ABSTRACT
Background: fructus Schizandrae Sinensis bail, a traditional Chinese medicine, has been shown to lower the elevated serum level of liver enzymes of patients suffering from chronic active hepatitis. A synthetic derivative compound of Schisandrian, Dimethyl Diphenyl Bicarboxylate [DDB] is now used widely in clinical fields as a hepatoprotective drug. Thus it is important to know whether DDB has a beneficial effect on damaged liver or not
Objective: to evaluate the protective effect of DDB on induced liver tissue injury in rats
Design: experimental study
Setting: national Hepatology and Tropical Medicine Research Institute. The study was conducted from October [2004] to February [2005]
Materials and methods: 120 male albino rats aged 6-8 weeks, weight 150-200g were grouped in six groups, 20 rats per group. Group 1 received food and water only, group 2 received food, water and DDB intragastric 6mg/kg daily for 12 weeks, group 3 received 20% ethanol instead of water, group 4 received 20% ethanol instead of water plus DDB, group 5 received thioacetamide [TAA] in a dose of 200mg/kg body weight intraperitoneal injection, group 6 received thioacetamide plus DDB at the same dose of the above group. At the end of the trial, blood samples were taken from all groups for biochemical analysis. Liver tissue excised from each rat was fixed in 10% neutral formalin, embedded in paraffin, and stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin, as well as Masson's trichome stain, for evaluation of hepatic injury and/or fibrosis
Results: statistical elevation of serum hepatic enzymes was noticed in rats received alcohol, Thioacetamide and alcohol + DDB [groups III, V and IV respectively] compared to the corresponding control [P= 0.000]. On the other hand, administration of DDB to TAA treated group [group VI] induced significant improvement of liver function tests compared to other groups [P= 0.000]. Histopathologically, the control livers showed normal lobular architecture without any pathological changes. Liver sections of animals administered alcohol, TAA respectively showed chronic inflammatory reaction, fat accumulation, hepatic parenchymal necrosis and/or hepatic fibrosis. Administration of DDB resulted in improvement of the pathological changes induced by TAA [group VI], but not that induced by alcohol [group IV]
Conclusion: our results revealed that DDB has antitoxic effect against TAA and ameliorates the dangerous effect on the liver parenchyma, while it has no beneficial effect on alcoholic liver disease
ABSTRACT
Microhematuria [MH] is present in 0.5 - 2% of children. A renal or urologic disorder may present with symptom obviously pointing to the urinary tract as hematuria or the kidneys may be involved in several different systemic diseases including the vasculitis syndromes, collagen vascular diseases and the thrombotic microangiopathic diseases due to variable etiologies. Each of these diseases has important renal manifestations that may symptomatise as hematuria. We aimed to detect and depict any eventual correlation that might make microhematuria a useful tool on the predictive level on renal participation in medical disorders. More especially so in tropical settings, where specific diseases are expected to have an insulting impact upon the kidney if not the whole organisms and to determine the prevalence of microhematuria in healthy school aged children the study was conducted on 100 children with MH detected by dip- sticks and confirmed microscopically, the age range from 6 to 12 years either symptomatic or not. It was conducted among healthy children attending the outpatient clinic of the National Hepatology and Tropical Medicine Research Institute [NHTMRI] and in 2 primary schools, through screening of 5342 children by dipsticks for microhematuria. Cases were compared with 20 healthy children of the same age and sex matched as a control. All cases were subjected to full history taking, clinical examination and laboratory studies including complete urinalysis, urine culture and sensitivity, urinary Ca/creatinine ratio, blood urea nitrogen, serum creatinine, serum complement C3, CBC, retics, ASOT, CRP, ESR and coagulation profile [PT, PTT, BT and CT]. Pelvi-abdominal ultrasonography was done for all cases. In selected cases, 1VU, voiding cystourethragraphy, DMSA scan and renal biopsy were done The prevalence of MH was 1.9%. Glomerular group represented 14% and included, acute post streptococcal glomerulonephritis, APSGN [9%], IgA nephropathy [3%] and membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis [2%], non-glomerular group represented 42% of the studied cases and included UTI [24%], hypercalciuria [14%], renal stone [2%], UPJ obstruction [1%] and VUR [1%] and group of unidentified cause of MH [44%] who had no MH after 6 months of follow up Dipsticks can be used as a useful screening test for MH; however this should be confirmed by microscopic examination of the urine. The most common glomerular cause of MH in the event study was APSGN whereas the most common nonglomerular cause was UTI and hypercalciuria. Follow up is recommended for cases of MH with unidentified origin. MH is positively suggested as reliable simple, however preliminary tool in clinical diagnosis of renal and urological disorders