ABSTRACT
Clinical features of 60 patients with ischemic colitis diagnosed at our hospital were analyzed. Ischemic colitis developed in 58 patients (97%) shortly after the evening meal, and in 52 patients (87%), it occurred while the patients were asleep from night to daybreak. The supine position while sleeping resulted in a decrease in the blood flow to the colonic wall and an increase in the intraluminal pressure due to a delay in excretion of the contents of the gut. In addition, increased peristalsis and intraluminal pressure after the evening meal triggered ischemic colitis. Ischemic colitis in the young adult group (<40 years) was more frequently mild because they did not experience arteriosclerosis-related diseases and constipation, and these intestinal factors were considered to contribute to the onset of the disease. In the elderly group (≥70 years), ischemic colitis was more severe than that in the young adult group because ischemic colitis in the elderly group was caused by both vascular and intestinal factors. The severity score evaluated by endoscopic findings revealed a marked correlation with age, clinical symptoms, leukocyte count, and CRP value. The final linear regression model determined leukocyte count, age, and digestive symptoms as substantial independent predictors. In several cases in our study, ischemic colitis occurred more often when exposed to a high percentage of humidity;thus, we speculated that high humidity played an essential role in the pathogenesis of ischemic colitis.
Subject(s)
Colitis, Ischemic , Adult , Aged , Humans , Middle AgedABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Geraniol is a plant-derived phytochemical possessing anti-cancer action. The anti-carcinogenic effect of geraniol was investigated in the diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced hepatocarcinogenic rat model. METHODS: Male Wistar rats were intraperitoneally injected with 300 µL of phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) (G1; n = 4) or DEN (100 mg/kg body weight) dissolved in PBS (G2; n = 8) every 2 weeks on experimental weeks 2, 4 and 6. The rats were treated with a low concentration (0.07%) of geraniol (G3; n = 9) and high concentration (0.35%) of geraniol (G4; n = 7) for 12 weeks. To evaluate the effects of geraniol on the DEN-induced hepatocarcinogenesis, we compared the relative liver weight, serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels and expression levels of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and glutathione S transferase-P (GST-P) by immunohistochemical analyses among each group. RESULTS: Relative liver weight was significantly higher in G2 than in G1 (P < 0.01). Both serum AST and ALT levels were significantly higher in G2 than in G3 and in G4 (P < 0.05). Serum ALP levels did not show a significant difference among each group. Percentages of both PCNA- and GST-P- positive area were significantly decreased in G3 and in G4 compared to in G2 (P < 0.001, respectively), suggesting anti-hepatocarcinogenic effects of geraniol. CONCLUSION: Geraniol is a promising compound useful for suppression of hepatocellular carcinoma. The mechanisms of action are required to be clarified in the future intensive study.
ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to investigate the anticarcinogenic effects of silymarin in diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced hepatocarcinogenic rat models. Severe and mild models of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were generated by the intraperitoneal administration of 40 mg/kg DEN once a week for 18 weeks and 100 mg/kg DEN every 2 weeks for 6 weeks in male Wistar rats, respectively. In the severe and mild models of HCC, the rats were treated with 0.1 and 0.5% silymarin for 18 weeks and with 0.1% silymarin for 5 weeks, respectively. Serum transaminase levels were not significantly decreased by the silymarin treatment in either model. Macroscopic and microscopic features indicated that the silymarin-containing formulations did not significantly inhibit the hepatic tumor formation induced by DEN. Furthermore, immunohistochemical and western blot analyses demonstrated that the expression levels of proliferating cell nuclear antigen and glutathione S-transferase P, which are hepatocarcinogenic markers, were not significantly modified by the silymarin treatment. These results indicate that silymarin may not be considered as a candidate agent against hepatocarcinogenesis.
