Association between the organic cation transporter 3 methylation and hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the deadliest cancers in the world and has a high death rate in the world. This research while examining the expression of OCT3 at the mRNA level has also studied gene methylation profile in patients with HCC in comparison with people without HCC. The volunteers were: patients with HCC (n=81) and a healthy control group (n=90). The expression of OCT3was studied using the qRT-PCR method. The methylation profile was evaluated by genomic DNA using methylation specific PCR (MSP) method. The expression level of OCT3 marker mRNA in patients has decreased significantly compared to healthy individuals (0.58 ± 0.311 vs 1.20 ± 0.355, P <0.001). No significant statistical relationship was found between demographic data and OCT3 expression in participants (P >0.05). The amount of methylation (UM + MM) in cancer patients has raised vs controls (P <0.001) and has increased the risk of cancer (OR=0.379, 95% CI=1.171-2.839, P <0.001, and OR=2.727, 95% CI=1.251-5.945, P <0.001, respectively).Changes in OCT3 levels appear to be associated with HCC. Also, changing the methylation pattern of this gene can reveal HCC pathology.

Early clinical exposure program in learning renal physiology

Introduction: Teaching renal physiology for undergraduate medical students in an understandable way using methods which improve their deep learning has always been a problem. In this study, Early Clinical Exposure [ECE] was used in teaching renal physiology for the second year medical students in Shiraz Medical School. This article aims to introduce and develop this program and also measure the attitude of medical students toward ECE in learning renal physiology

Methods: This is a mixed method study conducted on 120 second year undergraduate students. After performing the course, both qualitative and quantitative methods were used for measuring the viewpoints of the students. In the qualitative part, 10 high rank medical students were selected. These students participated in brain storming sessions to express their opinion about the program based on the strengths and weaknesses. For trustworthiness of the qualitative part, member check and peer check were done. In the quantitative part, a researcher-made questionnaire was used based on the objectives of the program in a 4 point Likert scale. The validity of questionnaire was determined by medical education experts and reliability was determined after a pilot study

Results: Based on the results of the quantitative part of the study, 98 percent of the students stated that the ECE program was generally a useful program. In the qualitative part, the students' comments were obtained. The benefits of the program were summarized in 4 main themes. These themes are "understanding of renal physiology", "Integration of basic and clinical knowledge", "Improvement of attitude toward importance of physiology", and "encouragement to study". In response to the questions about negative aspects of this program in qualitative part, the two main themes were insufficient time and large group size

Conclusion: Students reported that ECE was useful, but they stated that they needed to have more encounter with patients and more hospital teaching. The results also reveal that this ECE program is an excellent approach to strengthen learning in a difficult subject like renal physiology. This approach is adjustable to other basic science topics and subjects as well

Fourth year medical students' reflective writing on "death of Ivan Ilych: a qualitative study

Introduction: Medical students should be familiar with the end of life ethical issues and its considerations. For teaching end of life care to medical students, literature is a source of excellent narratives of patients with experiences of terminally ill condition in their journey through suffering and one of the most favourite bioethics literature readings has been the death of Ivan Ilych by Tolstoy. We used this novel to show medical students end of life events and suffering and asked them to write a reflective essay on it. We aimed to find what students think about terminally ill patients and their journey to death.

Methods: In an inductive qualitative content analysis model, 350 essays, collected by homogenous sampling, were analyzed. The fourth year medical students were provided with the Death of Ivan Ilych novel to read. They were asked to write a reflection essay based on the reflective stages defined by Sandars. These essays served as the unit of analysis, each being read several times and a coding model was formed according to main topics. The related concepts in each unit were named as themes and each theme was abstracted to a code and the related codes were compared and developed as categories

Results: Qualitative content analysis of 350 essays of fourth year medical students revealed three major categories in students' reflection on reading Death of Ivan Ilych as an end of life human body. These included: 1] Emotional experience, 2] Empathy and effective communication, 3] Spirituality and dignity. Analysis of essays showed that this reflection activity may help medical students have a deeper idea of the end of life situation and feelings

Conclusion: This project suggests that literature can be used as an example to introduce new ethical concepts to less experienced medical trainees. The students acquired the concept of the story and reflected the major aspects of the suffering of a human being in their essays. Having used and evaluated the effect of literature on facilitating ethical insight in the teaching end of life care, we strongly recommend this method and specially the novella, Death of Ivan Ilych

Usage pattern and serum level measurement of amikacin in the internal medicine ward of the largest referral hospital in the south of Iran: a pharmacoepidemiological study

Background: The inappropriate use of aminoglycosides has harmful effects such as the development of resistant pathogens and the incidence of nephrotoxicity and ototoxicity. Therefore, drug utilization evaluation of these drugs may improve their usage remarkably. The aim of this study was to assess the usage pattern of amikacin in an internal medicine ward

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Internal Medicine Ward of Nemazee Teaching Hospital, Shiraz, Iran, in 2011. The guideline for amikacin use was approved by the institutional Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee, and the study criteria were developed to assess several parameters involved in amikacin therapy such as appropriateness of drug use, dosage, duration of therapy, toxicity monitoring, and serum concentration assay. Serum concentration was assayed using a Cobas Mira AutoAnalyzer. Clinical and paraclinical parameters such as glomerular filtration rate, culture, microbial sensitivity, white blood cell count, and fever were collected

Results: Sixty-three patients were evaluated. Fifty-seven percent of the patients needed dose readjustment; however, it was not performed for 89% of them. Culture between 48 and 72 hours after amikacin administration was not controlled for 79% of the patients. In 19% of the patients, optimum therapeutic effect was not achieved. The mean+/-SD of the trough and peak concentrations was 7.63 +/- 5.4 microg/mL and 15.67 +/- 7.79 microg/mL, respectively. Forty-five percent of the trough and 38% of the peak levels were within the therapeutic range. The overall adherence of amikacin usage to the guideline was only 48%

Conclusion: To achieve appropriate treatment and prevent toxic effects, we recommend that pharmacokinetic dosing methods, amikacin guideline, and serum monitoring be considered

Evaluation of pulse oximetry in the early detection of cyanotic congenital heart disease in newborns

Background: Delayed or missed diagnosis of critical and cyanotic congenital heart disease [CHD] in asymptomatic newborns may result in significant morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to determine the accuracy of pulse oximetry screening performed on the first day of life for the early detection of critical and cyanotic CHD in apparently normal newborns

Methods: This cross-sectional study used postductal pulse oximetry to evaluate term neonates born between 2008 and 2011 with normal physical examinations. Functional oxygen saturation < 95% was considered abnormal, and second measurement was done 2 hours later. If the second measurement remained < 95%, an echocardiogram was performed. On enrolment in the study, the following data for each neonate were recorded: gestational age, gender, birth weight, mode of delivery, and mother's age

Results: During the study period, totally 3,846 newborns were evaluated. Of the whole study population, 304 [7.9%] babies had a postductal functional saturation < 95%. The second measurement was also < 95% in 104 [2.7%] neonates. The mean age of the neonates at the time of pulse oximetry was 18.91 +/- 8.61 [min = 4.5 and max = 49] hours. Forty-nine percent of the subjects were female and 51% were male. Echocardiography was performed on 81 out of 104 newborns, and 14 [0.36%] of them had CHD. The types of CHD in our patients were tetralogy of Fallot [3 cases], transposition of the great vessels [2 cases], double-outlet right ventricle [2 cases], truncus arteriosus, total anomalous pulmonary venous return, atrioventricular septal defect, pulmonary atresia, persistent pulmonary hypertension, ventricular septal defect, and atrial septal defect [1 case for each type]. The best time for pulse oximetry was within 8-24 hours of the newborns' life

Conclusion: Pulse oximetry screening along with clinical examination may be able to assist in the early detection of critical and cyanotic CHD in asymptomatic newborns

survey of the students' perspectives of open-book examinations in the histology/embryology course

Background and purpose: An open-book exam permits the examinees to consult some specific selected reference sources or materials while answering the exam questions. This study focused on the students' perspectives of open-book examinations in the histology/embryology courses, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences [ZUMS], Zahedan, Iran

Methods: The survey was conducted via a questionnaire after open-book examinations had been conducted in the histology and embryology courses, between 2009 and 2010. Of the 254 students who entered the new education system, 160 students were selected at random

Results: The results revealed that 72% of the students preferred the open-book type to the closed-book kind of examinations. Most of the students voiced that this type of examination was more suited to test high cognitive learning skills and solving real life situation problems, involving less stress while preparing for and taking the exam. They also mentioned that their marks in these examinations were not higher than those from the closed-book examinations. The overall satisfaction scores of the students of the biological sciences were significantly [p<0.001] higher than those of the medical sciences students [16.28 +/- 4.17 vs. 12.65 +/- 5.16]; in the government run university students it was significantly [P<0.001] higher than in the international university students [14.93 +/- 4.53 vs. 10.24 +/- 5.08]; the embryology course results were significantly [p<0.001] higher than the histology course [15.23 +/- 4.07 vs. 12.79 +/- 5.4] and among the MD students it was significantly [p<0.001] lower than those of the BSc students [12 +/- 5.1 vs. 15.93 +/- 4.29]. There was a positive correlation between the scores they acquired in their course and the overall satisfaction scores with the open-book type of examinations [r=0.46, p value=0.01]

Conclusions: The finding of a positive response towards the open-book examination augurs well for extending such a type of examination to other subjects in our university

Preventing or attenuating amphotericin B nephrotoxicity with dopamine receptor agonists: a literature review

Nephrotoxicity is generally considered as the most clinically significant and dose-limiting adverse reaction of amphotericin B. Currently, only the clinical effectiveness of salt loading and administering lipid formulations of amphotericin B have been clearly demonstrated to prevent its nephrotoxicity. In this review, we collected the published data related to dopamine receptor agonists in preventing amphotericin B nephrotoxicity. A literature search was conducted by the relevant keywords like [amphotericin B], [nephrotoxicity, and [dopamine] in databases such as Scopus, Medline, Embase and ISI Web of Knowledge. Four relevant articles were considered. Results of all the 3 experimental studies demonstrated that co-administration of dopamine [0.5-10 microg/kg/min] as continuous intravenous infusion, SK and F R-105058 [10 mg/kg twice daily], a prodrug of fenoldopam, orally, or fenoldopam, a relatively selective dopamine receptor type 1 agonist, [0.5 or 1 microg/kg/min] as continuous intravenous infusion can at least significantly mitigate the decrease in creatinine clearance caused by amphotericin B. Furthermore, fenoldopam and SK and F R-105058 can also protect against or delay amphotericin B-induced tubular damages. In contrast, the only clinical trial published until now found that simultaneous continuous intravenous infusion of low dose dopamine [3 microg/kg/min] had no beneficial effects on the incidence, severity, as well as time onset of developing amphotericin B-induced nephrotoxicity in autologous bone marrow transplant and leukemia patients. Considering the lack of beneficial effects in different settings such as acute kidney injury of any cause, negative results of the only clinical trial, and risk of significant adverse reactions, continuous intravenous infusion of low dose dopamine [1-3 microg/kg/min] or selective dopamine receptor type 1 agonists [e.g., fenoldopam] currently appears to have no real clinical role in preventing or attenuating amphotericin B nephrotoxicity

Stereological analysis of human placenta in cases of placenta previa in comparison with normally implanted controls

placenta previa [PP] is an obstetric complication that can affect maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Its prevalence is rising due to cesarean sections. There is no quantitative data of placenta in PP. In this study, quantitative parameters of placenta in cases with PP in comparison with normally implanted controls were investigated. In this quasi experimental study, placentas from pregnancies with PP and normally implanted controls [n=10] were obtained from women who underwent cesarean section. Three full-thickness columns of each placenta were sampled using systematic uniform random sampling [SURS]. Columns were cut into slices and slices were sectioned with 4 microm thickness. SURS selected sections were stained by Masson's trichrome. Stereological analysis was done on 8-10 SURS microscopic microm fields of each section. Absolute volume and volume density of chorionic villi, inter-villous space, syncytiotrophoblast, fibrin and blood vessels in chorionic villi were estimated in both groups. Statistical analysis was done using Mann Whitney-U test and significant level was set at p<0.05. There was a significant reduction in total volume and volume density of fibrin deposits on the surface of chorionic villi [p<0.05], and a significant increment in total volume and volume density of chorionic villous blood vessels in PP group in comparison with C group [p<0.05]. Results showed that impairment in situation of implantation in PP can cause significant changes in the structure of placenta. These changes probably can be influential on the evolution and survival of fetus

Association between TNF-alpha [-308 G - A] gene polymorphism and chronic periodontitis

Chronic periodontitis is an inflammatory disease caused by environmental and genetic factors. It leads to destruction of tooth supporting tissues and may cause tooth loss. Cytokine TNF-alpha plays a role in the development of inflammatory lesions and development and progression of the chronic periodontitis disease. Some polymorphisms of this gene are accompanied with change in expression level. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between TNF-alpha -308 G>A [rs1800629] polymorphism and chronic periodontitis. In this case-control study, 100 patients with chronic periodontitis and 100 normal subjects, referring to the clinic of Zahedan Dental School, were evaluated. Venous blood samples of participants were taken. DNA was extracted using salting-out technique and gene polymorphism was studied at this position using specific primers by T-ARMS PCR method. To investigate the frequency of genotypes and alleles in both groups, chi[2] test was employed and p<0.05 was taken to be statistically significant. The frequencies of AA, GA, and GG genotypes in the patient and control groups were, 1%, 8%, and 91%, and 0%, 16%, and 85%. The frequencies of A and G allele in patient and control groups were 5% and 95%, and 7.9% and 92.1% respectively. There was no significant difference in the frequencies of genotypes and alleles between the groups. The present study indicates that there is no association between TNF-alpha [-308 G>A] polymorphism and chronic periodontitis in this population

Stereological analysis of the dental pulp in patients with advanced periodontitis

The adverse effects of periodontitis on dental pulp have long been argued. The purpose of this study was to investigate stereological indices of dental pulp in patients with advanced periodontitis compared with healthy people. In this case-control study, 15 single-rooted permanent teeth of patients with advanced periodontal diseases and that of people with healthy periodontium, as control group, were investigated. All teeth were intact, and without filling and decay. After tissue processing, longitudinal serial sections of the tooth were prepared and stained by Masson's trichrome. A grid containing organized points superimposed on the images of each section randomly. Then, the points hit with each subject were counted. The volume of pulp and its components in both groups were estimated, using Cavalieri's principle. Data were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U test. The significance level was considered as p<0.05. No significant difference was observed between the groups in terms of inflammation and calcification intensity [p<0.05]. Microscopic evaluations of tissue sections showed significant increase in predentin thickness in periodontitis group than control group [p<0.05]. In addition, statistically significant reduction was observed in periodontitis group with respect to pulp absolute volume, volume density, odontoblastic layer absolute volume, collagen fibers absolute volume, and absolute pulp blood vessels volume, compared with control group [p<0.05]. Results showed periodontal disease affects stereological parameters of pulp. Because of reduction of pulp volume and narrowing of root canal, precise diagnostic and therapeutic considerations are recommended during treatment of those teeth

Stereological changes of human placenta in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus compared with healthy controls

Systemic lupus erythematosus [SLE] is a chronic autoimmune disease that can cause changes in the placenta. In this study, quantitative changes of placenta were investigated using stereological methods. In this case-control study, 10 placentas from systemic lupus erythematosus pregnancy [antinuclear antibody>10], and 10 placentas from normal uncomplicated pregnancy were obtained from Imam Ali Hospital. Volume of placentas was estimated using Cavalieri's principle. 3 full-thickness columns of each placenta were taken using systematic uniform random sampling [SURS]. After fixation in modified Lillie's solution, they were cut into 5 mm slices. 5-7 sections selected from each slice using SURS and stained by Masson's trichrome. Then stereological analyses were done on 8-10 SURS fields of each section. Placental volume, absolute volume and volume density of chorionic villi, intervillous space, syncytiotrophoblast, fibrin and blood vessels in chorionic villi were estimated in both groups. The Mann Whitney-U test was employed to determine statistically significant differences between the means. Significant level was set at p<0.05. Total volume and volume density of fibrin and total volume and volume density of blood vessels significantly increased in SLE group in comparison with control group [p<0.01]. Volume density of syncytiotrophoblast increased 50% in SLE group in comparison with control group, this increase was statistically significant [p<0.01]. Results showed that systemic lupus erythematosus disease can cause significant changes in the structure of placenta that may be influential on the evolution and survival of fetus

Candida albicans interface infection after deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty.

The clinical features of interface Candida keratitis after deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK), may imitate rejection or crystalline keratopathy. We report here an 18-year-old woman presented with red eye, 4 months after undergoing DALK. Slit lamp examination revealed keratic precipitates (KPs) and cojunctival injection. She was prescribed corticosteroid treatment for endothelial rejection by another ophthalmologist because of misdiagnosis, but suffered a recurrence of symptoms after reduction of the corticosteroid treatment. At that time, she was referred to our office. The recurrence persisted despite antibiotic and antifungal therapies. Ten days after treatment with interface irrigation with amphotericin, the infiltration and hypopyon were resolved. Topical steroid was added after 3 months of antifungal monotherapy. Irrigant cultures confirmed the presence of Candida albicans. The corneal graft appeared semi-clear with no signs of infection at 17-month follow-up. We recommend a close follow-up and a timely intervention to prevent the need for more invasive treatment such as penetrating keratoplasty.

quantitative and qualitative study of rat testis following administration of methadone and buprenorphine

Opiate abuse is a matter of serious concern in adolescent men. The primary drugs used in the treatment of opiate addiction are methadone and buprenorphine. This study was undertaken to determine the quantitative and qualitative changes in rat testes after methadone and buprenorphine administration. In this experimental study, 15 male Wistar rats, each weighing 250 +/- 15 g, were selected and randomly divided into 3 groups [n = 5]. The first group received an intraperitoneal dose of 0.5 mg/kg/day methadone and the second group received an intraperitoneal dose of 30 mg/kg/day buprenorphine for 15 days each. The third group [control] received normal saline injections. After the last injection dose, the rats were sacrificed and their testes were removed, weighed, and fixed in modified Lillie's solution, and embedded in 3.5% agar, after which 1-mm slices perpendicular to the long axis of the testes were prepared using a tissue slicer. Then, on the basis of Cavaleri's principle, the testis volume was calculated by point-counting method. For histological analysis, systematic random samples of each testis were selected, processed, and stained by hematoxylin and eosin [H and E] and periodic acid schiff [PAS] methods. The results obtained for the 3 groups were compared using nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis test. P < 0.05 was considered as the level of significance. Stereological analysis of rat testes showed no significant effect of methadone and buprenorphine administration on the testis volume [P > 0.05]. However, microscopic studies of rat tissues in the methadone-administered group showed atrophic seminiferous tubules, reduction of sperm stem cells, destruction of Sertoli cells, irregularities in the basement membrane of seminiferous tubules, cellular degeneration of spermatogonia and primary spermatocytes, and significantly fewer spermatozoids than in the control group. Furthermore, in the methadone-administered group, the germinal cells of seminiferous tubules were damaged and extensively detached from the basement membrane and the vessels of the interstitial tissue were congested. Microscopic studies of the buprenorphine-administered group showed no significant changes in the basement membrane, seminiferous tubules, Sertoli cells, interstitial tissue, and sperms. Buprenorphine is more suitable for treating opiate addiction in males since it does not affect normal testicular structure and function

An interdisciplinary summer school in medical education, medical ethics, creativity and management.

The most important mission of a university is training students for their job roles.. Owing to the urgent need for general education of students, and curriculum overload during ordinary semesters, particularly at medical schools, it is necessary to plan some intensive courses to present the required topics to students. In this connection, the purpose of the present study was to evaluate the success rate of Shiraz first interdisciplinary summer school in achieving its educational objectives. The topics were divided into four general categories: medical education, medical ethics, management, and creativity with some subcategories for each topic. Totally, there were 83 specific topics discussed. 50 hours were devoted to the medical education topics, 26 hours to ethics, 24 hours to management and 10 hours to creativity. Different teaching methods such as lecturing, small group, problem-based learning were employed. A 360 degree assessment (multisource feedback) was used for assessing the students’ viewpoints, lecturers, and EDC (Education Development Center) faculty members. The rate of achieving the objectives was evaluated through a final test, submission of a project, supervision of group activities and the students’ self-assessment. A total of 63 students from 13 universities in Iran participated in this program. Regarding the education sufficiency, the students ranked medical education first, followed by creativity, management and medical ethics, respectively. The results of 360 degree assessment showed that more than 90% of the participants evaluated the program as very good or excellent. In addition, in an overall evaluation of the program in which the participants rated the program from zero to twenty, the mean was found to be 18.97 with a standard deviation of 1.18. Due to the magnitude of new developments in the world and the efficacy of this program, similar programs are recommended. It is now necessary that (EDC’s) all over the country employ experienced manpower and required resources.

Outcomes of kidney transplantation in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a single-center study

This study aimed to compare outcomes of kidney transplantation in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus [SLE] and a matched control group of non-SLE kidney recipients. In a case-control study, 33 patients with kidney transplantation due to end-stage renal disease caused by SLE were matched to a control group consisted of 33 non-SLE patients who had been transplanted during the same period of time in our center. The clinical characteristics, complications, and patient and graft survival were compared between the two groups. In each group, 12 patients [36.4%] received a kidney from a deceased donor, 15 [45.4%] from a living unrelated donor, and 6 [18.2%] from a living related donor. There was no significant difference between the outcome in SLE patients and duration of dialysis before transplantation. The mean duration of hospital stay was 23.4 +/- 18.1 days in the SLE group, while it was 13.0 +/- 7.3 days in the controls [P = .006]. One-year graft survival was 79.0% in patients with SLE and 90.9% in non-SLE patients [P = .17]. One-year patient survival was 93.9% in patients with SLE versus 81.8% in the controls [P = .26]. Nine patients in the SLE group versus 11 patients in the control group developed posttransplant complications [P = .59]. Although hospital stay after transplantation was longer in the SLE kidney recipients than controls, safety of kidney transplantation was comparable. Graft failure in the SLE patients was not significantly different between patients with different sources of kidneys

Prevalence of HPV infection and high risk HPV genotypes [16, 18], among monogamous and polygamous women, in Zabol, Iran

This study was performed to compare the prevalence of HPV infection and high risk HPV genotypes [16,18] between monogamous and polygamous women, in Zabol, Iran. This cross sectional study was conducted in Zabol in 2006 - 2007. Two hundred sixty five married women attending the Gynecology Clinic for Cervical Diseases Screening entered to this study. One hundred sixty two cases had monogamous, and 103 had polygamous husbands. HPV PCR samples were obtained from scrape of papsmear specimens. The biotinylated primers MY09/MY11, GP5+/GP6+, were utilized to enable amplification and detection of positive PCR products. Confirmation of HPV-16 and -18 were done by type-specific PCR primers HPV-16/F, HPV-16/R and HPV-18/F, HPV-18/R. Prevalence of HPV infection in monogamous and polygamous groups was 29% and 37.9%, respectively. The most HPV infection was found in 15-25 years group. The most prevalence of infection in monogamous group was HPV-18 and HPV- non 16, 18 in 15-25 years, and HPV-16 in 26-35 years group. In polygamous group the most prevalent type was HPV-16, 18 in 15-25 years group. The most prevalent HPV-16 was seen in sever inflammation and dsyplasia cytology in both groups. Prevalence of HPV infection of Zabol is high, and in women with polygamous husbands group is slightly more than monogamous. Screening for this infection must be recommended in this region of Iran

Endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene t-786c polymorphism in renal transplant recipients

Nitric oxide [NO] is a major mediator in vascular biology, regulating regional blood flow. NO and the enzymes required for its production contribute to ischemia-reperfusion injury. The T-786C functional polymorphism in the promoter region substantially reduces promoter activity of the endothelial nitric oxide synthase [eNOS] gene and compromises endothelial NO synthesis. To examine the association between T-786C [rs 2070744] single nucleotide polymorphism [SNP] in eNOS gene and the development of acute rejection in renal transplant patients. 60 renal transplant recipients [30 with episodes of acute rejection [ARs] and 30 without rejection [non-ARs]], between June 2008 and March 2010, were included in this study. The polymorphism was determined by PCR-restriction fragment-length polymorphism analysis. The distribution of the genotypes were TT/TC/CC 60%, 33.4%, 6.6%, and 43%, 46.7%, 13.3% in ARs and non-ARs, respectively [p=0.28]. The frequency of T-allele was 76.7% and 66.3%; and for C-allele was 66.6% and 33.3% in ARs and non-ARs, respectively [p=0.09]. There were no significant associations between these polymorphisms and acute and chronic kidney allograft rejection. We could not detect any significant association between polymorphism in T-786C of eNOS gene and the development of acute rejection

stereological study of effects of aqueous extract of Tamarindus indica seeds on pancreatic islets in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

Tamarindus indica Linn was used as a traditional medicine for the management of diabetes mellitus in human and experimental animals. This study investigated effects of aqueous extract of Tamarindus indica seeds [AETIS] against STZ-induced damages in pancreatic islands by means of stereological methods. sixty matured normoglycemic male Wistar rats, weighing 200- 250 gr, were selected and randomly divided into 6 groups [n=10]. Control, STZ-induced diabetic; by intraperitoneal injection of 55 mg/Kg streptozotocin, Treated control group [TC]; received AETIS at a dose of 200mg/kg/day, and AETIS treated diabetic groups [TD1-3]; received respectively AETIS at the dose of 50, 100,and 200 mg/kg/day by gavage from one week after induction of diabetes by STZ. After 8 weeks of experiment, stereological estimation of volume density and total volume of islets and beta cells, volume weighted mean islets volume, mass of beta cells, islets, and pancreas and total number of islets were done. Volume density and total volume of islets, volume weighted mean islets volume, volume density islets/pancreas, volume density beta cells/islet, mass of islets and pancreas of treated diabetic groups [TD1-3] were significantly higher than untreated diabetic group [P<0.001], and in TD3 group these values were comparable to controls. Although total volume and mass of beta cells in TD1-3 were significantly higher than D group but they were significantly lower than control group [P<0.05]. Total number of islets, pancreas wet weight and volume did not show any significant changes between control and experimental groups [P>0.05]. Results suggested that AETIS partially restores pancreatic beta cells and repairs STZ- induced damages in rats