Testosterone and vitamin E administration up-regulated varicocele-reduced Hsp70-2 protein expression and ameliorated biochemical alterations

Purpose

This study was designed to evaluate the protective effects of vitamin E (VitE) and testosterone on varicocele (VCL)-induced damage in testis and sperm parameters and their effects on Hsp70-2 chaperone expression and on antioxidant status.

Methods

Wistar rats were divided into five groups: control-sham, VCL-induced, VitE-treated varicocelized (150 mg/kg, orally), testosterone-administrated varicocelized (400 μg/kg, intraperitoneally) and VitE + testosterone-received VCL-induced rats. The sperm count, DNA integrity, motility, viability and histone-protamine transition were evaluated after 60 days. The antioxidant status was analyzed by determining testicular malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), superoxide desmutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px). Endocrine status of the testicular tissue was estimated by evaluating the Leydig cells steroidogenic activity using fluorescent analyses for cytoplasmic steroid foci and by determination of serum testosterone. The expression of Hsp70-2 protein was analyzed using imunohistochemical and western blot analyses. RNA damage of the germinal cells was examined with epi-fluorescent examination.

Results

VitE and testosterone administration ameliorated the varicocele-reduced Leydig cell and testosterone level. In addition, co-administration of these compounds recovered the VCL-induced reduction of TAC, SOD, and GSH-px and lowered significantly (P < 0.05) the VCL-elevated content of MDA. The treated animals revealed with a significant (P < 0.05) up-regulation of the VCL-reduced expression of Hsp70-2 protein. Moreover, VitE and testosterone significantly (P < 0.05) inhibited the VCL-increased RNA damage in germinal cells.

Conclusion

Our data suggest that the protective effects of VitE and testosterone on VCL-induced derangements may depend on enhancing testicular antioxidant status and up-regulating endocrine activities, which enhanced the Hsp70-2 chaperone expression.     

Parental attachment for at-risk children's antisocial behaviour: A case of Malaysia

The aim of this study was twofold: to explore the influential factors of parents’ attachment for at-risk children's antisocial behaviour, and to know the types of children's antisocial behaviour caused by being a single-parent family. The sample comprised 1,434 secondary school children from the state of Johore, Malaysia. Results from the structured questionnaire showed that the children were at risk of involvement in antisocial behaviour when their parental controls were either absent or ineffective owing to three risk factors: the absence of parents at home, the number of children in the family, and single-parent family households. The finding of the study has significant policy implications for improvement of parental care to develop child care services in Malaysia.     

Effect of Ginger and Novafen on menstrual pain: A cross-over trial

Objective

Menstrual pain is a periodic pain which happens during the days of menses. The menstrual disturbances as a health problem among young girls affect not only reproductive, but also psychical health and quality of life. This study was done with the goal of comparing the effect of Ginger and Novafen on the menstrual pain.

Vitamin D insufficiency among postmenopausal women in urban and rural areas in Guilan, Northern Iran

This study aimed to describe vitamin D status in postmenopausal women in urban and rural areas in Guilan, northern Iran. Between October 2004 and February 2005 a group of 750 women older than 50 years was randomly selected from urban and rural areas in Guilan. The participants were interviewed to collect data on age, educational level, body weight, height, employment status, reproductive history, medications, history of illness, and supplement use. Serum 25(OH) D was measured in 646 women (427 in urban areas and 219 women in rural areas). Serum 25(OH) D levels in urban and rural postmenopausal women were 18.5 ± 13.5 ng/ml and 22.9 ± 13.8 ng/ml (P < 0.0001), respectively. In urban and rural areas, 84.7% and 79.5% of the women had serum 25(OH) D levels less than 30 ng/ml, respectively. In this study, serum vitamin D levels and prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency was related to educational level in urban women. The urban women in the lowest educational level (<5 years schooling) had a better vitamin D status than other educational groups. This study showed that a high proportion of postmenopausal women living in Guilan province had vitamin D insufficiency. Vitamin D inadequacy was more common in urban areas and especially in the upper social class. Supplement use and national strategies to prevent vitamin D insufficiency are strongly needed in this community.     

Dual growth factor delivery from bilayered,biodegradable hydrogel composites for spatially-guided osteochondral tissue repair

The present work investigated the use of biodegradable hydrogel composite scaffolds, based on the macromer oligo(poly(ethylene glycol) fumarate) (OPF), to deliver growth factors for the repair of osteochondral tissue in a rabbit model. In particular, bilayered OPF composites were used to mimic the structural layers of the osteochondral unit, and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) were loaded into gelatin microparticles and embedded within the OPF hydrogel matrix in a spatially controlled manner. Three different scaffold formulations were implanted in a medial femoral condyle osteochondral defect: 1) IGF-1 in the chondral layer, 2) BMP-2 in the subchondral layer, and 3) IGF-1 and BMP-2 in their respective separate layers. The quantity and quality of osteochondral repair was evaluated at 6 and 12 weeks with histological scoring and micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). While histological scoring results at 6 weeks showed no differences between experimental groups, micro-CT analysis revealed that the delivery of BMP-2 alone increased the number of bony trabecular islets formed, an indication of early bone formation, over that of IGF-1 delivery alone. At 12 weeks post-implantation, minimal differences were detected between the three groups for cartilage repair. However, the dual delivery of IGF-1 and BMP-2 had a higher proportion of subchondral bone repair, greater bone growth at the defect margins, and lower bone specific surface than the single delivery of IGF-1. These results suggest that the delivery of BMP-2 enhances subchondral bone formation and that, while the dual delivery of IGF-1 and BMP-2 in separate layers does not improve cartilage repair under the conditions studied, they may synergistically enhance the degree of subchondral bone formation. Overall, bilayered OPF hydrogel composites demonstrate potential as spatially-guided, multiple growth factor release vehicles for osteochondral tissue repair.