Altered hepatic mRNA expression of immune response‐associated DNA damage in mice liver induced by potassium bromate: Protective role of vanillin

Chronic exposure to potassium bromate (KBrO₃), a toxic halogen existing widely in the environment, environment through contaminated drinking water, has become a global problem of public health. The present study investigates the protective role of vanillin against KBrO₃ induced oxidative stress, distruption in inflammatory cytokines expression, DNA damage, and histopathological changes. Adult mice were exposed orally to KBrO₃ (2g/L of drinking water) for 2 weeks The co‐administration of vanillin to the KBrO₃‐treated mice significantly prevented the plasma transaminases increase in. Furthermore, it inhibited hepatic lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde), advanced oxidation protein product (AOPP) and protein carbonyl (PCO) formation and attenuated the KBrO₃‐mediated depletion of enzymatic and non enzymatic antioxidants catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase activities and glutathione level in the liver. In addition, vanillin markedly attenuated the expression levels of proinflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor‐α, interleukin‐1β, interleukin‐6, and COX2 and prevented KBrO₃‐induced hepatic cell alteration and necrosis, as indicated by histopathological data. DNA damage, as assessed by the alkaline comet assay, was also found to be low in the co‐treated group. Thus, these findings show that vanillin acts as potent chemopreventive agent against KBrO₃‐mediated liver oxidative stress and genotoxicity through its antioxidant properties. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 31: 1796–1807, 2016.     

Post-traumatic stress disorder in burned patients

The essential feature of post-traumatic stress disorder is the development of characteristic symptoms following exposure to a traumatic stressor involving direct personal experience of an event that involves threat of death oactual r serious injury, or other threat to one's physical integrity; or witnessing an event that involves death, injury, or a threat to physical integrity of another person; or learning about unexpected or violent death, serious harm, or threat of death or injury experienced by a family member or other close associate (DSM IV).The aim of this work is to assess the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among the burned victims and its predicting factors. METHODS: Patients were recruited at the Burns Department in the Ibn Rushd University Hospital during the period between 1 October 1998 and 1 October 1999. All patients were psychiatrically interviewed and answered a questionnaire. The diagnosis of PTSD was done according to DSM IV criteria. Results were analyzed on Epi info software. RESULTS: Sixty patients gave their consent to participate in this study. The 23.3% met criteria for PTSD and 55% for major depressive disorder. In short, PTSD was related to age, explosion of gas containers for cooking purposes, depression and low social functioning. Otherwise, no relationship was found between PTSD and gender, length of hospitalization or severity of burn. CONCLUSION: Post-traumatic stress disorder remains a poorly known entity by clinicians and under-diagnosed in burned patients. Considering the frequency of this pathology, an anti-depressant treatment and a psychotherapeutic relationship are necessary to improve the health and the quality of life of these patients.     

A single injection of interleukin-1 induces reversible aqueous-tear deficiency, lacrimal gland inflammation, and acinar and ductal cell proliferation

Emerging studies from our laboratory demonstrate that interleukin-1 (IL-1) family members play a major role in impairing lacrimal gland functions. Here we have extended our investigations to observe the effects of IL-1 on aqueous tear production, lacrimal gland secretion, lacrimal gland histology, and acinar and ductal cell proliferation. We demonstrate that a single injection of IL-1 into the lacrimal glands inhibited neurally- as well as agonist-induced protein secretion resulting in decreased tear output. Meanwhile, IL-1 injection induced a severe, but reversible (7-13 days), inflammatory response that led to destruction of lacrimal gland acinar epithelial cells. Finally, we demonstrate that as the inflammatory response subsided and lacrimal gland secretion and tear production returned to normal levels, there was increased proliferation of acinar and ductal epithelial cells. Our work uncovers novel effects of IL-1 on lacrimal gland functions and the potential regenerative capacity of the mouse lacrimal gland.     

Mycobacterial pseudotumor of the skin

Inflammatory pseudotumors have a diverse etiology, mycobacterial pseudotumor (MP) being one of them. MP is a rare entity; it has been reported infrequently in various organs and is extremely rare in the skin. We report a cutaneous MP in an immunosuppressed liver transplant recipient. The lesion consisted mostly of spindle cells, with small numbers of lymphocytes. Conventional acid-fast bacilli (AFB) stain revealed a large number of acid-fast bacilli within spindled histiocytes and the presence of Mycobacterium avium was determined by polymerase chain reaction. Given that the patient had a prior history of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma resected and reconstructed in the same area, establishing the diagnosis was challenging. Immunohistochemical staining for lysosome-associated membrane protein was strongly positive, suggesting the presence of numerous mature lysosomes within infected spindle cells. Mycobacterial spindle cell pseudotumors can mimic malignant or benign neoplasms and should be considered in differential diagnosis of spindle cell lesions, especially in immunocompromised patients. Further studies are needed to determine mechanisms that permit the survival of mycobacteria within the lesions and that cause this unusual manifestation of infection.     

Quality of life in treated and never-treated schizophrenic patients

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate quality of life (QOL) among treated and never-treated schizophrenic patients. METHOD: QOL ratings were obtained for (a) 112 Moroccan participants with schizophrenia who had never received neuroleptic medications, (b) matched samples of chronically-medicated schizophrenic patients in Morocco and the United States and (c) matched community controls in both countries. RESULTS: QOL ratings were generally higher for US groups, although Moroccan controls obtained higher ratings than US controls for some domains. QOL ratings were higher for controls compared to patients within each country, although US patients' scores were similar to controls on some dimensions. We found no differences between treated and untreated Moroccan patients for any QOL domain, although relationships among predictors were different. CONCLUSION: Within the context of Moroccan culture, benefits of medications alone are not evident in QOL scores. QOL appears to be a complex construct influenced by different factors within each of the groups studied.