Curcumin protects against lamotrigine-induced chronic ovarian and uterine toxicity in rats by regulating PPAR-γ and ROS production

Lamotrigine (LTG) is an antiepileptic drug with possible adverse effects on the female reproductive system. Curcumin was declared to improve ovarian performance. Therefore, this study aimed to clarify ovulatory dysfunction (OD) associated with LTG and the role of curcumin in ameliorating this dysfunction. Adult female Wister albino rats were assigned into four groups: negative control (received saline), positive control (received curcumin only), LTG, and LTG with curcumin groups. Drugs were administered for 90 days. The hormonal profile, including testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, luteinizing hormone, and follicle-stimulating hormone, in addition to the lipid profile and glycemic analysis, were tested. Oxidative stress biomarkers analysis in the ovaries and uterus and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) gene expression were also included. Histopathological examination of ovarian and uterine tissues and immunohistochemical studies were also performed. Curcumin could improve the OD related to chronic LTG intake. That was proved by the normalization of the hormonal profile, glycemic control, lipidemic status, oxidative stress markers, and PPAR-γ gene expression. The histopathological and immunohistochemical examination of ovarian and uterine tissues revealed an improvement after curcumin administration. The results describe an obvious deterioration in ovarian performance with LTG through the effect on lipidemic status, PPAR-γ gene, and creating an oxidative stress condition in the ovaries of chronic users, with a prominent improvement with curcumin addition to the treatment protocol.

Effects of Partial-Contact Tool Tilt Angle on Friction Stir Welded AA1050 Aluminum Joint Properties

This study aims to investigate the impact of partial-contact tool tilt angle (TTA) on the mechanical and microstructure properties of the AA1050 alloy friction stir weld (FSW). Three levels of partial-contact TTA were tested, 0°, 1.5°, and 3°, compared to previous studies on total-contact TTA. The weldments were evaluated using surface roughness, tensile tests, microhardness, microstructure, and fracture analysis. The results show that in partial-contact conditions, increasing TTA decreases the generated heat in the joint line and increases the possibility of FSW tool wear. This trend was the opposite of joints that were friction stir welded via total-contact TTA. The microstructure of the FSW sample was finer at higher partial-contact TTA, while the possibility of defect formation at the root of the stir zone in higher TTA was more than in lower TTA. The robust sample prepared at 0° TTA had 45% of AA1050 alloy strength. The maximum recorded heat in 0° TTA was 336 °C and the ultimate tensile strength of this sample was 33 MPa. The elongation of the 0° TTA welded sample was 75% base metal, and the average hardness of the stir zone was 25 Hv. The fracture surface analysis of the 0° TTA welded sample consisted of a small dimple, indicating the brittle fracture mode.

The relation between ACKR4 and CCR7 genes expression and breast cancer metastasis

AIMS

Breast cancer is the most severe malignant tumor in women. Chemokines and their receptors appear to be implicated in tumorigenesis and metastatic pattern. Also the scavenger atypical chemokine receptors are emerging as crucial regulators for the availability of chemokines. Therefore the aim of the present study is to evaluate the expression of CCR7, ACKR4 and their ligand; CCL21 in human breast cancer.

MAIN METHODS

In this study, RT-PCR was done to detect the expression of CCR7 and ACKR4 in 50 non-metastatic and 30 metastatic breast cancer tissue. Also CCL21 level in the serum of study group was detected by ELISA. The expression of all markers is compared to 80 control healthy individual.

KEY FINDINGS

Our results revealed the increase in expression of CCR7 and CCL21 level in metastatic group compared to non-metastatic and control groups while ACKR4 expression is significantly increased in breast tissues of non-metastatic patients compared to both control and metastatic groups. Also there was significant positive correlation between CCR7 expression and CCL21 level in cancer patients and significant negative correlation between ACKR4 and both CCR-7 and CCL21 in both non-metastatic and metastatic cancer groups.

SIGNIFICANCE

Thus, it might be elucidating that ACKR4 and CCR7 could be a novel target for tumor therapy as targeting the chemokine-receptors axis might represent a powerful tool to prevent infiltration and metastasis and consequently improve cancer prognosis and treatment.

Association between POLG and XRCC1 gene polymorphisms and keratoconus occurrence among Egyptian patients

BACKGROUND

Keratoconus is a progressive disorder distinguished by thinning of the corneal tissue and bulging forward into a cone-shaped fashion. Yet its etiology, which is multifactorial, despite intensive research remains elusive. Corneal exposure a reactive oxygen species causing oxidative DNA damage has been reported to be associated with KC and therefore suggesting that DNA base excision repair mechanism might lie behind the pathogenesis of the disease.

METHODS

We studied the association of three variants in two BER genes (XRCC1 and POLG) and QC occurrence in a cohort of patients from Egypt. Genotyping of the three variants was performed using PCR and restriction enzymes analysis.

RESULTS

We observed that A allele and A/A genotype of the c.1196A>G variant in the XRCC1 gene were significantly associated with increased KC occurrence while the G allele was associated with decreased KC occurrence. Similarly, the A/A genotype of the c.-1370T>A polymorphism in the POLG gene and the A allele were associated with increased occurrence of KC, while T/A genotype and the T allele were accompanied with decreased occurrence of KC. On the other hand, no association was observed between the c.580C>T variant in the XRCC1 gene and KC occurrence among the studied group of patients.

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest that c.1196A>G variant of the XRCC1 and c.-1370T>A variant of the POLG gene may be involved in KC pathogenesis and might be considered as a genetic risk factors of the disease among Egyptian population.

Segmental analysis of SPECT 99mTc-methoxy isobutyl isonitrile and 201Tl myocardial imaging in ischaemic heart disease

To study the potential usefulness of 99mTc-methoxy isobutyl isonitrile (99mTc-MIBI) as a substitute for 201Tl in assessing patients with ischaemic heart disease, 24 patients underwent 1 day rest and exercise 99mTc-MIBI single photon emission computerised tomography (SPECT) 1 week after SPECT exercise 201Tl. All patients were catheterized within 1 month after myocardial imaging. In 17 patients, resting first pass radionuclide angiography (FPRNA) was performed with 99mTc-MIBI. The heart to lung ratio for 99mTc-MIBI and 201Tl was calculated both at rest and exercise. The segmental analysis for myocardial perfusion reveals that 87/96 segments (91%) were correctly classified by SPECT 201Tl and 84/96 segments (88%) were correctly classified by 99mTc-MIBI. A significant correlation was present between LVEF measured by 99mTc-MIBI FPRNA and contrast ventriculography (r = 0.85, P less than 0.0001). The heart to lung ratio both at rest and exercise for 99mTc-MIBI is significantly higher than 201Tl (P less than 0.01 and less than 0.001 respectively). We conclude that 99mTc-MIBI is a promising agent for simultaneous evaluation of myocardial perfusion and cardiac function.

Ventricular systolic and diastolic rate indices in patients with either normal or low resting left ventricular ejection fraction

To investigate the potential uses of right and left ventricular systolic and diastolic rate indices in identifying patients with ischaemic heart disease (IHD), gated blood-pool imaging was performed for 19 normal subjects (group 1) and 56 patients, of whom 31 had resting LVEF greater than or equal to 50% (group 2) and 25 had resting LVEF less than or equal to 50 (group 3). The peak ejection rate (PER) and peak filling rate (PFR), their timing and the mean filling rate (MFR) were derived from the time-activity curves analysis. Group 2 patients had significantly reduced LV PER and PFR (3.00 +/- 0.58 EDV/s, p less than 0.005, 2.29 +/- 0.54 EDV/s, p less than 0.0009) as compared to normal (3.90 +/- 0.70 EDV/s and 3.35 +/- 0.80 EDV/s respectively). Patients with profoundly depressed LVEF had significantly low PER and PFR (1.96 +/- 0.50 EDV/s, 1.46 +/- 0.27 EDV/s respectively). However, there was considerable overlap in values between groups. Therefore, we conclude that there is no single parameter more sensitive than LVEF in identifying IHD patients with normal LVEF at rest.

Chronic severe aortic regurgitation: a prospective follow-up of 60 asymptomatic patients

Sixty asymptomatic patients (age 26 +/- 10 years) with chronic severe aortic regurgitation were followed prospectively for 2.4 +/- 1.4 years. Based on previous echocardiographic end-systolic dimension (ESD) and angiographic ejection fraction (EF) correlations, the cohort was divided into group A (21 patients) with ESD greater than or equal to 48 mm and group B (39 patients) with ESD less than 48 mm. Group B had a faster ESD progression (NS) and 19 crossed over to group A. Thirteen patients, all with ESD greater than 48 mm, reached designated end points. One died of cerebral embolism and 12 (age 31.4 +/- 10.6 years) required aortic valve replacement (AVR). Of these, 9 of 12 were asymptomatic and 11 of 12 had significant left ventricular dysfunction (LVD). The preoperative ESD of 51.9 +/- 4.1 mm fell to 38.4 +/- 3.6 mm (p less than 0.001) postoperatively and the EF of 43.7 +/- 4.16 increased to 64.9 +/- 5.9 (p less than 0.001). We found (1) the progression was faster than in other series; (2) ESD greater than 48 mm was associated with significant progression; and (3) patients with EF above 40% showed no residual LVD after AVR.

Response of left and right ventricle rate indices to exercise in normal volunteers

Changes in left ventricular (LV) performance between rest (Re) and exercise (Ex) in normal hearts has been analysed in great detail using various parameters (P) of radionuclide MUGA studies. Little attention was given in this regard to right ventricular (RV) performance. We developed a program on the Informatik Sims V Computer applying the first derivative technique to analyse the time activity curve of both R and LV to study the changes in the following (P) between Re and Ex. 1. Ejection fraction (EF) 2. Peak ejection rate (PER) 3. Time to peak ejection rate (TPER) 4. Normalized TPER to the ejection period (EP) 5. Peak filling rate (PFR) 6. Time to peak filling rate (TPFR) 7. Normalized TPFR to the filling period (FP) 8. The time from peak filling rate to peak ejection rate (TPFR-TPER). Nineteen volunteers performed gated blood pool studies at Re and Ex in the semi-supine bicycle position. The results show that there were significant differences (P less than 0.0001) between all the parameters of the right and left ventricles at rest in comparison with those during exercise except for the normalized TPER in both right and left ventricles. In this study not only do we confirm the changes in LV performance between Re and Ex in healthy volunteers that has been previously reported, but we also report for the first time the changes in RV (P) in the same group of volunteers.

Detection of infection of a cardiac xenograft by gallium-67 scan

We describe a case complicated by infection of a xenograft conduit with subsequent septic emboli to the left kidney in the setting of pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect which was positively imaged using radioactive gallium-67. Confirmation was provided by cross-sectional echocardiography and positive blood culture. The patient improved with antibiotic therapy.

A comparison of two radionuclide ejection-fraction techniques with contrast angiography in ischemic heart disease and valvular heart disease

First-pass radionuclide angiography (FPRA) in the 30 degree right anterior oblique and equilibrium gated radionuclide angiography (EGNA) in the 45 degree left anterior oblique were used for quantitative measurements of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Equipment used was a 400T gamma-camera interfaced with a Simis III Informatek computer. The results were compared with contrast angiography (CA). The aim of this study was to determine the sensitivity of both radionuclide techniques. The present data are based on 65 patients in whom CA and EGNA were performed. In 47 patients both FPRA and EGNA were performed. Results suggested that in ischemic heart disease (IHD) and valvular heart disease (VHD) the EGNA technique is well correlated with CA (r = 0.9 and 0.73, respectively). FPRA correlated well only with CA in IHD (r = 0.86), but not in VHD (r = 0.18). This study indicates that both FPRA and EGNA are sensitive, noninvasive techniques for measuring ejection fraction in IHD, while in VHD, EGNA is more sensitive technique than FPRA.

"Tear drop sign" in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. A finding on gated cardiac imaging

In patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the left ventricle appears bulbous in the apical region and narrowed at the base during diastole, resembling a tear drop. This appearance is due, in part, to disproportionate septal hypertrophy.

Detection of right-coronary-artery disease using stress thallium scintigraphy: importance of considering the right ventricle

Retrospective analyses of the stress thallium studies of 51 patients with a history of previous infarctions or definite stable angina were performed in order to determine the extent of the coronary-artery disease (CAD). The results were correlated with recent coronary-angiography findings in order to assess the effect of including right-ventricule (RV) visualization on the accuracy of the detection of right coronary-artery (RCA) disease, as well as the effect of graded stenosis or occlusion of the RCA and the presence of disease of the other coronary vessels on the visualization of the RV. Eight patients had normal coronary arteries. The other 43 patients had CAD, only 5 of whom had single-vessel RCA disease. With regard to the RV, 6 patients had nonvisualization, 30 had patchy visualization, and 15 had normal visualization in the stress thallium studies. Nonvisualization indicated 100% occlusion of RCA in 6 out of 6 patients. Patchy visualization indicated significant occlusion of the RCA in 25 out of 30 patients (83%), while normal visualization indicated a normal RCA in 13 out of 15 patients(86%). Normal visualization did not mean that the possibility of RCA disease could be excluded. When RV visualization data were added to LV images, the sensitivity for detecting RCA increased from 66% to 94% (P less than 0.05), the specificity decreased from 89% to 72% (P less than 0.1), and the predictive accuracy increased from 75% to 86% (P greater than 0.1).

Clinical experience with stress and delayed thallium-201 quantitative segmental washout curves (QSWC)

Stress thallium-201 myocardial studies in 29 patients with chest pain were performed. The findings of digital display (DD) and quantitative segmental washout curves (QSWC) were compared independently and jointly with coronary angiography. It was found that QSWC is more sensitive (71%) than DD (55%) but is less specific (58%) than DD (98%). Taking both approaches together the sensitivity rises to 94% and the specificity falls to to 61%. Using both DD and QSWC for interpretation of thallium studies improves the agreement ratio with coronary angiography by 25% more than when using DD only.

Evaluation using dogs of a method for estimating cardiac output from a single breath

We have evaluated the single-breath method of Kim, Rahn, and Fahri (J. Appl. Physiol. 21: 1338, 1966) using anesthetized dogs (avg wt 26 kg). The systematic error was determined by comparing the single-breath estimates of cardiac output with values obtained by the dye-dilution method. In some dogs the effects of moderate exercise were stimulated by joining the circulations of two dogs. From paired estimates, the random error of the single-breath method was +/- 12% (95% tolerance limits; 23 pairs) over a range of outputs 1.1-5.0 l/min. There was no significant difference between values of cardiac output by the single-breath method and by dye dilution, and in four dogs the dye-dilution values were not significantly different from values of pulmonary blood flow controlled by perfusion. These results indicate that under carefully controlled conditions the single-breath method is capable of providing reliable estimates of cardiac output.

Evaluation using dogs of a method for estimating mixed venous and arterial PCO2 from a single breath

Estimates of arterial and true mixed venous carbon dioxide tension (PCO2) were made from the continuous records of the changes in carbon dioxide and oxygen tensions in the expired gas during a single prolonged expiration, as described by Kim, Rahn, and Fahri (J. Appl. Physiol. 21: 1338, 1966). The results were compared with the results of direct analyses of systemic arterial and pulmonary arterial blood. There was no systemic error of the arterial estimates over a range of 32-48 Torr or of the venous estimates over a range of 33-59 Torr. The random errors of the arterial and venous estimates were +/- 1.5 and 1.2 Torr (2 SD) respectively. These results are better than those obtained by other noninvasive methods.