Abstract: A catheter retention device comprises an oval base with a centrally located bore there through, an elevated disk portion surrounding said bore and two retention ring housing elements with centrally disposed bores whose axis are perpendicular to one another. The retention device is useful in securing the catheter so that any inadvertent physical force or traction exerted against it will not move the catheter or pull it from its incision. The catheter itself is threadably inserted through all the bores of the retention device which is then attached to the patients body at the ostomy site with sutures, tape or liquid adhesives. Preferably, the retention device is used in conjunction with gastrostomy or jejunal feeding tubes.

Abstract: An ingestible composition to prolong the useful life of an enteral feeding tube and a system of an enteral feeding tube and the composition is provided. The complete enteral feeding solution contains an edible antimicrobial agent which is 0.05% to 1.0% by weight alkyl paraben, the alkyl group having 1-10 carbon atoms. Methyl, ethyl, or propyl paraben are particularly preferred.

Abstract: A therapeutically effective amount of L-arginine, or a physiologically acceptable salt thereof, is orally administered, preferably as a food supplement in combination with a meal approved by the American Diabetes Association Inc. ("ADA"), to a person having Type II diabetes mellitus but who is not on either insulin or other medication for glycemic control. When 3 g to 15 g of L-arginine is ingested concurrently with a meal, or immediately prior to eating a meal, the L-arginine decreases the concentration of insulin generated, compared to that generated after the same meal without the L-arginine; at the same time, concentration of glucose in the person's blood is decreased, indicating that available insulin sensitizes cells so as to nearly mimic the effectiveness of normal cells in a non-diabetic person; from 3 g to 15 g of orally ingested L-arginine, by itself, produces no measurable increase in insulin secretion in a diabetic.