Toxic effects of cisplatin on hepatocytes and liver enzymes of rats

Introduction: Cisplatin is an antineoplastic drug, which is widely used for the treatment of solid tumors. However, its clinical usage is limited because of its side effects such as hepatotoxicity. This study aimed to identify toxic effects of cisplatin on hepatocytes of rats

Methods: A total of 45 adult Sprague Dawley rats weighing 200 +/- 30 g were randomly divided into experimental [n=30] and control [n=15] groups. Rats of experimental groups were divided into 2 subgroups; subgroup 1 received 2 consecutive 2.5mg/kg dose of cisplatin, intraperitoneally in the beginning of first and fifth weeks of the study. Subgroup 2 also received 2 consecutive 5mg/kg dose of cisplatin in the same manner of subgroup 1. After 8 weeks, rats of both groups were anesthetized and killed. Then, their blood and tissue samples were taken. Prepared sections were stained by HE method. Collected data from microscopic slides and blood samples were analyzed by SPSS using analysis of variance [ANOVA] and Tukey test

Results: Statistical analysis showed significant differences in the activity of enzymes [ALT, AST, ALP] between control and experimental groups [P<0.001]. Analysis of sinusoidal diameter also showed a significant difference between studied groups [P<0.001] too

Conclusion: Cisplatin disorganizes the architecture of hepatic lobules and increases sinusoidal diameter in rat liver

40-bp insertion/deletion polymorphism of murine double minute2 [MDM2] increased the risk of breast cancer in Zahedan, southeast Iran

MDM2 [Murine Double Minute2] is an oncoprotein that inhibits the P53 activity. Overexpression of MDM2 gene has been reported in several human tumors. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the impact of 40-bp insertion/deletion [ins/del] polymorphism on the promoter of MDM2 and susceptibility to breast cancer in a sample of Iranian population. Methods: This case-control study was carried out on 236 patients with breast cancer and 203 healthy individuals. Genomic DNA was extracted from the whole blood by the salting-out method. The 40-bp ins/del polymorphism was determined by using polymerase chain reaction. The findings indicated that MDM2 ins/del variant increased the risk of breast cancer in co-dominant- [odds ratio [OR] = 2.09, 95% CI = 1.14-3.85, P = 0.018, del/del vs. ins/ins], dominant- [OR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.02-2.18, P = 0.038, ins/del + del/del vs. ins/ins], and recessive- [OR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.03-3.34, P = 0.038, del/del vs. ins/ins + ins/del] tested inheritance models. The del allele increased the risk of breast cancer [OR = 1.48, 95% CI = 1.11-1.98, P = 0.008] compared with ins allele. Our result revealed that 40-bp ins/del polymorphism in the promoter of MDM2 increased the risk of breast cancer in an Iranian population. Further investigations with larger sample sizes and diverse ethnicities are needed to verify our findings

Prevalence of coeliac disease in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Coeliac disease [CD] may be associated with several liver disorders including primary biliary cirrhosis, primary sclerosing cholangitis and autoimmune hepatitis. Furthermore preliminary data suggest a causative role of CD in steatosis and steatohepatitis. The aim of present study was to determine the prevalence of CD in a series of patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease [NAFLD]. In a cross sectional study [2008-2010], 403 consecutive NAFLD patients [127 female and 276 male] referred to GI clinics of the Zahedan University of Medical Sciences were included. IgA anti-tissue transglutaminase [Anti-tTG] was used for screening of coeliac disease. In the patients with a positive serologic test, duodenal biopsies were taken to confirm the diagnosis. The mean +/- SD of the age and BMI of patients were 37.4 +/- 12.4 years and 28.3 +/- 4.15 kg/m[2] respectively. BMIs lower than 25 kg/m2 were found in 58 subjects [14.5%]. Furthermore diabetes mellitus and hyperlipidaemia were diagnosed in 48 [11.9%] and 84 [20.8%] individuals respectively. Positive Anti-tTGs were found in 14/403 [3.4%] and 13/403 [3.2%, 95% CI 1.5-4.9] had coeliac disease according to the modified Marsh classification; 8 had type I, 3 type II, 1 type IIIA and 1 type IIIB lesions. According to our data, prevalence of CD in the subjects with NAFLD is higher than the rates reported in the general population. Therefore screening for CD in selected cases of NAFLD may be appropriate

Evaluation of depression in patients with cancer in south of Iran [Zahedan]

The symptoms related to depression in patients with cancer are a major problem and could influence the treatment and survival of patients. This disorder is varied in different populations and in different studies. We evaluated the prevalence of depression with Beck Depression Inventory [BDI] scale in 400 patients with cancer. This measurement was after the diagnosis of malignancy and before chemotherapy or radiotherapy. The mean age of patients was 45 +/- 8.5 years, and female to male ratio was 45/55. The prevalence of depression was 24.8% and 28% in males and females. All patients with depression had mild to moderate depression. Prevalence of depression was significantly higher in younger cases [P<0.0001]. According to the site of malignancy, prevalence of depression was significantly highest in patients with breast cancer, following metastatic of unknown origin and gastrointestinal cancer and the lowest prevalence was observed in patients with hematologic malignancy [p<0.0001]. Also, we observed a significant higher prevalence of depression in single versus married patients [p<0.0001], in patients with higher education [p<0.0001] and patients who had knowledge about their disease in comparison with those who had no knowledge [p<0.0001]. The prevalence of depression and its severity in cancer patients in South east of Iran was lower than other studies and it seems that this situation may be related to high religious beliefs in this region, high prevalence of illiteracy and lack of knowledge about their underlying disease

Outcome of adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia in South East of Iran [Zahedan]

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is a lymphoid malignancy, resulting from autonomous proliferation of monoclonal abnormal stem cell. The aim of this study was to evaluate the response rate and prognostic factor of adult patients suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukemia, who were treated with chemotherapy in south east of Iran and demographic methods were used for this study. This study was conducted in Ali Ebne Abitaleb Hospital in south east of Iran [Zahedan] from 2003-2010. All adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in hematology ward received Vincristin, Daunorubicin, Cyclophosphamide, Prednisolone and high dose Methotrexate for induction therapy. All patients' information was recorded and multivariate analysis and survival studies were performed by using Kaplan-Meier statistics. Sixty six adult patients entered. Mean age of them was 33 years old [16-68], that 53 [80.3%] cases were male and 13 cases were female. Fifty one [77.3%] cases experienced complete remission and 15 [22.7%] cases had no remission state. In the following year 53%[33] was alive with complete remission and 47%[31] were dead. Median survival was 13 months. In the end of study 30 cases were in complete remission and alive and 36 [54.5%] were dead. Our results were comparable with other studies and minimally better than those studies

Ifosfamide nephropathy in patients with sarcoma

Ifosfamide is an alkylating agent, frequently used in the treatment of sarcoma. Major side effects of ifosfamide are classified as nephropathy, neuropathy, and hematologic complications. The aim of present study was to determine the frequency and severity of ifosfamide nephropathy in patients with various types of sarcoma. Ninety patients [52 males and 38 females] who had received ifosfamide chemotherapy for sarcoma were included in this study. Data on physical examination, laboratory studies, and estimation of glomerular filtration rate were collected. The median duration of follow-up was 6 to 12 months. Records of documented nephropathy were identified in these patients. The age range of patients on ifosfamide was 5 to 59 years. Thirty-four of the patients were children and 56 were adults. The most common renal side effects were proteinuria [15.5%], glycosuria [7.8%], elevation of serum creatinine [2.2%], hematuria [14.4%], and combination of proteinuria and glycosuria [5.5%]. None of the patients had gross hematuria, but microscopic hematuria was present in 14.4%. Ifosfamide nephropathy was seen with different degrees of severity in patients with sarcoma. Monitoring of the side effects of ifosfamide should be revised in different populations