International journal of basic science in medicine
Volume:4 Issue: 1, Mar 2019

An article published by Haghighat et al in December 2016 issue (vol. 1, no. 2) of the International Journal of Basic Science in Medicine examines a new guideline for using erythromycin in the management of childhood cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS). This is an interesting and informative article that urges researchers to explore other management approaches as well as the information around the incidence, course, and etiology of CVS. CVS manifests itself with symptoms of recurrent (hours to days long) bouts of nausea and vomiting, separated by symptom-free periods (weeks to months). As an idiopathic disorder first mentioned in 1861 (French literature), CVS is no longer considered as a rare condition now. It is known to be more common among children and females (girls > boys by a ratio of 60: 40) and has also been seen among adults. The reported prevalence of this disease is around 2% and it was also found to be 3.15 per 100 000 children in an Irish study in 2005.

It is well-established that gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH) and its mammalian orthologues (RFRP: RF-amid related peptides) can decrease gonadotrophin secretion. Moreover, substance P (SP) is another modulator of the secretion of gonadotropins in a species-dependent manner. This study aimed to find out the impacts of concomitant infusion of RFRP-3 and SP on luteinizing hormone (LH) concentration. Forty-two rats were arbitrarily assigned to 7 groups (n=6 per group). Animals in the experimental groups were intracerebroventricularly injected with saline +DMSO, SP, RFRP-3, SP + RFRP-3, SP + RF9 (RFRP-3 receptor antagonist), SP + P234 (kisspeptin receptor antagonist) + RFRP-3 and SP + CP-96,345 (SP receptor antagonist) + RFRP-3 in a final volume of 3 µL. Blood samples were collected at 30-minute intervals after injections, and serum was used to measure the LH concentration by radioimmunoassay. According to the results, injections led to the elevation of LH serum concentration at 30-minute post injection (P < 0.05) in the SP and SP+RF9 groups. Moreover, administration of either RFRP-3 or SP + RFRP-3 + SP receptor antagonist strikingly decreased the LH mean serum concentration at 30-minute after injections (P < 0.05). On the contrary, the infusion of SP+RFRP-3 and SP+RFRP-3+P234 caused no dramatic changes in the LH mean serum concentration. In general, the data showed that SP suppresses the impacts of RFRP-3 on the serum levels of LH.

Inadequate awareness and knowledge exists regarding the effects of stimulant drugs on renal health among athletes. The present study aimed to determine the effects of methylphenidate, as a stimulant drug, and aerobic exercise on renal function in rats. Eighty male rats were randomly divided into 8 groups (n=10 per group) including control (Co), aerobic exercise sham (AE Sh), drug sham (D Sh), aerobic exercise (AE), the effective dose of drug (ED, 10 mg/kg), 3 times of effective dose (TED, 30 mg/kg), aerobic exercise-effective dose (AE-ED), and aerobic exercise-three times of effective dose (AE-TED). The drug was orally administrated to the animals, and then they were placed on a rat treadmill after 30 minutes. The physical activity (25 m/min) was performed 30 minutes a day, 3 days a week for two months. Twenty-four hours after the last session of AE, blood samples were taken from the rats and serum creatinine (Cr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were determined. The results showed that serum Cr and BUN levels were not significantly different in the exercise group compared to the control groups (i.e., Co, AE Sham, and D Sham). However, serum BUN and Cr significantly increased in the AE-ED and AE-TED groups compared to the AE group (PCr=0.001 and PBUN=0.001). In general, significant increases in the serum BUN and Cr levels in rats received methylphenidate indicated decreased renal function in these animals.

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have grabbed special attention owing to their exclusive structural features. Green synthesis (i.e., plant-mediated) of AgNPs is an efficient and cost-effective method with widespread clinical applications. Therefore, the present study aimed to synthesize AgNPs based on green synthesis method employing the seed extracts of Amaranthus cruentus and to investigate the antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of the biosynthesized AgNPs. The Ag-NPs were biologically synthesized using the A. cruentus extract which served as a reducing agent. Then, the synthesized Ag-NPs were visualized by transmission electron microscopy. Next, the antioxidant activity of the synthesized Ag-NPs was evaluated by DPPH and ABTS methods. Finally, the cytotoxicity of AgNPs was investigated against MCF-7 breast cancer cell line using MTT assay. The mean diameter of the synthesized Ag-NPs ranged from 20 to 40 nm. In addition, the IC50 of free radical scavenging activity of the Ag-NPs were obtained as 500 µg/mL (DPPH) and 400 µg/mL (ABTS). Further, the AgNPs showed time and dose-dependent cytotoxicity against MCF-7 cells. Eventually, at the 24-hour exposition to the 80 µg/mL dose of AgNPs, the viability of cancerous cells was 19% plunging to 2.03% and 1.9% after 48 hours and 72 hours, respectively. In general, plant extracts can serve as facile and eco-friendly alternatives to hazardous methods for synthesizing the metal nanoparticles. Therefore, the A. cruentus biosynthesized Ag-NPs can be utilized in medicine for various purposes due to their low toxicity and appropriate antioxidant activity.

Oxidative stress seems to play a major role in diabetes-induced cardiac dysfunction, known as diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM). Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase 2 is considered as one of the main enzymatic systems which primarily contributes to the production of reactive oxygen species in various organs including the heart. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of 8 weeks of aerobic exercise (AE) on the expression of p47phox and p67phox, which are regarded as the regulatory subunits of NADPH oxidase 2 in the cardiac tissue in diabetic rats. A total of 36 male Wistar rats with a mean weight of 231±25 g were randomly divided into non-diabetic, control diabetic, and trained diabetic groups (each containing 12 rats). Nicotinamide and streptozotocin were used to induce diabetes in the rats. The cardiac muscle was removed under sterile conditions 48 hours following the last training session. Finally, the mRNA levels of p47phox and p67phox were evaluated using the real-time polymerase chain reaction. The results showed that diabetes induction significantly increased the gene expressions of p47phox and p67phox in the cardiac tissue of diabetic rats. The expression of these genes was significantly attenuated after 8 weeks of AE. In general, AE was found to prevent the negative effects of diabetes by suppressing p47phox and p67phox in the cardiac tissue of diabetic rats. Therefore, this can improve cardiac function and may be a potential preventive or therapeutic modality for DCM.

Blood components are commonly used during surgical operations; however, limited sources are globally available in this regard. The present study aimed to assess blood product usage and wastage in Amir-Almomenin hospital, Zabol, Iran. A total of3883 ordered blood components were retrospectively analyzed in Amir-Almomenin hospital, Zabol, Iran (January) 2017-(July)2018. The data were analyzed using the SPSS software, version 18. The results demonstrated that the most frequent ordered blood products included packed red blood cells (PRBCs, 2097 units, 54%), followed by fresh frozen plasma (823 units, 21.2%), platelet concentrates (757 units, 19.5%), and cryoprecipitate (206 units, 5.2%), respectively. Intensive care unit department had the highest records of orders (34.2%) and the ratio of cross-matched blood to transfused blood (C/T) was 1.73. In addition, based on the results, the total amount of component wastage was 2.03% with the highest and lowest percentage for PRBCs (59.6%) and cryoprecipitate (4.35%), respectively. The highest rate of wastage was related to the delivery ward (8.23%). There was no return from pediatrics, dialysis, pediatric critical care unit, critical care unit, and gastroenterology wards. Further, a significant difference was observed between the returned rates of D-positive and D-negative blood components with higher rates belonging to D-negative products (P = 0.001). In general, due to the 2.03% wastage rate, there is an indispensable need regarding implementing sufficient supervision and assigning vigilant policies on the hospital-based transfusion policies in order to optimize the blood product management.

Klebsiella pneumoniae is a well-known pathogen which causes different kinds of infections including pneumoniae, urinary tract infection, and bloodstream infection. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the incidence of carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae (CRKP) in Zabol, which is located in Sistan and Baluchestan province, southeast of Iran. A total of 70 clinical specimens of K. pneumoniae were collected from patients who referred to Amiralmomenin hospital affiliated with Zabol University of Medical Sciences during (December) 2017-2018. Then, resistance to nine different antibiotics was evaluated based on the purpose of the study. Finally, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification was performed using specific primers for detecting blaAIM, blaVIM, blaNDM-1, and blaSPM genes. The highest sensitivities of the isolates were related to ertapenem (n = 68, 97.1%), meropenem (n = 67, 95.7%), followed by gentamicin (n = 65, 92.8%) and amikacin (n = 65, 92.8%). In addition, 3 isolates were imipenem-resistant (4.3%), which were metallo-beta-lactamase positive as well. Eventually, based on the results of PCR, two isolates were found to be blaNDM positive. In general, the results of this study revealed that the prevalence of CRKP was low in the region under investigation. Therefore, continued monitoring of antibiotic resistance profile is required for hindering the emergence and spread of drug-resistant bacteria.

Inflammation, oxidative stress (OS), and obesity are documented to play key roles in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Accordingly, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), as a main innate immunity pro-inflammatory cytokine and a main free radical, respectively, are the main risk factors for CVDs. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of OS, regular aerobic exercise (RAE), and vitamin D3 (VD3) on the expression of TNF-α in the myocardial cells in a rat model. In this experimental study, 48 male Wistar rats were divided into 8 groups (6 in each group) including healthy controls, sham (injected with dimethyl sulfoxide [DMSO] + saline), H2O2 (either 1 or 2 mmol/kg), H2O2 (1 mmol/kg) + VD3, H2O2 (2 mmol/kg) + VD3, H2O2 (1 mmol/kg) + RAE, and H2O2 (2 mmol/kg) + RAE. TNF-α level of myocardial cells was evaluated after 8 weeks using the ELISA technique. The results of the study demonstrated that exposure to 2 mmol/kg of H2O2 significantly increased TNF-α level of myocardial cells compared to the rats which were exposed to one mmol/kg H2O2 (P = 0.039). Furthermore, RAE (P = 0.040), and the combination of RAE+VD3 (P = 0.049) significantly reduced the expression of myocardial TNF-α. In general, VD3 and RAE were found to suppress TNF-α expression induced by H2O2 in the rat myocardium. Therefore, they can be considered as potential therapeutic interventions for reducing OS-induced inflammation in the damaged myocardial cells.