Natural Infection with Rabies Virus: A Histopathological and Immunohistochemical Study of Human Brains

OBJECTIVES: Despite all the efforts and increased knowledge of rabies, the exact mechanisms of infection and mortality from the rabies virus are not well understood. To understand the mechanisms underlying the pathogenicity of rabies virus infection, it is crucial to study the tissue that the rabies virus naturally infects in humans. METHODS: Cerebellum brain tissue from 9 human post mortem cases from Iran, who had been infected with rabies virus, were examined histopathologically and immunohistochemically to evaluate the innate immune responses against the rabies virus. RESULTS: Histopathological examination revealed inflammation of the infected cerebellum and immunohistochemical analyses showed an increased immunoreactivity of heat shock protein 70, interleukin-6, interleukin-1, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, caspase-3, caspase-9, toll-like receptor3 and toll-like receptor4 in the infected brain tissue. CONCLUSION: These results indicated the involvement of innate immunity in rabies infected human brain tissue, which may aggravate the progression of this deadly disease.

Epidemiologic evaluation of patients with blistering lesions in sari: a retrospective study

Background/Objective: Blistering diseases of skin are characterized by presence of lesions containing watery liquids. The aim of our study was to apply the histopathological and demographical evaluation of the patients whose medical records were in the archive of pathology unit of Buali hospital in Sari

Methods and Materials: This was a descriptive retrospective study included medical records of 87 patients with bullous lesions during years 2003-2013 which were archived in the pathology unit of the hospital, were reviewed and evaluated. Biopsies were taken by dermatologist after sterilizing of the bullous lesion with betadine and applying local anesthesia with lidocaine 1%. After appropriate tissue slicing, fixation and H and E staining, the samples were observed under microscope by two pathologists. Histopathological and demographic data [such as age, sex, area of involvement, diagnosis] were recorded. The gathered information were analyzed by SPSS Ver. 16 in terms of central and peripheral statistic distribution

Results: The population of our study was 87 patients and all of them had bullous lesions. the most common diagnoses was Pemphigus Vulgaris with 36 patients [41.4%], then Bullous Pemphigoid with 22 patients [25.3%], Dermatitis Herpetiformis with 8 patients [9.2%] , Pemphigus Foliaceus with 6 patients [6.9%], Epidermolysis Bullosa with 4 patients [4.6%] Pemphigus Erythematosis with 3 patients [3.4%] and Subcorneal Pustular Dermatosis with 1 patient [1.1%] and 7 cases had uncertain diagnoses

Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that the frequency of diagnosis of skin bullous lesions in city of Sari is almost similar to other related studies and the most common diagnoses are pemphigus vulgaris, bullous pemphigoid, herpetiform dermatitis and pemphigus foliaceus. The ratio of female to male was 1.17:1

History of neurological disorders in Persian medicine

Many studies concerning Persian history have been performed. Persian physicians and scientists greatly contributed to medical sciences by their own observations, experimentations and skills through more than seven thousand years of Persian history. In Persian medieval medicine, different fields were described. Among these fields, neurological disorders, especially headache and epilepsy were explained in details. Medieval Persian physicians described the treatment of headache using many substances with different modes of actions. They attributed the therapeutic actions of plants to a specific analgesic, sedative or prophylactic drug property of variable strength. They also defined the epilepsy as a manifestation which begins suddenly, although premonitory symptoms, such as weakness, epigastric pressure or pain, depression, tongue paresthesia, spreading extremities paresthesia, sudden shock, incoherent speech, nightmare and sandness may start before the attacks. Medieval Persian physicians accumulated all the existing information on medicine at that time and added to this knowledge their own observations with the introduction of many new remedies. Such information provides comprehensive data on clinical treatments based on centuries of experience in the field of headache and epilepsy, and thus might help the testing of the probable benefits of these remedies for the treatment of cephalagia and epilepsy

Genistein induces a protective immunomodulatory effect in a mouse model of cervical cancer

Genistein [GEN], a naturally occurring flavonoid present in soy bean, has attracted scientific interest for its possible benefits in cancer. The potential immunomodulatory effects of genistein on the immune system and against TC-1 tumor cell line were evaluated in adult female C57BL/6 mice. Mice were treated with GEN 10 days before to 10 days after the tumor induction. Thirty days after the last GEN treatment, lymphocyte proliferation, Lactase Dehydrogenase [LDH] cytolytic activity and cytokine secretion were analyzed in GEN and control groups. The results showed that ingestion of genistein significantly increased lymphocyte proliferation and LDH release. Furthermore, the treatment with genistein also caused a significant increment in interferon gamma [IFN-alpha]. In addition, the treatment achieved significant therapeutic effect in tumor models compared to the control group. These results indicated that the effect of GEN on tumor growth may be attributed to its effect on lymphocyte proliferation, cytolytic activity and IFN-alpha production. These results demonstrate that GEN exerts an immunomodulatory effect in a mouse model of Human Papillomavirus [HPV] associated-cervical cancer

Pre-surgical evaluation of intractable epilepsy in children

This review summarizes some patterns of pre-surgical evaluation of epilepsyin children with medically refractory seizures. Epilepsy surgery is a valuabletherapeutic option for many children with intractable epilepsy. The most effective treatment for intractable partial epilepsy is a focal cortical resection with excision of the area of ictal onset and initial seizure propagation [the epileptogenic zone]. EEG monitoring continues to prove indispensable in pre-surgical planning of refractory epileptic patients by defining the epileptogenic zone. Technological progresses in both structural and functional neuroimaging techniques have ledmany medical centers to consider surgical treatment of epilepsy. In children undergoing pre-surgical evaluation, the goals of neuroimaging studies include the identification of structural abnormalities in the brain, eloquent regions of the brain including language, memory, and sensorimotor functions, and the relation of these regions to the potential epileptogenic region. Neuropsychological testing plays a crucial role in assessing the potential impact of surgery on cognitive function of the patients and helps in lateralizing the cerebral hemisphere dominant for verbal and nonverbal function in older children. The Wada testis an invasive procedure to determine language dominance and can be used to assess the risk of postoperative memory deficits in children with temporal lobe epilepsy. Some children scheduled for resection still need to undergo further precise localization of the epileptogenic zone and functional mapping with invasive EEG monitoring through intracranial subdural grid and/or depth electrodes. Epilepsy surgery has the potential of changing the life quality of children by improving or eliminating seizures in carefully selected patients

Migraine in children and adolescents

Headache is a frequent symptom in children and adolescents. Migraine is one of the most common types of primary headache disorders in children that at times can be extremely disabling. Many clinical features of migraine in children differ from that starting in adulthood. This review discusses the epidemiology, clinical features, management, and prognosis of migraine headache in children and adolescents