possible protective role of ginseng on the sciatic nerve neuropathy induced experimentally by acrylamide in adult male albino rat: a histological and morphometric study

Ginseng's active compounds exert beneficial effects on central and peripheral nervous system disorders. The sciatic nerve was used as a model to study the possible protective effect of ginseng on peripheral neuropathy induced by acrylamide. The study was carried out on 35 adult male albino rats. The animals were divided into three groups: group I [control], group II treated daily with acrylamide [30 mg/kg body weight] orally for 4 weeks, and group III [protective] treated with acrylamide at same dose, route, and duration as in group II concomitantly with ginseng [20 mg/kg body weight]. After 4 weeks, rats were sacrificed. Samples from sciatic nerve were taken and processed for light and electron microscopic and morphometric studies. Light and electron microscopic observations of group II revealed infoldings, splitting, and degeneration of myelin. Changes in axons included degeneration, compression, irregularity, and shrinkage with swollen mitochondria. Large vacuoles and swollen mitochondria were seen inside the Schwann cells. Changes in the myelin and axons in group III were much less frequent than those observed in group II. Only mild splitting and irregular thickening of the myelin with few swollen mitochondria were observed in some axons and Schwann cells. Morphometric study revealed a highly significant reduction [89.6%] in the mean g-ratio [axon/fiber ratio] and body weight in group II compared with the control and group III. Ginseng protected the sciatic nerve from the harmful effect of acrylamide to a great extent

effect of experimentally induced oxidative stress on rat lung and the possible protective role of pentoxifylline: a histological and biochemical study

Acute lung injury and its most severe form, the acute respiratory distress syndrome are frequent complications in critically ill patients and are responsible for significant morbidity and mortality. Skeletal muscle breakdown [rhabdomyolysis] causes biochemical, functional and histological changes of kidney. The effects of rhabdomyolysis are likely mediated by increased oxidative stress leading to renal tubular cytotoxicity. Oxidative stress has a close relation to acute respiratory distress syndrome. This work was carried out to demonstrate the effect of experimentally induced oxidative stress on the lung histologically and biochemically and to study the role of pentoxii'lline in ameliorating these effects. Seventy adult male albino rats were used and divided into three main groups; the control [Group I] consisted of 20 rats and each experimental group consisted of 25 rats. Group II injected by i.m. glycerol once to induce rhabdomyolysis and consequently oxidative stress and group III received pentoxifylline before i.m glycerol injection. Heparinized blood samples were taken for assessment of total creatine kinase, total glutathione peroxidase, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, plasma antioxidants, PaO[2] and PaCO[2]. Bronchoalveolar lavage [BAL] was taken for cellular profile and lung specimens for histological study. All samples were taken 6 hours after glycerol injection. Experimental group II showed significant increase in creatine kinase, total glutathione peroxidase and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance [TBARS]. Arterial blood gases showed significant decrease in PaO[2] and PaCO[2]. In BAL there was a significant increase in neutrophils and a non significant increase in macrophages. The lung showed increase in the thickness of the interalveolar septa with cellular infiltration associated with alveolar damage and many collapsed alveoli. Ultrastructurally, pneumocytes type II showed degenerative changes in the form of cytoplasmic vacuolation and destruction of lamellar bodies and mitochondria but in group III, all changes showed improvement with presence of minimal affection. Induced oxidative stress could lead to acute lung injury with biochemical alterations of many parameters. Meanwhile, pentoxifylline showed ameliorative effect on all of these parameters

Light and electron microscopic study on the effect of lithium carbonate on the thyroid gland of adult male albino rat

Lithium carbonate is the treatment of choice for acute manic episodes. It is often referred to as an anti-manic drug as it prevents mood swings in patients with manic-depressive disorder. Thyroid disturbances during lithium treatment had been reported. This research was performed to study the effect of lithium carbonate on the thyroid gland of albino rat and the possibility of recovery after drug withdrawal. Thirty adult male albino rats were divided into three equal groups; Group I [Control Group], group II received lithium carbonate at a daily dose of 14.4 rug for each rat for 6 weeks orallyand group III received the same dose of lithium carbonate as group II and then left untreated for another 6 weeks to study the possibility of recovery after the drug withdrawal. The specimens were prepared for light and electron microscopic examination. Sections of lithium carbonate treated rats showed enlarged irregular shaped thyroid follicles with papillary infoldings projecting into the follicular lumena. Detached and desquamated follicular cells were seen in the follicular colloid. The follicular cells showed apparent hyperplasia and bizarre-appearing nuclei. The interstitial tissue showed cellular infiltration, presence of deeply eosinophilic large cells and fibrosis in some specimens. Ultrastructurally, there was cellular debris in the follicular lumena. Some follicles showed dark follicular cells containing electron dense cytoplasm and indistinct organelles. The above structural changes were much less pronounced in group III [Recovery Group]. Lithium carbonate induced histological changes in the thyroid gland of albino rat and most of these changes were seen to be improved after withdrawal of the drug, So, the use of this drug should be justified in clinical situation under direct medical supervision

Morphological changes in the cephalic vein of renal failure patients before arterio -venous fistula [AVF] creation

Hemodialysis vascular access dysfunction currently is a major clinical problem. Although arteriovenous fistulae [AVFe] are the preferred form of permanent dialysis access, it continues to have significant problems with early AVF failure. Although inadequate dilatation of the venous segment was believed to have a role in early AVF failure, the exact pathogenesis of early AVF failure is unknown despite the magnitude of the clinical problem. To study the pre-existing morphological changes in the wall of the cephalic vein before AVF creation. The study was conducted in Tanta University Hospital at time period from May to December 2007. After informed consent, biopsy specimens were taken from 40 cephalic veins of chronic renal failure [CRF] patients during creation of AVFs for hemodialysis. Another 5 normal cephalic vein specimens were taken from patients with upper limbs stab injuries as a control group. Sections were prepared and stained with haematoxylin and eosin [H and E], Mallory's trichrome and elastic Van Gieson's stains. Compared with normal cephalic vein, all pre-access cephalic veins showed, generalized thickening of the vein walls due to intimal hypertrophy and increase in collagenous tissue in the media. Other changes as complete loss of internal elastic lamina, disruption of endothelial cell layer, and atrophy of the muscle layer were also found. Most of the apparently normal cephalic veins of the renal failure patients showed morphological abnormalities when examined histologically at the time of AVF creation. This might influence the outcome of fistulae in terms of future stenosis and failure. Future diagnostic modality and therapy to address this problem will be needed to target this pathogenic pathway

Histological study on the effect of pyridoxine [vitamin B6] overdose on rat cerebral cortex

Vitamin B[6] plays vital roles in numerous metabolic processes in the human body, such as nervous system development and function. High intake of this vitamin may result in intoxication. In this study, the effect of a high dose of pyridoxine on the rat cerebral cortex was investigated. Thirty six albino rats were used in this study. The animals were divided into three groups [12 animals each]; control group that received daily intraperitoneal saline injections for 3 weeks and two experimental groups received vitamin B[6] at a dose of 5mg/kg/day intraperitoneally for three weeks. One of the two experimental groups left for 3 weeks after stoppage of the drug for recovery. Specimens from the cerebral cortex were taken and examined by both light and electron microscopy. The neuronal mitochondria demonstrated swelling with loss of matrix density. In some neurons, mitochondria demonstrated homogenously increased matrix density and some appeared disrupted. There was overall decrease of neuronal cellular processes and organelles. The neuropil appeared vacuolated. The results of the present study showed that high intake of vitamin B[6] causes damage to the rat cerebral cortex. It could be concluded that the dose of vitamin B[6] should be taken into consideration during vitamin B[6] supplementation

effects of amphotericin B and amphotericin B-liposome on rat renal cortex: a comparative histological and immunohistochemical study

The polyene macrolide amphotericin B has remained the drug of choice in fighting systemic fungal infections for more than 30 years. However its toxic effects, particularly nephrotoxicity, remain serious side effects. The aim of this work was to compare between the nephrotoxicity of amphotericin B [fungizon] and amphotericin B liposome [ambisome] using different histological and immunohistochemical methods. Thirty adult male albino rats were divided into control group and experimental group The control group was divided into two subgroups [5 rats each] one of them received no treatment and the other received intra-peritoneal injection of saline once daily. The experimental group was divided into two subgroups I and II. The subgroup I received intra-peritoneal injection of fungizon in a dose 10 mg/kg once daily. The subgroup II received intra-peritoneal injection of amBisome in a dose 10 mg/kg once daily. All rats received the injections for one month. The specimens were processed for histological and immunohistochemical examination. Light and electron microscopic examinations of subgroup I revealed severe pathological changes in both distal and proximal convoluted tubules and glomeruli. But these changes were very mild in subgroup II. These changes were represented by mononuclear cellular infiltration, irregular thickening of glomerular basement membrane and distortion of foot processes of podocytes of the affected glomeruli. The cells of pCT and dCT showed cytoplasmic vacuolations, destruction of microvilli with changes in mitochondria. Immunohistochemical examination using caspase 3 method revealed more apoptotic changes in subgroup I than in subgroup II. It was concluded that AmBisome is more safe than fungizon on the kidney and this is very important for nephrologists and intensive care specialists