Gene therapy, science fiction or science fact?

The term gene therapy is commonly understood to be the use of DNA as a pharmaceutical agent to treat diseases. This may be done by replacing defective or absent genes or to counteract those that are overexpressed. This would have been a science fiction story only a few years ago. Currently, gene therapy has attracted considerable attention and has become a hot topic for investigation. Gene therapy aims to repair the cause of the problem and not merely suppress symptoms, provides long-term cure, and does not require repeated applications or clinic visits

Bone marrow stem cells as a potential treatment of experimentally induced cartilage defects in the knee joint of adult male albino rats

Spontaneous proper healing of articular cartilage trauma in adults is rare and osteoarthritis might develop as a result. Cultured bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells [BM-MSCs] could differentiate into chondrocytes, and might thus be a good choice for treating such trauma. To assess the efficacy of an intraarticular injection of BM-MSCs derived from young albino rats in the repair of an induced chondral defect in the knee joints of adult albino rats. Six young male albino rats were used as a source of BM-MSCs. In addition, 30 adult male albino rats were divided into four groups. Group I served as a control. Group II served as a model of a chondral defect. Group III was subdivided into subgroups IIIa and IIIb, in which a cartilage defect was induced and sacrificed after 4 and 8 weeks, respectively. Group IV was subdivided into subgroups IVa and IVb, in which a cartilage defect was induced and injected intraarticularly by BM-MSCs suspended in hyaluronic acid [HA] in the right knees and HA alone into their left knees and then sacrificed after 4 and 8 weeks, respectively. Histological, immunohistochemical, and statistical studies were performed. Group III showed healing of the defect by fibrous tissue. However, BM-MSCs- injected knees healed by hyaline-like cartilage, whereas the HA injection induced healing by fibrocartilage. Intraarticular injections of BM-MSCs suspended in HA promoted healing of an articular cartilage defect by hyaline cartilage. Thus, it is recommended to treat a traumatic articular cartilage injury by BM-MSCs

Effect of omega-3 versus omega-6 fatty acids on induced ulcerative colitis in male albino rat. Light and electron microscopic study

Ulcerative colitis [UC] is an inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] well known by its exacerbated immune response. At present, a specific causal treatment for IBD is not available. The drugs currently used for management of IBD unfortunately are not devoid of potentially serious side effects. Polyunsaturated fatty acids [PUFAS] as omega-3 and omega-6 were reported to have immunomodulatory activities. Hence, may be of benefit in treating UC. The goal of this study was to illustrate the effect of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids on ulcerative colitis induced in male albino rat. Thirty adult male albino rats were used in the study. They were divided into four groups; Group I served as a control group. Group II was used as a model of ulcerative colitis. Rats of this group were subjected to intracolonic enema injection of 1 ml of 2% acetic acid for three consecutive days. Group III and group IV were subjected to colitis induction and on the fourth day, daily oral administration of omega-3 and omega-6 was done respectively for 14 days. All rats were sacrificed on day 17 from the beginning of the experiment. Colon specimens were collected and processed for light microscopic, scanning and transmission electron microscopic examination. Ulcerative colitis induction showed mucosal injury. There were patchy areas with loss of crypt architecture, inflammatory cell infiltrate and ulcerated mucosa. Scanning electron microscopic study revealed areas of ulceration, whereas other areas showed alteration of the columnar absorptive cells. Transmission electron microscopic study revealed loss of apical microvilli of enterocytes with signs of degeneration. Administration of omega-3 completely treated the colonic structure, while omega-6 was by far less efficient in treating induced ulcerative colitis. Omega-6 fatty acids partially improved the colon against ulcer induction. Meanwhile, omega-3 fatty acid proved to be a more effective dietary management of ulcerative colitis without the adverse effects of either surgery or medications