Protective effect of methanolic extract of Berberis integerrima Bunge. root on carbon tetrachloride-induced testicular injury in Wistar rats

Background: Tissue protective effect of compounds with antioxidant properties has been demonstrated. The alkaloids found in barberry root are considered as antioxidants

Objective:According to barberry protective effects in different tissues, in this study, the protective effect of Berberis integerrima Bge. root [MEBIR] was evaluated against CCl4-induced testicular damages in Wistar rats

Materials and Methods:40 mature male rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: 1: Normal control, 2: Sham: received CCl4 diluted in olive oil [50% v/v; 1ml/kg bw], intraperitoneally, twice a week for 4 weeks, 3 and 4: Sham rats treated with MEBIR [250 and 500 mg/kg bw] for 28 days, 5: Sham rats treated with silymarin [50 mg/kg bw] for 28 days. After 28 days, serum testosterone level, absolute testis weight, catalase activity, malondialdehyde level, and histological parameters were investigated

Results: In the treated rats with MEBIR [250 and 500 mg/kg bw] or silymarin [50 mg/kg bw], there was a significant increase in the absolute testis weight, testosterone level, seminiferous tubules diameter [p<0.001], thickness of the epithelium, tubule differentiation index [p<0.001], spermiogenesis index [p<0.001], the activity of catalase, and a significant decrease in interstitial tissue thickness [p<0.001] and malondialdehyde level in comparison with CCl4-treated group. The effect of the MEBIR at dose of 500 mg/kg bw is more than that of the standard drug, silymarin [50 mg/kg bw]

Conclusion:From the results, it is suggested that the protective effects of MEBIR is possibly due to antioxidant effects of its bioactive compounds

Report of a case: an intradural between roots capillary hemangioma of cauda equine

Background and Importance: cavernous angiomas are typically superficial lesionscreated by anomalous vessels and found in the skin or mucosa, but intradural locations are rare especially in the spine. We report a case of the spinal intradural Cavernous angiomas of the lumbar spine

Case Presentation: a 53-year-old man presented with a 6-month history of low back pain and bilateral radicular pain. In examinations, the patient was shown to have numbness in the anterior aspect of the right thigh in L2 territoryand a decrease in lower limb tendon reflexes. Magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] revealed at L1-L2 level, a well-defined intradural lesion in conusmedularis measuring about 18*12mm that shows high signal intensity in T1 images and low signal intensity in T2 images, which causes compression on the cauda roots. Laminectomy of L1-2 was performedfor tumor removal and intradural exploration revealed a small oval shape, brownish cystic like mass surrounded by adherent nerve roots. Complete removal of this tumor was accomplished. Histologic diagnosis wascapillary hemangioma. After operation, the patient's symptoms were improved

Conclusion: we experienced and reported a rare spinal intradural vascular tumor of the lumbar spine. Histologicdiagnosis was Cavernous angiomas

Effects of human erythropoietin on functional outcome of patients with traumatic cervical cord injury; a pilot randomized clinical trial

Objective: To determine the effects of recombinant human erythropoietin [rhEPO] on functional outcome and disability of patients with traumatic cervical spinal cord injury [SCI]

Methods: This was a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled clinical trial being performed in Nemazee and Shahid Rajaei hospitals of Shiraz during a 3-year period from 2011 to 2014. A total number of 20 patients with acute traumatic cervical SCI less than 8 hours after injury were included. We excluded those with anatomic cord dissection, penetrating cord injury and significant concomitant injury. Patients were randomly assigned to receive rhEPO in 500IU/mL dosage immediately and 24-hour later [n=11] or placebo [n=9]. All the patient received standard regimen of methylprednisolone. Neurological function was assessed on admission, 1, 6 and 12 months after the injury according to the American Spinal Cord Injury Association [ASIA]

Results: Overall we include a total number of 20 patients. The mean age of the patients was found to be 40.1 +/- 9.5 [ranging from 19 to 59] years. There were 18 [90.0%] men and 2 [10.0%] women among the patients. There was no significant difference between two study groups regarding the baseline characteristics. The baseline ASIA score was comparable between two study groups. The motor and sensory ASIA scores were comparable between two study groups after 1, 6 and 12 months follow-ups. We also found that there was no significant difference between two study groups regarding the motor and sensory outcome in complete cord injury and incomplete cord injury subgroups

Conclusion: Administration of rhEPO does not improve the functional outcome of patients with traumatic cervical SCI

Preventive effects of aqueous extract of Berberis integerrima Bge. root on liver injury induced by diabetes mellitus [type 1] in rats

This study was conducted to assessthe preventive effect of aqueous extract of Berberis integerrima Bge. root [AEBIR] on liver damage and oxidative stress induced by diabetes mellitus in rats. Forty male rats were divided into 5 groups as follows: 1- normal [N]; 2- normal + barberry [N+B] [they received barberry root extract for 6 weeks]; 3- diabetic [D] [they received Streptozotocin [STZ], 65 mg/Kg BW /i.p.]; 4- diabetic +barberry before [D+Bb] [they received barberry root extract for 3 weeks before STZ injection and continued for another three weeks]; and 5- diabetic + barberry after [D+Ba] [three days after STZ injection, they received barberry root extract for 3 weeks]. The experimental groups received barberry root extract [500 mg/Kg bw] intra gastric by gavage for 6 weeks. The treatment of diabetic rats with AEBIR showed a significant decreases[p<0.001] in levels of blood glucose, malondialdehyde [MDA], alanine aminotransferase [ALT], aspartate aminotransferase [AST], alkaline phosphatase [ALP] and total bilirubin while body weight, total protein, superoxide dismutase [SOD], catalase[CAT] and reduced glutathione [GSH] increased [p<0.001] in comparison to diabetic control rats. Consumption of AEBIR in group D+Bb caused significant improvement in all these factors, compared to the group D+Ba. Also in this study, for the first time, we demonstrated that administration of AEBIR before diabetes induction resulted in enhanced amelioration of liver complications compared to the group receiving it after induction, indicating that AEBIR can play a preventive role in such patients

Antihyperglycemic and antihyperlipidemic effects of fruit aqueous extract of berberis integerrima bge. in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

Use of medicinal plants for attenuation of hyperglycemia and restoration of lipids disorder to normal level is clinically very important. The aim of present study was to evaluate the effects of Berberis integerrima Bge. fruit aqueous extract [BIFAE] on blood glucose and lipid profile in streptozotocin [STZ] - induced diabetic rats. The STZ-induced diabetic rats were treated by fruit aqueous extract of Berberis integerrima Bge. at doses [250 and 500 mg/Kg bw] and glibenclamide [0.6 mg/Kg bw] for 42 days by gavage. Blood glucose levels and body weights of rats were measured on weeks 0, 2, 4 and 6. Total lipid levels were determined in normal and STZ-induced diabetic rats after administration of the BIFAE and glibenclamide for 42 days. STZ-induced diabetic rats showed a significant [P<0.001] increases in the levels of blood glucose, triglycerides [TG], total cholesterol [TC], low density lipoprotein LDL-cholesterol [LDL-C] while body weight and high density lipoprotein HDL-cholesterolan [HDL-C] were significantly [P<0.001] decreased compared to normal rats. Daily administration of BIFAE did not possess the hypoglycemic and hypolipidaemic activity in STZ- diabetic rats during 6-week treatment period. Results indicate the usage of BIFAE in traditional medicine for the treatment of diabetes may need more investigation

[Evaluation of aqueous extract of berberis integerrima root on the testis tissue and testosterone levels in streptozotocine [STZ] induced diabetic rats]

Use of medicinal plants in treating diabetes is of particular clinical importance. This study was carried out with the aim of assessing the effect of aqueous extract of berberis integerrima on testosterone level and changes of testicular tissue in diabetic rats. In this study, 40 male rats were divided into 5 groups as follows: 1- Control group [N], 2- Normal +barberry [N+B], group 3- Diabetic group [D] received Stereptozotocine [65 mg/kg bw, i.p.], 4- Diabetic+barberry group, 5- Diabetic+glibenclamide [0.6 mg/kg bw] group. The treatment groups daily received Barberry root extract [500 mg/kg bw] or glibenclamide intra gastric by gavage for 6 weeks, and the experimental period for each rat were 6 weeks. After finishing the treatment period, the animals were anesthetized and their testes were removed and transferred to 10% formalin. After fixing the samples, tissue sectioning, and staining by H and E technique, histological studies were performed by an optical microscope. The one-way analysis of variance [ANOVA] followed by Tukey's post-hoc test was used for analysis of the data. The Statistical significance level was considered p<0.05. In this study, diabetes caused a significant decrease in testosterone level, diameter of seminiferous tubules, spermiogenesis coefficient, thickness of the epithelium, significant increases in interstitial tissue thickness and blood glucose in diabetic group compared to other groups. Administration of barberry root extract in diabetic rats restored these changes towards normal level. The results of this study showed that aqueous extract of Berberis Integerrima root has a desirable effect on the testosterone level, blood glucose, and histological changes of testes during the course of diabetes

Effects of aqueous extract of Berberis integerrima root on some physiological parameters in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

Diabetes mellitus is a common endocrine disorder. Anti-diabetic agents from natural and synthetic sources are available for the treatment of this disease. Berberis integerrima is a medicinal shrub used in conventional therapy for a number of diseases. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of aqueous extract of Berberis integerrima root [AEBI] on some physiological parameters in normal and streptozotocin-induced [STZ-induced] diabetic male Wistar rats. STZ-induced diabetic rats showed significant increases in the levels of blood glucose, triglycerides [TG], total cholesterol [TC], low density lipoprotein LDL-cholesterol [LDL-C], creatinine [Cr], urea, alanine aminotransferase [ALT], aspartate aminotransferase [AST], alkaline phosphatase [ALP], total bilirubin while body weight, high density lipoprotein HDL-cholesterol [HDL-C] and total protein levels were significantly decreased compared to normal rats. Treatment of diabetic rats with different doses of aqueous extract of Berberis integerrima root [250 and 500 mg/Kg bw] resulted in a significant decrease in blood glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, ALT, AST, ALP, total bilirubin, creatinine and urea while HDL-cholesterol and total protein levels were markedly increased after six weeks compared to untreated diabetic rats. The effects of the AEBI at dose of 500 mg/Kg in all parameters except blood glucose [similar] is more than to the standard drug, glibenclamide [0.6 mg/Kg, p.o.]. The results of this study indicate that the tested aqueous extract of Berberis integerrima root possesses hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic and antioxidant effects in STZ-induced diabetic rats

accuracy of ocular sonography in detection and measurement of intraocular foreign bodies

To evaluate the accuracy of ocular sonography in measurement of size of intraocular foreign bodies [IOFB]. In a case series study, 58 consecutive patients with intraocular foreign body were included. Ocular sonography was performed to detect intraocular foreign body and the results were compared with the same intraoperative findings. Metallic material was found to be the most prevalent one [71%] followed by glasses [12%], stone [8%] and wood [6%]. Ultrasound localized the foreign body lodged in the lens in 10.3%, in the angle in 3.4% and in the vitreous or vitreoretinal region in the rest of them [86.3%]. The mean size measured by ocular sonography was 3.5x4.5 mm and that was reported by the surgeon was 2.9x4 mm. While the reports of sonography in detection and localization of IOFB was completely comparable with surgical findings, size measurements were considerably different from true measurements after intraocular surgery. Ocular sonography showed mostly overestimation in measuring intraocular foreign bodies. Although ocular sonography was one of the best methods for assessment of IOFB, it doesn't have high accuracy in estimation of size of IOFB