Efficacy of probiotic supplements in improving the symptoms of psychosis, anxiety, insomnia, and anorexia due to amphetamine and methamphetamine use: a randomized clinical trial.

RATIONALE: Changes in the density and diversity of gut microbiota in chronic use of methamphetamine have been mentioned as contributors to psychotic and anxiety symptoms, sleep problems, and loss of appetite. OBJECTIVE: In this placebo-controlled clinical trial, we investigated the effect of the probiotic Lactobacillus Acidophilus in improving psychiatric symptoms among hospitalized patients with chronic methamphetamine use along with psychotic symptoms. METHODS: 60 inpatients with a history of more than 3 years of methamphetamine use, were randomly assigned to one of two groups receiving either a probiotic capsule or placebo along with risperidone for 8 weeks based on a simple randomization method. In weeks 0, 4, and 8, patients were evaluated using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Simple Appetite Nutritional Questionnaire (SANQ), and Body Mass Index (BMI). RESULTS: Compared to the control group, patients receiving probiotics had better sleep quality, greater appetite, and higher body mass index (there were significant interaction effects of group and time at Week 8 in these variables (t = -3.32, B = -1.83, p = .001, d = 0.89), (t = 10.50, B = 2.65, p <.001, d = 1.25) and (t = 3.40, B = 0.76, p <.001, d = 0.30), respectively. In terms of the improvement of psychotic and anxiety symptoms, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The use of probiotics was associated with improved sleep quality, increased appetite, and increased body mass index in patients with chronic methamphetamine use. Conducting more definitive clinical trials with larger sample sizes and longer-term follow-up of cases is recommended.

Novel targets in rectal cancer by considering lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network in response to Lactobacillus acidophilus consumption: a randomized clinical trial.

We aimed to explore the lncRNA-miR-mRNA network in response to Lactobacillus acidophilus (L. acidophilus) consumption in rectal cancer patients. The candidate miRs were first taken from the GEO and TCGA databases. We constructed the lncRNA-miR-mRNA network using the high-throughput sequencing data. At last, we created a heatmap based on the experimental data to show the possible correlation of the selected targets. The expression levels of selected targets were measured in the samples of 107 rectal cancer patients undergoing placebo and probiotic consumption and 10 noncancerous subjects using Real-Time PCR. Our analysis revealed a group of differentially expressed 12 miRs and 11 lncRNAs, and 12 genes in rectal cancer patients. A significant expression increase of the selected tumor suppressor miRs, lncRNAs, and genes and a substantial expression decrease of the selected oncomiRs, onco-lncRNAs, and oncogenes were obtained after the probiotic consumption compared to the placebo group. There is a strong correlation between some network components, including miR-133b and IGF1 gene, miR-548ac and MSH2 gene, and miR-21 and SMAD4 gene. In rectal cancer patients, L. acidophilus consumption was associated with improved expression of the lncRNA-miR-mRNA network, which may provide novel monitoring and therapeutic approaches.

Therapeutic and Preventive Effects of Olea europaea Extract on Indomethacin-Induced Small Intestinal Injury Model in Rats.

BACKGROUND: Olea europaea (known as olive fruit) has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities and many potential health benefits including gastric inflammation reduction has been shown previously. This study aimed to investigate the preventive and therapeutic effects of O. europaea extract on the early histological changes in indomethacin-induced small intestinal injury model with the plasma D-lactate concentration being measured as a tool for determination of intestinal permeability. METHODS: In this experimental study, two separate protective and therapeutic protocols were designed. In both experiments, male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 4 groups and either pretreated with 0, 100, 200, or 400 mg/kg/day of O. europaea extract or received the treatment after administration of indomethacin. Their small intestines were examined to compare the histological changes. The intestinal injury severity was evaluated according to the presence of eosinophils, plasma cell infiltration, edema, congestion, and hyperplasia of the crypt using a histological scoring system. Also, measured were the presence of neutrophils, decreased villus length-to-crypt depth ratio, and destructed villus architecture. The plasma concentration of D-lactate was measured as well. RESULTS: The therapeutic use of O. europaea decreased the eosinophil, edema, congestion, and crypt hyperplasia scores compared to the control group. Although no significant difference was seen between groups of the preventive experiment in plasma cell infiltration score, villus length-to-crypt depth ratio, neutrophil infiltration, and percentage of destructed villus architecture, treatment with O. europaea caused a reduction in edema, eosinophil, congestion, and crypt hyperplasia score. In both experiments, no significant difference was seen between groups for villus length-to-crypt depth ratio, neutrophil infiltration, and percentage of destructed villus architecture. Plasma D-lactate concentration was decreased in all O. europaea-treated groups compared to the control group in the therapeutic and preventive experiments (p < 0.01, one-way ANOVA followed by the Dunnett test). CONCLUSION: O. europaea extract can be used to decrease some side effects of indomethacin on intestinal tissue and enhances the gastrointestinal function. O. europaea extract could be considered as a potential herbal supplement in the treatment of intestinal morphological injuries.

Effect of topical application of silymarin (Silybum marianum) on excision wound healing in albino rats.

Silymarin, an extract from Silybum marianum, has been shown to have antioxidant properties. However, there is no scientific report on wound healing activity of the silymarin. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of topical administration of silymarin on excision wound healing in rats. Excision wounds were made on the back of rats. Rats were divided into three groups, as control, vehicle, and treatment. Vehicle and treatment groups received polyethylene glycol and silymarin dissolved in polyethylene glycol, respectively. The control group did not receive any treatment. The wound tissues were removed on 5th, 10th and 15th day for histopathological analysis and total collagen determination by hydroxyproline assay. Results showed that silymarin increased epithelialization and decreased inflammation but did not have any effect on percentage of wound contraction, collagenization and hydroxyproline levels. It was concluded that silymarin can significantly stimulate epithelialization and reduce inflammation in full-thickness wounds in rats.

Effect of aqueous extract of Elaeagnus angustifolia fruit on experimental cutaneous wound healing in rats.

The present study was conducted to investigate the histological changes and wound healing effect of aqueous extract of Elaeagnus angustifolia. After creating full-thickness skin wounds on the back of 45 male Sprague-Dawley rats they were randomly divided into three groups. Treated group received the extract, positive control group were treated with mupirocin ointment 2% and control group did not receive any treatment. Wound healing rates were calculated on days 3, 5, 8, 10, 12 and 15 post-wounding and the wound tissues were harvested at 5, 10, and 15 days for histological analysis and hydroxyproline content measurement. The results indicated a significant increase in the percentage of wound contraction and hydroxyproline content in the treated group comparing to the control and positive control groups. A significant increase in the assigned histological scores was observed at 10 and 15 days in the treated and positive control groups compared to the control group. The results demonstrate that aqueous extract of Elaeagnus angustifolia accelerates cutaneous wound healing, and its effect may be due to the increased re-epithelialization and collagen deposition in wound and so it can be considered as a therapeutic agent for wound healing.