Determining the minimum inhibitor concentration of the essential oil of Origanum syriacum that inhibits the growth of Candida albicans

Three samples of the wild Origanum syriacum during the vegetative period of the plant were collected from the following Syrian areas: Talkalakh- Kasab- Omal-toyor, plus a fourth sample planted in a house in Alforolloq forests. Three other wild samples of the plant were also collected during the flowering period from the mentioned areas. The essential oil was extracted from the samples to study its effect against the growth of Candida albicans fungus in the lab. The MIC ranged from 5 micron/ml to 10 micron/ml. This study shows the importance of this plant in inhibiting the growth of Candida albicans in vitro

Role of parasites among chronic diarrheic patients

This work studied the role of parasitic infection among 85 chronic diarrheic patients in Delta region and cross-matched 20 normal controls. They were subjected to thorough history taking and clinical examination and stool examination by direct smear, formol-ether concentration, simple sedimentation, simple floatation and Kato-katz thick smear. Questionnaire sheet was obtained for each case included personal history, complaint, present as well as past history and family history. The results showed that 67.1% of patients suffered from parasites versus 20% in controls. They included giardiasis mixed with hymenolepiasis nana, ameobiasis; ascariaisis, S.mansoni, heterophyiasis, B. hominis, Taenia spp and enterobiasis respectively. Single infection represented 54.2 %, while mixed ones were 12.9% of total chronic diarrhea cases and non-parasitic causes were responsible for 32.9%. Mixed infection was common in A. lumbricoides with E.histolytica [18.18%] and H. nana with G. lambia [27.28%]. The diarrhea duration was longer in mixed infections [3 months], E.histolytica [2 months] and H.nana [1.5 months]. Commonest symptom other than diarrhea was abdominal pain mainly in mixed parasitosis. Parasitic diarrhea was more common in males than females [1.28: 1]. Chronic parasitic diarrhea was most prevalent among low social class [49 or 57.6%] followed by very low social class [20 or 23.5%], middle social class [10 or 11.7%] and finally high social class [6 or 7.1%] with significant increase in low social class as compared to high one, and most prevalent among positive cases in rural area than in urban area

Inguinal hernioplasty using cremasteric muscle and fascia: is it effective?

Although there are many techniques of inguinal hernioplasty, the ideal one is not yet reached. Cremasteric muscle and fascia was used many years ago aiming to reduce mesh uses and avoid tension in traditional repairs. To evaluate the effectiveness of inguinal hernioplasty using cremasteric muscle and fascia. This is a prospective randomized study conducted on 64 male patients suffering from different types and degrees of inguinal hernias. After pre-operative evaluation and stratification, they were divided randomly into two therapeutic groups. 32 patients each; group [A] was treated by cremasteric muscle and fascia repair, and group [B] was treated by open on-lay mesh patch tension-free repair. All patients were followed for two years for complications, recurrence and patient satisfaction. This study included 64 male patients their age ranged between 18 to 69 years with mean age = 37 +/- 2.3 years. Comparison between the two therapeutic groups showed similar results apart from chronic groin pain was more in group B and patient satisfaction was more in group A with statistical significance in both. Inguinal hernioplasty using cremasteric muscle and fascia is simple, not requiring extensive dissection or supporting by mesh patch with good post-operative patient satisfaction. So it is an effective alternative repair specially in risky situations to use mesh. It is not only a pure tissue tension free repair but also a physiologic one

Blood telomerase activity and DNA dielectric properties in human hepatocellular carcinoma and chronic liver disease

Telomerase activity which restores the length of telomere repeat array is frequently detectable in various malignancies including hepatocellular carcinoma. The aim of the present work is to determine the diagnostic usefulness of the measurement of the telomerase activity and DNA electrical properties in peripheral blood from hepatocellular carcinoma [HCC] and chronic liver disease. In 10 patients with HCC, 13 with chronic hepatitis C, and 7 healthy individuals, we measured peripheral blood telomerase activity by using the telomerase PCR ELISA assay. We examined its sensitivity and specificity in HCC, chronic HCV and its significance in comparison with other tumor markers. Telomerase activity was detected in peripheral blood of 80% in hepatoccllular carcinoma, 15% of chronic hepatitis C patients and absent in control group. A clear correlation between the incident of increased telomerase activity and that of elevated AFP was evident. The dielectric results indicated that the studied DNA has a dielectric dispersion in the frequency range used. The increase in the electrical conductivity and relaxation time for HCC and chronic disease is attributed to the increase of the surface charge density of the DNA macromolecule. It was concluded that detection of telomerase activity in peripheral blood in combination with measurement of dielectric dispersion of DNA could increase the accuracy in diagnosis of HCC and improve the judgment on its prognosis

Electro-gardiographic studies under the effect of combined pills

Seven cases of short-term pill users and 13 of long-term users of combined oestrogen-progestogen combination were studied by ECG tracings. There was no pathological changes in the ECG for the studied cases even after ten years of intake of the pills. This excludes abnormalities in the vascular, myocardial and conduction system of the heart