Optic nerve head neurovascular assessments in patients with schizophrenia: A cross-sectional study.

Objective: The retina is a protrusion of the brain, so researchers have recently proposed retinal changes as a new marker for studying central nervous system diseases. To investigate optic nerve head neurovascular structure assessed by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in schizophrenia compared to healthy subjects. Methods: The study was conducted from 2019 to 2021 at the Ibn Sina Psychiatric Hospital in Mashhad, Iran. We enrolled 22 hospitalized known cases of schizophrenia, treated with risperidone as an antipsychotic drug, and 22 healthy subjects. The two groups were matched in age and gender. In the schizophrenic group, the positive and negative syndrome scale test was used to assess the illness severity. All subjects underwent complete ophthalmic evaluations and OCTA imaging. Results: We found that the cup/disc area ratio, vertical cup/disc ratio, and horizontal cup/disc ratio are significantly higher in patients with schizophrenia than in healthy subjects (with p-values of 0.019, 0.015, and 0.022, respectively). No statistically significant difference in the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer and vascular parameters of the optic nerve head was observed between schizophrenia and healthy groups. Conclusion: We found evidence regarding the difference in the optic nerve head tomographic properties in schizophrenia compared to healthy subjects. However, ONH vascular parameters showed no significant difference. More studies are needed for a definite conclusion.

Effect of Royal Jelly on Gene Expression of Toll-like Receptors 1-9 in Patients with Hepatitis B.

BACKGROUND: By damaging the liver, hepatitis B can result in acute and chronic diseases, such as cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma. Viable treatments for such diseases using natural products and determinative biomarkers have been proposed but require evaluation to improve their effects. Therefore, this study aims to examine how effectively a specific natural product (namely, royal jelly) protects the body from the copy number of the virus, as well as TLR1 to TLR9 gene expressions. METHODS: The effectiveness of royal jelly was tested by giving it (orally) to 30 hepatitis B patients for one month. HBV copy number and mRNA levels of TLRs were explored using Real Time PCR technique, and liver enzymes were evaluated too. RESULTS: Orally treatment with royal jelly led to a significant decrease in HBV-DNA copy number, down-regulation of TLR2 and TLR8, and up-regulation of TLR3. However, mRNA levels of the TLRs were not altered in the female, while TLR1, TLR2, and TLR5 were significantly decreased in the male participants. CONCLUSIONS: It seems that royal jelly has anti-viral and anti-inflammatory roles in the in vivo conditions in a dependent manner in TLR3, TLR2, and TLR8. Therefore, it can be suggested as a safe complementary agent for patients with hepatitis B.

TLR2, as a Pathogen Recognition Receptor, Plays Critical Roles in Hepatitis B Outcome.

The immune system of active and inactive chronic hepatitis B, as prolonged forms of hepatitis B, is unable to eradicate hepatitis B virus (HBV) from the infected hepatocytes completely. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play key roles in the viral recognition and promotion of appropriate immune responses. The molecules also participate in the alteration of the target cell functions and transformation. TLR2 is the unique molecule that makes either homodimer or heterodimer with TLR1 and 6 and shows variable roles against viral infections. Therefore, it has been hypothesized that TLR2 may participate in both immune response against HBV and induction of the virus-related hepatic complications. The studies confirm the hypothesis and revealed that TLR2 is not only one of the main molecules altering the course of HBV infection, but also plays key roles in induction of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver cirrhosis. However, recent studies demonstrated that the molecule can fight against HCC and liver cirrhosis. Collectively, it appears that nutrition habits, TLR2 gene polymorphisms, gut microbiome, HBV antigens, and activation of other receptors may play key roles in the determination of TLR2 functions.