Effect of Phoenix dactyliferia [date palm] pit powder on nicotine induced spermatotoxicity in adult albino mice

To study the effect of Phoenix Dactyliferia pit powder on nicotine-induced spermatotoxicty in adult albino mice. The study was conducted at the University of Health Sciences, Lahore, from February to November 2012, and comprised adult male albino mice aged 6-8 weeks. The animals were divided into five equal groups. Group A consisted of controls who were treated with 1.5ml/kg of normal saline for 15 days, while nicotine 0.5mg/kg was administered intraperitoneally daily to experimental groups B, C and D for the first 15 days. Group B was sacrificed on the 15[th] day to confirm toxicity, whereas nicotine treatment was stopped in groups C and D. Group C was given normal saline [1.5ml/kg] whereas group D was given date palm pit powder 500mg/kg for the next 30 days. However, Group E was given nicotine 0.5mg/kg for 45 days and date palm pit powder was added orally from the 16[th] day and it continued daily till the end of the experiment. SPSS 18 was used for statistical analysis. The mean weight of each of the 40 animals in the study was 30 +/- 5gm, and all the five groups had 8[20%] mice each. Group B exhibited features of toxicity evident by statistically significant decrease in Johnsen score [p<0.001] and diameter of seminiferous tubule [p<0.001]. Group C showed partial reversal of toxic effects but these positive effects were less compared to group D which showed complete reversal of toxicity evident by statistically significant increase in Johnsen score [p<0.001] and diameter of seminiferous tubule [p<0.001]. However, reversal of toxic effect was not evident in group E. Partial recovery from nicotine-induced spermatotoxicity occurred after withdrawal of nicotine treatment whereas near normal restoration of structure was seen with administration of date palm pit powder after the stoppage of nicotine

Immunolocalization of aquaporin-10 in tuberculous human ileum

To determine the presence of AQP-10 in the ileum of patients suffering from intestinal tuberculosis. A cross-sectional analytical study. Department of Anatomy, University of Health Sciences, Lahore, in year 2010. Thirty seven paraffin embedded blocks of either surgically resected specimens or ileal biopsies with diagnosis of intestinal tuberculosis were selected from records of the histopathology departments of local hospitals. These cases were subdivided into two groups: A-1 [with tuberculous granulomatous lesions with or without epithelium] and A-2 [without tuberculous lesion lying adjacent to the lesions and having an intact epithelium]. Specimens of small intestine with malignancy, Crohn's disease, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome and diarrhoeal diseases caused by Rota virus, adenovirus, Salmonella, Shigella and Escherichia coli were excluded. The variables studied were the presence/absence and location of AQP-10. The most common clinical symptoms found in tuberculous patients were abdominal pain followed by diarrhoea. A significant association was found between AQP-10 and site of granulomas and caseation necrosis [p=0.002 and p=0.006 respectively]. Absence of AQP-10 was observed in tuberculous ileum at the site of lesion with ulceration. A strong positive staining of AQP-10 was found in the intact epithelium at sites adjacent to the tuberculous lesion indicating its localization near the epithelial lining of ileum. AQP-10 was present only on the epithelial cells occurring at the luminal side of the villi and was absent in tuberculous ileum where epithelium was absent