's obligation of fairness to its donors. By allowing donations (and seats) to be passed down generations, donors would be "locked out" of the seats in favor of a person who may not have donated.
Donating to the Terrapin Club Scholarship Fund
How much should I contribute?
Your benefits of donation vary depending on your level and amount of contribution. The TCSF is composed of nine levels of donation, ranging from the Director's Circle, the $25,000 per year level, to the Bronze level, the $55 per year level.
What methods of contributing are available?
Direct gifts are the most common way of contributing. They are made in the form of cash, stock, checks or credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express). As a donor, you have the option of contributing once annually or periodically throughout the year. Personal checking account or personal credit card can be debited a set amount every month. University of Maryland faculty/staff can pay donations through payroll deduction. For more information or if you would like to sign up for payroll deduction, please contact the Terrapin Club Scholarship Fund at (301) 314-7020. The University of Maryland College Park Foundation (the depository for scholarship money) qualifies for most charitable matching gift programs. Please contact your employer to see if you are eligible for a matching gift program or check www.matchinggifts.com/umd.
How does the Auto-Pay Program work?
The Auto-Pay Program enables you to debit your checking account on or about the 15th of each month. For example, if you are a Silver Donor ($135/year) participating in this program, your checking account will be debited $11.25 per month for 12 months. All TCSF donations are due in full by June 1st. If you begin the Auto-Pay program after June 1st you will be sent a balance due for the remainder of your pledge. Terpoints for gifts made via the Auto-Pay Program are awarded as the TCSF receives each monthly payment. For more information please contact the TCSF office or e-mail email@example.com.
Is my donation tax deductible?
Current federal income tax laws allow a charitable donation of 80% of a contribution to an educational institution where the contributor receives seating rights for home athletic events. Please consult your tax advisor for additional information. Additionally, it is the responsibility of each donor to report to the IRS the cost of any additional benefits that are received as a part of his or her donation level.
When is my Terrapin Club Scholarship Fund donation due?
In order to be eligible to receive benefits for the full football and basketball seasons all gifts due by June 1.
Why do I receive monthly reminders?
In an effort to keep you up-to-date and to ensure that your benefits continue without interruption, the TCSF will send you a monthly reminder. Reminders begin in December and continue through June. To avoid receiving monthly reminders, simply return the bottom half of one of the reminders with your pledge for this year. Remember to inform us what month you would like to be contacted about your pledge.
Can I use a Corporate Matching Gift to help make my contribution?
Yes! Check with your matching gift administrator to ensure that your company will match to the University of Maryland College Park Foundation/Terrapin Club Scholarship Fund. You can check the University of Maryland's matching gift database by visiting www.matchinggifts.com/umd. If you are eligible through your company, you can use a matching gift to increase your giving level.
For example, if Joe Terp contributes $300 and his company offers a 1:1 matching gift program, Joe is able to contribute at the Gold level – $300 personal gift, $300 corporate match. Please note, in some cases matching gifts for athletic scholarships will be matched at less than 100% of the requested amount. In these cases, it is the donor's responsibility to pay the unmatched outstanding balance.
Do I receive Terpoint credit for a Corporate Matching Gift?
Yes! Terpoints are awarded at the time the University of Maryland College Park Foundation receives and processes the actual matching gift. The matching gift pledge is included in your giving level, but the match stays outstanding until we receive notification that your corporate match has been received. Please be advised that some companies will only match gifts periodically throughout the year; check with your company about their matching gift schedule.
Season Tickets
How can I purchase men's basketball season tickets?
Terrapin Club Scholarship Fund donors receive priority seating in Xfinity Center. Seat location is determined by current giving level. To order tickets, contact the Terrapin Ticket Office at (301) 314-7070 or (800) 462-TERP.
How can I purchase football season tickets?
Terrapin Club Scholarship Fund donors receive priority seating in Byrd Stadium. Seat location is determined by current giving level. To order tickets, contact the Terrapin Ticket Office at (301) 314-7070 or (800) 462-TERP.


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Woodland Elementary District 50 will host an informational meeting about the district's dual language program for parents of students entering kindergarten in the fall at 6 p.m. Jan. 23 at Woodland Primary School, 17366 W. Gages Lake Road, Gages Lake. Parents must attend to be considered for the lottery. If you can't attend, another meeting will be held following kindergarten registration. For information, contact Valerie Morey (847) 984-8840 or at email@example.com.
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Get a free shipping quote.
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We offer horses for sale daily. Located in Agawam, MA. Call for appt. 413-786-1744. We are the largest horse traders and sellers in New England and Florida. We have bought and sold thousands upon thousands of horses and suggest you check us out. We are known throughout the country for our good reputation and stock.
Avoid Scams and Fraud - Potential areas of fraud: wire transfer, moneygrams, money orders, cashier checks, shipping, escrow, "transaction protection", "guarantee". Check out the Buyer Safety section for more info.


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Soap Opera Columnist Carolyn Hinsey Pens Afternoon Delight: Why...
Tuesday, October 05 2010
Carolyn Hinsey (Carolyn Hinsey)
A tell all…
Published by 4th Street Media, with a released date set for 2011, soap opera columnist Carolyn Hinsey will present readers with her book "Afternoon Delight: Why Soaps Still Matter." In a recent interview with
TV Guide Magazine
Carolyn started off by saying "
Guiding Light
wasn't cancelled, it was murdered. After 20 years covering this crazy genre, I know where the bodies are buried." She'll also explain some of the networks' decisions, ones that leave fans angry, as well as the speculation that some execs are more worried about saving their own jobs rather than saving their Daytime line-ups.
What do you think about Carolyn's new book? Please vote in our poll below to let us know! Find out what the author of this other soap opera related book had to say through our
Interview: Sheri Anderson Author Of Salem's Secrets, Scandals And Lies
Soaps.com is on
Twitter @soapoperafan
"Like us" on Soaps.com's Official Facebook Page
where we serve up soap news daily, hot from the presses!
All content on Soaps.com is the property of She Knows LLC. Reproduction in any form without permission is strictly prohibited.
All works on this site Copyright © 2015
, a She Knows LLC production.


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Emerging ERP vendor Workday (Nasdaq:WDAY) is one of the most expensive names in the software space today, as investors are seemingly happy to pay huge multiples for shares in a company that many believe can seriously challenge large incumbents like Oracle (Nasdaq:ORCL), SAP (NYSE:SAP), and Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT). So long as the company can continue to deliver growth ahead of demand expectations, the party will most likely continue and it won't surprise if Workday's shares hit three digits at some point in 2013. That said, this is a story where valuation leaves no margin for error, so investors should understand what they're getting into before buying shares.
Beating The Revenue Marks For Q2
Expectations for Workday these days are pretty simple – grow subscriptions, billings, and other revenue metrics. And the company did just that this quarter, as revenue growth of 72% (17% sequential) beat the average estimate by about 7%. Deferred revenue rose 32%, billings rose 36% (against a 23% average estimate), and short-term billings rose 61% (against a 53% estimate).
At this point margins are largely an afterthought. GAAP gross margin did improve (and by about seven points), but I just don't think that's what the Street is going to care about right now. Likewise, a sequentially smaller operating loss sounds nice and all, but I would suspect that many investors would have rather seen the company hit its hiring targets and post a larger loss.
Incremental Data Sounded Positive
Management gave a few tidbits of information, but seemed to be holding off on more detailed discussions ahead of the upcoming analyst day (September 10). Concerning the company's position in the Financial side of the ERP market, management saw more mid-market wins and multiple replacement wins against Microsoft. Management also indicated that they're not encountering NetSuite (NYSE:N) in the market all that often, as NetSuite is targeting a different segment of the market today.
Gaining Share Rain Or Shine
This hasn't exactly been the strongest summer on record for the enterprise software market, but Workday continues to grow well ahead of the estimated single-digit market growth. With a SaaS model that significantly reduced the total long-term cost of ownership, Workday offers a pretty compelling valuation proposition relative to large vendors like Oracle and SAP, as well as a strong suite of capabilities that many smaller vendors struggle to match.
The real question now is how successfully management handles and manages the growth. The company has a new "Big Data" module coming out, and Workday is still only a small player in its core Human Capital Management and Financial markets. If the founders of Workday can match what they accomplished at PeopleSoft, the company could well be on its way to becoming 5% of the market in a few years, with significant revenue growth along the way.
As mentioned earlier, though, one of the challenges for the company will be building to support that growth. Identifying, hiring, and bringing talented new workers on board takes time and money and Workday may well find itself limited by talent availability, HR throughput capacity, and near-term cash flows (though a recent bond offering should more than cover that).
The Bottom Line
I won't try to argue that valuation doesn't matter with a stock like Workday, but the reality is that crafting a model/scenario that makes Workday look cheap borders on the impossible. As the markets have shown time and time again, though, investors will pay huge premiums for strong growth stories and that's what Workday offers right now. There will be a day of reckoning at some point, brought about either by a miss on reported growth or even just evidence of meaningful deceleration, but waiting for that day will likely prove frustrating for those who believe they can hold off and buy Workday later at a more "reasonable" valuation.
Disclosure – At the time of writing, the author did not own shares of any company mentioned in this article.


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Athalia gets new flags, thanks to local family
ATHALIA, Ohio -- The village of Athalia will be flying brand new stars and stripes on Flag Day, Friday, June 14, thanks to one concerned family.
According to resident Barb Ward, the village has traditionally displayed flags each Memorial Day, but her husband, Ron Ward, a U.S. Navy veteran, was disappointed to learn the flags were not erected for the holiday last month. Barb Ward said village officials told her family that the flags were too faded and tattered to be flown, and the village budget did not contain funds to purchase new ones.
That's when the Wards' son and daughter-in-law stepped in. Willie and Samantha Ward, owners of Ward's Service Center, Inc., in Proctorville, purchased more than 30 brand-new flags for the village.
Ron Ward, who served in the U.S. Navy Seabees from July 1968 through July 1972, and who was a volunteer firefighter for more than 20 years, also contributed to the effort. He refurbished the village's flag poles and mounted the new flags so they would be ready to be displayed on Flag Day, which also happens to be Ron Ward's birthday.
The new flags will be displayed through July 4.
"Being proud of our service men and our country, I feel it is the least we can do as a small town to honor them by displaying flags," Barb Ward said. "Thank you Ron, Willie and Samantha for seeing to it that this can be done."


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Posted 2 years ago
By Post Staff
Chadron Community Hospital has been named the Radon Business of the Year by the Panhandle Public Health District and the Panhandle Worksite Wellness Council. Council Coordinator Jessica Davies made the award presentation Thursday to hospital representatives.
Davies says Chadron Community Hospital was recognized for having the highest percentage of employees among participating Panhandle employers testing their homes for radon.
With one in every two homes in Nebraska having an elevated radon level, Davies says it's important to have every home test…and the PPHD and the Wellness Council are both proud of Chadron Community Hospital for taking the necessary steps to educate their employees about the hazards of radon.
Radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the world…a naturally occurring, invisible, odorless gas that is harmless outdoors but a serious cancer risk when trapped in buildings and rising to elevated levels.
Free radon test kits are available throughout the winter months by calling the health district at 308-487-3600 ext. 107 or toll free at 866-701-7173.


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A highly coveted transfer target has narrowed his list down to five schools. Maryland and these four other programs made the cut.
With the Redskins' season over, CSNwashington.com will be keeping an eye on the upcoming college bowl games and the NFL prospects that co
Championships and playoff spots are on the line in the last week of the season. Here's a preview of the week's most important games:
Game of the week: No. 3 Auburn at No. 4 Ole Miss, Sat. 7:00 pm
Game of the week: No. 2 Auburn at No. 3 Mississippi State, Sat. 3:30 pm


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so this one time my friend and I are walking down the street, and sitting on this nearby shrubbery is what to this day is the strangest looking bug I've ever seen. wings, legs, stripes, all the peculiarities in the entirety of the insect kingdom contained in this one slightly-too-large-for-comfort bug. so my friend turns to me and says "I'll give you a dollar if you eat that bug." I turned to him, said "no," and my friend asked me, "why not?"
I then replied: "...because I don't want to eat a bug."
I know, I know, it's not funny. but for some reason I giggle like a schoolgirl every time. On a more serious note, I actually am very much down with smiles.
I've also attempted knitting, t-shirt design, baking, and rocking, with varying degrees of success.
I am repetitive, redundant, and repetitious


text:
The present invention is directed to a method for preventing or reducing ischemia following injury, such as reperfusion injury following ischemia, cellular damage associated with ischemic episodes, such as infarctions or traumatic injuries, and thus to prevent or reduce the consequent progressive necrosis of tissue associated with such ischemia. This effect is achieved by administering DHEA or DHEA derivatives to a patient as soon as possible after the injury. The present invention is further directed to methods for preventing or reducing bacterial translocation or adult respiratory distress syndrome in a patient. Similarly, bacterial translocation and adult respiratory distress syndrome are prevented or reduced by administering DHEA or DHEA derivatives to a patient. Suitable derivatives of DHEA include, among others, 16α-bromo-DHEA, androstenediol and derivatives which have side chains at the 4' and/or 7' positions, which do not destroy the native activity of DHEA but which are capable of inhibiting sulfotransferase to prevent the conversion of DHEA to DHEA-S.
1. A method for reducing loss of tissue viability caused by adhesion of neutrophils to endothelial cells which comprises administering to a patient having a tissue injury a therapeutically effective amount of a compound of the formula ##STR2## wherein R1 is ═O or OH;
R2 is H, CH3, OH or halogen when R1 is ═O and R2 is H when R1 is OH;
R3 is H, fatty acid, C1-10 alkyl, C1-10 alkenyl, C1-10 acetylenic, (X)n -phenyl-C1-5 -alkyl, (X)n -phenyl-C1-5 -alkenyl or --CO--R8 ;
R4 and/or R5 is H, OH, halogen or a group which does not affect the anti-ischemic activity but which inhibits the conversion of R3 is H to R3 is SO3 ;
R6 is H, OH or a group which does not affect the anti-ischemic activity but which inhibits the conversion of R3 is H to R3 is SO3 ;
R7 is H when the dashed line is a double bond, ═O or H and halogen when the dashed line is a single bond or a group which does not affect the anti-ischemic activity but which inhibits the conversion of R3 is H to R3 is SO3 ;
R8 is H, fatty acid, C1-10 -alkyl, C1-10 -alkenyl, C1-10 -acetylenic, (X)n -phenyl-C1-5 -alkyl or (X)n -phenyl-C1-5 -alkenyl;
X is the same or different, and is halogen, C1-4 alkyl, C1-4 alkenyl, C1-4 alkoxy, carboxy, nitro, sulfate, sulfonyl, C1-6 carboxylesters or C1-6 sulfate esters; and
n is O, 1,2 or 3,
and wherein the administration of said compound occurs simultaneously with or within six hours following said tissue injury.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein said tissue injury is a reperfusion injury of any vascularized tissue.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein said patient has a traumatic injury, and the traumatic injury is a result of thermal injury, surgery, chemical burns, blunt trauma or lacerations.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the traumatic injury is thermal injury.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein said patient has an infarction.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the infarction is a myocardial infarction.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein said compound is administered within four hours following the tissue injury.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein said compound is administered within two hours following the tissue injury.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the compound is administered in the amount of 1 to 200 mg/kg.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the compound is administered in the amount of 2 to 50 mg/kg.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the compound is administered in single or multiple doses.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein R3 is H or a fatty acid.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein R1 is ═O and R2, R3, R4, R5, R6 and R7 are H.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein R1 is --OH and R2, R3, R4, R5, R6 and R7 are H.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein R1 is ═O, R2 is Br and R3, R4, R5, R6 and R7 are H.
16. The method of claim 1, wherein R1 is ═O, R2 is OH and R3, R4, R5, R6 and R7 are H.
17. The method of claim 1 wherein R4 and/or R5 is H, OH or halogen, R6 is H or OH and R7 is H when the dashed line is a double bond, or R7 is ═O or H and halogen when the dashed line is a single bond.
This invention was made with Government support under Grant No. 0014-92-J-1612 awarded by the Department of the Navy. The Government has certain rights in the invention.
This application is a 371 of PCT/US94/02558 filed 8 Mar. 1994, and a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/29,422, filed 9 Mar. 1993 now abandoned.
The present invention is related to a method for preventing or reducing the effects of ischemia. The ischemia may be associated with injury, such as occurs as a result of infarctions, thermal injury (burns), surgical trauma, accidental trauma and the like. The ischemia may also precede reperfusion injury. The invention is also related to methods for preventing or reducing bacterial translocation and adult respiratory distress syndrome. In accordance with the present invention, these conditions are prevented by administering dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) or DHEA derivatives.
The publications and other materials used herein to illuminate the background of the invention, and in particular cases, to provide additional details respecting the practice, are incorporated by reference, and for convenience are numerically referenced in the following text and respectively grouped in the appended bibliography.
It has been recognized that the maintenance of vascular integrity is an important response to injury. Complex hemostatic mechanisms of coagulation, platelet function and fibrinolysis exist to minimize adverse consequences of vascular injury and to accelerate vascular repair. Vascular endothelial and smooth muscle cells actively maintain vessel wall thromboresistance by expressing several antithrombotic properties. When perturbed or injured, vascular cells express thrombogenic properties. The hemostatic properties of normal and perturbed vascular cells has been reviewed by Rodgers (1).
Interference with the supply of oxygenated blood to tissues is defined as ischemia. The effects of ischemia are known to be progressive, such that over time cellular vitality continues to deteriorate and tissues become necrotic. Total persistent ischemia, with limited oxygen perfusion of tissues, results in cell death and eventually in coagulation-induced necrosis despite reperfusion with arterial blood. Ischemia is probably the most important cause of coagulative necrosis in human disease. A substantial body of evidence claims that a significant proportion of the injury associated with ischemia is a consequence of the events associated with reperfusion of ischemic tissues, hence the term reperfusion injury. To place reperfusion injury into a clinical perspective, there are three different degrees of cell injury, depending on the duration of ischemia:
(1) With short periods of ischemia, reperfusion (and resupply of oxygen) completely restores the structural and functional integrity of the cell. Whatever degree of injury the cells have incurred can be completely reversed upon reoxygenation. For example, changes in cellular membrane potential, metabolism and ultrastructure are short-lived if the circulation is rapidly restored.
(2) With longer periods of ischemia, reperfusion is not associated with the restoration of cell structure and function, but rather with deterioration and death of cells. The response to reoxygenation in this case is rapid and intense inflammation.
(3) Lethal cell injury may develop during prolonged periods of ischemia, where reperfusion is not a factor.
The reversibility of cell injury as a consequence of ischemia is determined not only by the type and duration of the injury, but also by the cell target. Neurons exhibit very high sensitivity to ischemia, whereas myocardial, pulmonary, hepatic and renal tissues are intermediate in sensitivity. Fibroblasts, epidermis and skeletal muscle have the lowest susceptibility to ischemic injury, requiring several hours without blood supply to develop irreversible damage.
The proximity of the endothelium to circulating leukocytes makes it an important early target for neutrophil adherence and subsequent damage to vascular and parenchymal tissue. Interaction of activated endothelial cells and neutrophils is an immediate early, and necessary, event in ischemia/reperfusion injury (2, 3). The adhesive properties of endothelium are rapidly induced by the influx of oxygenated blood. In response to oxygen, endothelial cells become activated to produce several products, including leukotriene B4 (LTB4), platelet activating factor (PAF) and P-selectin. Leukotriene B4 is a potent neutrophil chemotactic agent (4, 5). Upon activation of the endothelial cells, P-selectin is rapidly translocated from intracellular organelles to the plasma membrane, where it acts to tether circulating neutrophils and stabilize them for activation by endothelial-bound PAF (platelet activating factor), enddothelium-derived cytokines and other biologically active mediators (6). Thus, the physiologic interaction between the activated endothelium and the activated neutrophil is recognized as a critical and immediate early event in reperfusion injury of organs and tissues. Other cellular and biochemical mediators of inflammation injury such as platelets, the complement cascade, and the coagulation system are also important, but come into play much later in the cascade, in a process called coagulative necrosis. Finally, monocytes, macrophages, fibroblasts and smooth muscle cell infiltration are responsible for reconstruction and replacement of dead tissue with new, vital tissue, a process called wound healing.
A popular theory postulates a role for partially reduced, and thus activated, oxygen species in the initiation of membrane damage in reperfusion injury. Present evidence indicates that activated oxygen (superoxide, peroxide, hydroxyl radicals) is formed during ischemic episodes and that reactive oxygen species injure ischemic cells. Toxic oxygen species are generated not during the period of ischemia itself, but rather on restoration of blood flow, or reperfusion. Two sources of activated oxygen species have been implicated as early events in reperfusion injury, those produced intracellularly by the xanthine oxidase pathway and those which can be transported to the extracellular environment by activated neutrophils (2, 3, 7-9).
In the xanthine oxidase-dependent pathway, purines derived from the catabolism of ATP during the ischemic period provide substrates for the activity of xanthine oxidase, which requires oxygen in catalyzing the formation of uric acid. Activated oxygen species are byproducts of this reaction. The species of oxygen radicals derived from the xanthine oxidase pathway are O2 - (superoxide with one electron) and H2 O2 (hydrogen peroxide with two unpaired electrons). Superoxides are generated within the cytosol by xanthine oxidase (located in the cytosol). The superoxides are then catabolized to peroxides within mitochondria by superoxide dismutase. The peroxides are further converted to water either by glutathione peroxidase, in the cytosol, or by catalase in peroxisomes. Both glutathione peroxidase and catalase comprise the antioxidant defense mechanism of most cells. The major evidence for this hypothesis rests on the ability of allopurinol, an inhibitor of xanthine oxidase, to protect against reperfusion injury in experimental models.
In the NADPH-dependent pathway, NADPH oxidase is activated to generate superoxides through reduction of molecular oxygen at the plasma membrane. The superoxides are reduced to hydrogen peroxide by superoxide dismutase at the plasma membrane or within phagolysosomes. Finally, hydrogen peroxide within phagolysosomes can be reduced in the presence of superoxides or ferrous iron to hydroxyl radicals. A third form of oxygen metabolite is mediated by myloperoxidase in the presence of chlorine to reduce hydrogen peroxide to hypochlorous acid.
The hydroxyl radical is an extremely reactive species. Mitochondrial membranes offer a number of suitable substrates for attack by OH- radicals. The end result is irreversible damage to mitochondria, perpetuated by a massive influx of Ca2+ ions. Another probable cause of cell death by hydroxyl radicals is through peroxidation of phospholipids in the plasma membrane. Unsaturated fatty acids are highly susceptible targets of hydroxyl radicals. By removing a hydrogen atom from fatty acids of cell membrane phospholipids, a free lipid radical is formed. These lipid radicals function like hydroxyl radicals to form other lipid peroxide radicals. The destruction of unsaturated fatty acids of phospholipids leads to a loss in membrane fluidity and cell death. Some investigators believe that the effects of oxidative stress cause programmed cell death in a variety of cell types.
Infarctions and traumatic injury involve many tissues, including vascular tissue. One response following traumatic injury is to shut down blood supply to the injured tissue. A purpose of this response is to protect the patient from the entry of infectious agents into the body. The severe reduction in blood supply is a main factor leading to progressive ischemia at the region of the traumatic injury. With progressive ischemia, tissue necrosis extends beyond the directly affected tissue to include surrounding unaffected tissue. This progressive ischemia plays an important role in defining the ultimate tissue pathology observed in humans as a consequence of the traumatic injury. For example, see Robson et al. (10).
One form of traumatic injury which has received a great deal of attention is thermal injury or burns. The burn wound represents a non-uniform injury, and the spectrum of injury ranges from tissue which is totally coagulated at the time of injury to tissue which is only minimally injured. Between these two extremes is tissue which is seriously damaged and not immediately destroyed, but which is destined to die. The etiology of the progressive depth of necrosis has been shown to be stasis and thrombosis of blood flow in the dermal vessels, causing ischemia and destruction of epithelial elements. This ischemia occurs for 24-48 hours following the thermal injury (10, 11). Many effects have been seen following a thermal injury, including adhesion of leukocytes to vessel walls, agglutination of red blood cells and liberation of vasoactive and necrotizing substances (11).
It has been established that burn-associated microvascular occlusion and ischemia are caused by the time dependent increase in development of microthrombi in the zone of stasis, a condition which eventually leads to a total occlusion of the arterioles and a microcirculatory standstill. Whereas margination of erythrocytes, granulocytes and platelets on venular walls are all apparent within the first few hours following thermal injury, the formation of platelet microthrombi (occurring approximately 24 hours after surgery) is believed to be responsible for creating the conditions that cause complete and permanent vascular occlusion and tissue destruction (12, 13). The formation of platelet microthrombi appears to provide the cellular basis for expanding the zone of complete occlusion and the ischemic necrosis that advances into the zone of stasis following thermal injury.
Much effort has been made toward improving the care of burns and other traumatic injuries, and many approaches have been proposed toward reducing the progressive ischemia associated with such injuries. The anti-inflammatory agents indomethacin, acetylsalicylic acid and methylprednisone acetate have been shown to preserve dermal perfusion (10). Three thromboxane inhibitors, imidazole, methimazole and dipyridamole, have been shown to prevent vascular changes in the burn wound, allow dermal perfusion and allow other prostaglandin synthesis, which would circumvent detrimental effects of the anti-inflammatory agents (11). Therapeutic doses of ibuprofen and imidazole were found to prevent dermal vascular occlusion by acting as an antagonist to a plasmin inhibitor (14). The reduction of circulating fibrinogen, shown by administration of ancrod (a pit viper venom), led to preservation of vascular potency at the site of the injury (15). It has also been found that the inhibition of leukocyte-endothelial adherence, shown by using monoclonal antibodies, prevents burn extension/progression in the marginal zone of stasis (16).
Bacterial translocation is the process by which indigenous gut flora penetrate the intestinal barrier and invade sterile tissue. Included in this process is the migration of microbial organisms to the draining mesenteric lymph nodes, spleen, liver, blood and in some instances, the lung (17, 18). This phenomenon has been documented in humans following thermal injury (19-21) and ischemia-reperfusion injury (22).
Under normal conditions, the intestinal mucosa is impermeable to potentially harmful materials from the intestinal lumen (17, 22, 23). Current data supports the concept that disruption of the integrity/permeability of the mucosa promotes bacterial translocation, since exposure to stress which produces a host response characterized by cellular damage and necrotic tissue correlates with development of bacterial translocation (23). The clinically important repercussions of bacterial translocation are sepsis and multi-system organ failure (22-24). The incidence of sepsis and disseminated organ involvement following stress is greatest among patients that also exhibit compromised immune defenses (22, 23), such as observed in thermally injured individuals (24, 25). Thus, in response to stress, some patients demonstrate bacterial translocation in the absence of severe consequences. The patients in this category are those who have retained intact immune defenses (22-24). Because of the well known modulation of the host immune defenses following severe burn, bacterial translocation is one of the more serious consequences of thermal injury in humans (24, 25).
Experimental models of bacterial translocation have noted that irreversible cellular injury of the gut may require up to 24 hours post-thermal injury and 48 hours to visualize histological changes in gut vascular tissue (21, 26). These experimental systems have been useful in defining the pharmacologic mediators which appear to formulate a cascade of effector molecules responsible for tissue necrosis. In addition to the role played by catecholamines, oxygen-free radicals and endotoxin, factors such as interferon alpha, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor, platelet activating factor, and many of the vasoactive fatty acids derived from arachidonic acid metabolism have been implicated (17). The contribution of oxygen-free radicals, endotoxin, prostaglandins and thromboxanes in promoting tissue destruction has been supported by the evidence that inhibition of bacterial translocation and mucosal injury has been achieved using allopurinol (27) (an inhibitor of xanthine oxidase), endotoxin desensitization (28), prostaglandin analogs (29) and thromboxane synthetase inhibitors (30).
The evidence implicating the role of neutrophils in adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is substantial but indirect (31). Some of the first suggestions that neutrophils may cause an ARDS-like picture were found in severely neutropenic patients who were infused intravenously with donor neutrophils. Occasionally, within hours of neutrophil infusion, there was an abrupt "white-out" of the lungs (by x-ray) and onset of ARDS symptoms. Numerous studies have shown that neutrophils accumulate in the lung during ARDS. For example, their presence has been demonstrated histologically. During the early phases of ARDS, the number of circulating whole blood cells transiently decreases, probably due to their abnormal pulmonary sequestration. Some neutrophils that accumulate within lung capillaries leave the vascular space and migrate into the interstitium and alveolar airspaces. In normal healthy volunteers, neutrophils account for less than 3% of the cells that can be obtained by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). In patients with ARDS, the percentage of neutrophils in the lavage is markedly increased to 76-85%. The accumulation of neutrophils is associated with evidence of their activation. They demonstrate enhanced chemo- taxis and generate abnormally high levels of oxygen metabolites following in vitro stimulation. Elevated concentrations of neutrophil secretory products, such as lactoferrin, have been detected in the plasma of patients with ARDS. Further evidence that neutrophils actively participate in lung injury was obtained from a clinical study of patients with mild lung injury who were neutropenic for an unrelated reason (e.g., receiving chemotherapy). It was noted that lung impairment frequently worsened if a patient's hematological condition improved and circulating neutrophil counts recovered to normal levels.
Although the evidence implicating neutrophils in the genesis of human ARDS is still largely indirect, data demonstrating the importance of neutrophils in various animal models of acute lung injury is convincing. The common approach that has been used to demonstrate neutrophil independence is to deplete the animal of circulating neutrophils and measure any diminution in lung injury that occurs. Although a number of experimental models have been used to study neutrophil dependence of lung injury, only a few have been selected for discussion herein because of space limitations.
One extensively studied model is the administration of endotoxin to sheep. When endotoxin is intravenously infused into sheep, a complex set of events occurs, one of which is increased permeability of the pulmonary capillary endothelium. This is manifested by an increase in the flow of lung lymph which contains a higher-than-normal protein concentration. These changes indicate a reduction in the ability of the capillary endothelium to retain plasma proteins within the vascular space. The neutrophil dependence of the permeability injury was established when it was found that neutrophil depletion of the sheep prior to endotoxin infusion protected them. Another in vivo model of acute lung injury involves the intravenous infusion of cobra venom factor into rats, which causes complement activation followed by leukoaggregation and sequestration of neutrophils within the pulmonary microvasculature. Alveolar wall damage occurs, leading to interstitial and intra-alveolar edema with hemorrhage and fibrin deposition. Again, neutrophil depletion prevented the increased pulmonary capillary leak.
Isolated, perfused rabbit or rat lungs have also been used to study mechanisms of alveolar injury under circumstances that allow improved control of the variables that affect fluid flux. When neutrophils were added to the perfusate and then stimulated, albumin leaked from the vascular compartment into the lung interstitium and alveolar airspaces. Unstimulated neutrophils or stimulus alone (e.g., phorbol myristate acetate) failed to increase alveolar-capillary permeability.
As further proof that stimulated neutrophils can independently injure lung tissue, in vitro experiments have been performed using vascular endothelial and lung epithelial cells as targets. In some reports, neutrophils have been shown to detach endothelial cells or alveolar epithelial cells from the surface of the tissue culture dish. Obviously, if such an event were to occur in vivo, the denuded surfaces would permit substantial leakage of plasma contents. Furthermore, many reports have provided clear evidence that stimulated neutrophils are able to facilitate lysis of cultured vascular endothelial cells and alveolar epithelial cells.
DHEA is an endogenous androgenic steroid which has been shown to have a myriad of biological activities. Araneo et al (32) has shown that the administration of DHEA to burned mice within one hour after injury resulted in the preservation of normal immunologic competence, including the normal capacity to produce T-cell-derived lymphokines, the generation of cellular immune responses and the ability to resist an induced infection. Eich et al (33, 34) describes the use of DHEA to reduce the rate of platelet aggregation and the use of DHEA or DHEA-sulfate (DHEA-S) to reduce the production of thromboxane, respectively.
Nestler et al. (35) shows that administration of DHEA was able in human patients to reduce body fat mass, increase muscle mass, lower LDL cholesterol levels without affecting HDL cholesterol levels, lower serum apolipoprotein B levels, and not affect tissue sensitivity to insulin. Kent (36) reported DHEA to be a "miracle drug" which may prevent obesity, aging, diabetes millitus and heart disease. DHEA was widely prescribed as a drug treatment for many years. However, the Food and Drug Administration recently restricted its use. DHEA is readily interconvertible with its sulfate ester DHEA-S through the action of intracellular sulfatases and sulfotransferases.
Despite the above discoveries concerning effects of various compounds on burns, there is a need to identify additional compounds which are able to prevent or reduce reperfusion injury as a consequence of ischemia, effects of ischemia associated with infarctions or traumatic injury, and to identify compounds which are able to prevent or reduce bacterial translocation and ARDS. Thus, it is an object of the present invention to prevent or reduce progressive tissue necrosis, to prevent or reduce reperfusion injury, to prevent or reduce bacterial translocation, and to prevent or reduce ARDS.
The present invention is directed to a method for preventing or reducing reperfusion injury following ischemia, cellular damage associated with ischemic episodes, such as infarction or traumatic injury, and thus to prevent or reduce the consequent progressive necrosis of tissue associated with such ischemia. This effect is achieved by administering DHEA or DHEA derivatives to a patient. The present invention is also directed to a method for preventing or reducing bacterial translocation and to a method for preventing or reducing ARDS. Similarly, bacterial translocation and ARDS are prevented or reduced in a patient by administering DHEA or DHEA derivatives. Suitable derivatives of DHEA include, among others, 16α-bromo-DHEA, androstenediol and derivatives which have side chains at the 2', 4', 6' or 7' positions, as defined herein. Such side chains do not destroy the native activity of DHEA, but are capable of inhibiting sulfotransferase to prevent the conversion of DHEA to DHEA-S. Surprisingly, it has been found that DHEA-S is unable to prevent or reduce ischemia.
FIG. 1 shows the results of the analysis of edema formation (ear swelling) and resolution in the burned ears of control and DHEA-treated mice.
FIG. 2 shows the analysis of edema formation (ear swelling) and resolution in the burned ears of control mice and mice treated with DHEA, androstenediol, 16α-bromo-DHEA or the known anti-glucocorticoid RU486.
FIG. 3A shows the capacity of DHEA to protect against most of the progressive ischemia consequences of thermal injury to the ear.
FIG. 3B shows the capacity of androstenediol to protect against most of the progressive ischemia consequences of thermal injury to the ear.
FIG. 3C shows the capacity of 16α-bromo-DHEA to protect against most of the progressive ischemia consequences of thermal injury to the ear.
FIG. 3D shows the progressive ischemic consequences of thermal injury to the ear when vehicle alone is administered.
FIG. 3E shows the progressive ischemic consequences of thermal injury to the ear when androstenedione alone is administered.
FIG. 3F shows the progressive ischemic consequences of thermal injury to the ear when RU486 alone is administered.
FIG. 4 shows the effect of treatment with DHEA on progressive ischemia when administered from 0-6 hours post-thermal injury.
FIG. 5A shows the number of flowing capillaries in proximity to post-capillary venule in Zone 1 during reperfusion injury.
FIG. 5B shows the number of flowing capillaries in proximity to post-capillary venule in Zone 2 during reperfusion injury.
FIG. 5C shows the number of flowing capillaries in proximity to post-capillary venule in Zone 3 during reperfusion injury.
FIG. 6A shows the number of leukocytes rolling through the lumen of post-capillary venules in a two-minute period.
FIG. 6B shows the number of leukocytes adhering or sticking to the lumen of post-capillary venules in a two-minute period.
FIG. 6C shows the number of leukocytes migrating across the endothelium in a two-minute period.
FIG. 7A shows red cell velocity of venous blood post-reperfusion.
FIG. 7B shows red cell velocity of arterial blood post-reperfusion.
The present invention is directed to a method for preventing or reducing reperfusion injury following ischemia, and cellular damage associated with ischemic episodes, such as infarction or traumatic injury. An example of an infarction is a myocardial infarction. Examples of traumatic injury include thermal injury, surgery, chemical burns, blunt trauma or lacerations and the like. By preventing or reducing reperfusion injury following ischemia and cellular damage associated with ischemic episodes, the consequent progressive necrosis of tissue associated with such infarction or injury is also prevented or reduced. In accordance with the present invention, reperfusion injury or cellular damage associated with ischemic episodes, such as infarction or traumatic injury, is prevented or reduced by administering DHEA or DHEA derivatives to a patient as early as possible, preferably within four hours, and most preferably within two hours, of the ischemia, infarction or traumatic injury.
The present invention is also directed to a method for preventing or reducing bacterial translocation. In accordance with the present invention, bacterial translocation is prevented or reduced in a patient by administering DHEA or DHEA derivatives as described above. The DHEA or DHEA derivative is administered within 24 hours of an injury in which bacterial translocation is one of the sequelae.
The present invention is also directed to a method for preventing or reducing adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). In accordance with the present invention, ARDS is prevented or reduced in a patient by administering DHEA or DHEA derivatives as described above. The DHEA or DHEA derivative is administered prior to clinical symptoms of ARDS, primarily to individuals at risk for ARDS.
DHEA and suitable DHEA derivatives are represented by the following Formula I: ##STR1## wherein R1 is ═O or OH;
R2 is H, CH3, OH or halogen when R1 is ═O and R2 is H when R1 is OH;
R3 is H, fatty acid, C1-10 alkyl, C1-10 alkenyl, C1-10 acetylenic (X)n -phenyl-C1-5 -alkyl, (X)n -phenyl-C1-5 -alkenyl or --CO--R8 ;
R4 and/or R5 is H, OH, halogen or a group which does not affect the anti-ischemic activity but which inhibits the conversion of R3 is H to R3 is SO3 ;
R6 is H, OH or a group which does not affect the anti-ischemic activity but which inhibits the conversion of R3 is H to R3 is SO3 ;
R7 is H when the dashed line is a double bond, ═O or H and halogen when the dashed line is a single bond or a group which does not affect the anti-ischemic activity but which inhibits the conversion of R3 is H to R3 is SO3 ;
R8 is H, fatty acid, C1-10 alkyl, C1-10 alkenyl, C1-10 acetylenic (X)n-phenyl-C 1-5 -alkyl or (X)n -phenyl-C1-5 -alkenyl;
X is the same or different, and is halogen, C1-4 alkyl, C1-4 alkenyl, C1-4 alkoxy, carboxy, nitro, sulfate, sulfonyl, C1-6 carboxylesters or C1-6 sulfate esters; and
n is O, 1, 2 or 3.
Examples of suitable halogens include Br, Cl, F and I. Examples of preferred substituents for R4, R5 or R6 are OH and Br. Other suitable substituents can be readily identified by (a) administering the DHEA derivative in the burn model described herein and noting its anti-ischemic effect, and (b) determining the amount of sulfated derivative.
It is known that reperfusion injury, infarctions and traumatic injury, such as myocardial infarctions, burns, major surgery, chemical burns, blunt trauma, lacerations and the like, can lead to injury in which tissue necrosis extends beyond the directly affected tissue to include surrounding unaffected tissue. This ischemia plays an important role in defining the ultimate tissue pathology observed as a consequence of traumatic injury in humans (10). It is also known that one consequence of thermal injury is bacterial translocation. Thermal injury, i.e., burns, is the best studied traumatic injury in which progressive ischemia occurs.
The loss of viable skin through the process of progressive ischemic necrosis contributes significantly to much of the skin loss that requires surgical grafting following burn injury (37). A number of animal models have been developed which mimic very closely many aspects of clinical burns. For example, following the administration of an experimental full-thickness scald burn which covers >20% of the total body surface area to rodents (e.g., 72� C. hot water exposure for 7 seconds), the immediate tissue effects of the burn injury appear quite moderate, compared to the extensive damage to the affected and surrounding skin tissue which develops over the subsequent 24-72 hour period. Thus, it has been observed in both clinical and experimental burns that the total amount of skin lost to a severe thermal injury represents the sum of the immediate direct tissue destruction plus the latent damage that occurs to the epidermis, dermis and inclusive skin structures of the affected and surrounding skin areas.
Initial investigations using the dorsal skin thermal injury model in rodents led to some dramatic findings. It was discovered that scald burn-injured mice that are treated within one hour after thermal injury with the weakly androgenic steroid hormone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), develop and resolve their wounds in a manner quite distinct from untreated or sham treated thermally injured controls. By 3-4 days after thermal injury, all control-injured animals demonstrate third and fourth degree damage to the vast majority of skin tissue within the injury site. Virtually all of the skin within the affected area is ultimately lost as a consequence of progressive ischemic necrosis. The extent of tissue damage in these animals associates with a major loss in skin structures (hair follicles, blood vessels, neurons, and sebaceous glands), an infiltration of fibroblasts, extensive wound contraction, and the formation of numerous fibrous adhesions under the affected skin area. The DHEA-treated animals (about 2 mg/kg/day after an initial loading dose of 4 mg/kg), however, are observed to develop significantly less pathology, with much less evidence of progressive damage to the dermis, subdermis and associated skin structures. While re-epithelialization is active in both the burn control and the DHEA-treated injured groups of mice, DHEA-treated mice demonstrate much less wound contraction with notably less formation of fibrous adhesions underlying the wound site.
With the use of the dorsal skin injury model, it was clearly demonstrated that DHEA treatment exerts a very positive influence on wound progression. These findings suggested that treatment of thermally injured animals with DHEA may influence wound healing based on a fundamental capacity to prevent ischemia. Consequently, a modification of the procedure first described by Boykin et al., (13) and Eriksson et al., (38) was developed to permit a kinetic evaluation and quantification of progressive dermal ischemia during the immediate and later phases of thermally-injured mouse ears. The technique employed in these studies facilitated a rigorous and sequential monitoring of the time-dependent progression of tissue damage and ischemic necrosis in mouse ears subjected to a hot water scald burn (52� C. for 24 seconds), and has become a valid animal model for investigating progressive ischemia of burn-injured tissue.
The mouse ear consists of two layers of skin, cartilage, sparse muscle cells and connective tissue. Organization of the ear vasculature is well-ordered, comprised of arterioles, precapillary arterioles, post-capillary venules and venules. Employing an apparatus capable of administering controlled thermal injury to the entire surface area of the mouse ear, researchers have reported observing an immediate change in blood flow patterns. As a result of precise morphological studies on hemodynamic changes following burn injury of the mouse ear, three distinct zones, easily separable by the degree of pathology, have been described. These zones comprise the zone of complete capillary occlusion, the zone of partial occlusion (stasis), and the zone of capillary hyperemia (13). By one hour after injury, the area of total capillary occlusion is restricted to the distal margin of the mouse ear. Located more proximally to this outermost, and immediately sensitive area, is the zone of partial occlusion or stasis. It is this major area of ear tissue which becomes progressively ischemic over the 24-72 hour period following thermal injury, and which ultimately undergoes necrosis. Finally, the most proximal area of the affected ear is the zone of hyperemia. This area is fairly resistant to progressive post-burn ischemia.
It has been discovered that the administration to a patient of a therapeutically effective amount of DHEA or DHEA derivative of Formula I in a physiologically acceptable carrier as early as possible, preferably within four hours of a reperfusion injury, infarction or traumatic injury, results in the prevention or the reduction of reperfusion injury, infarction or traumatic injury-associated ischemia. The prevention or reduction of the ischemia results in prevention or reduction of the consequent necrosis of tissue associated with such ischemia. This reduction in ischemia results from the reduction of adherence of neutrophils to endothelial cells, as shown in the Example. As a consequence of the reduced neutrophil adherence, the neutrophils do not become activated and do not produce cellular factors which lead to platelet aggregation. It is most preferred that the DHEA or DHEA derivative of Formula I be administered within two hours of the patient's sustaining the reperfusion, infarction or traumatic injury. The DHEA or DHEA derivative of Formula I is administered to patients in ester or other pharmaceutically acceptable form and within binders, elixirs or other pharmaceutically acceptable mixtures, or with other pharmaceutically acceptable carriers.
Pharmaceutical compositions containing a compound of the present invention as the active ingredient in intimate admixture with a pharmaceutical carrier can be prepared according to conventional pharmaceutical compounding techniques. The carrier may take a wide variety of forms depending on the form of preparation desired for administration, e.g., intravenous, oral or parenteral. In preparing the compositions in oral dosage form, any of the usual pharmaceutical media may be employed, such as, for example, water, glycols, oils, alcohols, flavoring agents, preservatives, coloring agents and the like in the case of oral liquid preparations (such as, for example, suspensions, elixirs and solutions); or carriers such as starches, sugars, diluents, granulating agents, lubricants, binders, disintegrating agents and the like in the case of oral solid preparations (such as, for example, powders, capsules and tablets). If desired, tablets may be sugar-coated or enteric-coated by standard techniques. For parenterals, the carrier will usually comprise sterile water, though other ingredients, for example, to aid solubility or for preservative purposes, may be included. Injectable suspensions may also be prepared, in which case appropriate liquid carriers, suspending agents and the like may be employed.
The dose of the DHEA or DHEA derivative of Formula I should be based on well known pharmaceutically acceptable principles, e.g., 1-200 mg/kg, preferably 2-50 mg/kg, of the active ingredient. The dose may be administered daily or every other day, and may be taken as single or multiple doses to give the proper daily dosage. For unprotected compounds, i.e., those which can be sulfated by human sulfotransferases or sulfatases, it is preferred to administer an excess dose to insure that sufficient active agent is administered, especially if sulfatases are not active at the site of tissue injury. It is preferred that unprotected compounds be administered daily, whereas protected compounds can be administered either daily or every other day. The patient is treated with the DHEA or DHEA derivative of Formula I for 3-30 days, preferably 7-14 days, following the infarction or traumatic injury.
For those patients who are at high risk for a mycocardial infarction or at risk for reperfusion injury, it is possible to prevent or reduce progressive ischemia associated with such an infarction or reperfusion injury by administering the DHEA or DHEA derivative of Formula I prior to, simultaneously with and/or following the infarction or reperfusion injury in the dosages described above. The treatment following the myocardial infarction is as described above. The DHEA or DHEA derivative can be administered to such a patient who demonstrates the classical signs for an imminent myocardial infarction in the same manner as described above for treatment following such an infarction.
For those patients who are at risk of bacterial translocation, such bacterial translocation is prevented or reduced by administering the DHEA or DHEA derivative of Formula I as described above in the dosages described above. The administration to prevent or reduce bacterial translocation continues until the patient is no longer at risk for the bacterial translocation.
It has been discovered that it is critical that the DHEA or DHEA derivative of Formula I be administered soon after reperfusion injury, infarction or traumatic injury in order to prevent or reduce any cellular damage. If the administration of these compounds occurs too late, blood vessels will become occluded (initially with neutrophils adhering to endothelial cells), at which point the administration of these compounds will be unable to prevent or reduce the ischemia. The time frame within which the administration should begin may be dependent on the type of reperfusion injury, infarction or traumatic injury, and can be readily determined by appropriate animal models. However, it is preferred that administration of the DHEA or DHEA derivatives commence within four hours, and most preferably within two hours of the ischemia, infarction or traumatic injury. The administration of the DHEA or DHEA derivatives to prevent or reduce bacterial translocation should begin within 24 hours of the injury or stress-causing event. It is preferred that administration of these compounds to prevent or reduce bacterial translocation begin within four hours, and most preferably within two hours. The administration of the DHEA or DHEA derivatives to prevent or reduce ARDS should begin before the onset of clinical symptoms. Generally, the compounds will be administered to patients at risk of ARDS.
The present invention is described by reference to the following Examples, which are offered by way of illustration and are not intended to limit the invention in any manner. Standard techniques well known in the art or the techniques specifically described below were utilized.
An experimental thermal injury model employing mouse ears was developed where temperature and exposure time were established empirically. The conditions represented the minimal burn injury which progressed to total tissue necrosis in the exposed ear of untreated mice by 24-72 hours post-burn. Groups of Balb/c mice, approximately nine weeks old, were given an identifying mark, and then divided into control and treated subgroups. The thickness of the ear to be immersed in hot water was recorded, and then the entire ear of the anesthetized mouse was dipped into 52� C. water for exactly 24 seconds. Each mouse was returned to its cage after an injection of either the propylene glycol vehicle (control) or 100 μg of test agent dissolved in propylene glycol. Ear swelling changes were monitored on individual mice at pre-burn, and at various hours after thermal injury.
Groups of Balb/c mice, approximately 9 weeks old, were given an identifying mark, and then divided into control and treated subgroups. The thickness of the ear to be immersed in hot water was recorded, and then the entire ear of the anesthetized mouse was dipped into 52� C. water for exactly 24 seconds. Each mouse was returned to its cage after an injection of either the propylene glycol vehicle (control) or 100 μg of DHEA agent dissolved in propylene glycol. Ear swelling changes were monitored on individual mice at pre-burn, and at 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24 and 48 hours after thermal injury.
The results of the analysis of edema formation and resolution in the ears of control and DHEA-treated mice are shown in FIG. 1. Ear swelling, as a measure of edema, reached a peak in both DHEA-treated and untreated burned mice by six hours after injury. In the untreated group, the extent of swelling started to decline within 12 hours, and continued to decline rapidly over the subsequent 12 hour periods. Between 24 and 48 hours post-burn, ear measurements had to be discontinued in the untreated group due to the complete loss of ear tissue resulting from the complete microvascular occlusion of the original zone of stasis. The kinetic analysis of edema in untreated and DHEA-treated thermally-injured mice showed that the events which take place during the first 24 hours following a burn-induced injury are critical to the viability of the thermally-injured tissue, such that the eventual preservation of viable ear tissue at 48 hours correlates inversely with the rate at which the swelling response recedes between the peak at six hours and the final 48 hour time period.
In addition to the analysis of edema in untreated and DHEA-treated thermally-injured mice, the changes in viability of the ear tissue itself were documented photographically. Injury of the ear tissue in mice given only the vehicle was extensive, with greater than 70% of the ear tissue being necrotic and destroyed within 48 hours. The total affected area appeared to encompass both the zone of complete vascular occlusion and the original zone of stasis. This latter zone became damaged as a secondary consequence of thermal injury, a condition which defines progressive post-burn dermal ischemia. However, DHEA-treated mice showed little injury and the preservation of burned ear tissue was seen in a kinetic fashion. The only area of ear tissue that was markedly affected by, but not lost to the effects of thermal injury corresponded to only the original zone of complete vascular occlusion.
Groups of nine-week old thermally injured Balb/c mice were divided into subgroups given either vehicle alone, DHEA, androstenediol, 16α-bromo-DHEA, androstenedione or the potent anti-glucocorticoid, RU486. Individual mice received 100 μg of the indicated steroids or the vehicle alone immediately post-burn (day 0), and further 50 μg doses every 24 hours for the duration of the experiment. The ear swelling response of each individually marked mouse was recorded at the pre-burn stage, and at 12, 24 and 48 hours post-burn.
Burned ears of mice being treated therapeutically with androstenediol, DHEA, or the non-metabolizable, synthetic derivative of DHEA, 16α-bromo-DHEA, each developed significant ear-swelling in response to burn injury (FIG. 2) and exhibited a slow and constant rate of resolution of the swelling. This slow loss of edema following thermal injury of the ear was paralleled by only minimal dermal ischemia and necrosis in the area. The results of this study also confirmed that the development of edema within the burned ear of untreated mice peaks and then recedes somewhat rapidly, such that between 24-48 hours post-burn a significant amount of tissue ischemia and necrosis takes place. The similar pattern of edema followed by progressive ischemic necrosis was observed with andostenedione-treated mice. Likewise, a similar pattern of edema followed by progressive ischemic necrosis was observed in the group of thermally injured animals treated with RU486, indicating that DHEA is not working solely via its anti-glucocorticoid effects.
FIGS. 3A-3C demonstrate the capacity of DHEA, androstenediol and 16α-bromo-DHEA to protect against most of the ischemic consequences of thermal injury to the ear. Mice treated with either one of these steroid hormones incur early changes in ear tissue with slight to no loss of ear tissue several days after thermal injury. The affected area appears to correspond to the zone of complete occlusion defined by Boykin (13). Mice given the vehicle alone, androstenedione or RU486 (FIGS. 3D-3F) following thermal injury lose >70% of the exposed ear tissue over the first 48 hours post-injury due to progressive post-burn ischemic necrosis. Without effective treatment, the areas of the burn-injured ear which became necrotic corresponded to the zone of complete occlusion plus the zone of stasis. Thus, it was demonstrated that treatment of thermally-injured mice with either DHEA, androstenediol, or 16α-bromo-DHEA not only changes the natural course of the edema produced in the ear but also somehow protects the affected tissue from progressive damage by inhibiting the development of ischemia within the zone of stasis and the ultimate development of necrosis of this area.
In similar experiments, it was found that 16α-hydroxy-DHEA was less protective, i.e., reduced the extent of, but did not totally prevent progressive ischemia, and 16α-chloro-DHEA was slightly protective against progressive ischemia.
An experiment was designed to determine whether intervention using DHEA must be delivered immediately, or whether the intervention can be delayed for up to several hours following burn injury. Mice were anesthetized, administered a burn and then, while under anesthesia, four mice were given vehicle alone, four mice were given 100 μg DHEA, and the remaining mice were divided into additional groups of four. All of the mice in a single group would receive 100 μg DHEA either one, two, four or six hours after thermal injury. Tissue loss by each mouse was evaluated 72 hours after thermal injury, and the results of the scoring are presented in FIG. 4.
This Figure demonstrates that intervention using DHEA can be delayed for up to two hours with no significant difference in the protective effects of DHEA mean grade of 1.25�0.25 (p=<0.001). Even with a delay of four hours before administration of DHEA, a mean score of 2.75�0.479 was observed (p=<0.016). With a six-hour delay in delivery of DHEA, the mean score in tissue loss was 4.0�0.408 and was determined to be significantly different from the group that received DHEA immediately after thermal injury (p=<0.058). It was concluded that the events which lead to necrosis are reversible by administration of DHEA for up to several hours post-thermal injury.
The above examples demonstrate that moderate-intensity thermal injury of the mouse ear is a reliable and reproducible model for examining progressive ischemic necrosis of the skin. The results indicate that immediate post-burn use of DHEA has a protective effect on thermal injury-induced dermal ischemia. In addition to DHEA, several other steroid hormones have been tested for their therapeutic value (see Table I).
TABLE 1______________________________________Results of ProgressiveSteroid Hormone Tested Ischemia Analysis(100 μg/mouse) (mouse ear model)______________________________________DHEA-S nonprotectiveDHEA protective16α-Bromo-DHEA protectiveandrostenediol protectiveandrostenedione nonprotectiveRU 486 nonprotective______________________________________
Along with DHEA, androstenediol and 16α-bromo-DHEA were markedly protective, in that 90-100% of the ear tissue remained intact until the experiment was terminated at two weeks, when the healing process was complete. 16α-Hydroxy-DHEA was less protective and 16α-chloro-DHEA was slightly protective. However, DHEA-sulfate, androstenedione and RU486 were completely nonprotective, in that ear damage and tissue loss equivalent to untreated controls was evident in all animals within 48 hours after thermal injury. The ability to separate protective from nonprotective steroids in this thermal injury model is most likely facilitated by the fact that direct or immediate burn damage to the ear tissue is minimal, and that the vast majority of the damage which occurs emanates from the progressive ischemia and necrosis caused by the host response to the scald-burn.
The results implicate DHEA, not one of its natural metabolites, as the agent mediating protection against progressive ischemic necrosis. The basis for this conclusion is straightforward. 16α-Bromo-DHEA is a DHEA analog which cannot be effectively metabolized to downstream androgen steroids, and its protective effect is identical to DHEA. Androstenediol also displays a biologic effect identical to DHEA in the thermal-injury ear model. This steroid is a natural metabolite of DHEA which, through enzyme-dependent modification, can be converted back to DHEA. It can also be further metabolized to testosterone. Androstenedione, also a secondary metabolite of DHEA, can be metabolized only to downstream products, (e.g., testosterone and estrogens), with no known conversion to DHEA. Because androstenedione cannot protect against progressive dermal ischemia in this model, its lack of effect supports the conclusion that the active steroid is DHEA, not a downstream androgen or estrogen. Further, it was found that sulfated DHEA, which occurs naturally in the human body, was unable to protect against progressive ischemia.
DHEA possesses the published ability to overcome some of the biological effects caused by glucocorticoids. The possibility that DHEA functions as an anti-glucocorticoid in the dermal ischemia model of the thermally-injured mouse ear was tested by administering the known anti-glucocorticoid, RU 486, to mice immediately after administration of the burn injury. As presented in this model and under the conditions tested, substances with anti-glucocorticoid activities offered no benefit.
Male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 130-170 g were randomly assigned to no pre-treatment, vehicle pretreatment or DHEA pre-treatment (4 mg/kg). Animals were treated with vehicle or DHEA the day before and the day of surgery. Anesthesia was induced with intraperitoneal pentobarbital (60-70 mg/kg). The rats were placed on a heating pad, and body temperature (measured by rectal probe) was maintained at between 35�-37� C. Detection of the cremaster muscle on its neurovascular pedicle was performed according to conventional techniques (39-41). Briefly, a skin incision is made from the anterior iliac spine to the tip of the scrotum. The testis with cremaster muscle intact is then dissected away from the scrotum. An opening of 1 cm is made on the ventral surface of the cremaster, and the testis and spermatic cord are removed. Under a microscope, the neurovascular pedicle, consisting of the pubic-epigastric arteries, vein, and genitofemoral nerve, is then completely isolated by dissecting to the origin of the vessels from the external iliac artery and vein. Finally, the front wall of the cremaster muscle sac is opened and the island cremaster muscle flap is prepared for intravital videomicroscopy. The rat is secured on a specially designed tissue bath, and the cremaster muscle flap is spread over the coverglass in the opening at the bottom of the bath and fixed with 5-0 silk sutures. It is then transilluminated from below, using a fiberoptic tungsten lamp. The muscle is kept moist and covered with impermeable plastic film. The tissue bath, designed specifically for temperature control, is filled with 0.9% saline and the temperature maintained at between 35� C.-36� C. The microscope is equipped with a color video camera. The video image of the microcirculation is displayed on a 19" monitor, where the final magnification is x 1800. Measurement of microvascular activity is recorded after isolation of the muscle to establish the pre-ischemia baseline. After proper positioning of clamps to completely shut down blood flow to the muscle flap, the duration of the ischemic period is six hours. Following removal of clamps to induce reperfusion injury, activity in the microvasculature is measured at 30, 60 and 90 minutes post-reperfusion. In all experimental subjects, ischemia is followed by reflow and then by an initial period of flow of blood through the microcirculation. This burst of circulatory activity is followed by marked reperfusion injury that induces loss of flow.
The following parameters are used to evaluate the state of the cremaster muscle microvasculatory system prior to ischemia and after reperfusion.
1) Density of Perfused Capillaries. The density of perfused capillaries in each of three flap regions (Zone 1, 2 and 3) is measured by counting the number of flowing capillaries in proximity to the preselected postcapillary venule. Nine visual fields of capillaries are counted at each postcapillary venule site, for a total of 27 fields per cremaster muscle flap. Results are shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B and 5C for Zones 1, 2 and 3, respectively.
2) Leukocyte Count in Postcapillary venules. Video scans of three pre-selected postcapillary venules are taken in proximal, middle and distal flap regions. For each venule, the number of leukocytes rolling through the luman, the number adhering to the endothelium and the number having migrated across the endothelium over a two-minute period are recorded. Results are shown in FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C for rollers, strikers and diopedesis, respectively.
3) Red Blood Cell velocities in A1 (First Order) and A2 (Second Order) Arterioles. Red blood cell velocities are recorded in the main arterioles of the cremaster flap using a custom-made optical Doppler velocimeter. Results are shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, for velocity of venous and arterial blood, respectively.
A. Reperfusion Injury in Untreated and Vehicle-Treated Rats
Six rats were untreated and six rats were pretreated with vehicle. Under conditions of six hours of ischemia and 90 minutes of reperfusion, the absolute number of rolling, sticking and transmigrated leukocytes increased dramatically within 60 minutes of reperfusion and showed a further increase at 90 minutes (FIGS. 6A-6C). A dramatic decrease was observed in the absolute number of perfused capillaries per high-powered field that were at both 30 and 60 minutes post-reperfusion, with a continued decrease in numbers of flowing capillaries at 90 minutes post-reperfusion (FIGS. 5A-5C). Likewise, red cell velocities in A2-sized vessels were significantly slower at 60 and 90 minutes post-reperfusion (FIGS. 7A and 7B).
B. Reperfusion Injury in DHEA-Treated Rats
Under conditions where rats were pre-treated with 4 mg/kg DHEA by subcutaneous injection the day before and the day of surgery, a marked and highly significant protective effect of the therapy was measured. All three parameters exhibited values that were close to, or identical with normal values. Of major importance, it was noted that all timepoints, endothelial-adherent properties were unchanged from baseline values. This conclusion is based on the fact that numbers of rolling, sticking and transmigrating leukocytes appeared remarkably similar to baseline values (FIGS. 6A-6C). Red cell velocities in A2 arterioles were slower to return to normal rates of flow, with velocities in some areas measuring 75% of normal at 90 minutes post-reperfusion (FIGS. 7A and 7B). At the 90-minute timepoint, the number of capillaries flowing in the microvasculature were not significantly different from the baseline values obtained prior to ischemia (FIGS. 5A-5C).
Without being bound by any theory of the physiological and biochemical operation of the DHEA and DHEA derivatives of Formula I, it is believed that the anti-ischemic effects of these compounds are due to their activity on the adhesion of neutrophils to endothelial cells. Thus, these compounds are effective in preventing or reducing ischemia which may result from other types of tissue injury, which can be modulated by affecting adhesion to endothelial cells. This inhibition of neutrophil adhesion prevents activation of neutrophils and transmigration to the tissue side of the endothelium. Since transmigration of neutrophils is inhibited, neutrophil-induced massive damage to endothelial cells and parenchymal cells is prevented. Since neutrophil activation is prevented, production of cellular factors (by neutrophils) which leads to platelet aggregation is also prevented. Thus, progressive tissue necrosis is prevented or reduced. In addition, the progressive ischemia of gut tissue (leading to bacterial translocation) and of the epidermis and of cardiac muscle and the ischemia of the alveolar wall (leading to ARDS) are mediated through similar mechanisms. Thus, these compounds are also effective in preventing or reducing bacterial translocation and ARDS.
It will be appreciated that the methods and compositions of the instant invention can be incorporated in the form of a variety of embodiments, only a few of which are disclosed herein. It will be apparent to the artisan that other embodiments exist and do not depart from the spirit of the invention. Thus, the described embodiments are illustrative and should not be construed as restrictive.
(1) Rodgers, G. M. (1988). FASEB J 2:116-123.
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Chemical Week Magazine :: Cover Story
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8:55 AM MDT | August 18, 2010 | Rebecca Coons
Producers in Western Canada, with larger crackers than the U.S. Gulf Coast and access to cheap ethane, have enjoyed the lowest-cost ethylene production outside of the Mideast. This advantaged position is being threatened by a shortage of ethane, but producers remain confident that by diversifying their feedstock base Canada will remain an attractive market for expansion. joffre Cracker: Nova's Williston Basin deal will supply a significant amount of ethane to the site. Canadian producers are facing the shortfall due to reduced natural gas flows through...
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1,450 new homes are focus of plans for Wells' future
Posted: October 13, 2012|
The building of 1,450 new homes in Wells will be the focus of Mendip District Council's 15 year vision for the city.
The plans form part of the draft version of Mendip's Local Plan which was endorsed at the cabinet meeting on Monday.
Each town and city in the area is analysed in terms of its Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT).
Wells is described as a "vibrant local centre" and "as an economic centre, Wells is, arguably, the most successful of all the Mendip towns."
Despite these positives the document states that the greatest challenge facing Wells is its ageing population.
According to the report, affluent older people retiring to Wells have placed a premium on house prices and impacts on the ability of first time buyers and working families to move to the area.
The draft plan states that this is a contributing factor to a shortfall of around 2,000 workers compared to jobs.
The proposed solution to these issues is to build more housing.
The core strategy for the city is to have around 1,000 new homes built on previously developed, brownfield, land which has consent for development, such as the former Clares, Thales and Nutricia sites.
The remaining 450 homes will be built on undeveloped, greenfield, sites.
The two sites outlined are the land to the south of Glastonbury Road as a southerly, second phase of the redevelopment of the Nutricia site. It is projected that 150 new homes could be accommodated here.
The largest site is to the west of Wells between the A371 towards Cheddar and Wookey Hole Road which has been earmarked for 200 new homes.
Where the remaining 100 homes would go has not been made clear.
When outlining how this development would take place the draft plan states that the district council is mindful of the city's setting and that planning permission would not be granted until a review of land supply is undertaken as part of the site allocation process.
This could mean that other brownfield sites can be used if they become available for either the original 200 homes or the 100 which still need a site.
Mendip's plan also includes the provision of 1,500 new jobs which will come through sites already allocated for business use such as Cathedral Park and the redevelopment of redundant employment sites.
The Local Plan sets out Mendip's vision of how to develop the region over the next 15 years.
Its aims are stated as: to diversify and strengthen the local economy, to equip people and local business with the skills they need, to promote greater vitality and viability in our market towns and rural communities and to enable people to maintain, improve their state of health to provide adequate levels of decent housing which is accessible to all, to improve accessibility by means other than the private car and to maintain and enhance the quality of the local environment and contribute to international climate change goals.


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Contango's Kenneth Peak on the Gulf of Mexico
The chairman and CEO of Contango Oil & Gas Company, Kenneth Peak, gave a presentation today at an oil and gas conference in London that is accessible on the Web. It's a pretty interesting little company: seven employees, ten natural gas wells, and a market capitalization of about $800 million. Here's part of what he had to say about drilling in the Gulf of Mexico:
by Ira Stoll | Jun 10, 2010 at 4:21 pm Related Topics: Energy, Europe, President Obama receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free futureofcapitalism.com mailing list
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