it has been found that the fluoroquinolones of general formula ( i ), as well as their salts , possess an especially advantageous anti - pneumocystis activity , and are thus entirely suitable for the preparation of a medicinal product intended for the preventive and / or treating of pneumocystosis of man and / or of animals . among the products of general formula ( i ), the products mentioned below are the preferred products : pefloxacin , enoxacin , norfloxacin , ofloxacin , ciprofloxacin , sparfloxacin , fleroxacin , lomefloxacin or temafloxacin . rats weighing 200 to 250 g , immunosuppressed by two subcutaneous injections per week of hydrocortisone acetate ( 25 mg ) and a protein - poor diet , are used . some rats additionally receive doxycycline ( 10 mg ) subcutaneously twice weekly , so as to prevent the occurrence of infections other than pneumocystosis . after two weeks of immunosuppression , the existence of a progressive pneumocystosis is verified by sacrificing some rats and counting the pneumocystis present per gram of lung . the products tested for their anti - pneumocystis activity are dissolved in isotonic phosphate buffer at the desired concentration . they are administered intraperitoneally for two weeks . 2 /-- immunosuppressed rats receiving doxycycline only during the first two weeks of the study . another group of immunosuppressed rats , receiving doxycycline during the first two weeks of the study , receives the combination trimethoprim ( 40 mg / kg )/ sulphamethoxazole ( 200 mg / kg ) subcutaneously twice weekly during the last two weeks of the study . two groups of animals are treated with the product under study ; they comprise immunosuppressed rats receiving doxycycline only during the first two weeks of the study , and then : 1 /-- the product under study ( 50 mg / kg ) twice daily intraperitoneally during 14 days ; 2 /-- the product under study ( 100 mg / kg ) twice daily intraperitoneally during 14 days . at the end of the four weeks , all the rats are sacrificed , the lungs are removed and the pneumocystis carinii are counted . at autopsy the lungs of the control animals of the 1st and 2nd groups were brownish - grey with broad oedematous areas . in contrast , those of the animals treated with the test product and with the trimethoprim / sulphamethoxazole combination ( 3rd control group ) were pink and showed no pathological sign . the mean lung weights do not differ and are lower than those of the control animals . the control rats of groups 1 and 2 had a mean of 3 . 7 × 10 7 and 2 . 6 × 10 7 pneumocystis per lung . the animals treated with the test product had a mean of 1 . 3 × 10 5 pneumocystis ( 50 mg / kg ) and 8 . 9 × 10 4 pneumocystis ( 100 mg / kg ), respectively , per lung . these values are very close to those obtained following treatment with the trimethoprim / sulphamethoxazole combination ( 2 . 4 × 10 4 pneumocystis ). in another series of trials , the control group consists of immunosuppressed rats receiving doxycycline ( 10 mg ) subcutaneously twice weekly throughout the trial period ( 4 weeks ). another group of immunosuppressed rats receives the combination trimethoprim ( 40 mg / kg )/ suphamethoxazole ( 200 mg / kg ) subcutaneously twice weekly from the start of immunosuppression . the products under study are administered orally to immunosuppressed rats on the basis of 100 mg / kg 3 times weekly . the action of pefloxacin , temafloxacin and ofloxacin is studied . after 4 weeks of immunosuppression , all the animals are sacrificed and the intrapulmonary pneumocystis carinii are quantified . pefloxacin , temafloxacin and ofloxacin administered orally produce a decrease in the number of pneumocystis carinii . table i__________________________________________________________________________activity against murine pneumocystosis group receiving trimethoprim / 1st control 2nd control pefloxacin pefloxacin sulphamethoxazole group + doxycyline group + doxycyline 50 mg / kg i . p . 100 mg / kg i . p . 40 / 200 mg / kg s . c . ( 4 weeks ) ( 6 rats ) ( 2 weeks ) ( 4 rats ) ( 5 rats ) ( 5 rats ) ( 5 rats ) __________________________________________________________________________initial 241 ± 17 238 ± 15 237 ± 12 238 ± 12 232 ± 8weight ( g ) weight + 145 ± 16 147 ± 9 164 ± 6 163 ± 6 177 ± 104 weeksrats dead 3 0 0 2 1 ( yeast ) rats sacrificed 3 4 5 3 4lung 144 ± 0 . 31 1 . 36 ± 0 . 28 0 . 95 ± 0 . 04 0 . 86 ± 0 . 04 1 . 00 ± 0 . 15weight ( g ) number of 3 × 10 . sup . 7 ± 1 . 7 × 10 . sup . 7 1 . 7 × 10 . sup . 7 ± 2 . 4 × 10 . sup . 7 1 . 4 × 10 . sup . 5 ± 1 × 10 . sup . 5 9 . 8 × 10 . sup . 4 ± 12 × 10 . sup . 4 2 . 3 × 10 . sup . 4 ± 2 . 9 × 10 . sup . 4pneumocystis / gof lungnumber of 3 . 7 × 10 . sup . 7 ± 2 . 1 × 10 . sup . 7 2 . 6 × 10 . sup . 7 ± 2 . 8 × 10 . sup . 7 1 . 3 × 10 . sup . 5 ± 1 × 10 . sup . 5 8 . 9 × 10 . sup . 4 ± 10 × 10 . sup . 4 2 . 4 × 10 . sup . 4 ± 2 . 8 × 10 . sup . 4pneumocystisper lung__________________________________________________________________________ after the first two weeks of immunosuppression , 3 rats were sacrificed : number of pneumocystis = 2 × 10 . sup . 6 / g of lung . table ii__________________________________________________________________________activity against murine pneumocystosis group receiving trimethoprim / control group + pefloxacin temafloxacin ofloxacin sulphamethoxazole . doxycyline 100 mg / kg p . o . 100 mg / kg p . o . 100 mg / kg p . o . 40 / 200 mg / kg s . c . ( 4 weeks ) ( 15 rats ) ( 5 rats ) ( 5 rats ) ( 5 rats ) ( 10__________________________________________________________________________ rats ) initial 223 ± 18 237 ± 13 210 ± 6 236 ± 9 237 ± 14weight ( g ) weight + 164 ± 22 183 ± 18 160 ± 12 205 ± 25 178 ± 114 weeksrats dead 2 0 0 0 1rats sacrificed 13 5 5 5 9number of 4 . 8 × 10 . sup . 6 8 . 0 × 10 . sup . 3 6 . 1 × 10 . sup . 5 7 . 9 × 10 . sup . 5 2 . 0 × 10 . sup . 3pneumocystis / g 2 . 1 × 10 . sup . 6 - 1 . 1 × 10 . sup . 7 3 . 0 × 10 . sup . 2 - 2 . 1 × 10 . sup . 5 2 . 1 × 10 . sup . 5 - 1 . 8 1 . 4 × 10 . sup . 5 - 4 . 4 × 10 . sup . 6 1 . 0 × 10 . sup . 3 - 3 . 3 × 10 . sup . 3of lung__________________________________________________________________________ the present invention relates to the production of a medicinal product containing at least one product of general formula ( i ), optionally in salt form , in the pure state or in the form of a pharmaceutical composition in combination with one or more compatible diluents or adjuvants . the compositions may be used for the purposes of cure or of prevention in subjects exhibiting an immunodeficiency and / or infected with pneumocystis carinii and / or possessing a risk of contamination with pneumocystis carinii . naturally , the constitution of these compositions will be adapted to the particular case of the digestive tract of the immunosuppressed subjects . as solid compositions for oral administration , tablets , pills , hard gelatin capsules , powders or granules may be used . in these compositions , the active product according to the invention is mixed with one or more inert diluents or adjuvants such as sucrose , lactose or starch . these compositions may comprise substances other than diluents , e . g . a lubricant such as magnesium stearate . as liquid compositions for oral administration , solutions which are pharmaceutically acceptable , suspensions , emulsions , syrups and elixirs containing inert diluents such as water or liquid paraffin may be used . these compositions may also comprise substances other than diluents , e . g . wetting , sweetening or flavoring products . the compositions for parenteral administration can be sterile solutions , aqueous or non - aqueous , suspensions or emulsions . as a solvent or vehicle , propylene glycol , a polyethylene glycol , vegetable oils , especially olive oil , and injectable organic esters , e . g . ethyl oleate , may be employed . these compositions can also contain adjuvants , especially wetting , tonicity , emulsifying , dispersant and stabilizing agents . the sterilization may be carried out in several ways , e . g . using a bacteriological filter , by irradiation or by heating . they may also be prepared in the form of sterile solid compositions which can be dissolved at the time of use in sterile water or any other sterile injectable medium . the compositions intended for use in the form of liquid aerosols can be stable sterile solutions or solid compositions dissolved at the time of use in pyrogen - free sterile water , saline or any other pharmaceutically acceptable vehicle . the aerosols can also be dry aerosols intended for direct inhalation , in which the finely divided active principle is combined with a water - soluble solid diluent or vehicle having a particle size of 30 to 80 microns , such as , e . g ., dextran , mannitol or lactose . in human therapy , the doctor will determine the dosage he considers most suitable in accordance with a preventive or curative treatment , in accordance with the age , weight , degree of infection and other factors specific to the subject to be treated . in general , the doses are between 1 and 5 g per day orally for an adult . the examples which follow illustrate compositions according to the invention intended for the treatment of pneumocystosis : tablets are prepared containing a 400 - mg dose and having the following composition : core : wheat starch , gelatin , talc , magnesium stearate , sodium carboxymethylstarch q . s . one core ; coating : hydroxypropylmethylcellulose , ethylcellulose , dibutyl sebacate , titanium oxide , talc , polyoxyethylene glycol 6 , 000 . tablets are prepared containing an 800 - mg dose and having the following composition : core : wheat starch , gelatin , talc , magnesium stearate , sodium carboxymethylstarch q . s . one core ; coating : hydroxypropylmethylcellulose , ethylcellulose , dibutyl sebacate , titanium oxide , talc , polyoxyethylene glycol 6 , 000 . the present invention also relates to compositions for preventive or curative veterinary use against pneumocystosis : the compositions for veterinary use may be used in the various injectable dosage forms described above for administration in man . they can also be animal feeds or concentrated mixtures intended for animal feeding , containing a sufficient quantity of the derivative of general formula ( i ). more specifically , they can take the form of water - soluble powders to be mixed with the feed . generally speaking , the dosage to be employed will be that which is most suitable in accordance with the animal &# 39 ; s weight , the degree of injection and other specific factors which may be involved , it being understood that the appropriate dose for producing an effect can vary within fairly wide limits . although the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments , it is evident that many alternatives and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description . accordingly , the invention is intended to embrace all of the alternatives and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims . the above references are hereby incorporated by reference .
application of fluoroqinolone derivatives of general formula is taught , in which r 1 is alkyl , fluoroethyl , cyclopropyl or difluorophenyl , r 2 , r 3 and r 4 are identical or different and represent hydrogen atoms or methyl radicals , x is n or a group ═ cr 6 in which r 6 is a hydrogen or fluorine atom , or alternatively r 6 with r 1 and the atoms to which they are attached forms a six - membered heterocycle substituted with a methyl radical and containing an oxygen atom , and r 5 is a hydrogen atom , or represents an amino radical if r 6 is a fluorine atom , as well as of their salts , for obtaining a medicinal product intended for the preventive and / or curative treatment of pneumocystosis . ## str1 ##