ABSTRACT
Asthma is one of the most common chronic inflammatory diseases of the airways .We aimed to investigate the potential antiinflammatory role of omega -3 Polyunsaturated fatty acids [omega-3 PUFA] supplementation in children with bronchial asthma in relation to the pulmonary functions, NF-ka B and cytokines [IL -12 and IL-13]. Asthmatic children [110 subjects] were divided into two groups: group A [60] supplemented with fish oil capsules containing 300 mg docosahexaenoic acid [DHA] and 700 mg eicosapentaenoic [EPA] in a dose of one capsule per day for one month, and group B [50 subjects] received placebo capsules for one month. Plasma level of DHA, NF-ka B, IL-12, IL-13 and pulmonary functions were compared between both groups before and after supplementation. The results showed that plasma DHA was increased with decrease of NF-ka B, IL- 12, IL-13, and improvement of forced vital capacity of the lungs in the supplemented group. There was a significant difference between supplemented and placebo group. Plasma DHA level was positively correlated to pulmonary function tests and negatively correlated to NF-ka B, IL-12 and IL-13. These results suggest that omega-3 PUFA supplementation is useful for treatment of asthma due to suppression of NF-ka B with subsequent decreasing production of inflammatory cytokines and improvement of pulmonary functions
ABSTRACT
Apoptosis within the placenta is increased in pregnancies complicated by pre-eclampsia [PE].This study aimed at evaluating the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis in placenta of pregnant women with pre-eclampsia and correlate it with severity and pregnancy outcome. Apoptosis was assessed by measuring DNA fragmentation%,Bcl-2, p53 and caspase-9 in placental tissues from 25 pregnancies complicated by pre-eclampsia, and 25 placentas of normal pregnancy [NP]. DNA fragmentation, p53 and caspase-9, were significantly increased while, Bcl-2 was significantly decreased in the placenta of pre-eclampsia group compared to control. No significant difference between mild and severe pre-eclampsia subgroups regarding these parameters could be found. DNA fragmentation was negatively correlated with Bcl-2 in PE group. Moreover, DNA fragmentation was negatively correlated with maternal age in both PE and control groups. A significant positive correlation between placental DNA fragmentation and gestational age in the NP group was observed. A significant negative correlation between caspase9 activity, and fetal weight in PE group was found. It can be concluded that Hypoxia and ischemia induced by pre-eclampsia, up regulate p53 and reduce Bcl-2 expression with activation of caspase-9 and increasing DNA fragmentation in placental tissue. These results implicate the mitochondrial pathway in enhancing apoptosis in preeclamptic placenta and affecting fetal outcome but not the severity