Evaluation serum levels of Insulin Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) and its association with clinical parameters in severe COVID-19

Inflammopharmacology - Severe coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is associated with dysregulated immune response and extreme inflammatory injury. Considering the role of insulin growth factor-1...     

Infantile bladder rupture during voiding cystourethrography

Bladder rupture is rare during infancy and most of reported cases had urethral obstruction or neurogenic bladder. We report two cases of infantile bladder rupture during voiding cystourethrography (VCUG). This report reinforces the criteria for proper VCUG imaging procedure. Consideration of expected bladder volume for body weight, and close monitoring of bladder pressure and injection speed could prevent such complications.     

Site-specific, dose-dependent, and sex-related responses to the experimental pain model induced by intradermal injection of capsaicin to the foreheads and forearms of healthy humans

AIMS: To investigate whether trigeminal manifestations of pain, sensitization, and vasomotor responses following the intradermal injection of capsaicin to the foreheads differ from manifestations following injection of capsaicin in the forearms of healthy humans. Dose dependency and sex-related differences of the evoked responses were also studied. METHODS: Twenty-eight healthy volunteers (14 women, 14 men) participated in 2 separate experiments: (1) Features of pain and vasomotor responses following intradermal injection of capsaicin (100 microg/100 microL) to the forehead and forearm were compared. (2) The features after intradermal injection of 2 different doses of capsaicin (50, 100 microg/100 microL) to the forehead were also studied. In both experiments the effect of sex was also investigated. RESULTS: Experiment 1 showed that peak pain intensity (F [1,104] = 24.4, P < .001) and duration (F [1,104] = 13.3, P < .001) were greater in the forehead. However, the areas of visible flare (F [1,104] = 5.7, P < .05) and secondary pinprick hyperalgesia (F [1,104] = 155.1, P < .001) were significantly larger in the forearm. Experiment 2 indicated that peak pain intensity in the forehead was not affected by the capsaicin dose (F [1,52] = 1.6, P = .214), but duration of pain (F [1,52] = 6.0, P < .05) and perceived pain area (F [1,52] = 13.5, P < .001) were greater for the higher dose. The areas of visible flare (F [1,52] = 27.5, P < .001) and secondary pinprick hyperalgesia (F [1,52] = 65.6, P < .001) were also larger for the higher dose. In both experiments, women showed greater manifestations in several responses. CONCLUSION: Capsaicin-evoked sensory and vasomotor manifestations were different in the forehead and forearm. The differences are most likely due to the differences in innervation density and neurovascular activity. The capsaicin-induced effects were demonstrated to be dose-dependent and sex-related phenomena.     

The effects of ginger supplementation on markers of inflammatory and oxidative stress: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of clinical trials

The present systematic review and meta‐analysis was conducted to investigate the effects of ginger supplementation on markers of inflammatory and oxidative stress. PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science were systematically searched to identify relevant clinical trials evaluating the effects of ginger on serum CRP (C‐reactive protein), TNF‐α (tumor necrosis factor‐alpha), IL‐6 (interleukin‐6), PGE2 (prostaglandin E2), TAC (total antioxidant capacity), and MDA (malondialdehyde) from inception up to September 2019. Mean difference and 95% confidence intervals were pooled using a random‐effects model. Potential publication bias was assessed using visual inspection of funnel plot and Egger's weighted regression tests. After excluding irrelevant records, 20 full‐text articles that included 25 separate studies were included to the meta‐analysis. Pooled results of this study indicated a statistically significant effect of ginger on serum CRP, TNF‐α, IL‐6, TAC, and MDA levels following ginger supplementation in compared to the controls. Also, the effects of ginger on serum PGE2 was marginally significant. Moreover, the high heterogeneity was disappeared in subgroup analysis performed by age, duration, dosage, and quality. This current analysis indicates that ginger supplementation has a significant effects on serum inflammatory and oxidative stress markers.