RESUMEN
Background: Oxidative stress occurs due to decreased glutathione inside the body. Some supplements may promote and stimulate glutathione production in the liver. This article aims to investigate the impact of different supplements on enhancing glutathione synthesis in rats’ livers. For this purpose 42 rats (male albino) were separated into 7 groups, each including 6 animals with average weights ranging between 150 and 160 g. Group 1 (control) and different groups consumed a basal diet for 8 weeks, whereas group 2 received 500 mg/kg bw of L-cysteine daily. Group 3 received 250 mg/kg bw of methionine, while group 4 got 250 mg/kg of L cysteine plus 125 mg/kg of methionine daily. Spirulina (20 mg/kg bw), turmeric (500 mg/kg bw), and dried garlic (500 mg/kg bw), respectively, were given to groups 5, 6, and 7. Results: Utilizing the various dietary supplements decreased levels of liver function enzymes, bilirubin, urea, creatinine, and malondialdehyde while enhancing levels antioxidant enzymes of liver, and increased glutathione of kidneys and liver. However, cysteine alone at 500 mg/kg bw decreased glutathione formation in the liver and kidneys. Compared to the amino acid supplements (group 2, 3, 4) used, spirulina, turmeric, and dried garlic had a significant impact on reducing liver function enzymes, bilirubin, uric acid, creatinine, urea, and malondialdehyde and increasing antioxidant enzymes, and glutathione while turmeric supplement showed the best influence. Using dietary supplements did not result in any pathological modifications in the liver tissues, but there were some unsatisfactory minor alterations. However, group 2 showed considerable pathological developments in the liver tissues. Conclusion: According to the findings, using the suggested dietary supplement except for cysteine alone can promote and encourage glutathione synthesis in different organs, especially the liver, hence alleviating the effects of oxidative stress associated with several illnesses.
RESUMEN
Background: Hepatitis C Virus [HCV] infection is diagnosed by antibody and RNA based methods. Anti HCV-RNA testing based methods are introduced to confirm viremia in seropositive samples. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between quantitative anti-HCV [S/CO ratio] and HCV-RNA by PCR as a diagnostic test to identify viremic from non-viremic HCV patients received anti-HCV therapy in Egypt
Subjects and Methods: Patients serum samples used in this study were collected from Al Hussein University hospitals after they had completed their anti-HCV therapy. A total of 172 patients were included in this study 82 were positive RNA, 90 of them were negative RNA their serum samples were assessed for the presence of antibodies to HCV using ELISA method
Results: The results were expressed as the ratio between the signal detected on the sample and the cutoff value of the run [S/CO]. Patients with HCV-positive RNA were considered viremic. Receiver operator characteristic [ROC] curve was constructed by plotting sensitivity versus 1 - specificity, using HCV RNA and the S/CO ratio results respectively. Of the 172 patients with HCV infection the mean age was 51.9 +/- 7.2 years ranging 35-67 years, 111 [64.5%] were males while 61[35.5%] were females. In the present study there was significant difference in S/CO ratio between viremic and nonviremic subjects. The sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, and positive predictive value were 98.78%, 71.11%, 98.46%, and 75.70%, respectively in the S/CO ratio of 8. Area under ROC curve was estimated to be 0.982 [95% confidence interval 0.967 - 0.997]
Conclusion: by establishing 8 as cutoff value of the S/CO, it is possible to distinguish between viremic and non-viremic patients without need to use Anti HCV-RNA testing as a confirmatory test