Antioxidant,mutagenic, and antimutagenic activities of Tragopogon longirostis var. longirostis,an edible wild plant in Turkey

Objectives:

The ethanolic extract of Tragopogon longirostis var. longirostis, a wild edible plant in Anatolia was isolated, and its antioxidant, mutagenic, and antimutagenic properties were investigated.

Materials and Methods:

The antioxidant activity (AA) was determined by the inhibition of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical, total AA, and phenolic compounds. The mutagenic and antimutagenic activities were investigated by Ames Salmonella/microsome mutagenicity test.

Results:

The IC₅₀ value for DPPH radicals was 7.84 ± 0.603 mg/mL. The total AA increased with an increase in the concentration of the extracts (1, 5, 10, 20, and 30 mg/mL), containing linoleic acid emulsion. The total phenolic content was 284.71 ± 5.6 mg gallic acid equivalent/g extract. The results showed that the ethanolic extract can be considered safe, because it does not have any mutagenic effect at the tested concentrations. As a result, the ethanolic extract of the leaves exhibited antimutagenic effects at 2.5, 0.25, and 0.025 mg/plate concentrations.

Conclusions:

To our knowledge, this is the first study of the antioxidant, mutagenic, and antimutagenic activities of T. longirostis var. longirostis. These activities are an important topic in the food industry, as well as in the medical field.KEY WORDS: Ames, radical scavenging, Salmonella typhimurium     

CHOP‐mediated hepcidin suppression modulates hepatic iron load

The liver is the central regulator of iron metabolism and accordingly, chronic liver diseases often lead to systemic iron overload due to diminished expression of the iron‐regulatory hormone hepcidin. To study the largely unknown regulation of iron metabolism in the context of hepatic disease, we used two established models of chronic liver injury, ie repeated carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) or thioacetamide (TAA) injections. To determine the impact of CCAAT/enhancer‐binding protein (C/EBP)‐homologous protein (CHOP) on hepcidin production, the effect of a single TAA injection was determined in wild‐type and CHOP knockout mice. Furthermore, CHOP and hepcidin expression was assessed in control subjects and patients with alcoholic liver disease. Both chronic injury models developed a distinct iron overload in macrophages. TAA‐, but not CCl₄‐ injected mice displayed additional iron accumulation in hepatocytes, resulting in a significant hepatic and systemic iron overload which was due to suppressed hepcidin levels. C/EBPα signalling, a known hepcidin inducer, was markedly inhibited in TAA mice, due to lower C/EBPα levels and overexpression of CHOP, a C/EBPα inhibitor. A single TAA injection resulted in a long‐lasting (> 6 days) suppression of hepcidin levels and CHOP knockouts (compared to wild‐types) displayed significantly attenuated hepcidin down‐regulation in response to acute TAA administration. CHOP mRNA levels increased 5‐fold in alcoholic liver disease patients versus controls (p < 0.005) and negatively correlated with hepcidin expression. Our results establish CHOP as an important regulator of hepatic hepcidin expression in chronic liver disease. The differences in iron metabolism between the two widely used fibrosis models likely reflect the differential regulation of hepcidin expression in human liver disease. Copyright © 2013 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effect of neuromuscular electrical stimulation on functional status and quality of life after knee arthroplasty: a randomized controlled study

[Purpose] The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the addition of NMES to the post-TKA rehabilitation protocol on the functional status and quality of life of the patients. [Subjects and Methods] Patients were randomized into an exercise (control) and electrical stimulation (NMES) group. A home exercise program was prescribed for the control group. For the neuromuscular stimulation group 30 minute electrical stimulation applied to the vastus medialis muscle 5 days a week for 4 to 6 weeks. VAS, the timed up and go test, WOMAC and SF-36 scores were evaluated preoperatively and postoperatively at the first month and the third month of the follow-up period. [Results] Both the NMES group had 30 patients each, with 2 and 1 male patients respectively. The comparisons of WOMAC results at month 1 revealed that pain, stiffness, and total scores of the NMES group was significantly better than those of control group at the first and third months. Significantly better physical function and SF-36 subscales, except mental health, were found for the NMES group at the first month of follow-up. [Conclusion] The inclusion of the neuromuscular electrical stimulation program after knee arthroplasty was more effective at providing rapid improvements in knee pain, walking distance and quality of life.Key words: Quadriceps muscle, Knee joint, Arthroplasty     

The potential effect of anatomic relationship between the femur and the tibia on medial meniscus tears

Background

The anatomic and the kinematical relationships between the femur and the tibia have been previously examined in both normal and diseased knees. However, less attention has been directed to the effect of these relationships on the meniscal diseases. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the impact of femorotibial incongruence on both lateral and medial meniscal tears.

Materials and methods

A total of 100 images obtained from MRI of 100 patients (39 males and 61 females) were included in the study. Diameters of the medial and the lateral femoral condyles, thicknesses of the menisci, and diameters of the medial and the lateral tibial articular surfaces were measured.

Results

The medial meniscus tear was detected in 40 (40 %) patients. However, no lateral meniscus tear was found. Significant relationships were found between the diameters of the posterior medial femoral condyle and the medial tibial superior articular surface and between the diameters of the posterior lateral femoral condyle and the lateral tibial superior articular surface. The mean values for the diameter of the medial condyle of the femur, the lateral condyle of the femur, the medial superior articular surface of the tibia, and the lateral superior articular surface of the tibia were found to be significantly higher in cases with meniscus tear compared to cases without meniscus tear. However, no significant difference was present regarding the thicknesses of the medial and the lateral menisci. A positive relationship between the diameter of the posterior medial femoral condyle and the tibial medial superior articular surface was found in cases with (n = 40) (r ² = 0.208, p = 0.003) and without tear (n = 60) (r ² = 0.182, p = 0.001). In addition, a significant positive relationship was found between the diameter of the posterior medial femoral condyle and the medial tibial superior articular surface in cases with and without tear.

Conclusion

The impact of femorotibial incongruence on the medial meniscus tear is important for the understanding of the lesions.     

Securing sustainable funding for viral hepatitis elimination plans

The majority of people infected with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the European Union (EU) remain undiagnosed and untreated. During recent years, immigration to EU has further increased HCV prevalence. It has been estimated that, out of the 4.2 million adults affected by HCV infection in the 31 EU/ European Economic Area (EEA) countries, as many as 580 000 are migrants. Additionally, HCV is highly prevalent and under addressed in Eastern Europe. In 2013, the introduction of highly effective treatments for HCV with direct‐acting antivirals created an unprecedented opportunity to cure almost all patients, reduce HCV transmission and eliminate the disease. However, in many settings, HCV elimination poses a serious challenge for countries’ health spending. On 6 June 2018, the Hepatitis B and C Public Policy Association held the 2nd EU HCV Policy summit. It was emphasized that key stakeholders should work collaboratively since only a few countries in the EU are on track to achieve HCV elimination by 2030. In particular, more effort is needed for universal screening. The micro‐elimination approach in specific populations is less complex and less costly than country‐wide elimination programmes and is an important first step in many settings. Preliminary data suggest that implementation of the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Health Sector Strategy on Viral Hepatitis can be cost saving. However, innovative financing mechanisms are needed to raise funds upfront for scaling up screening, treatment and harm reduction interventions that can lead to HCV elimination by 2030, the stated goal of the WHO.     

Comparison of different methods to detect <Emphasis Type="Italic">Helicobacter pylori</Emphasis> in the dental plaque of dyspeptic patients

The aim of this study was to compare different methods of detection of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) in the dental plaque of dyspeptic patients. After recording the clinical indices, culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods were performed on plaque samples, while rapid urease test in addition to these tests was carried on gastric samples from 67 dyspeptic patients who attended for an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Forty-seven of 67 patients were H. pylori-positive in gastric biopsy material whereas the microbial dental plaque from 19 patients demonstrated H. pylori positivity detected by PCR. Among the patients, 25.4% harbored H. pylori both in the stomach and in microbial dental plaque. No significant correlations were found among the presence of H. pylori in the stomach, in plaque, and clinical variables (P > 0.05). Although oral hygiene was observed optimal and the mean of pocket depth was not found to be higher, the prevalence of H. pylori was observed to be higher in dental plaque. According to our results, PCR technique gave the highest detection rate both in gastric biopsy and in dental plaque compared to the other methods used.