Journal of Advances in Medical and Biomedical Research
Year:2006 | Volume:14 | Issue:55|Papers Count:12

Background and Objective: Ischemia plays a major role in development of pathological changes in various neuropathies. Reperfusion amplifies physiological and pathological abnormalities in ischemic nerves. In this research, we studied ischemic-reperfusion (IR) injury of sciatic nerve up to 14 days of reperfusion.Materials & Methods: IR was produced by ligation and release of nooses around supplying vessels to the sciatic nerve. 30 rats were assigned into 5 groups of 6. Group 1 (control) did not undergo IR while the 4 remaining groups after three hours of complete hind leg ischemia underwent reperfusion within Ohr,3hrs, 7 days and 14 days.Results: Pathologically, two phases were identifiable. During phase 1 (0- 3 hrs) fiber degeneration and endoneurial edema were observed. During phase 2 (7 days and, 14 days) prominent fiber degeneration and prominent endoneurial edema were observed. Loss of function occurred in more than 75% of the rats with ischemia alone, in comparison with the control group the maximum reduction in activities was observed amongst the group of rats reperfused within 3 hours.Conclusion: IR injury depends on duration of reperfusion. Microvascular events during reperfusion may enhance the nerve fiber damage following the ischemia period.

Background & Objectives: Reports suggest that co-administration of Matricaria Chamomilla (MC) extract with morphine greatly attenuates the dependence on morphine and its injection prior to naloxan inhibits the withdrawal syndrome. Locus Ceruleus (LC) and paragigantocellularis (PGi) nuclei play a key role in appearance of withdrawal syndrome. Thus, this study was conducted to determine the effects of MC extract injection into pGi nucleus on morphine withdrawal in rats.Materials & Methods: 30 rats (Weighing 250-300gr) were divided into two groups of control (receiving saline) and morphine- treated. Following surgical implantation of cannula, morphine- treated group received morphine twice daily for 7 days. This group was classified into 4 sub-groups.The first sub-group received only morphine while the three remaining sub-groups were administed with Matricaria Chamomilla on day 7, five minutes prior to 1 microliter naloxan injection, with 10, 25, and 50 micro gr/lit, respectively. In all groups 5 mg/kg naloxan was injected 3 hours after the final injection of morphine and withdrawal behavior (jumping and climbing) was investigated for 30 minutes.Results: The results showed that injection of all three high doses of MC extract particulary 25 microgr/microlit into PGi nuclens could significantly decline the symptoms of withdrawal syndrome.Conclusion: It seems that injection of MC extract into PGi nucleus could be beneficial to the treatment of morphine withdrawal syndrome in rats.

Background & Objective: Angiogenesis plays a key role in different physiologic and pathologic processes. Evaluation of endothelial cells and finally new vessels development in-vivo is a complex and formidable task. Thus, we designed an in-vitro experimental angiogenesis model using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) which is highly reproducible and controllable. This model has applicability to study various parameters involved in angiogenesis and its harness.Materials and Methods: HUVEC cells were isolated from umbilical vein by enzyme treatment as the source of endothelial cells. Then, the three-dimensional model was designed using fibrin gel and cytodex beads which was covered by HUVEC cells.Results: In this model 10-12 days after culturing HUVEC, the resulting capillary formation was observed as branching of the source endothelial cells in microscopic field.Conclusion: The model is controllable and highly reproducible to study various parameters involved in angiogenesis. Moreover, the model provides a reliable method to screen angiogenesis and anti-angiogenesis substances.

Background & Objective: Acetaminophen is a widely used analgesic and antipyretic drug which can produce hepatic injury in both humans and animals when given in high doses. Liver damage induced by actaminophen depends on cytochrome P-450 activities which appear as centrilobular necrosis. In this study, hepatoprotective effect of Curcuma longa (CL) is tested. The active constituent of CL is known as curcumin which has detoxifying and antioxidant activity.Materials &Methods: 58 NMRI male mice were randomly divided into 7 groups. After an overnight denial of food, the first three groups received the following: group C normal saline, group B 1000 mg/kg CL extract, group A 700 mg/kg oral acetaminophen. Treatment groups received acetaminophen and CL extract concurrently in various doses of 200 mg/kg, 400 mg/kg, 800 mg/kg, 1000 mg/kg, respectively. After 24 hours blood samples were taken from jugular arteries for bioassay tests and the liver was removed and placed in 10% formalin for histopathologic assessments.Results: Serum levels of hepatic transaminases (ALT, AST) in groups receiving CL declined remarkably compared to positive control group with a significant difference (p<0.05). Based on histopathologic survey hepatic necrosis decreased as the CL intake increased.Conclusion: Based on the present research results, CL extract improves the condition in acetaminophen induced hepatic toxicity and its administration is recommended.

Background and Objective: Profound hearing loss is one of the most prevalent congenital disorders affecting about 1 in 1000 newborns. Autosomal recessive non-syndromic hearing loss (ARNSHL) is the predominant form of the severe inherited childhood deafness. This type of hearing loss in one-half of the cases is caused by mutations in GJB2 (connexin 26) and GJB6 (connexin 30) genes located at DFNB 1 locus of chromosome13q. Protein products of the two above-mentioned genes play a crucial role in the intercellular communications within the inner ear through gap junction. This study was conducted to analyze the two most common mutations among ARNSHL patients referring to the Genetics center of Tabriz, eastern Azarbaij an.Materials & Methods: The most common mutation of GJB2 gene (35delG) and a mutation of GJB6 gene (del(GJB6-D13S1830)) were analyzed in 129 referring patients with ARNSHL using ARMS-PCR and multiplex-PCR techniques, respectively. These methods facilitate analyzing parents and carriers.Results: 21% of the studied families had 35delG mutation in connexin 26 gene. 36 chromosomes (18%) out of 200 studied chromosomes had 35delG mutation while none of the chromosomes had del (GJB6- D 13S 1830) mutation in connexin 30. The 35delG mutation was assessed in parents and siblings in order to detect carriers.Conclusion: 35delG mutation accounts for 18% of ARNSHL in eastern Azerbaijan which is various to other published studies from different regions of Iran. The absence of del (GJB6-D13S1830) mutation in the patients may be due to the founder effect.

Background & Objective: Iron deficiency anemia is a major public health problem worldwide, particularly in developing countries. Women especially during reproductive life are vulnerable group. Around 1/3 of the world's population suffers from anemia and nutritional deficiency is to blame as the most significant factor.About 350 million women and 50% of the children in developing countries are anemic. This disease has a high prevalence in our country and according to the statistis released by the nutrition improvement office, 50% of women aged 15-49 suffer from various degrees of anemia and 34% have severe anemia. Since no surveys about IDA have been carried out on non-pregnant women in zanjan, this study was carried out with the aim of determining IDA indices among non-pregnant women aged 15-45 in Zanjan. Materials & Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study 33 clusters were randomly selected using the city map and out of each cluster 10 non-pregnant women aged 15-45 were studied (total: 330 people). The data was collected through a general questionnaire, taking 5ml blood sample from right arm, and running tests on blood samples. Remoglobin, hematocrit, MCRC, ferritin, serum iron, TIDC and transferring saturation were determined, then the mean values were calculated and the prevalence of IDA was measured on the basis of blood indices. Results: IDA values were 23.6%, 47.3%, 14.5%,24.2%,39.6%, 18.2% and 30.3% in terms of hemoglobin, hematocrit, MCRC, serum iron, TIBC, transferrin saturation and ferritin, respectively, with the lowest value belonging to MCRC and the highest value to hematocrit.Conclusion: IDA has a relatively high prevalence among the studied women which stands above the country's average, likely to be regarded as a public health priority. Thus, the women should be trained against wrong nutitional habits as well as receiving iron supplement in the short run, enrichment of foodstuff with iron is also recommended as a preventive plan.

Background & Objective: UTI is a relatively common infection of childhood which is caused by ascending colonic bacteria and is frequently seen within the first year of life. The main complication of an infection is leaving a scar in kidney which can lead to renal insufficiency and hypertension. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prophylactic effect of breast feeding against UTI among children under one year of age.Materials & Methods: This case-control study was conducted on 100 children under one year of age (50 cases and 50 control). The case group was selected from patients referring to the pediatric nephrology clinic or admitted to Vali-e-Asr hospital in 2004, all of whom have suffered from UTI at least once. The children in the control group who did not experience UTI were selected from daycare centers and were alike in terms of gender, age and circumcision (in boys). The data was analyzed using chi-square and fisher's exact tests.Results: 9 (32.1 %) of the children suffering from UTI and 25 (83.3%) of the healthy children had only been breast fed. The prophylactic effect of breast feeding against UTI was 90% higher in children who had only been breast fed (P=0.0005). The combined prophylactic effect of breast feeding and formula-feeding against UTI was 71% higher than only formula feeding (53.7% to 80%) (p=0.038). The preventive effect of breast feeding against UTI was higher in boys than in girls.Conclusions: This study shows that breast feeding has a prophylactic effect against UTI. We suggest that further studies should be carried out with a higher sample size to achieve comprehensive assessment.

Background & Objectives: Chronic Otitis Media (COM) remains one of the most common childhood chronic infectious diseases worldwide. This study was carried out to detennine the organisms inducing COM and their drug resistance patterns in Zanjan.Materials & Methods: This cluster cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 patients suffering from COM in the age range of 18-45. COM specimens were obtained in operating room and then cultured on 4 different media. Following the diagnostic tests and identifying the bacteria, their susceptibility to antibiotics was assessed.Results: The most common isolated bacteria were Pseudomonas aeruginosa (24.7%), Staph ylococcus aureus (17.6%) and Proteus spp (15.2%). The results ofbioassay tests for isolated bacteria were as follows: Pseudomonas aeruginosa had the highest resistance to cefixime and co-trimoxazol (100%). The highest resistance of Staphylococcus Aureus was to co-trimoxazol (70%) and cefixime (50%).Conclusion: Regarding the multi-bacterial etiology of COM and high prevalence of antibiotic resistance, identification of causative bacteria and bioassay test prior to any therapeutic procedure seams necessary.