ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Methadone is one of the widely used drug substances prescribed in treatment of opioid dependence and pain management; however, several studies have shown its neurotoxic effects on individuals and animal models. The purpose of this study was to assess neuroprotective effects of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) on neurotoxicity induced by methadone in hippocampus of adult NMRI male mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this experimental study, 48 adult NMRI male mice were randomly divided into 4 groups (n=12 in each) including Methadone, Methadone with sesame oil, Methadone with CoQ10 and saline. The injections of methadone, saline and sesame oil were performed intraperitoneally for 20 days. 24 hours after last injection, half of the animals in each group (n=6) were randomly assessed for evaluating of spatial memory by radial maze. Following behavioral study, animals were sacrificed, and their brains were removed to evaluate pyknotic cells through histological assessment. The remaining were used to study the expression of Arc, Bax, Bcl-2 and Bdnf genes. RESULTS: Results of the present study showed that daily administration of methadone increased the number of pyknotic neurons in the CA1 hippocampus and altered the expression of Bax, Bdnf, Arc and Bcl-2. However, it did not alter spatial memory comparing to saline group. CoQ10 treatment significantly reduced the number of pyknotic cells and expression of Bax, Bdnf, Arc when compared to the vehicle group treated by sesame oil. However, the expression of Bcl-2 significantly increased as a result of CoQ10 treatment. CONCLUSION: CoQ10 reduced the neuronal damage caused by methadone in the hippocampus CA1.
ABSTRACT
One of the most important problems in patients on hemodialysis (HD) is chronic malnutrition. This study is aimed to assess the prevalence of malnutrition using a subjective global assessment (SGA) in HD patients referred to the Valie ASR Hospital, Arak, Iran. In this descriptive analysis study, 190 HD patients were selected with random sampling. SGA and anthropometric and biochemical measurements were assessed in all patients. Data were analyzed with the Chi-square and t-tests and Pearson correlation coefficient. P <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Of the 190 patients studied, 78 patients (41.1%) were male and 112 patients (58.9%) were female. Sixteen patients were detected to have adequate nutritional status (8.4%), 90 (47.4%) had mild malnutrition and 84 patients (44.2%) had moderate malnutrition. We found a significant negative correlation of SGA score with patient's weight (r = -0.147) and patient's body mass index (BMI) (r = -0.238). Also, it correlated significantly with duration of dialysis treatment (years) (r = 0.404). The SGA score showed a significant negative correlation with mid-arm circumference (MAC) (r = - 0.152). No significant correlation was found between SGA score and mid-arm muscle area. Our study showed that >50% of patients on maintenance HD had mild or moderate malnutrition. There was no case of severe malnutrition. Duration of dialysis treatment and some anthropometric indices (weight, BMI and MAC) also showed a significant correlation with SGA score, which are important to determine the nutritional status of HD patients.
