effects of testosterone on oxidative stress markers in mice with spinal cord injuries

Background: Spinal cord injury [SCI] causes infertility in male patients through erectile dys-function, ejaculatory dysfunction, semen and hormone abnormalities. Oxidative stress [OS] is involved in poor semen quality and subsequent infertility in males with SCI. The aim of this study is to examine the effects of SCI on the level of testosterone hormone

Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, we evaluated the effects of exogenous testosterone on the activity of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase [SOD] and glutathione peroxidase [GPx] as well as the levels of malondialdehyde [MDA] and protein carbonylation [PCO], as markers of OS, in 10 groups of SCI mice. Total antioxidant capacity [TAC] was determined using the 2,29-azinobis-[3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid] [ABTS] radical cation assay

Results: Exogenous testosterone administration in mice with SCI significantly reduced SOD and GPx enzyme activities and MDA level. There was no significant decrease in PCO content. In addition, TAC remarkably increased in the sham and SCI groups not treated with testosterone but remained unchanged in all other experimental groups. Exogenous testosterone also reduced serum testosterone levels in all groups except the positive control group

Conclusion: Our cumulative data indicated that SCI could cause sterility by disturbing the plasmatic testosterone balance. The normal level of endogenous testosterone was not completely restored by exogenous testosterone administration

Periodontal disease and tooth loss as risks for cancer: a systematic review of the literature

Periodontal disease is a chronic destructive disease which occurs in adults, young people, and children. Periodontal disease and periodontal pathogens have been associated with several systemic diseases and more recently, several studies have suggested the relationship between periodontal disease and cancer. Studies with adjustment for the effect of smoking exposure, have found significant positive associations with different cancer sites. This review has outlined recent epidemiologic researches pointing to a possible role for tooth loss and periodontal disease in carcinogenesis. In this review, articles were selected from PubMed between1995 and June 2010 including human. Amongst 5, 984 articles identified from the electronic search, 17 articles were selected for a full-text reading based on the inclusion and the exclusion criteria. Nine out of 10 case-control studies reported a significant increase in the risk of oral cancer in patients with periodontitis and one with no significant association. Among 6 studies examining esophageal cancer and periodontal disease, 5 studies found a significant association between them and one study failed to find a significant increased risk of cancer. Also amongst 5 studies which focused on upper gastrointestinal, gastric cancer, and periodontal disease, 4 studies found an increased risk of cancer while one study did not report any relationship. In lung cancer evaluations, 3 out of 4 studies showed some levels of association between lung cancer and periodontal disease but after adjustment for smoking, no relationship were found. Three cohort studies have evaluated overall cancer rates in periodontal patients; two of them found small but significant association between cancers and periodontal disease. The results indicate that there is a possible link between cancer and severe periodontal disease after adjustment for smoking and drinking habits

Mumps myocarditis as a cause of neonatal cardiogenic shock

The mothers may be infected during pregnancy with infectious agents. Mumps induced myocarditis, especially endocardial fibroelastosis, was previously a common disease of infants but is rare now. A 25 day old male infant admitted to the intensive care of our hospital because of cardiogenic shock. Further studies revealed ischemic electrocardiograms, poor ventricular function, and positive results by polymerase chain reaction [PCR] technique for mumps virus. Regarding this case, although is very rare but mumps myocarditis should be included in the differential diagnosis of left ventricular dysfunction in neonatal period