Effect of Hydroalcoholic Extract of Stachys lavandulifolia on Pentylenetetrazole-induced Seizures in Male Mice: The Role of GABAergic and Opioidergic Systems.

Introduction: Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders. Though there are several effective drugs for treating epilepsy, most drugs are associated with side effects and drug interactions. Stachys lavandulifolia used in Iranian traditional medicine has proven anti-anxiety and sedative properties. The current study aimed to evaluate the anticonvulsant effect of hydroalcoholic extract of S. lavandulifoliaon the Pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced seizure in male mice and the role of benzodiazepine and opioid receptors. Methods: This study was conducted on 100 male mice, randomly categorized into 10 groups: Normal Saline (NS), two diazepam groups (0.025 and 0.1 mg/kg), three S. lavandulifolia extract groups (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg), diazepam 0.025 mg/kg+S. lavandulifolia extract 50 mg/kg, and three groups that pretreated with NS, flumazenil, or naloxone, 5 min before injection of 200 mg/kg S. lavandulifolia extract. After 30 min, PTZ (80 mg/kg) was injected into animals, and seizure indices were evaluated. Results: The S. lavandulifoliaextract attenuated the PTZ-induced seizures in a dose-dependent manner, and pretreatment with flumazenil reversed this effect. However, pretreatment with naloxone could not reverse this effect because seizure indices in the naloxone pretreated group were lower than that in the normal saline group. The combination of an ineffective dose of diazepam and S. lavandulifoliaextract decreased PTZ-induced seizures. Conclusion: The results of our study showed the anticonvulsant properties of hydroalcoholic extract of S. lavandulifolia. These effects might be due to the impact of the components of this extract on the central benzodiazepine system. Highlights: Hydroalcoholic extract of S. lavandulifolia attenuated the PTZ-induced seizures in a dose dependent manner.Pretreatment with flumazenil (blocker of benzodiazepines receptor) reversed anti-seizure effect of S. lavandulifolia extract.Combination of an ineffective dose of diazepam and S. lavandulifolia extract decreased PTZ-induced seizures. Plain Language Summary: Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders after stroke and is characterized by recurrent seizures due to abnormal excessive neural activity in the brain. Although there are many anticonvulsant drugs on the market, not all patients with epilepsy can be treated and one-third of patients suffer from recurring epilepsy despite using different antiepileptic drugs and more than 50% of them show side effects drugs during treatment. So, it is necessary to conduct further studies to develop more effective anti-epilepsy drugs with the minimum side effects. In recent years, plenty of studies have been conducted on medical plants, and S. lavandulifolia reported among the Iranian traditional medicine with antianxiety and sedative features. Some studies have mentioned the sedative and anti-inflammatory function of S. lavandulifolia, and its significant effects on anxiety have been approved comparable to diazepam. Overall, considering the anti-anxiety, analgesic, and sedative effects of the hydroalcoholic extract of S. lavandulifolia, it might possess anti-convulsive effects, too. The purpose of the current study was designed to investigate whether the effect of intra peritoneal injection of hydroalcoholic extract of S. lavandulifolia on the PTZ-induced convulsion in male mice and assessed the role of benzodiazepine and opioid receptors. Results of this study demonstrated that S. lavandulifolia extract attenuated the PTZ-induced seizures in a dose dependent manner, and pretreatment with flumazenil (blocker of benzodiazepines receptor) reversed this effect. However, pretreatment with naloxone (Non-selective blocker of opioids receptor) could not reverse this effect but the combination of an ineffective dose of diazepam and S. lavandulifolia extract decreased PTZ-induced seizures, thus anti-epileptic effect of S. lavandulifolia mediated by benzodiazepine receptors.

Therapeutic approach of Cancer stem cells (CSCs) in gastric adenocarcinoma; DNA methyltransferases enzymes in cancer targeted therapy.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) show a remarkable sub class of cancer cells population which have a potential to organize and regulate stemness properties which possess a main particular responsibility for uncontrolled growth in carcinogenesis, production of different cancers in differentiated situation and also resistancy to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Correspondingly, gastric cancer (GC) as a very serious type in cancer mortality in the world, has received a deep attention in molecular therapy recently. Besides the main characteristics of CSCs like differentiation, epithelial mesenchymal transition, self-renewal and metastasis, they are so effective in expression of stemness genes resistancy in radiotherapy and chemotherapy. In this way, the regulation of epigenetic elements including DNA methylation and the performance of DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) which is a notable epigenetic trait in GC, is of great importance. Inhibitors of DNA methylation are the first epigenetic drugs in cancer therapy. Considerably, recent studies indicate that low doses of DNMT inhibitors have a high potential in sustaining reduced DNA methylation and related with re-expression of silenced genes in tumorigenesis. Importantly, these certain doses have the ability to decrease the carcinogenesis and tumorigenesis in CSC populations within GC. Meaningly, the inhibition of DNMTs are able to reduce the accumulation of tumorigenic ability of GC CSCs. Furthermore, many epigenetic drugs have a great potential in cancer therapy, including histone methyltransferases, lysine demethylases, histone deacetylasesand, bromodomain and extra-terminal domain proteins and DNA methyltransferases inhibitors. In this review article, we try to focus on the therapeutic mechanism of DNMTs alongside with their impact on CSCs in GC.

Spontaneous Cervical Epidural Hematoma with Stroke Manifestations.

Spontaneous cervical epidural hematoma (SCEH), which is a rare disease, is manifested as by a sudden quadriplegia or paraplegia and other neurological deficits. SCEH can compress the spinal cord resulting in its clinical manifestations. The reported etiological risk factors are anticoagulants, coagulopathies, vascular malformations, infections, and herniated discs. Here, we report a 77-year-old woman with a presenting chief complaint of left hemiparesis and a history of hypertension. The medical drugs in use were aspirin and antihypertensives. The initiating presentations were hemiparesis, in favor of ischemic stroke, so the patient admitted to neurology ward and received anticoagulant therapy with the initial diagnosis of stroke. Although clinical manifestations and examinations are important in these patients due to mimicking stroke picture, imaging evaluation is paramount for a definite diagnosis, which in our case showed a SCEH, who was suspected to have an ischemic stroke during the initial assessment because its initial demonstration mimicked ischemic stroke. This patient underwent laminectomy after 3 days and showed a clinical recovery the day after. Her muscle strength improved gradually, and neurological symptoms were diminished after physiotherapy.

Influence of Sexuality in Functional Recovery after Spinal Cord Injury in Rats.

BACKGROUND: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a major clinical condition and research is commonly done to find suitable treatment options. However, there are some degrees of spontaneous recovery after SCI and gender is said to be a contributing factor in recovery, but this is controversial. This study was done to compare the effects of sexual dimorphism on spontaneous recovery after spinal cord injury in Wistar Rats. METHODS: Spinal cord lesions were made by compressing the cord at T9 level and making a spinal cord contusion. Routine care of each rat was done daily. The LSS scoring system was used to measure the locomotion of these rats and to compare the recovery rate between male and female rats. RESULTS: The results suggested that there was no significant difference between the two sex in recovery. CONCLUSIONS: To be female does not seem to be a prognostic factor for recovery after SCI. However, this preliminary study should be repeated in other animals and in larger cohorts.