In Vivo Wound-Healing Effect of Chemical and Green Synthesized Chitosan Nanoparticles Using Lawsonia inermis Ethanolic Extract.

Wounds can be a result of surgery, an accident, or other factors. There is still a challenge to find effective topical wound-healing agents. This study aims to investigate the wound-healing activity of chemical and green synthesized chitosan nanoparticles (Ch-NPs) using Lawsonia inermis leaves extract. The nanoparticles were morphologically and chemically characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Forty-five adult female albino rats were randomly divided into three groups. The cutaneous surgical wounds were topically treated with 0.9% normal saline (control group), green Ch-NPs (second group), and chemical Ch-NPs gels (third group), respectively. The clinical picture of wounds and histopathological changes were assessed on the 3rd, 7th, 14th, and 21st days post-treatment. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed great crystallinity and purity of nanoparticles. The studied nanoparticles increased the wound contraction percent (WC%), reduced healing time and wound surface area (WSA), and these results were backed up by histological findings that indicated improved epithelialization, dermal differentiation, collagen deposition, and angiogenesis in treated rats compared with control rats (p < 0.05). We concluded that the wound-healing effects of the studied nanoparticles are encouraging, and further studies for complete assessment are still needed.

Wound healing properties of green (using Lawsonia inermis leaf extract) and chemically synthesized ZnO nanoparticles in albino rats.

Wound healing is one of the utmost medical issues in human and veterinary medicine, which explains the urgent need for developing new agents that possess wound healing activities. The present study aimed to assess the effectiveness of green and chemical zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) for wound healing. ZnO-NPs (green using Lawsonia inermis leaf extract and chemical) were synthesized and characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The gels containing the nanomaterials were prepared and inspected. Forty-five albino rats were divided into three groups, the control group was treated with normal saline 0.9%, and the other two groups were treated with gels containing green or chemical ZnO-NPs, respectively. On the 3rd, 7th, 14th, and 21st days post-treatment (PT), the wounds were clinicopathologically examined. Both nanomaterials have good crystallinity and high purity, but green ZnO-NPs have a longer nanowire length and diameter than chemical ZnO-NPs. The formed gels were highly viscous with a pH of 6.5 to 7. The treated groups with ZnO-NP gels showed clinical improvement, as decreased wound surface area (WSA) percent (WSA%), increased wound contraction percent (WC%), and reduced healing time (p < 0.05) when compared with the control group. The histological scoring showed that the epithelialization score was significantly higher at the 21st day post-treatment in the treated groups than in the control group (p < 0.05), but the vasculature, necrosis, connective tissue formation, and collagen synthesis scores were mostly similar. The green and chemical ZnO-NP gels showed promising wound healing properties; however, the L. inermis-mediated ZnO-NPs were more effective.

T cell therapies following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: surely there must be a better way than DLI?

Advances in the past few years have significantly improved adoptive immunotherapy strategies available following autologous and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Minimal residual disease, relapsed disease and viral infections remain a significant cause of mortality in patients undergoing HSCT. Novel therapies are critically needed to overcome these management dilemmas, while sparing the graft-versus-tumor effect and avoiding graft-versus-host disease. This review focuses on the T-cell strategies currently available to allay disease while minimizing toxicities in patients who have undergone HSCT.

Additional case of Ramichloridium mackenziei cerebral phaeohyphomycosis from the Middle East.

In this report we describe a case of cerebral phaeohyphomycosis involving a 56-year-old Egyptian male who worked as a mason in Kuwait for 6 years. Computerized tomography scan of the brain revealed presence of a large abscess in the left occipital lobe. Aspirated pus from the abscess showed branched, septate, hyphae with light brown pigmentation. Cultured pus grew the fungus Ramichloridium mackenziei. Despite amphotericin B (1 mg kg(-1) per day) therapy for 2 weeks, the patient expired. The isolate was later found to be resistant to amphotericin B ( > 32 microg ml(-1)). Antifungal susceptibility testing to other agents was also performed.

Dynamic thoracoplasty for asphyxiating thoracic dystrophy.

The life-saving procedures to expand the chests of infants born with Jeune asphyxiating thoracic dystrophy provide a static solution incapable of responding to the growth demands of thriving patients. We describe an instrument that provided a dynamic solution for an infant, where an initial methyl methacrylate midsternotomy spacer placed at 4 months of age was followed at 11 months with recurrence of his difficulties. At 8 months after the second operation the patient was stable and thriving with no recurrence of symptoms. The instrument modifications, limitations, and possible complications are described.

Chronic scalp wound infection due to Rhodococcus equi in an immunocompetent patient.

A case of chronic scalp wound infection due to Rhodococcus equi in an immunocompetent individual following heavily contaminated traumatic injury was successfully treated by combining antibiotics and surgery. The agents used were erythromycin and rifampicin.

Muscle transposition flap for salvage of exposed peripheral prosthetic vascular grafts.

Infection of prosthetic vascular grafts, although infrequent, is a dreadful complication in vascular surgery. It is a challenge for the surgeon and is life- and limb-threatening to the patient. Conventionally, infection involving a foreign body is eradicated by removing the foreign body. Despite its theoretical appeal, this solution is fraught with danger--a high mortality rate that ranges between 10% and 30%, a high rate of protracted postoperative morbidity, and a limb amputation rate as high as 70%. The salvage of infected prosthetic vascular grafts by prompt soft-tissue coverage with transposition muscle flaps in 3 consecutive patients treated during a period of 12 years is the subject of this report.

Adsorptive stripping voltammetric analysis of 2,4,6-tri(2'pyridyl)-1,3,5-triazine at a mercury electrode.

The redox behaviour of adsorbed species of 2,4,6-tri(2'-pyridyl)-1,3-5-triazine (TPTZ) at the surface of a mercury electrode was examined using cycling voltammetry. Based on the adsorption and accumulation of TPTZ at the charged mercury surface cathodic adsorptive stripping voltammetry (CSV) is applied for the trace determination of TPTZ using a differential pulse (DP) technique. Experimental and operational parameters for the quantitative analysis of TPTZ are optimized and the detection limit was found to be 3x10(-9) mol/l. The effect of some interferences, e.g. organic compounds, cations and anions, are investigated.

Pediatric cancer: The King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre experience.

Between January 1976 and December 1993, a total of 3291 children with cancer were treated at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC). Males accounted for 60.7% and females 39.3%, with a ratio of 1.5:1. The peak age was two to five. The three most common malignancies were leukemias (26.2%), lymphomas (21.3%), and central nervous system (CNS) tumors (15.3%). This report presents some of the epidemiologic data related to the largest number of children with malignancy treated in a single institution in Saudi Arabia.

Establishing reference total serum cholesterol values for Saudi children.

Total serum cholesterol was measured in 1320 normal Saudi children aged 0-14 years. The result was 3.88 (0.83) mmol/L [mean (SD)] and there was no statistical difference between girls and boys. Results were lowest in the 0-4 year age group and highest in the 5-9 year age group. Percentile values were established for three age groups and compared with those published for American children; no statistical differences were observed. Unlike other developing countries Saudi children do not have lower serum cholesterol than their western counterparts. We believe that these findings reflect changing dietary habits and increasing affluence in Saudi Arabia.

Chediak-Higashi syndrome: Report on five Saudi Arab children and review of the literature.

Five cases of the Chediak-Higashi Syndrome (CHS) among Saudi Arab children were diagnosed between June 1978 and December 1990. All patients were males, ages 18 months to ten years, born to first degree consanguineous parents. All showed the typical somatic and laboratory characteristics of this syndrome with characteristic hyperpigmented irides in four patients. Three patients were in the accelerated phase, two of whom responded to a combination chemotherapy (vincristine and prednisone) and one improved after splenectomy. All patients died before they passed the first decade of their lives. This report is the first detailed description of CHS among Arab children in the Arabian peninsula.

Heterotransplantation of human Burkitt's lymphoma cell lines in athymic nude mice: tumor-host relationships.

We have explored the factors which influence tumorigenicity of Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) cell lines in athymic nude mice. Four cell lines, Namalwa, CA46, JD38, and ST486 revealed tumor incidence of 63.5, 69.0, 45.5 and 10.0%, respectively, in nude mice, but there was no correlation between tumor incidence and growth rate in vivo. Thus, growth rate and tumorigenicity are dependent upon different biochemical pathways. Evidence of tumor cell heterogeneity was demonstrated in the CA46 parent cell line. Five subclones derived from CA46 revealed varying degrees of tumor incidence (but very similar growth rates) that were consistently less than the parent CA46 line. Line 5, for example, produced 5.7-fold less tumors than the parent line. None of the BL cell lines or clones produced any metastatic lesions in liver, lung, brain, bone marrow or spleen in athymic nude mice. Northern blot analysis of c-myc mRNA levels in different BL cell lines revealed a possible relationship between percent tumor takes (but not growth rates) and the level of c-myc oncogene expression. However, no correlation was observed between c-myc mRNA levels and tumor incidence or growth rates among the CA46 clones. There was no correlation between the ability of the cell lines and the subclones to either secrete growth factors or to respond to growth factors secreted by Epstein-Barr virus-induced lymphoblastoid cells or lipopolysaccharide-activated monocytes, and their growth rates or percent tumor takes in mice. Comparison of tumor incidence and growth rates in irradiated and unirradiated mice showed that host factors influenced the growth of BL in nude mice.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Environmental health in primary schools in a developing country.

In an effort to elucidate the environmental health in developing countries, the environmental and sanitary conditions of Riyadh primary schools were assessed by use of a scoring evaluation sheet for 20 schools representative of primary schools of Riyadh. 20% of schools have been found to be ideally situated and only one fourth of schools with proper building. As regards class rooms, only 25% of them have adequate floor area, window area and are suitably illuminated. Drinking fountains per pupil were inadequate. Overall, environmental rating of 10% excellent, 30% good, and 60% bad were detected in present study. The bad situation of almost two-thirds of primary school buildings in Riyadh is alarming. Remedial suggestion have been forwarded.

Tumour-specific inhibition of lymphoma growth by an antisense oligodeoxynucleotide.

In a high proportion of Burkitt lymphomas, transcription of the c-myc gene is initiated from a cryptic promoter in the first intron, creating abnormal messenger RNA molecules in which intron sequences, normally spliced out of the nascent transcripts, persist. An antisense oligodeoxynucleotide directed against these intron sequences greatly inhibited the proliferation of Burkitt lymphoma cell lines containing the abnormal transcripts (ST486 and JD38), but not that of cell lines containing normal c-myc transcripts (KK124). Flow cytometry showed a pronounced reduction in intracellular c-myc protein levels in cell lines containing aberrant myc transcripts, but no change in other cellular proteins. Control oligonucleotide did not inhibit c-myc protein expression or growth. These experiments provide evidence that antisense oligonucleotides targeted against tumour-specific, aberrant RNA species could be effective in controlling the proliferation of tumour cells without affecting normal cells.

Pattern of intestinal parasitic infection in preschool children in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

A total of 1,167 stool specimens collected from 0.6-6 years old patients attending King Abdel Aziz University Hospital (KAUH) in Riyadh, were examined for intestinal parasites. Of these 243 (20.8%) were positive. Giardia lamblia (13.5) and Enterobius vermicularis (4.2%), were the commonest parasites found. Other parasites present include Ascaris lumbricoides, Entamoeba histolytica and Hymenolepis nana. Abdominal pain (38.6%) and diarrhoea (27.6%) were the most common causes of referral presented among both males and females examined groups. Out of 211 patients positive for different parasites and showing different causes of referral, 45.5% were accompanied with abdominal pain and 22.3% having pruritus ani, while the percentage of patients having diarrhoea and positive for different parasites (9.5%) are less. It has been concluded that diarrhoea is not a major sign of parasitic infestation in 0.6-6 years old age group. Other causes of referral include, loss of appetite, underweight and failure to thrive which are mainly associated with Giardia lamblia infection.