Effects of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles on Neural Tube Development in Early Chicken Embryos.

AIM: To investigate the effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) on neural tube development in early chicken embryos. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Fifty pathogen-free fertilized eggs were initially incubated for thirty hours. The eggs were divided into 5 groups. In the control group (C) the egg?s apex was opened and closed without any administration. In the distilled water group (DW), 10 microliters of distilled water were injected into the sub-blastodermic area. ZnO-NP suspensions were prepared in distilled water and injected sub-blastodermically into the low, medium and high dose ZnO-NP groups (10 mg/kg, 30 mg/kg, and 50 mg/kg, respectively). Incubation was completed in 72 hours, and embryological and neural tube development was evaluated histologically with a light microscope. RESULTS: Embryos in all groups were evaluated according to the Hamburger-Hamilton (HH) staging. It was observed that the staging progressed by the developmental process between 68-72 hours, which is equivalent to the 19-20th stage of HH. Differentiated otic vesicle, optic cup, lens vesicle, pharynx, and Rathke?s pouch were all observed in embryo sections. Both forebrain and hindbrain vesicles were easily distinguished in the sections by cranial flexion. Neural tube closure defect was not detected in any of the groups. CONCLUSION: In our observations, ZnO-NPs did not affect neural tube development at the applied dose ranges. We believe that additional studies with higher doses using a higher number of subjects will help clarify the conflicting data in the literature.

Association Between Incomplete Partition Type III and Abnormal Hypothalamic Morphology: Further Imaging Evidence.

PURPOSE: Incomplete partition III (IP-III), characterized by congenital mixed or sensorineural hearing loss, is a rare genetic disease transmitted through X-linked mode of inheritance. Inner ear findings of IP-III have been well described and allow an immediate diagnosis to be made. Recently, an association between IP-III and distinct hypothalamic malformations has been reported in some of the patients with IP-III. The purpose of this study was to investigate the morphologic abnormalities of the hypothalamus in IP-III. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Magnetic resonance imaging studies of 8 subjects, including 1 set of brothers, who were diagnosed with IP-III based on their clinical and inner ear imaging findings, were analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 8 subjects, 7 demonstrated some degree of morphologic abnormality of the hypothalamus. Of these, 2 showed asymmetrical thickening, 1 showed symmetrical thickening, and 4 showed mass-like enlargement of the hypothalamus. Six of 7 subjects with hypothalamic abnormalities showed asymmetry in caudal extension of the abnormalities, which was more discernible on coronal oblique T2-weighted images. Clinically, none of the subjects had endocrinologic or neurologic symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: This retrospective analysis presents further magnetic resonance imaging evidence on the association between the rare IP-III malformations and the presence of hypothalamic morphologic abnormalities.

Tamsulosin versus nifedipin in medical expulsive therapy for distal ureteral stones and the predictive value of Hounsfield unit in stone expulsion.

We evaluated the efficacy of tamsulosin and nifedipine in medical expulsive therapy (MET) in patients with distal ureteral stone. In addition, we tried to determine the predictive value of Hounsfield Unit (HU) of the stone in the success of MET. A total of 75 patients with a distal ureteral stone of 5-10 mm diameter were randomly divided into three groups. Group 1 (n = 25) received tamsulosin 0.4 mg/d; group 2 (n = 25) received nifedipine 10 mg/day p.o and group 3 (n = 25) received diclofenac sodium 50 mg p.o. when required. At the beginning of each treatment, the HU of the stone was also measured using a non-contrast computerized tomography in all the patients. The results were evaluated at week four. The mean age of the patients was 36.8 (range, 16-68) years. Stone expulsion was observed in 19 (76%) patients in group 1, 16 (64%) patients in group 2 and 9 (36%) patients in group 3 (pgroup1-3 = 0.004, pgroup2-3 = 0.048 and pgroup1-2 = 0.355). The mean expulsion time was 9, 9.1 and 10.3 d, respectively (pgroup1-3 < 0.001, pgroup2-3 < 0.001 and pgroup1-2 = 0.619). The mean diclofenac sodium dose per patient was 544, 602 and 1408 mg in groups 1, 2 and 3, respectively (pgroup1-3 < 0.001, pgroup2-3 < 0.001 and pgroup1-2 = 0.977). The mean HU of the stone in patients with and without a successful MET was 363 and 389, respectively (p = 0.462). Our results showed that MET with both nifedipine and tamsulosin provided a similar increase in the expulsion rate for distal ureteral stones. HU does not seem to be a predictive parameter for stone expulsion.

The clinical and sonographic effects of kinesiotaping and exercise in comparison with manual therapy and exercise for patients with subacromial impingement syndrome: a preliminary trial.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of manual therapy with exercise to kinesiotaping with exercise for patients with subacromial impingement syndrome. METHODS: Randomized clinical before and after trial was used. Fifty-four patients diagnosed as having subacromial impingement syndrome who were referred for outpatient treatment were included. Eligible patients (between 30 and 60 years old, with unilateral shoulder pain) were randomly allocated to 2 study groups: kinesiotaping with exercise (n = 28) or manual therapy with exercise (n = 26). In addition, patients were advised to use cold packs 5 times per day to control for pain. Visual analog scale for pain, Disability of Arm and Shoulder Questionnaire for function, and diagnostic ultrasound assessment for supraspinatus tendon thickness were used as main outcome measures. Assessments were applied at the baseline and after completing 6 weeks of related interventions. RESULTS: At the baseline, there was no difference between the 2 group characteristics (P > .05). There were significant differences in both groups before and after treatment in terms of pain decrease and improvement of Disability of Arm and Shoulder Questionnaire scores (P < .05). No difference was observed on ultrasound for tendon thickness after treatment in both groups (P > .05). The only difference between the groups was at night pain, resulting in favor of the kinesiotaping with exercise group (P < .05). CONCLUSION: For the group of subjects studied, no differences were found between kinesiotaping with exercise and manual therapy with exercise. Both treatments may have similar results in reducing pain and disability in subacromial impingement in 6 weeks.