Evaluation of Forced Expiratory Volume in One Second and Forced Vital Capacity from Age and Height for Pulmonary Function Test.

BACKGROUND: Lung function tests (LFTs) are a collection of clinical examinations used to assess lung function and monitor potential declines in the lungs, respiratory muscles, and chest wall's mechanical performance. This cross-sectional study aimed to identify the relation of age and height to lung function. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was conducted at AlHussein Medical City, 70 adult male subjects were enrolled in the study. All subjects were screened physically to ensure that they were normal and there were no respiratory disorders that could affect the lung function. Age and height were taken for these subjects, forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV1 (Forced expiratory volume in first second) as well as FEV1 /FVC ratio were measured. RESULTS: The results of the study showed that the average values of FVC and FEV1 were 4.75 and 3.88 respectively. There was a significant negative correlation observed between age and FVC (r=0.48), FEV1 (r= 0.6). Also there was a significant positive correlation noticed between Height and FVC (r = 0.62), FEV1 (r =0.69). There was a very high correlation evidenced between FEV1 and FVC, the relation between FEV1 and FVC is practically height and age-independent. CONCLUSION: Our study highlights a great interest in the study of the relation between age, height, and lung function. The study also creates simple and convenience equations that can be used for reference standards in clinical practice to give reasonable theoretical values for a large sector of the population.

CONTEXTE: Les tests de fonction pulmonaire (TFP) regroupent une série d'examens cliniques utilisés pour évaluer la fonction pulmonaire et surveiller d'éventuelles réductions des performances mécaniques des poumons, des muscles respiratoires et de la paroi thoracique. Cette étude transversale visait à déterminer la relation entre l'âge et la taille et la fonction pulmonaire. MATÉRIEL ET MÉTHODES: L'étude a été menée à la ville médicale Al-Hussein. Soixante-dix sujets masculins adultes ont été inscrits à l'étude. Tous les sujets ont été soumis à un examen physique pour s'assurer qu'ils étaient en bonne santé et ne présentaient pas de troubles respiratoires susceptibles d'affecter la fonction pulmonaire. L'âge et la taille de ces sujets ont été relevés, et la capacité vitale forcée (CVF), le VEMS (volume expiratoire maximal en une seconde) ainsi que le rapport VEMS/CVF ont été mesurés. RÉSULTATS: Les résultats de l'étude ont montré que les valeurs moyennes de la CVF et du VEMS étaient respectivement de 4,75 et 3,88. Une corrélation négative significative a été observée entre l'âge et la CVF (r = 0,48) ainsi qu'entre l'âge et le VEMS (r = 0,6). De plus, une corrélation positive significative a été remarquée entre la taille et la CVF (r = 0,62) ainsi qu'entre la taille et le VEMS (r = 0,69). Une corrélation très élevée a été mise en évidence entre le VEMS et la CVF, la relation entre le VEMS et la CVF est pratiquement indépendante de la taille et de l'âge. CONCLUSION: Notre étude met en évidence un intérêt particulier pour l'étude de la relation entre l'âge, la taille et la fonction pulmonaire. L'étude crée également des équations simples et pratiques qui peuvent être utilisées comme référence dans la pratique clinique pour fournir des valeurs théoriques raisonnables pour une grande partie de la population. Mots-clés: VEMS, CVF, VEMS/CVF, Spirométrie.

44-year temporal trends and causes of maternal mortality at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, Lagos, Nigeria (1976-2019).

Background: Nigeria has committed to global initiatives aimed at improving maternal and child health. Institutional audit of maternal mortality over a long period can provide useful information on the trends in maternal death and the impact of interventions. Aim: To evaluate the trends in annual deliveries, maternal mortality ratio and causes of maternal death at a tertiary institution in Nigeria over a period of 44 years (1976-2019). Materials and Methods: We conducted a temporal trend analysis of annual births, maternal deaths, maternal mortality ratio (MMR), and ranking of causes of maternal deaths at a Teaching Hospital, in Southwest Nigeria using available data from 1976 to 2019. Overall and segmental annual percent change (APC) of the observed trends were conducted using Joinpoint version 4.5.0.1 software. Results: Over the 44-year study period, 1323 maternal deaths occurred at approximately 30 maternal deaths per annum. There was a four-fold increase in MMR from 881/100,000 total births in 1976 to 3389.8/100,000 total births in 2019, at an average increase of 3.1% per annum. (APC: 3.1%; P value < 0.001). The leading causes of maternal mortality were hypertension, sepsis, haemorrhage, and abortion, which together contributed to more than 70% of maternal deaths. All the leading causes of maternal deaths except abortion had constant ranking during the study period. Conclusion: The four-fold increase in MMR at our hospital from 1976-2019 is worrying and may suggest that previous efforts at reducing maternal mortality in our institution did not lead to significant improvement toward the attainment of Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG3). The hospital increasingly managed complex cases especially the unbooked patients who were referred to the hospital as a last resort.

A Comparison between Mygind and Kaiteki positions in administration of drops to the olfactory cleft.

OBJECTIVES: Topical nasal steroids are a common treatment intervention for olfactory dysfunction. Penetration of topical treatment to the olfactory cleft (OC), such as nasal drops, is greatly dependent on the position of the head when the treatment is administered. We aimed to examine the penetrance of nasal drops to the OC in two different head positions: the Mygind (lying head back) position and the Kaiteki position. DESIGN AND SETTING: The specimens were firstly positioned in Mygind, and thereafter in Kaiteki positions. Nasal drops mixed with blue food dye were administered into the nostrils in each of the head position. Endoscopic videos were recorded, and two blinded observers scored the extent of olfactory cleft penetration (OCP) using a 4-point scale (0 = none, 3 = heavy). PARTICIPANTS: Twelve fresh-frozen cadaver specimens. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Penetration of the dye into the OC. RESULTS: The mean score of nasal drops penetrance to the OC in the Mygind position was 1.34 (standard deviation, SD = 0.92), as compared to 1.76 (SD = 0.65) in the Kaiteki position. The difference in the OCP score between the two groups was not statistically significant (P > .05). CONCLUSION: Both Mygind and Kaiteki head positions are reasonable options for patients considering topical nasal drops for olfaction impairment. The preference of one position over the other should be determined by patient's preference and comfort.

A European multicentre evaluation of detection and typing methods for human enteroviruses and parechoviruses using RNA transcripts.

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection has become the gold standard for diagnosis and typing of enterovirus (EV) and human parechovirus (HPeV) infections. Its effectiveness depends critically on using the appropriate sample types and high assay sensitivity as viral loads in cerebrospinal fluid samples from meningitis and sepsis clinical presentation can be extremely low. This study evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of currently used commercial and in-house diagnostic and typing assays. Accurately quantified RNA transcript controls were distributed to 27 diagnostic and 12 reference laboratories in 17 European countries for blinded testing. Transcripts represented the four human EV species (EV-A71, echovirus 30, coxsackie A virus 21, and EV-D68), HPeV3, and specificity controls. Reported results from 48 in-house and 15 commercial assays showed 98% detection frequencies of high copy (1000 RNA copies/5 µL) transcripts. In-house assays showed significantly greater detection frequencies of the low copy (10 copies/5 µL) EV and HPeV transcripts (81% and 86%, respectively) compared with commercial assays (56%, 50%; P = 7 × 10-5 ). EV-specific PCRs showed low cross-reactivity with human rhinovirus C (3 of 42 tests) and infrequent positivity in the negative control (2 of 63 tests). Most or all high copy EV and HPeV controls were successfully typed (88%, 100%) by reference laboratories, but showed reduced effectiveness for low copy controls (41%, 67%). Stabilized RNA transcripts provide an effective, logistically simple and inexpensive reagent for evaluation of diagnostic assay performance. The study provides reassurance of the performance of the many in-house assay formats used across Europe. However, it identified often substantially reduced sensitivities of commercial assays often used as point-of-care tests.

Challenge infection model for MERS-CoV based on naturally infected camels.

BACKGROUND: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is an emerging virus that infects humans and camels with no approved antiviral therapy or vaccine. Some vaccines are in development for camels as a one-health intervention where vaccinating camels is proposed to reduce human viral exposure. This intervention will require an understanding of the prior exposure of camels to the virus and appropriate vaccine efficacy studies in camels. METHODS: We conducted a cross sectional seroprevalence study in young dromedary camels to determine the rate of MERS-CoV seropositivity in young camels. Next, we utilised naturally infected camels as a natural challenge model that can be used by co-housing these camels with healthy naive camels in a ratio of 1 to 2. This model is aimed to support studies on natural virus transmission as well as evaluating drug and vaccine efficacy. RESULTS: We found that 90% of the screened camels have pre-existing antibodies for MERS-CoV. In addition, the challenge model resulted in MERS-CoV transmission within 48 h with infections that continued for 14 days post challenge. CONCLUSIONS: Our finding suggests that the majority of young dromedary camels in Saudi Arabia are seropositive and that naturally infected camels can serve as a challenge model to assess transmission, therapeutics, and vaccine efficacy.

Six-year experience of detection and investigation of possible Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus cases, England, 2012-2018.

OBJECTIVES: Surveillance for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) has been undertaken in the UK since September 2012. This study describes the surveillance outcomes in England from 2012 to 2018. STUDY DESIGN: This was a descriptive study using surveillance data. METHODS: Local health protection teams in England report possible MERS cases to the National Infection Service with clinical and laboratory data. RESULTS: A total of 1301 possible MERS cases were identified in the study period. Five cases were laboratory-confirmed MERS. The majority of cases had travelled to Saudi Arabia (56.7%) and United Arab Emirates (25.9%). Fifty-four percent of cases were men and 43.7% were women. The majority of cases (65.1%) were aged 45 years or older. The number of tests increased in the period after Hajj each year. Laboratory-confirmed alternative diagnoses were available for 513 (39.4%) cases; influenza was the most common virus detected (n = 255, 52.4%). CONCLUSIONS: Our study highlights the importance of differential diagnosis of influenza and other respiratory pathogens and early influenza antiviral treatment.

Chemical pressure-chemical knowledge: squeezing bonds and lone pairs within the valence shell electron pair repulsion model.

The valence shell electron pair repulsion (VSEPR) model is a demanding testbed for modern chemical bonding formalisms. The challenge consists in providing reliable quantum mechanical interpretations of how chemical concepts such as bonds, lone pairs, electronegativity, or hypervalence influence (or modulate) molecular geometries. Several schemes have been developed thus far to visualize and characterize these effects; however, to the best of our knowledge, no scheme has yet incorporated the analysis of the premises derived from the ligand close-packing (LCP) extension of the VSEPR model. Within the LCP framework, the activity of the lone pairs of the central atom and ligand-ligand repulsions constitute the two key features necessary to explain certain controversial molecular geometries that do not conform to the VSEPR rules. Considering the dynamical picture obtained when electron local forces at different nuclear configurations are evaluated from first-principles calculations, we investigate the chemical pressure distributions in a variety of molecular systems, namely, electron-deficient molecules (BeH2, BH3, BF3), several AX3 series (A: N, P, As; X: H, F, Cl), SO2, ethylene, SF4, ClF3, XeF2, and nonequilibrium configurations of water and ammonia. Our chemical pressure maps clearly reveal space regions that are totally consistent with the molecular and electronic geometries predicted by VSEPR and provide a quantitative correlation between the lone pair activity of the central atom and electronegativity of ligands, which are in agreement with the LCP model. Moreover, the analysis of the kinetic and potential energy contributions to the chemical pressure allows us to provide simple explanations on the connection between ligand electronegativity and electrophilic/nucleophilic character of the molecules, with interesting implications in their potential reactivity. NH3, NF3, SO2, BF3, and the inversion barrier of AX3 molecules are selected to illustrate our findings.

Patterns, treatments, and outcomes of pediatric central nervous system tumors in Sudan: a single institution experience.

PURPOSE: Studies of epidemiology, treatment modalities, and outcomes of childhood central nervous system (CNS) tumors in Sudan are scarce. To address this shortcoming, we evaluated baseline information about the epidemiology, treatment types, and outcomes of childhood CNS tumors at the National Cancer Institute, University of Gezira (NCI-UG) in Wad Madani, Sudan. METHODS: We performed a retrospective health facility-based study of children with CNS tumors who were treated at the NCI-UG from January 2000 to December 2015. RESULTS: A total of 62 (5.4% of all childhood cancers) pediatric patients with CNS tumors were identified over the study period. Tumors were more common among male children and involved the infratentorial compartment in 58% of cases. The median age at diagnosis was 9 years (range, 2-14 years). Approximately 60% (n = 37) of the study population had histology-determined diagnoses. Astrocytomas and medulloblastomas were the most common tumors in these cases. The mean time to diagnosis was 6 months (SD, 9). During the study period, the number of children with CNS tumors who were referred for treatment at the NCI-UG increased every year. Of the 37 patients who received surgical interventions, 8 received gross total resections, 20 received partial resections, and 24 received postoperative radiotherapy. The treatment abandonment rate was 11%. The 2-year and 5-year survival rates were 33% and 13%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our findings reveal a high incidence of poor outcomes for patients with CNS tumors in Sudan, which is most likely due to many distinct factors.

Numerical and experimental studies of water disinfection in UV reactors.

Performance of UV reactors for water disinfection is investigated in this paper. Both experimental and numerical studies are performed on base reactor LP24. Enterobacteria phage MS2 is chosen as the challenge microorganism in the experiments. Experiments are conducted to evaluate the effect of different parameters, i.e. flow rate and UV transmission, on the reactor performance. Simulation is carried out based on the commercial software ANSYS FLUENT with user defined functions (UDFs) implemented. The UDF is programmed to calculate UV dose absorbed by different microorganisms along their flow trajectories. The effect with boundary layer mesh and without boundary layer mesh for LP24 is studied. The results show that the inclusion of boundary layer mesh does not have much effect on the reactor performance in terms of reduction equivalent dose (RED). The numerical results agree well with the experimental measurements, hence validating the numerical model. With this achieved, the numerical model is applied to study other scaled reactors: LP12, LP40, LP60 and LP80. Comparisons show that LP40 has the highest RED and log inactivation among all the reactors while LP80 has the lowest RED and log inactivation.

Overexpression of Aldose Reductase Render Mouse Hepatocytes More Sensitive to Acetaminophen Induced Oxidative Stress and Cell Death.

Acetaminophen (APAP) a commonly used drug for decrease the fever and pain but is capable to induced hepatotoxicity at over dose. This study was carried out to investigate the effect of APAP on the expression of anti-apoptotic and antioxidative defense genes, and whether aldose reductase over-expressing plasmid capable to protect against APAP-induced oxidative stress and cell death. APAP treatment induced oxidative stress and hepatotoxicity, and significantly increased aldose reductase mRNA and protein expression in mouse hepatocyte (AML-12). Unexpectedly, AML-12 cells over-expressing aldose reductase augmented APAP-induced reduction in cell viability, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, glutathione (GSH) depletion and glutathione S-transferase A2 expression. Moreover, over-expression of aldose reductase potentiated APAP induced reduction on proliferating cell nuclear antigen, B cell lymphoma-extra large (bcl-xL), catalase, glutathione peroxidase-1 (GPx-1) and abolished APAP-induced B-cell lymphoma 2 (bcl-2) inductions. Further, over-expression of aldose reductase significantly abolished AMP activated protein kinase (AMPK) activity in APAP-treated cells and induced p53 expression. This results demonstrate that APAP induced toxicity in AML-12, increased aldose reductase expression, and over-expression of aldose reductase render this cell more susceptible to APAP induced oxidative stress and cell death, this probably due to inhibition AMPK or bcl-2 activity, or may due to competition between aldose reductase and glutathione reductase for NADPH.

Transfusion in CMV seronegative T-depleted allogeneic stem cell transplant recipients with CMV-unselected blood components results in zero CMV transmissions in the era of universal leukocyte reduction: a U.K. dual centre experience.

OBJECTIVES: To establish rates of cytomegalovirus (CMV) transmission with use of CMV-unselected (CMV-U), leukocyte-reduced blood components transfused to CMV-seronegative patient/CMV-seronegative donor (CMV neg/neg) allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) recipients including those receiving T-depleted grafts. BACKGROUND: CMV infection remains a major cause of morbidity following SCT. CMV-seronegative SCT recipients are particularly at risk of transfusion transmitted CMV (TT-CMV) and until recently they have received blood components from CMV-seronegative donors with significant resource implications. Although leukocyte reduction of blood components is reported to minimise risk of TT-CMV, its efficacy in high-risk situations, such as in T-depleted transplant recipients, is unknown. METHODS: We retrospectively analysed the incidence of TT-CMV in CMV neg/neg allogeneic SCT recipients transfused with CMV-U, leukocyte-reduced blood components in two transplantation centres in the UK. Patients were monitored for CMV infection by weekly CMV polymerase chain reaction testing. Leukocyte reduction of blood components was in accordance with current UK standards. RESULTS: Among 76 patients, including 59 receiving in vivo T-depletion, no episodes of CMV infection were detected. Patients were transfused with 1442 CMV-unselected, leukocyte-reduced components, equating to 1862 donor exposures. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings confirm the safety of leukocyte reduction as a strategy in preventing TT-CMV in high-risk allogeneic SCT recipients.

Seroprevalence of brucellosis in sheep and isolation of Brucella abortus biovar 6 in Kassala State, Eastern Sudan.

Brucellosis is one of the important zoonotic diseases among livestock. This study was carried out to estimate the prevalence of brucellosis and isolate Brucella spp. in sheep in Kassala State in the east of Sudan. Two thousand and five serum samples were randomly collected from nine different localities. All serum samples were examined by the Rose Bengal plate test (RBPT) and the modified RBPT (mRBPT). Forty-three (2.15%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.6,3.0) and 68 (3.4%, 95% CI: 2.6, 4.2) samples were positive with the RBPT and the mRBPT, respectively. According to a known diagnostic sensitivity of 86.6% and a known diagnostic specificity of 97.6% for the mRBPT, the true prevalence was estimated to be 1.2% (95% CI: 0.3, 2.2). Different tissue samples were collected from 41 mRBPT seropositive animals. Brucella abortus biovar 6 was isolated from a pyometra of a seropositive ewe. It is important to note that B. abortus biovar 6 cannot be differentiated from Brucella melitensis biovar 2 by routine bacteriology. Only phage typing performed in reference laboratories will allow accurate identification of the strain. The fact that B. abortus biovar 6 does not require CO2 for growth, combined with the fact that it has been isolated from a small ruminant in this study, could easily have led to misidentification (as B. melitensis biovar 2), to wrong epidemiological inferences and to the implementation of inappropriate control measures. The results presented here suggest that sheep are spillover hosts, as previously described for camels, and that the actual reservoir of B. abortus biovar 6 is cattle in Kassala State, Eastern Sudan. This study highlights the importance of isolating and identifying Brucella spp. in different livestock species in order to accurately decipher brucellosis epidemiology in sub-Saharan Africa.

Antibiotic resistance and molecular typing among cockle (Anadara granosa) strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based analysis.

Genomic DNA of Vibrio parahaemolyticus were characterized by antibiotic resistance, enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-polymerase chain reaction (ERIC-PCR) and random amplified polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR) analysis. These isolates originated from 3 distantly locations of Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Melaka (East coastal areas), Malaysia. A total of 44 (n = 44) of tentatively V. parahaemolyticus were also examined for the presence of toxR, tdh and trh gene. Of 44 isolates, 37 were positive towards toxR gene; while, none were positive to tdh and trh gene. Antibiotic resistance analysis showed the V. parahaemolyticus isolates were highly resistant to bacitracin (92%, 34/37) and penicillin (89%, 33/37) followed by resistance towards ampicillin (68%, 25/37), cefuroxime (38%, 14/37), amikacin (6%, 2/37) and ceftazidime (14%, 5/37). None of the V. parahaemolyticus isolates were resistant towards chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone, enrofloxacin, norfloxacin, streptomycin and vancomycin. Antibiogram patterns exhibited, 9 patterns and phenotypically less heterogenous when compared to PCR-based techniques using ERIC- and RAPD-PCR. The results of the ERIC- and RAPD-PCR were analyzed using GelCompare software. ERIC-PCR with primers ERIC1R and ERIC2 discriminated the V. parahaemolyticus isolates into 6 clusters and 21 single isolates at a similarity level of 80%. While, RAPD-PCR with primer Gen8 discriminated the V. parahaemolyticus isolates into 11 clusters and 10 single isolates and Gen9 into 8 clusters and 16 single isolates at the same similarity level examined. Results in the presence study demonstrated combination of phenotypically and genotypically methods show a wide heterogeneity among cockle isolates of V. parahaemolyticus.

Expanding the comprehensive national neonatal screening programme in the United Arab Emirates from 1995 to 2011.

The national neonatal screening programme in the United Arab Emirates currently includes 16 disorders: congenital hypothyroidism, sickle-cell diseases, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, biotinidase deficiency and 12 amino acid, organic acid and fatty acid disorders. This paper reports data since the programme started in January 1995 up to December 2011 on the incidence of screened disorders and the molecular basis of positive screened cases. Screening used a combination of tandem mass spectrometry, molecular technologies and biochemical analysis. A total of 750 365 infants were screened and 717 babies saved from associated morbidity and/or mortality. The incidence of screened disorders were 1:1 873 for congenital hypothyroidism, 1:14 544 for phenylketonuria, 1:3 526 for amino acid, organic acid and fatty acid disorders, 1:9 030 for classical congenital adrenal hyperplasia, 1:8 300 for biotinidase deficiency, 1:2 384 for sickle-cell disease and 1:121 for sickle-cell traits. Coverage of neonatal screening in the population reached 95% in 2010.

Histologic Features of Mycobacterial Spindle Cell Pseudotumors: A Multi-institutional Clinicopathologic Analysis of 14 Cases.

Mycobacterial spindle cell pseudotumors (MSPs) are a rare and diagnostically challenging manifestation of non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infections. Proper recognition of these pseudotumors is important because they are treatable and benign. In this study, we evaluated the morphologic patterns of MSPs to improve their pathologic identification. Clinical and morphologic features of 14 MSPs were analyzed. Histologic factors evaluated included the architectural growth pattern of spindled or epithelioid macrophages, granulomas and their location within the lesion, neutrophilic microabscesses, multinucleated giant cells, necrosis, and effacement of background tissue. The composition of inflammatory infiltrates, organism density by acid-fast staining, and stromal changes were also assessed. In addition, 8 of 14 cases underwent molecular microbiology identification by a clinical amplicon-sequencing assay for non-tuberculous mycobacteria. MSP sites included 2 bowel, 10 lymph nodes, 1 liver, and 1 extremity. Cases with available clinical history (n=10) all occurred in immunocompromised patients. All demonstrated effacement of normal structures with spindled cells arranged in a storiform or fascicular architectural pattern. In addition, all cases showed lymphocytic inflammation, with prominent concurrent neutrophilic inflammation in 50% (7/14) of cases. Other morphologic findings included foamy histiocytes (64%, 9/14), peripherally situated granulomas (21%, 3/14), and neutrophilic microabscesses (21%, 3/14). All tested cases were positive for NTM by PCR methods. Mycobacterium avium was the most commonly isolated pathogen (6/8). Mycobacterial spindle cell pseudotumors show predominantly spindled morphology that may be mistaken as a neoplasm. Surgical pathologists who evaluate lymph nodes, soft tissue, and gastrointestinal tissues should be aware of this spindled tumefactive phenomenon in the setting of immunocompromised patients. Recognition of key morphologic features of neutrophilic inflammation, peripheral granulomas, or foamy histiocytes within a spindled lesion can help guide the pathologist to a correct diagnosis of an inflammatory process secondary to infection rather than a spindle cell neoplasm. Accurate diagnosis to facilitate appropriate antimicrobial and/or surgical therapy requires a comprehensive evaluation combining clinical, histopathologic, and microbiological findings.

Chemosensetizing and cardioprotective effects of resveratrol in doxorubicin- treated animals.

BACKGROUND: Doxorubicin (DOX), an anthracycline antibiotic is one of the most effective anticancer drug used in the treatment of variety of cancers .Its use is limited by its cardiotoxicity. The present study was designed to assess the role of a natural product resveratrol (RSVL) on sensitization of mammary carcinoma (Ehrlich ascites carcinoma) to the action of DOX and at the same time its protective effect against DOX-induced cardiotoxicity in rats. METHODS: Ehrlich ascites carcinoma bearing mice were used in this study. Percent survival of tumor bearing mice was used for determination of the Cytotoxic activity of DOX in presence and absence of RSVL. Uptake and cell cycle effect of DOX in tumor cells in the presence of RSVL was also determined. Histopatholgical examination of heart tissues after DOX and/or RSVL therapy was also investigated. RESULTS: DOX at a dose level of 15 mg/kg increased the mean survival time of tumor bearing mice to 21 days compared with 15 days for non tumor-bearing control mice. Administration of RSVL at a dose level of 10 mg/kg simultaneously with DOX increased the mean survival time to 30 days with 70% survival of the tumor-bearing animals. RSVL increased the intracellular level of DOX and there was a strong correlation between the high cellular level of DOX and its cytotoxic activity. Moreover, RSVL treatment showed 4.8 fold inhibition in proliferation index of cells treated with DOX. Histopathological analysis of rat heart tissue after a single dose of DOX (20 mg/kg) showed myocytolysis with congestion of blood vessels, cytoplasmic vacuolization and fragmentation. Concomitant treatment with RSVL, fragmentation of the muscle fiber revealed normal muscle fiber. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that RSVL could increase the cytotoxic activity of DOX and at the same time protect against its cardiotoxicity.

Role of interleukin-8 and oxidative stress in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The rate of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is increasing in Egypt where the major risk factor is chronic infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV). The development of effective markers for the detection of HCC could have an impact on cancer mortality and significant public health implications worldwide. The objective of this study is to investigate the role of interleukin-8, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), oxidative stress markers, and some trace elements in Egyptian patients with hepatocellular carcinoma infected with hepatitis C virus. METHODS: This study comprised 40 patients with HCC (20 with cirrhosis and 20 without cirrhosis) and 20 patients with hepatitis C virus. They were 39 males and 21 females with ages ranging from 22 to 71 years. Twenty apparently healthy volunteers with matched age and sex were taken as control group. Serum concentration levels of IL-8 and AFP were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Antioxidants were measured using spectrophotometric analysis and trace elements by using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. RESULTS: A highly significant elevation was found in interleukin-8, alpha- fetoprotein, iron, and malondialdehyde in patients with HCC compared to control subjects. On the other hand, serum levels of reduced glutathione, catalase, superoxide dismutase, total antioxidant capacity, and zinc were significantly decreased in patients with HCC compared to control subjects. A positive correlation was found between serum level of IL-8 and each of GSH (r = -0.534 and p = 0.000), SOD (r = -0.295 and p = 0.021), CAT (r = -0.545 and p = 0.000), and Zn (r = 0.422 and p = 0.001) in all patient groups. CONCLUSIONS: The ability to measure IL-8 in serum could be useful as a marker of HCC in patients. The levels of antioxidants such as CAT, SOD, and GSH in HCC patients when compared to control groups play a vital and important role in the prevention of liver cancer. Interleukin-8, some antioxidants (MDA, GSH, CAT and SOD), and some trace elements (Fe and Zn) might be simultaneously evaluated in order to enhance the detection of HCC.

Oxidative stress and antioxidant defense in Egyptian favism patients.

BACKGROUND: Favism occurs as the result of intolerance to the ingesting of fava beans or to the inhalation of pollen from the Vicia faba plant. Patients with favism are always Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD)-deficient, but not all G6PD-deficient individuals develop hemolysis as a result of fava beans consumption. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Blood samples were collected from children with favism (n = 55) between age (2-12 years) on EDTA tubes divided into 3 groups: group 1 control group (n = 15), group 2 before blood transfusion (during hemolytic action) (n = 20) and group 3 after blood transfusion (treated) (n = 20). RESULTS: It was found that in group 2 GSH level was significantly low; (1.11 ± 0.39, p < 0.001) compared to controls (26.31 ± 5.26, p < 0.001). In group 3 after blood transfusion Level of GSH rose but remained lower than normal level (5.88 ± 2.33, p < 0.001) compared to controls. As for oxidative stress parameters, both levels of H2O2 and MDA were highly significant in group 2; (213.49 ± 57.56, p < 0.001), (98.05 ± 22.34, p < 0.001) compared to controls (3.75 ± 1.164, p < 0.001), (7.38 ± 2.07, p < 0.001), respectively. Moreover, in group 3 after blood transfusion, levels of H2O2 and MDA were decreased but remained high compared to controls (66.55 ± 22.49, p < 0.001), (47.18 ± 9.62, p < 0.001) sequentially. Also, there was a negative correlation between GSH that acts as antioxidant defense enzyme and each one of oxidative stress parameters MDA & H2O2. However, there was a positive correlation between H2O2 and MDA. CONCLUSIONS: From this study, it could be concluded that the favic patients have high oxidative stress (H2O2 and MDA) more than normal individuals and less antioxidant defense (GSH). With the passage of time these individuals, cells would be more vulnerable for H2O2-induced senescence.