Determination of time passed since death by the assessment of renal histopathological degenerative changes in adult albino rats

The estimation of the time of death is a medico-legal problem only partially solved. It is an important factor for the investigation of death by defining the period during which death may have occurred. This work was designed to establish the feasibility of the concept of relating degenerative changes of the kidney to postmortem interval. Histopathological changes in the kidney tissue of rats were examined at various postmortem intervals [0, 6, 12, 18, 24, 30 and 36 hours] and fixed temperature [25 °C]. Various histopathological changes were graded according to the degree and extent of autolytic changes from grade-0 to grade-6 [G-0 to G-6]. Samples were stained also with Periodic Acid-Schiff [PAS] after the standard procedure of tissue processing. Afterward, the following structures were analyzed: glomerular basal membrane, parietal layer of Bowman's capsule, tubular basal membrane and apical parts of tubular cells. Results revealed a certain autolytical order depending on the time of death. This work lends support to suggestions that renal histopathological degenerative changes can potentially aid in the estimation of postmortem interval [PMI]

role of alpha-tocopherol in protection from some ototoxic drugs

This study was designed to investigate the possible protective effects of alpha-tocopherol on gentamicin [GM] and cisplatin [CDDP] ototoxicity, respectively. It was carried out on hundred and ten adult male guinea pigs [250-350 grams]. Animals were divided into five groups. The first group was the control and subdivided equally into three subgroups injected daily with normal saline, corn oil and u-tocopherol [vitamin E] intramuscularly [IM] for 14 days. The second group was injected daily by 100 mg/kg GM alone [IM] for 14 days. The third group was injected daily by 100 mg/kg GM and 100 mg/kg alpha-tocopherol [IM] simultaneousely for 14 days. The fourth group was injected daily by 2.5 mg/kg cisplatin intraperitoneally [I.P] for 7 days. The fifth group was injected daily by 100 mg/kg alpha-tocopherol [IM] before daily 2.5 mg/kg cisplatin [I.P] by 30 minutes for 7 days. The ability of alpha-tocopherol to ameliorate the GM- and cisplatin- induced ototoxicity was then assessed histopathologically by transmission electron microscopy [TEM]. The results revealed that there were severe morphological damage in the outer hair cells, stria vascularis, spiral ganglionic cells and auditory nerve fibers produced by GM and cisplatin, respectively. Also, it has been found that alpha-tocopherol attenuates these damages and preserves the structure similar to the control. In conclusion, this study suggests that alpha-tocopherol is a useful protecting agent against GM- and cisplatin- induced ototoxicity, thus reducing hearing loss induced by both drugs