Carvacrol prevents methotrexate-induced renal oxidative injury and renal damage in rats.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of carvacrol (CAR) on methotrexate (MTX)-induced renal damage in rats. METHODS: Twenty-four male rats were equally divided into three groups: group I, control treatment; group II, MTX-treated; and group III, MTX+CAR-treated. A single dose of CAR (73 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally to group III on the first day of the experiment and a single dose of MTX (20 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally to groups II and III on the second day of the experiment. Blood samples and kidney tissue were obtained from each animal on day 8 for the measurement of malondialdehyde (MDA), total oxidant status (TOS), total antioxidant status (TAS), and oxidative stress index (OSI). Light microscopy was used for histopathological examination of kidney specimens. RESULTS: MDA, TOS and OSI levels were significantly greater in the group receiving MTX alone relative to the control animals, while the TAS level was significantly reduced in the MTX group compared with the control group. The administration of CAR was associated with significantly decreased MDA, TOS, and OSI levels and increased TAS levels relative to the rats treated with MTX alone. Animals treated with CAR exhibited decreased tubular degeneration and architectural impairment relative to animals treated with MTX alone; however, the difference in histological scores did not meet the threshold of statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: MTX treatment results in oxidative damage to the rat kidney; damage which is partially abrogated by the administration of CAR.

Sleep quality in patients with Behçet's disease.

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate sleep quality and the related variables in patients with Behçet's disease (BD). METHOD: One hundred and twelve patients diagnosed with BD and 67 age- and gender-matched healthy controls were enrolled in the study. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used for the evaluation of sleep disturbance in all participants. The quality of life (QoL) of all patients were evaluated by Nottingham Health Profile (NHP), and anxiety and depression which were assessed by Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). RESULTS: The patients with BD had significantly higher scores in subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep efficiency, sleep disorder, functional disorder in the morning and total PSQI score compared to the healthy control group. According to Pearson's analysis, there was a significantly higher correlation between the anxiety, depression and all components of NHP scores and the total PSQI score. Logistic regression analyses indicated that genital ulcer and arthritis were predictors for poor sleep quality. CONCLUSION: Sleep quality is disturbed in patients with BD. The lower quality of sleep is greatly associated with anxiety, depression, QoL, genital ulcers and arthritis.

Fibromyalgia incidence among patients with hepatitis B infection.

AIM: The purpose of our investigation was to evaluate the incidence of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) and identify FMS-related clinical symptoms in hepatitis B virus (HBV) patients. METHODS: One hundred and eighteen HBV surface antigen (HbsAg)-positive patients (40 with chronic active hepatitis B, 40 hepatitis B carriers and 38, all of whom had been antiretroviral-treated for at least 3 months) were included in this study. In addition, 60 age- and gender-matched HbsAg-negative healthy controls were included in the study. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in age, gender or body mass index (BMI) between the two groups (P > 0.05). Serum aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase levels were significantly higher in HBV patients relative to the control group (P < 0.05). The incidence of FMS, widespread body pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, anxiety, morning stiffness, arthralgia was significantly greater among HBV patients relative to the control group. Additionally, the mean tender point counts and the visual analog scale values were significantly higher among the HBV patients (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study demonstrate that FMS incidence is greater among HBV patients relative to control subjects. However, there were no differences in FMS incidence among the subgroups of HBV diagnoses.

Efficacy of Pulsed and Continuous Therapeutic Ultrasound in Myofascial Pain Syndrome: A Randomized Controlled Study.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to compare continuous and pulsed ultrasound therapy with sham ultrasound in terms of pain, severity of muscle spasm, function, depression, and quality of life in patients with myofascial pain syndrome. DESIGN: Patients were randomly divided into three groups, including the continuous ultrasound group (3 MHz, 1 W/cm, n = 20), the pulsed ultrasound group (3 MHz, 1 W/cm, 1:1 ratio, n = 20), and control group (sham, n = 20). The primary outcome measures were severity of pain at rest and during activity (visual analog scale, 0-10 cm). The secondary outcome measures were function (Neck Pain and Disability Scale), depressive mood (Beck Depression Scale), and quality of life (Nottingham Health Profile). All evaluations were performed at baseline, after treatment, and at the 6th and 12th wks. RESULTS: All three groups had significant improvements in all of the pain scores, the severity of muscle spasms, function assessments, and certain subparameters of the quality of life scale (P < 0.05). The continuous ultrasound group had significantly greater improvements in pain at rest (P < 0.05). However, no statistically significant differences were observed in the other parameters (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Continuous ultrasound therapy is more efficient in reducing pain at rest for myofascial pain syndrome patients than is sham or pulsed ultrasound therapy.