Oxytocin inhibits NADPH oxidase and P38 MAPK in cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity

Oxidative stress significantly contributes to cisplatin (CP)-associated cytotoxicity, and use of antioxidants could counteract such cytotoxic effects of CP. The major biochemical pathway for reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation proceeds through O₂⁻ production, which is generated by NADPH oxidase, such oxidative stress can activate p38 MAPK to intensify the cytotoxic effect of CP. We mainly aimed to study the protective effect of oxytocin (OT) on CP-induced nephrotoxicity whereas; it was previously shown to have anti-inflammatory effects in different inflammation models. Administration of OT significantly decreased the gene expression of both NADPH oxidase and P38 MAPK, nitric oxide (NO), myloperoxidase (MPO), and TBARS, furthermore it increased the renal tissue levels of antioxidants; reduced glutathione (GSH), and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Histologically, OT reduced the monocellular infiltration as well as the tubular damage in CP-induced nephrotoxicity. In conclusion OT has a powerful antioxidant effect that can alleviate the CP-induced nephrotoxicity through inhibition of NADPH oxidase and P38 MAPK resulting in improvement of kidney functions.     

Follow-up of the patients after bone marrow transplantation for red blood cell chimerism using flow cytometry

The importance of chimerism is that it is useful to demonstrate engraftment. It allows for early intervention which might facilitate treatment of emerging relapse in leukemia, and it may help to prevent graft rejection. The aim of this study is to evaluate mixed red cell population and red blood cell chimerism after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation to predict the final outcome of mixed chimerism which may help in deciding interventions and preventing graft rejection. This study was conducted on 22 bone marrow-transplanted patients admitted to Bone Marrow Transplantation (BMT) Unit, Nasser institute, using simple agglutination method and flow cytometery (FCM) technique. In our study, three recipients had complete chimerism after 6 month which was detected by agglutination method, and one recipient had complete chimerism after 1 year which was detected by both simple agglutination method and FCM. Two recipients had mixed-field agglutination after 30 days which was detected by agglutination method and FCM. Evaluating erythrocyte repopulation by the agglutination method is feasible, easy, and cost-effective. FCM analysis is a simple, sensitive test and an objective method, which could be used as a protocol for follow-up to detect chimerism after allogeneic BMT. However, due to the difficulty found in retrieving the patients for follow-up, we suggest the use of alternative methods for detection of chimerism as variable number of tandem repeats and XY fluorescence in situ hybridization probe.     

Optical coherence tomography and vessel diameter changes after intravitreal bevacizumab in diabetic macular oedema

Purpose: To assess the effect of intravitreal bevacizumab on diabetic macular oedema (DMO) and retinal vessel calibres. Methods: We performed a consecutive case series study in which 10 consecutive eyes with diffuse DMO, two of which had not previously been treated, received an intravitreal injection of bevacizumab 1 mg, which was followed by two more injections at 6‐week intervals. Fundus photography and optical coherence tomography (OCT) were carried out at baseline immediately before injection and at 1, 2.5 and 4 months after the first injection. Outcome measures were best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study letters, macular volume, foveal subfield thickness and vessel diameter measurement. Results: Intravitreal administration of bevacizumab was followed by a mean increase in BCVA of 7.3 ± 17 (mean ± standard deviation) letters between baseline and month 4, which was 1 month after the last injection (p < 0.0001). This was accompanied by a reduction in mean macular volume from 9.90 ± 1.9 mm³ to 8.96 ± 2.4 mm³ (p = 0.002) and in foveal subfield thickness from 447 ± 117 μm to 388 ± 117 μm (p = 0.03). Two eyes with early proliferative diabetic retinopathy lost all signs of proliferation without any evidence of fibrosis. Although there was a trend towards vasoconstriction, the changes in vessel diameters (arteries and veins) after 4 months of intravitreal Avastin injection were not statistically significant (p = 0.9 and p = 0.17, respectively). Foveal thickness in non‐injected fellow eyes with DMO changed from 428 ± 153 μm at baseline to 383 ± 151 μm at 4 months (p = 0.1), which did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions: Intravitreal bevacizumab 1 mg every 6 weeks was followed by a moderate reduction in DMO without normalization of foveal and macular thickness. Our observations suggest that a larger study where patients are examined sooner after injection is needed to elucidate the potential relationship between changes in retinal vessel diameters and thickness changes in DMO.     

Study on some hepatic functions and prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigenaemia in Egyptian children with schistosomal hepatic fibrosis

Several different hepatic parenchymal lesions, including chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis, have been increasingly reported in children with schistosomal hepatic fibrosis (SHF) despite the known mesenchymal nature of the disease. The prevalence of persistent hepatitis (B) surface (HBs) antigenaemia and some hepatic functions have been determined in 52 children with SHF as well as in 100 age-matched healthy children. High prevalence of chronic HBs antigenaemia (58 per cent) has been demonstrated in children with SHF, but only in 2 per cent of the normal children. This denotes that children with SHF represent a dangerous reservoir for hepatitis B infection to the community. Serum alanine transferase (ALT) was higher than normal in 58 per cent of HBS seropositive patients and in none of the seronegative patients. This points to the risk of continual hepatic parenchymal injury to the HBs seropositive patients with schistosomiasis.