Astaxanthin protects against early acute kidney injury in severely burned rats by inactivating the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB axis and upregulating heme oxygenase-1.

Early acute kidney injury (AKI) contributes to severe morbidity and mortality in critically burned patients. Renal inflammation plays a vital role in the progression of early AKI, acting as a therapeutic target. Astaxanthin (ATX) is a strong antioxidant widely distributed in marine organisms that exerts many biological effects in trauma and disease. ATX is also suggested to have anti-inflammatory activity. Hence, we attempted to explore the role of ATX in protecting against early postburn AKI via its anti-inflammatory effects and the related mechanisms. A severely burned model was established for histological and biochemical assessments based on adult male rats. We found that oxidative stress-induced tissue inflammation participated in the development of early AKI after burn injury and that the MyD88-dependent TLR4/NF-κB pathway was activated to regulate renal inflammation. The TLR4 and NF-κB inhibitors TAK242 and PDTC showed similar effects in attenuating burn-induced renal inflammation and early AKI. Upon ATX treatment, the release of inflammatory mediators in the kidneys was downregulated, while the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB axis was inhibited in a dose-related manner. TAK242 and PDTC could enhance the anti-inflammatory effect of high-dose ATX, whereas lipopolysaccharide (LPS) reversed its action. Furthermore, the expression of heme oxygenase (HO)-1 was upregulated by ATX in a dose-related manner. Collectively, the above data suggest that ATX protects against renal inflammation in a dose-related manner by regulating the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB axis and HO-1 and ultimately prevents early AKI following severe burns.

[The misdiagnosis of testicular torsion (a report of 113 cases)].

OBJECTIVE: To improve the diagnosis and treatment of testicular torsion (or spermatic cord torsion), and reduce its misdiagnosis and mistreatment. METHODS: One hundred and thirteen misdiagnosed clinical cases of testicular torsion from 1994 to 2004 were reviewed and analysed. RESULTS: The error rate of initial diagnosis was 84.3%, among which 81 cases (71.7%) were misdiagnosed as acute epididymitis or testis, 10 (8.8%) as hydrocele of the tunica vaginalis, and 7 (6.2%) as acute enteritis. The lengths of time between the income and diagnosis of the disease varied from 2 hours to 2 months, averaging 6.3 days. Hand replacement succeeded in 3 cases, surgical examination was carried out in 92, resection of the testis or epididymis was performed in 64, testis atrophy occurred in 26, and the total testis impairment rate was 79.6%. CONCLUSION: The key to the reduction of misdiagnosis is to improve the diagnostic methods, which can be achieved by the combined use of case history, physical signs and color ultrasonography. Surgical examination of the scrotum is the best option for both the diagnosis and the treatment of testicular torsion.