Zahedan Journal of Research in Medical Sciences
Volume:19 Issue: 5, May 2017

Paraoxonase enzyme is attached to HDL and is involved in the maturation of this lipoprotein. This enzyme is activated by several antioxidants. These antioxidants exist in Winter cherry ( Physalis alkekengi). In fact, it contains a variety of antioxidants.
The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of a hydro-alcoholic extract of winter cherry fruits on serum lipid profile and paraoxanase1 (Pon1) activity in the rat.
In this randomized experimental study, hydroalcoholic extract of Physalis alkekengi fruits was obtained by a percolation method. Four groups of male Sprague Dawley rats (260 5 g), each containing 7 animals, were housed separately and fed standard rat chow and water ad libitum. Experiments were performed for 28 days on each group. Group1 (control 1) received only the standard diet, with no hydroalcoholic extract. Group 2 (control 2) received 1mL of water by gavage in addition to the standard diet. Groups 3 (experiment 1) and 4 (experiment2) received, respectively, 200 and 400 mg /kg b.w. of the extract in 1 mL of water through gavage. At the end of the experimental period, animals were fasted overnight and lipid profile and paraoxonase activity were determined and compared statistically by one way ANOVA and Tukey post hoc tests, using SPSS version 11.5
Triglyceride, total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol were decreased dose dependently by the extract. HDL cholesterol and serum paraoxonase activities were increased significantly by Physalis extract.
The hydroalcoholic extract of Physalis alkekengi, possibly through the presence of antioxidants, increases paraoxonase activity and this enzyme, in turn, augments the level of HDL in serum.

A Brief interruption of blood supply to the brain can cause significant changes in the function of central nervous system. Patients usually show cognitive, emotional and electrophysiological changes during recovery from stroke. Preliminary pharmacokinetic studies have shown that Thymus vulgaris is useful in the treatment of seizures, respiratory diseases, smooth muscular spasm and bloating.
In an experimental study, for inducing temporary acute ischemia carotid artery was closed for 60 minutes and then blood flow was restored. Thyme extract (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg) was injected daily after induction of ischemia. Shuttle box test was carried out for the first 4 days and rotarod test was conducted at the last day. After the rotarod test, blood samples were collected from heart and brain tissue was removed under deep anesthesia. One way- ANOVA followed by Tukey and t-paired tests were used for comparing the groups at 0.05 level of significance. All data were analyzed by using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS-19) software.
In passive avoidance test, the initial latency time was significantly longer in the ischemia group compared to the control group. Administration of thyme extract into ischemic rats significantly increased second latency time and reduced MDA levels of brain cortex.
Our results indicated that Thymus vulgaris extract has a neuroprotective activity. Mechanisms of neuroprotective action might be associated with antioxidant activity and inhibition of oxidative stress in rat brain.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a serious global health problem. There is a high prevalence of depression among patients with hepatitis B.
The aim of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive behavior group therapy (CBGT) on depression, hope and adjustment in patients with hepatitis B (HB).
In an experimental study with a pretest-posttest control group design, 28 patients with hepatitis B were selected through convenience sampling method from the Association for the Study of Liver Diseases in Mashhad and were randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups, each containing 14 individuals. The experimental group received cognitive behavioral group therapy in 10 weeks (2 h weekly sessions) and the control group received no treatment. Both groups of participants were evaluated on Beck depression inventory-second edition (BDI-II), adult hope scale (AHS) and bell adjustment inventory (BAI) before and after the intervention. For data analysis, ANCOVA (one-way analysis of covariance) in SPSS version 22 was performed.
Results indicated that cognitive behavioral group therapy significantly leads to increased hope (P Cognitive behavioral group therapy sessions substantially contributed to the improvement of hope and adjustment in patients with hepatitis B.

Today’s, the recurrent of hydatidosis remain as a concern in many surgeries. Exposure of a suitable effective scolicidal agent with protoscolex-rich fluid can prevent these complications. In recent studies more have been considered to importance of natural products particularly herbal medcines to evaluate their scolicidal effects. Gallic acid a type of organic acid is one of the main known effective biological phenolic substances of plants.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Gallic acid on protoscolices of hydatid cysts in in vitro.
In this experimental study, the protoscolices were obtained from liver hydatid cysts of infected sheep. Gallic acid solution was used at the concentration of 25, 30 and 35 mg/mL for 1, 3, and 5 minutes. The live protoscolices were detected by 0.1% eosin dye. Data analysis was performed by SPSS version 11.5 and one-way ANOVA test.
The Gallic acid at the concentration of 25 mg/mL disabled 35.65%, 52.21% and 65.38% of protoscolices after 1, 3 and 5 min of faced time together, respectively. Also, the scolicidal rate of Gallic acid at concentration of 30 mg/mL was 29.92%, 63.80% and 67.76% after 1, 3 and 5 min, respectively. It was observed that concentration of 35 mg/mL Gallic acid on protoscolices caused 92.08% and 100% mortality rate of parasites after 1 and 3 minutes, respectively (compared with 9.9% in control groups).
The findings of present study showed that Gallic acid as an effective constituent of some herbal scolicidal agent can be considered as responsible for killing of protoscolices. However, further studies will be needed to confirm this phytochemicals active component in animal models.

Maternal hyperthyroidism causes developmental defects on the nervous system of fetuses.
The present study was designed to study the effects of maternal hyperthyroidism on the development of the parietal lobe in the brain of rat embryos.
In this experimental study, thirty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups. The control group received no injections, the sham group received intraperitoneal injections of distilled water solution containing salt and polysorbate (solvent of levothyroxine), and the experimental group received once-daily, intraperitoneal injections of 0.5 mg/kg levothyroxine for a 10-day period to become hyperthyroid rats. The hyperthyroid rats were then mated, and all pregnant rats were killed on the 20th day of gestation. Fetuses were removed, fixed, and processed for histological procedures. The fetuses were sagitally sectioned at 5 µ thickness and stained with hematoxylin-eosin (H and E) technique. The sections were examined using a light microscope and Motic software.
The results showed no significant difference in the studied variables between the sham and control groups. A significantly increase in body weight and a significant decrease in crown-rump length of embryos was observed in the experimental group when compared to the control group. The mean total thickness of the parietal cortex, ventricular layer, and intermediate layer of embryos showed a significant decrease in the experimental group compared to the control and sham groups. The mean number of cells also showed a significant decrease in the intermediate and ventricular layers in the experimental group compared to the control and sham groups.
This study showed that maternal hyperthyroidism leads to a reduction in development of the parietal cortex in embryos. Maternal hyperthyroidism can disturb the growth and development of embryos.