Role of thyroxin versus Brewer's yeast supplementation in amelioration of pancreatic alterations induced by hypothyroidism in adult male albino rats

Induction of hypothyroidism by carbimazole could affect many glands including the pancreas. Brewer's yeast, a herbal product, is recently under research for its possible uses. The aim of the study was to study the microscopic, morphometric, and biochemical changes in the pancreas of hypothyroid rats and to evaluate the role of thyroxin versus Brewer's yeast in amelioration of these changes. Sixty adult male albino rats were randomly divided into five groups. Group I rats served as a control group. Group II rats received carbimazole. Group III rats received carbimazole followed by thyroxin. Group IV rats received carbimazole followed by Brewer's yeast. Group V rats received only Brewer's yeast. At the end of the experimental period, specimens from the pancreas were processed for light and transmission electron microscopic examinations and immunostaining for Ki-67. Biochemical analysis for T3, T4, and insulin was performed. In addition, body mass gain and pancreatic mass were measured. All parameters were statistically analyzed. Group II specimens revealed congestion of blood vessels and cellular infiltration. Acinar cells showed pyknotic nuclei, hyalinization, and vacuolation of the cytoplasm, with few zymogen granules. beta Cells of the islets of Langerhans revealed depletion of organelles and small granules without their characteristic halo. Immunostaining revealed significant decrease in the percentage of Ki-67-positive nuclei. In group III, the acini revealed numerous secretory granules, few vacuoles, and euchromatic nuclei. beta Cells showed secretory granules with the characteristic halo. Group IV revealed less improvement in the histopathological changes as compared with group III. T3, T4, and insulin levels were significantly lower in hypothyroid rats in comparison with the control group, whereas administration of thyroxin showed restoration of these levels to near control values. Hypothyroidism showed a deleterious effect on the histological structure of rat's pancreas. Administration of thyroxin minimized these effects more than administration of Brewer's yeast

possible therapeutic effect of 'chaetomium globosum' fungal extract on experimentally induced rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis [RA] is an autoimmune disease that leads to chronic inflammation in the joints with subsequent cartilage and bone destruction. RA induces a massive burden on health services worldwide. This study was designed to evaluate the possible therapeutic effect of 'Chaetomium globosum' extract in the treatment of RA in a rat model. Forty male Wistar albino rats aged 8-10 weeks were divided into four groups of 10 rats each. The control group [group I] was injected subcutaneously with 0.1 ml of saline. RA was induced in the other three groups [groups II, III, and IV] by single subcutaneous injection of 0.1 ml of complete Freund's adjuvant in the footpad of the right hind paw. Group II was induced with arthritis and left untreated. Rats in groups III and IV were treated by administering either C. globosum 10 micro g/kg or methotrexate [MTX] 0.3 mg/kg subcutaneously twice weekly for 2 weeks from day 12 after induction of arthritis. Animals of all groups were sacrificed on day 28 from the start of the experiment. The ankle joints were processed and stained with H and E, Masson's trichrome, and immunohistochemical stain for inducible nitric oxide synthase. Specimens were also processed for transmission electron microscopic study. Untreated arthritic rats revealed paw swelling, synovial hyperplasia, inflammatory infiltration, collagen accumulation, cartilage degradation, bone destruction, and significant increase in inducible nitric oxide synthase-positive chondrocytes. Transmission electron microscopic examination confirmed these results. The present study demonstrated for the first time that C. globosum significantly reduced all the clinical and histopathological changes of arthritis similar to MTX. C. globosum extract had therapeutic effects similar to the well-established drug MTX and could be devoid of its serious side effects.

Histological changes in the endometrium of women suffering from recurrent pregnancy loss: light and electron microscopic study

Recurrent Pregnancy Loss [RPL] is defined as the occurrence of three or more consecutive spontaneous abortions before 20 weeks gestation.In human, natural killer cells [NK] are present in abundance in the endometrial stroma and appear to play an important role in early pregnancy. This study was designed to investigate the histological changes which occurred in the human endometrium in women suffering from RPL compared to fertile controls. This study was performed on 20 non-pregnant healthy women. Fifteen of them had a history of three or more spontaneous consecutive first trimester abortions and represented as [RPL group]. Five women had at least one successful child birth and considered as control group. Endometrial biopsies were obtained and were processed for haematoxylin and eosin, immunohistochemical stain for CD 56, transmission and scanning electron microscopic study. Compared with control group, RPL group showed that some cells of epithelial lining revealed vacuolated cytoplasm with karyolytic nuclei and others revealed condensed apoptotic nuclei. The stroma showed apparent increase in the number of positive CD 56 specific for NK cells. Also, in semithin sections the stroma showed apparent increase in the lymphocytes like cells. By TEM, the secretory cells revealed degenerated mitochondria, distorted microvilli, and condensed apoptotic nuclei. The ciliated cells showed disorganization of their cilia, degenerated mitochondria and many cytoplasmic vacuoles. By SEM, the ciliated cells showed short, fused and disorganized cilia while some of the secretory cells appeared degenerated, shrunken and widely separated. No apical secretory cell projections [pinopodes] could be observed. It was concluded that the endometrium of RPL patients showed some histological changes concerning the surface epithelial lining associated with an apparent increased number of NK cells in the stroma. Further studies are needed to explore the role of NK cells in the occurrence of idiopathic RPL