Role of vascular endothelial growth factor and placental growth factor expression on placenta structure in pre-eclamptic pregnancy.

AIM: Pre-eclampsia is a hypertensive disease that is characterized by high blood pressure and proteinuria after 20 gestational weeks and complicates 3-8% of all pregnancies. It is classified as either mild or severe pre-eclampsia according to severity, and the aim of this study was to investigate the structural differences between these two classifications. METHODS: Placenta samples were collected from 68 women who underwent cesarean delivery. Total volume of villi and numerical density of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)- and placental growth factor (PIGF)-positive cells were estimated on stereology and evaluated using one-way ANOVA. RESULTS: There was no significantly difference in total villi volumes between the groups (P > 0.05). In contrast, on immunohistochemistry, the numerical density of VEGF-positive cells in severe pre-eclampsia was significantly different to the control and mild pre-eclampsia groups (P<0.05). Additionally, the numerical density of PIGF-positive cells in the mild and severe pre-eclampsia group was significantly higher than in the control group (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: There is no relationship between villi volume and pre-eclampsia, although growth factors play a role in placental changes. The present results were supported by histopathology and several studies in the literature.

Effects of haloperidol on striatal neurons: relation to neuronal loss (a stereological study).

In the present work, we investigated the effect of chronic haloperidol administration on the number of striatal neurons in guinea pigs. For this purpose, adult male guinea pigs were given daily injections of 1, 2 or 3 mg/kg of haloperidol for 6 weeks. After treatment, the animals were anesthetized via brief inhalation of ether, the brains were removed and the corpus striatum was dissected. Then the tissues were processed and semi-thin sections were stained with toluidine blue for stereological and histopathological evaluation. The physical disector was used for measurements of nuclear height and numerical density of striatal neurons and also to evaluate both normal and degenerated neurons within the corpus striatum of treated animals and untreated controls. In the control group, the mean numerical density of neurons was calculated as 47.92 cell/mm3 and the mean nuclear height as 3.58 µm. Mean densities of all (both viable and degenerated) neurons were calculated to be 45.46 in the low-dose (p < 0.01), 39.73 in the medium-dose (p < 0.001) and 30.31 cell/mm3 in the high-dose group (p < 0.001). Mean densities of degenerated neurons in the low, medium and high dose group were 30.72, 22.93 (p < 0.001) and 15.56 cell/mm3 (p < 0.001) respectively. Mean nuclear heights were 2.804 (p < 0.0001), 2.78 (p < 0.0001) and 2.33 µm (p < 0.00001) in the low, medium and high dose group, respectively.

Relationship of body weight and volume of liver. A morphometrical and stereological study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between high-fat diet induced obesity and hepatomegaly, and to investigate whether obesity, or hepatomegaly, or both are related to gender. METHODS: This study was performed in 2003 at Ataturk University, Erzurum Turkey. Ten adult Sprague Dawley rats (5 male, 5 female) were fed with a diet that constituted highly of fat (30%) for duration of 3 months. Ten control animals (5 male, 5 female) were maintained with standard chow. At the end of the experiment, rats were sacrificed with Sevorane. The body mass index (BMI) of all animals was calculated. Finally, the removed livers were histologically processed and the liver volume was estimated with unbiased Cavalieri method. RESULTS: The BMI was 4.8 +/- 0.3 kg/m2 in males; 4.2 +/- 0.25 kg/m2 in females (control group), and 5.92 +/- 0.5 kg/m2 in males and 5.425 +/- 0.40 kg/m2 in females (treatment group). The BMI of the 2 groups was significantly different (between both males and females, p<0.01; male to male, p=0.035; female to female, p=0.001). Moreover, weight values correlated with liver volume, especially in the treated females (r=1.000; p<0.01). CONCLUSION: Thus, the results of the present study suggest that gender is a contributing factor for overweight and we found that hepatomegaly in women is more than men.

A stereological and histological analysis of spleen on obese female rats, fed with high fat diet.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if there is an association between fatty diet induced obesity and spleen enlargement by means of Cavalieri principle, unbiased stereological method and light microscopic examination. METHODS: In this study, we used 16 adult female Sprague Dawley rats, weighing between 150-200 g. All animals were obtained from the Ataturk University Experimental Research and Applying Center, Turkey in 2005. We performed rat models, fed with normal or high-fat diet for duration of 3 months. After this controlled nutritional process, spleens are removed from all anesthetized rats and performed by routine histological process. Stereologically, we estimated the spleen volumes in consecutive serial sections using Cavalieri method in control and treatment groups. Then, we examined histologically all those sections by a light microscope with camera attachment. RESULTS: Mean spleen volumes were 1.40 ml in the control and 2.03 ml in the treatment group, suggesting splenomegaly. Volumes of spleens in 2 groups revealed statistical significant difference (p<0.05, independent samples t-test). In studying spleen slices, many macrophages and necrotic figures were defined. Also, sinusoidal dilatation and hemosiderin deposits were observed and we found macrophages, filled with hemosiderin droplets. In some sections, especially around small vessels, eosinophilic aggregations and lipid accumulations in dilated sinusoids were detected. CONCLUSION: Spleen enlargement at significant levels (38%) in obese patients was determined by Cavalieri stereologic volume calculation method; an unbiased stereological method. Finally, our results clearly indicated that high fat diet caused to splenomegaly via sinusoidal dilatation and intra-cellular or intercellular deposits.