Can regular moderate exercise lead to changes in miRNA-146a and its adapter proteins in the kidney of streptozotocin-induced diabetic male rats?

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess whether microRNA-146a and its adapter proteins TNF receptor associated factor6 (TRAF6) and interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase-1 (IRAK1) may be changed in the kidney of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats, following regular moderate exercise. METHODS: Forty adult male Wistar rats were allocated randomly into four groups (n=10), including sedentary control (SC), sedentary diabetic (SD), healthy sixty-day exercise (H60E), and diabetic sixty-day exercise (D60E) groups. Diabetes was induced by an intraperitoneal injection of 60 mg/kg streptozotocin. After 48 h, blood glucose levels >250 mg/dl was included to diabetic rats. After 2 days of diabetes induction, the exercise protocol began. Animals were exposed to 5 days of consecutive treadmill exercise for 60 min/day with the 22 m/min speed for 60 days. The kidneys of the rats were removed and microRNA was extracted from them using the miRCURYTM RNA isolation kit. RESULTS: In diabetic rats, statistical analysis revealed a significant decrease in miR-146a expression, non-significant decrease in IRAK1 mRNA expression, and non-significant increase in TRAF6 and NF-kB mRNA expression compared to the SC group. Exercise led to a non-significant increase in the expression of miR-146a and NF-kB mRNA in the kidneys of the diabetic group as compared to the SD group, significant increase in TRAF6 and IRAK1 mRNA expression compared to the H60E group, and significant increase in TRAF6 mRNA expression compared to the SD group. CONCLUSION: The present data indicate that exercise might be able to help in the prevention in the diabetic nephropathy development.

Sonographical and serological survey of human cystic echinococcosis and analysis of risk factors associated with seroconversion in rural communities of Kerman, Iran.

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) caused by larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus, is an endemic zoonosis in Iran particularly in rural regions. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of CE among rural communities in Kerman using ultrasonography (US) and serology. Kerman Province, in southeastern Iran, is the largest province, with 2.9 million inhabitants. A sample of 1140 individuals (200 males and 940 females) was selected by randomized cluster sampling in 2006-2008. After acquiring informed consent for each participant a questionnaire was filled, complete abdominal US in supine position was carried out and 5 ml blood was collected for ELISA test. Two hydatid cases (0.2%) were detected by ultrasound. Serological results showed 7.3% seropositivity, and females (8.3%) were significantly more positive than males (2.1%). There were significant difference between CE seropositivity and sex, age and occupation. Residents of desert regions (Shahdad, Andouhjerd and Golbaf) were 2.5 times more likely to be seropositive than mountainous regions with better socioeconomic status (OR = 2.5; 95% CI = 1.09-5.95). Dog ownership does not appear to be a significant risk factor for CE in the region. Only about 10% of households own dogs, usually only one dog. However, the stray dog population of Kerman province is estimated at 145 000-480 000 (3.5-11.5 times the owned dog population). Infection in humans and animals would appear to come mostly from infected stray dogs. Management of stray dog population could make major progress in control of hydatid disease. In addition, proper washing of vegetables decreased probability of infection by 53% (OR = 0.47; 95% CI = 0.26-0.84). The serological study showed that many people, especially women, had been exposed to Echinococcus eggs and had seroconverted but were not infected.

The impact of intensity variations in T1-hypointense lesions on clinical correlations in multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: The correlations between T1-hypointense lesion ('black hole') volume and clinical measures have varied widely across previous studies. The degree of hypointensity in black holes is associated with the severity of tissue damage, but the impact on the correlation with disability is unknown. OBJECTIVES: To determine how variations in the intensity level used for lesion classification can impact clinical correlation, specifically with the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), and whether using a restricted range can improve correlation. METHODS: A highly automated image analysis procedure was applied to the scans of 24 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with well-distributed EDSS scores to compute their black hole volumes at nine different levels of intensity relative to the reference intensities sampled in normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Two methods of volume computation were used. RESULTS: The black hole volume-EDSS Spearman correlations ranged between 0.49-0.73 (first method) and 0.54-0.74 (second method). The strongest correlations were observed by only including the voxels with maximum intensities at 30-40% of the CSF to NAWM range. CONCLUSIONS: Intensity variations can have a large impact on black hole-EDSS correlation. Restricting the measurement to a subset of the darkest voxels may yield stronger correlations.