Effects of GnRHa and hCG with or without dopamine receptor antagonists on the spawning efficiency of African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) reared in hatchery conditions.

Optimization of artificial reproduction is essential for minimizing genetic diversity, especially when fish are captured from their natural habitats and spawned in controlled conditions. In the present study, there was evaluation of the effects of gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue (GnRHa) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) with or without dopamine receptor antagonists such as domperidone (DOM) and metoclopramide (MET) on the spawning efficiency of African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) reared in captivity. The control group was intramuscularly (IM) injected with 1 mL of sterile saline solution. The fish specimens of the other six groups were injected IM with GnRHa or hCG, or in combination with either DOM or MET. None of the specimens had ovulations in the control group. There was the longest latency period in specimens treated with only GnRHa or hCG. There were the largest egg mass weight, fecundity, and hatchability (%) in specimens of the GnRHa + MET group. These findings indicate that GnRHa or hCG combined with dopamine receptor antagonists such as DOM and MET resulted in a marked enhancement of ovulation rate and increased the egg mass, fecundity, and hatchability of the treated C. gariepinus, and the values when there was inclusion of the MET treatment exceeded those when there was treatment with DOM.

Interplay between vitamin D status and antiviral therapy among chronic hepatitis C Egyptian patients.

Vitamin D has been shown to play an important immunomodulatory role; deficiency of vitamin D has been recently associated to the lack of response to antiviral therapy in chronic hepatitis C patients. This study evaluated the interrelationship between serum level of vitamin D and early response to antiviral therapy in Egyptian patients with chronic HCV infection. A total of 45 patients with chronic HCV infection who received antiviral treatment (Pegylated interferon and Ribavirin), their vitamin D serum level was assessed once at the start of treatment and 12 weeks later, when the EVR was determine by Quantitative HCV-RNA by PCR. The results showed that vitamin D status has no correlation with viral load and hepatitis activity by biopsy and without significant association between vitamin D deficiency and the antiviral therapy response. However, there was significance improvement in level of vitamin D after 12 weeks of receiving the antiviral therapy of HCV.