ABSTRACT
Objective: To examine the protective effect of Vitamin D3 against Type 3 diabetes-induced cognitive dysfunction in rats. Materials and Methods: Type 3 diabetes was induced by a high-fat diet plus streptozotocin in rats. Rats were divided into seven groups: negative control, positive control, Vitamin D3 groups (100, 500 and 1000 IU/kg/day), Vitamin D3 plus rivastigmine, and rivastigmine monotherapy. A radial arm maze test was used to assess cognitive function. Levels of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), dopamine (DA), nerve growth factor, neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) in the hippocampus were estimated by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. Results: Chronic treatment with Vitamin D3 significantly (P < 0.05) and dose dependently alleviated cognitive deficits, with enhancing cholinergic transmission pathway activity through attenuated hippocampal AChE and increased DA level (P < 0.001). Moreover, Vitamin D3 significantly increased (P < 0.001) neurotrophin levels as an underlying mechanism for the resulted improvement. Conclusion: Vitamin D3 plus rivastigmine (combined group) is better than Vitamin D (100 and 500 mg/kg/day) for improvement of AChE, DA, NT-3, and GDNF levels. Vitamin D (500 and 1000 IU/kg/day) was effective as a combined group in terms of the behavioral test.
ABSTRACT
Context: The spleen is the largest single mass of lymphoid tissue in all vertebrates. Histological changes are evident in advancing age along with functional capability of the human spleen. A cross-sectional, descriptive type of study was done in the Department of Anatomy, Dhaka Medical College, Dhaka, from January to December 2008, to see the age related microscopic changes in the human spleen. Methods: 30 human spleens were collected from the unclaimed dead bodies that were under examination in the Department of Forensic Medicine of Dhaka Medical College, Dhaka. The samples were divided into three age-groups including group A (15-29 years), group B (30-49 years) & group C (50-69 years). Then 5 best prepared histological slides from each group were taken and examined under the light compound microscope to determine the thickness of capsule, diameter, number and percent amount of white pulp in the human spleen. Results: The thickness of the splenic capsule were found 84.60±7.97 ?m, 117.92±4.16 ?m, and 132.17±6.37 ?m in group A, B and C respectively. The diameter of the white pulp were found 0.32±0.01 mm, 0.32±0.01 mm and 0.31±0.01 mm, while the number of white pulp per sq. mm were 2.28±1.04, 2.38±0.93 and 2.04±0.76 in group A, B and C respectively. Moreover, the amounts of the white pulp were determined 23.09±1.38, 24.45±1.84 and 22.54±1.08 in group A, B and C respectively. The difference in thickness of the splenic capsule was statistically significant among the study groups (p<0.001). However, no difference was found in diameter, number and percentage of the white pulp of the spleen among those age groups. Conclusion: The thickness of the capsule of the spleen was found to increase with advancing age in humans. However, no age change was evident in diameter, number or amount of the white pulp.
ABSTRACT
Context: A cross-sectional study was designed to find out the difference in weight of the thyroid gland of Bangladeshi people in relation to age and sex and to compare with previous local and foreign studies. Materials & Methods: The present study was performed on 60 post mortem human thyroid gland (39 of male and 21 of female) collected from unclaimed dead bodies which were in the morgue under examination in the Department of Forensic Medicine, Dhaka Medical College, Dhaka. The samples were divided into three age-groups including Group A (10-20 years), Group B (21-50 years) & Group C (>50 years) and the weight of the thyroid glands were measured and recorded. Results: The mean weight of the thyroid gland in male was 15.14 gm, 19.20 gm and 14.64 gm and in female was 16.02 gm, 19.03 gm and 14.67 gm in group A, B and C respectively. The mean weight of the thyroid gland was 15.48 gm in group A, 19.15 gm in group B and 14.65 gm in group C. There was no difference in mean weight of the thyroid gland between male and female. The difference in mean weight of the thyroid gland between group A & group B and group B & group C were found statistically significant. The weight of the gland was found to increase from early childhood and puberty up to 50 years of age and then decrease.
ABSTRACT
To examine the feasibility and efficacy of a modified constraint induced therapy protocol on stroke patients. This study was carried out during the period from August 2001 to January 2002 at the Riyadh Medical Complex, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Six stroke patients with subacute cerebrovascular accident [<6 months] were included in the study. Three male and 3 female patients with a mean age of 54.3 +/- 6.9 years [range 45-67 years], and mean duration of hemiparesis of 4.7 months [range 2.3-5.8 months]. They were divided randomly into 3 groups of 2 patients. The first 2 patients [constraint induced therapy group] participated in half an hour of physical and occupational therapy sessions 3 times per week for 10 weeks. During the same period, their unaffected arms and hands were restrained 5 days per week for 5 hours identified as times of frequent use. The second 2 patients [traditional therapy group] received regular therapy administered after 10 weeks. The last 2 patients [control group] received no therapy. The Fugl-Meyer Assessment of Motor Recovery After Stroke [Fugl], Action Research Arm Test [ARA], Wolf Motor Function Test [WMFT], and Motor Activity Log [MAL] were administered to the patients. Patients receiving modified constraint induced therapy exhibited substantial improvement on the Fugl, ARA, and WMFT, as well as increases in amount and quality of use of the limb using the MAL. While patients receiving traditional physical and occupational therapy, and no therapy patients exhibited few improvements. Modified constraint induced therapy may be an efficacious method of improving function and use of the affected arms in stroke patients exhibiting learned nonuse
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Extremities , Arm , Stroke/rehabilitationABSTRACT
The ultrastructure of the corpuscles of Stannius (CS) of Heteropneustes fossilis reveals a homogenous cellular composition characterized by only one cell type, with large secretory granules and abundant ribosomal endoplasmic reticulum. These cells are comparable to the type 1 cell described in the CS of other teleosts; type 2 cells, whose presence is ubiquitous in the CS of freshwater species are absent in H. fossilis. Our data on the CS of H. fossilis demonstrate that not all freshwater species possess type 2 cells in their CS and these are not essential for life in freshwater
Subject(s)
Animals , Catfishes/anatomy & histology , Endocrine Glands/ultrastructure , Microscopy, ElectronABSTRACT
The present study reports the results of a tuberculin test survey of a representative sample of BCG unvaccinated children at school entry age in the Madaba district in Jordan in 1991-92. Preschool household contacts of positive schoolchildren and a 5% random sample of negative schoolchildren were also screened by the same test. Three out of the 746 children screened by the initial school survey were found to be positive giving a prevalence rate of 0.4%. The overall prevalence rate of infection among preschool contacts was found to be 10.1% [28.6% among the contacts of the positive schoolchildren compared to 8.1% among contacts of the negative children]
Subject(s)
Humans , Tuberculosis/epidemiology , Child, PreschoolABSTRACT
We report here the results of an epidemiologically based study carried out to elucidate the frequency of faecal shedding of Salmonella typhi among blood culture positive cases. The study was based on the results of blood and stool cultures of specimens obtained from various areas of Basrah and processed at the public Health Laboratory over a two years period [1984, 1985]. It was shown that around 47% of positive blood culture cases were positive by stool culture for Salmonella typhi. Young children who were positive by blood culture tend to excretes S. typhi at a higher rate than adult cases. The study also showed a significant area variation in the frequency of faecal shedding of S. typhi which was inversely correlated with the level f endemicity as reflected by the percentage of positive blood culture of all blood specimens tested. There was no significant seasonal variation in the rates of faecal excretion of S. typhi among bacteraemic cases