In vivo and in vitro studies on the antioxidant activity of sea cucumber aqueous extract against isoproterenol-induced myocardial injury in a rat model

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the cardiopreventive activity of the aqueous extract of sea cucumber body wall against isoproterenol-induced cardiac injury in rats. Isoproterenol a synthetic catecholamine and beta-adrenergic agonist, which causes severe oxidative stress-induced myocardial injury. HPLC analysis of the sea cucumber aqueous extract revealed the presence of some active phenolic components with antioxidant activity, such as pyrogallol, rutin, chlorogenic acid, ascorbic acid, catechin, coumaric acid, cinnamic acid, and ellagic acid. Subchronic oral administration of sea cucumber extract [14.4mg/Kg b.w.] to normal rats thrice weekly for 8 consecutive weeks did not exert any toxic side effects. whereas enhanced the cardiac reduced glutathione level and catalase activity, and in contract reduced serum low density liporprotein-cholestrol level. On the other hand, pretreatment of rats with the sea cucumber extract for 8 weeks before being intoxicated with 2 subcutaneous injections of isoproterenol normalized serum levels of total CK, CK-MB activity, total cholesterol. triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, as well as cardiac glutathione peroxidase and catalase activities. In vitro antioxidant studies on the sea cucumber extract have shown a moderate scavenging activity for NO radical and iron chelating activity, as well as a weak inhibition of lipid peroxidation. In addition, histopathological examination of H and E stained myocardium sections of the left ventricle showed that pretreatment of isoproterenol-intoxicated rats with sea cucumber extract caused a substantial attenuation in the degenerative cellular changes induced by isoproterenol

Resveratrol, a natural phytoalexin: a therapeutic promise for metabolic disorders in streptozotocin-nicotinamide induced type 2 diabetic rats

Resveratrol, a natural phytoalexin, has demonstrated a wide variety of biological activities, which make it a good candidate for treatment of diabetes mellitus. The present study was aimed to evaluate the properties of resveratrol [RSV] as an antidiabetic agent in streptozotocin-nicotinamide [STZ-NIC] induced Type2 diabetes model. Furthermore, the antidiabetic nature of resveratrol was compared with glyclazide, an oral standard antidiabetic drug. This study includes 40 male albino rats divided into 5 groups: control, control+resveratrol, diabetic, diabetic+resveratrol and diabetic+ glyclazide. The antidiabetic effect of oral administration of RSV [5mg kg/b.wt] for 45days was evidenced from the improvement in the levels of blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin and the calculated homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance. The significant decrease [p<0.05] in plasma insulin level exhibited in the diabetic rats was not affected by RSV treatment, indicating that the hypoglycemic effect of RSV is independent of insulin. The altered activities of key enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism such as glucokinase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, glucose-6-phosphatase and glycogen synthase in liver tissues of diabetic rats were all significantly reverted [p<0.05] to near normal levels by administration of RSV. Hyperlipidemia observed in the diabetic group of rats was markedly alleviated by oral treatment with RSV. Lastly, STZ-NIC induced diabetic rats orally treated with RSV had significantly lower [p<0.05] plasma homocystein level and significantly higher [p<0.05] serum folic acid and vit. B12 levels than the untreated ones indicating improvement in the endothelial function in those rats. The present study suggests that STZ-NIC induced diabetes is an excellent model for type2 diabetes, and that RSV is an effective therapeutic agent for treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus

Impact of mild physical activity on the random blood sugar among yemeni diabetic patients

Descriptive study was carried out during the marathon of Yemeni diabetic patients as a public activity in the World Diabetes Day [WDD] to encourage the Yemeni people and educate them about the importance of physical activity, and to study the effect of walking as a mild physical activity on lowering blood sugar level. A total of 502 participants aged between 15 and 70 years, 85% males and 15% females, 352 diabetics; 8.32% type 1 and 26.29% type 2. Also 150 [29%] non diabetic participants [unknown] were included. All participants subjected to analysis of [RBS] at the beginning of marathon and at the end of it for most of them. After 4 km walking during 45 minutes we found that there was a significant reduction in R.B.S; it was 24.44 mg/dl, 15.80 mg/dl, and 27.19 mg/dl among all participants, type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients respectively. The significant reduction in R.B.S level after walking means that the beneficial effect of exercise can be obtained by mild to moderate exercise, since the effect seems to depend on overall energy expenditure rather than on intensity of exercise

Macrovascular complications and their associated risk factors in type 2 diabetic patients in Sana'a city, Yemen

A cross-sectional survey in Sana'a city, Yemen, aimed to determine the prevalence of preventable macrovascular complications and their association with glycaemic control and other risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus [DM]. Some features of macrovascular disease were found in 79 [25.4%] of the 311 patients: 17.8% had coronary heart disease, 9.1% had peripheral vascular disease and 5.8% had cerebrovascular disease. Significant positive associations were found between coronary heart disease and age, duration of DM, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and insulin treatment. Peripheral vascular disease was associated with male sex, age, duration of DM and current tobacco smoking. Cerebrovascular disease was associated with systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and insulin treatment

Fertility and semen quality of ticket collectors exposed to traffic exhaust in greater Cairo

Objective: To study the effect of exposure to vehicle emissions on male fertility

Patients and Methods: 102 patients were enrolled in the study. They were divided into three groups; group I [n = 13] were mainly from rural areas minimally exposed to environmental urban vehicle emissions, group II [n = 20] composed of indoor workers who are incidentally exposed to risk and group III [n = 69] were occupationally exposed to environmental air pollution. A full questionnaire including socioeconomic data, histories of exposure to pollution, reproductive histories were taken. Cases with overt or questioned infertility were excluded. Two groups of investigations were done; the first included biomarkers of vehicle emission pollution, namely, carboxyhemoglobin in the peripheral blood, sulphur and sulphur dioxide in urine and lead in blood and semen. The second group of investigations was targeted towards the fertility indices including reproductive hormones and semen characteristics

Results: The level of blood carboxyhemoglobin and semen lead were remarkably higher in the exposed group compared to other groups. There were statistically significant decrease in fertility indices [serum testosterone, semen count, motility and sperm morphology] in the highly exposed group III. Blood lead was negatively correlated with serum testosterone [r = - 0.498, p<0.001] and also negatively correlated with semen count and motility [r = - 0.617, p<0.001; r = - 0.537, p<0.001, respectively]. Abnormal sperm morphology was positively correlated with both blood and semen lead [I = 0.347, p<0.001; r=0.296, p<0.05, respectively]. Carboxyhemoglobin level showed a significant negative correlation with both sperm count and motility [r = 0.219, p<0.05; r= 0.308, p<0.05, respectively]. Sulphur dioxide level in urine showed insignificant correlation with reproductive hormones and seminal indices [p>0.05]

Conclusion: The exposed group [group III] showed deterioration and decline in some essential fertility indices and the deterioration is correlated to biomarkers of vehicle induced air pollution

association of blood pressure level and the change in some hematological, hormonal and metabolic parameters in essential hypertensive subjects

This study aimed to investigate some possible hematological, hormonal and metabolic disorders that might occur in patients with essential hypertension [EH]. The study was conducted on 30 patients with untreated mild EH as well as an age matched control group of 30 male subjects with normotension. Patients with EH had higher WBCs count and neutrophil percentage, plasma ACTH, serum [s] prolactin, plasma aldosterone, s. cortisol and s. insulin levels, s. AST, s. ALT, s. gamma glutamyl transferase, s. alkaline phosphatase activities and s. total bilirubin, s. glucose s. creatinine, s. urea and s. uric acid leve1s than their controls. However, there was a significant decrease in RBCs count, platelet count, lymphocyte percentage and s. albumin level in those patients as compared with their control levels. Correlation data indicated that in normotensives, there was a positive significant correlation between DBP and age, while there were negative significant correlations between DBP and height and between DBP and RBCs

Assessment of the use of circulating intercellular adhesion molecule-1 in the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis

Neonatal sepsis still remains a major cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. In spite of remarkable advances in perinatal care, a major contributing factor is the lack of a rapid and accurate diagnostic tool. Circulating intercellular adhesion molecule-1 [cICAM-1] has been proposed as a promising c and idate. This study was designed to evaluate the use of cICAM-1 in the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis in the neonatal intensive care unit of Suez Canal University Hospital over the period of one year. The subjects included 67 neonates diagnosed as suffering from neonatal sepsis based on clinical picture in addition to a positive blood culture, cerebrospinal fluid analysis, chest X-ray or an elevated C-reactive protein [CRP] level; if the former three tests were negative. A control group comprised of 39 healthy neonates from the outpatient clinic was included. All neonates were subjected to a thorough history and physical examination, in addition to complete blood picture, CRP assay and cICAM-1 assay. The study period was from April 1999 to April 2000. The cICAM-1 level was significantly elevated in septic neonates, being even more so in preterm than full-term neonates. The sensitivity of cICAM-1 levels for diagnosis of sepsis at a cut-off point of 300 ng/ml was 89.6%, the specificity was 71.8%, the positive predictive value was 84.5%, the negative predictive value was 80%, and the accuracy 83%. The use of a higher cut-off point increased specificity while a lower cut-off point yielded a greater sensitivity. Combination of cICAM-1 and CRP levels for the diagnosis of sepsis yielded a higher sensitivity [95.5%]. In addition, cICAM-1 levels were related to outcome, with significantly higher levels being found in septic neonates who passed away than in those who survived. In conclusion, cICAM-1 estimation is an accurate test for the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis, and can also be used to predict outcome. The addition of CRP assessment improves sensitivity

Effect of different salt diets on the release of atrial natriuretic peptide and its related hormonal and renal changes

The effect of different salt [NaCl] diets [deficient, low or high] on plasma atrial natriuretic peptide [ANP] level and subsequently the effect of ANP change on the other related hormonal and renal parameters were studied in male [Rattus rattus norvegicus] rats. Seventy rats were used in this study and divided into four groups: Control [15 rats], deficient salt diet [15 rats], low salt diet [20 rats] and high salt diet [20 rats]. Serum sodium, plasma ANP and cyclic guanosine 3,5-monophosphate [cGMP] levels were significantly lower; while, plasma renin activity [PRA] and serum aldosterone levels were significantly higher in rats fed on deficient or low salt diet than in the control rats. Total body weight [TBW], hematocrite [Hct], serum potassium, albumin, urea and creatinine levels remained within the normal level. On the other hand, in the group of rats fed on high salt diet, serum sodium, TBW, plasma ANP and cGMP, serum urea and creatinine were significantly increased; whereas, Hct, serum albumin, PRA and serum aldosterone levels were significantly decreased as compared with the control group with no significant change in serum potassium level

Study of the prevalence of bronchial asthma and related risk factors in and El-Salam area in Port-Saidprimary school children

This study included 131 children aged 6-12 years from 4 primary schools in El-Salam District in Port-Said Governorate. The prevalence of asthma was found to be 11.4% of the population. History of recurrent attacks of wheezy is the principal factor to diagnose asthma. Physical examination and investigations are relatively unimportant in the diagnosis of asthma. Exposure to passive smoke, low socioeconomic status, bad ventilation, crowding, education of mothers and exposure to allergens [animals and insects] were the important risk factors for developing asthma between asthmatic children. On the other hand, smoking infection and house dust precipitate the attacks in all wheezy children. Also, it was found that the recurrent attacks of wheeze affect the children attendance to school and make them absent more than healthy children

Pattern and factors affecting weaning practice in Ismaillia city

The influence of some demographic factors on the pattern of weaning was evaluated by interviewing mothers of 418 infants aged 2 months up to 2 years old. These mothers were attending 3 health care centers in Ismailia City. Among the interviewed mothers, 5% practiced gradual weaning. The risk of abrupt weaning was more among rural, illiterate, and non working mothers. The main age of introducing food supplements was 4-6 months which was significantly associated with urban and highly educated mothers. The majority of mothers [76%] began weaning by semisolid foods. Majority of mothers [84.9%] preferred starting weaning with a single type of food. The main definition of weaning was adding supplementary food [89% of rural and 58.6% of urban mothers] with significant difference. The main source of knowledge about weaning for both urban and rural mothers is grand mothers

Extrapyramidal symptoms in children and adolescents treated with different dose of low potency neuroleptics

Neuroleptic-induced extrapyramidal symptoms [EPS] were evaluated in 61 children and adolescents over 4 weeks of treatment. In patients treated with low potency neuroleptics, EPS was twice as common with higher doses >300 mg [60%] than with lower doses <299 mg chlorpromazine equivalents. In patients who were neuroleptic-free before initiation of drug treatment, EPS were more than 3 times as common in higher doses [73%] than in lower doses [18%]. The implications of these findings were discussed and the use of prophylactic antiparkinsonian agents in combination with higher doses of low potency neuroleptics were suggested

Tardive dyskinesia and adverse perinatal events

The study screened and examined 61 children and adolescents who were receiving neuroleptic treatment from consecutive psychiatric admissions and psychiatric consultations to Psychiatric Center for the presence of tardive dyskinesia [TD] using st and ardized assessment tools [AIMS and ADS]. Assessment was done on more than one occasion and the diagnosis of positive cases of TD was based on TD research criteria. Histories of perinatal adversity, developmental milestones and neuroleptic exposure were obtained for both TD and non-TD subgroups. Results showed that 20% of the sample received a diagnosis of TD. Patients were more likely to be younger males with previous hospitalization, with longer duration of neuroleptic exposure, have longer duration of maximal daily dose in mg chlorpromazine equivalents, and with history of exposure to adverse perinatal, neonatal events, developmental delays and neurological events, than non-TD patients. In a series of multiple regression analyses, only neuroleptic exposure, adverse perinatal and developmental events were strongly associated with TD. The explanations and implications of the results were discussed