The effect on wound healing of pazopanib and bevacizumab compared with corticosteroid in experimental glaucoma filtration surgery

AIM: To compare the effects of bevacizumab and pazopanib with corticosteroids on wound healing after trabeculectomy. METHODS: In the study, 35 New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into five groups. Apart from the first group, limbus-based trabeculectomy was performed for the eyes of rabbits. No postoperative treatment was administered for group I. Topically administered saline, prednisolone acetate (1%), bevacizumab 5 mg/mL, pazopanib 5 mg/mL for group II, III, IV and V respectively were applied for groups 6h daily for 28d. On day 28 of the experiment, eyes were enucleated and histologically and immunohistochemically analyzed. RESULTS: The fibroblast counts of groups IV and V were determined to be lower than those of groups II and III (P<0.05). In the mononuclear cell (MNC) count evaluation, no statistically significant difference was determined between the treatment groups (P>0.05). The immunohistochemical staining intensity of fibroblast growth factor β (FGF-β) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was determined to be lower in groups IV and V than in groups II and III (P<0.05). No statistically significant difference was determined between groups IV and V in respect of fibroblast count, MNC count, FGF-β and VEGF staining intensity (P>0.05). The platelet derived growth factor β (PDGF-β) intensity was lower in group V than in groups II, III and IV (P<0.05). While the PDGF-β staining intensity was significantly lower in group IV than in group II, the difference compared with group III was not statistically significant (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Bevacizumab and pazopanib might be good alternatives of corticosteroid treatment on delaying wound healing in glaucoma surgery.     

Developing a community facilitator‐led participatory learning and action women's group intervention to improve infant feeding,care and dental hygiene practices in South Asian infants: NEON programme

IntroductionThe Nurture Early for Optimal Nutrition (NEON) study is a multiphase project that aims to optimize feeding, care and dental hygiene practices in South Asian children <2 years in East London, United Kingdom. The multiphase project uses a participatory learning and action (PLA) approach facilitated by a multilingual community facilitator. In this paper, we elaborate on the process and results of the Intervention Development Phase in the context of the wider NEON programme.MethodsQualitative community‐based participatory intervention codevelopment and adaptation.SettingCommunity centres in East London and online (Zoom) meetings and workshops.ParticipantsIn total, 32 participants registered to participate in the Intervention Development Phase. Four Intervention Development workshops were held, attended by 25, 17, 20 and 20 participants, respectively.ResultsCollaboratively, a culturally sensitive NEON intervention package was developed consisting of (1) PLA group facilitator manual, (2) picture cards detailing recommended and nonrecommended feeding, care and dental hygiene practices with facilitators/barriers to uptake as well as solutions to address these, (3) healthy infant cultural recipes, (4) participatory Community Asset Maps and (5) list of resources and services supporting infant feeding, care and dental hygiene practices.ConclusionThe Intervention Development Phase of the NEON programme demonstrates the value of a collaborative approach between researchers, community facilitators and the target population when developing public health interventions. We recommend that interventions to promote infant feeding, care and dental hygiene practices should be codeveloped with communities. Recognizing and taking into account both social and cultural norms may be of particular value for infants from ethnically diverse communities to develop interventions that are both effective in and accepted by these communities.Patient and Public Involvement and EngagementConsiderable efforts were placed on Patient/Participant and Public Involvement and Engagement. Five community facilitators were identified, each of which represented one ethnic/language group: (i) Bangladeshi/Bengali and Sylheti, (ii) Pakistani/Urdu, (iii) Indian/Gujrati, (iv) Indian/Punjabi and (v) Sri Lankan/Tamil. The community facilitators were engaged in every step of the study, from the initial drafting of the protocol and study design to the Intervention Development and refinement of the NEON toolkit, as well as the publication and dissemination of the study findings. More specifically, their role in the Intervention Development Phase of the NEON programme was to:

• 1.Support the development of the study protocol, information sheets and ethics application.
• 2.Ensure any documents intended for community members are clear, appropriate and sensitively worded.
• 3.Develop strategies to troubleshoot any logistical challenges of project delivery, for example, recruitment shortfalls.
• 4.Contribute to the writing of academic papers, in particular reviewing and revising drafts.
• 5.Develop plain language summaries and assist in dissemination activities, for example, updates on relevant websites.
• 6.Contribute to the development of the NEON intervention toolkit and recruitment of the community members.
• 7.Attend and contribute to Intervention Development workshops, ensuring the participant''s voices were the focus of the discussion and workshop outcomes.

     

Effect of a 0.5% Dilution of Propofol on Pain on Injection during Induction of Anesthesia in Children

Background: Pain on injection of propofol in children has been reported to be as high as 30-80%. The reason for the pain is assumed to be the aqueous phase of the propofol emulsion. Therefore, for the first time, this study tested the hypothesis that dilution of propofol to a 0.5% emulsion might reduce the incidence of pain during propofol injection.

Methods: The study design was prospective, monocenter, double-blind, and randomized. Sixty-four children aged 2-6 yr were scheduled to receive 0.5% or 1.0% propofol in a medium-chain-triglyceride/long-chain-triglyceride emulsion. Incidence and intensity of pain were assessed by spontaneous expressions of pain and withdrawal of the arm. In a subgroup of 21 children, serum triglyceride levels were measured before and 3 and 20 min after induction. Adverse events were recorded.

Results: Amounts of propofol required until loss of eyelash reflex were 4.40 +/- 1.01 mg/kg for 0.5% propofol and 4.31 +/- 0.86 mg/kg for 1.0% propofol. Percentages of children who showed at least one pain reaction were 23.3% in the 0.5% propofol group and 70.0% in the 1.0% propofol group (P < 0.001). Serum triglycerides were higher in the 0.5% propofol group 3 and 20 min after injection (251.7 vs. 148.8 mg/dl; P = 0.001 and 135.5 vs. 75.5 mg/dl; P = 0.03). Adverse events or complications did not occur.     

Effects of vitamin E supplementation on oxidative stress in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats: investigation of liver and plasma

This experimental study was designed to investigate the effects of vitamin E supplementation, especially on lipid peroxidation and antioxidant status elements 3/4 namely, glutathione (GSH), CuZn superoxide dismutase (CuZn SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH Px), both in blood and liver tissues of streptozotocin (STZ) diabetic rats. The extent to which blood can be used to reflect the oxidative stress of the liver is also investigated. In diabetic rats, plasma lipid peroxide values were not significantly different,from control,whereas erythrocyte CuZn SOD (p < 0.01), GSH Px (p < 0.001) activities and plasma vitamin E levels (p < 0.001), were significantly more elevated than controls. Vitamin E supplementation caused significant decreases of erythrocyte GSH level (p < 0.01) in control rats and of erythrocyte GSH Px activity (p < 0.05) in diabetic rats. Liver findings revealed significantly higher lipid peroxide (p < 0.001) and vitamin E (p < 0.01) levels and lower GSH (p < 0.001), CuZn SOD (p < 0.001) and GSH Px (p < 0.01) levels in diabetic rats. A decreased hepatic lipid peroxide level (p < 0.01) and increased vitamin E/lipid peroxide ratio (p < 0.001) were observed in vitamin E supplemented, diabetic rats. A vitamin E supplementation level which did not cause any increase in the concentration of the vitamin in the liver or blood, was sufficient to lower lipid peroxidation in the liver. Vitamin E/lipid peroxide ratio is suggested as an appropriate index to evaluate the efficiency of vitamin E activity,independent of tissue lipid values. Further, the antioxidant components GSH, GSH Px and CuZn SOD and the relationships among them, were affected differently in the liver and blood by diabetes or vitamin E supplementation.     

The Acute Effect of Cigarette Smoking on Pattern Visual Evoked Potentials

Reports of tobacco-induced electrocortical activation and decrements in ocular blood flow in the acute faze indicated that this effect is mediated via nicotin’s action or neuronal systems. In this study, pattern visual evoked potentials were investigated in a group of male smokers (22 right eyes of 22 subjects) in separate real smoking and sham smoking sessions. On each session, pattern visual evoked potentials were recorded before smoking, immediately after smoking, and five minutes after smoking. Latency and amplitude values for P100 peaks were assessed and analyzed in each smoking condition for both real smoking and sham smoking sessions. Real smoking significantly decreased P100 latency values (p value related to difference between pre-smoking and immediately after smoking conditions is 0.009) and increased P100 amplitude values (p value related to difference between pre-smoking and fifth minute after smoking is 0.039). Statistically no significant difference was observed in sham smoking sessions. Our results are consistent with smoking-induced stimulant effects on pattern visual evoked potentials.     

Acute effects of cigarette smoking on pattern electroretinogram

In this study, acute effects of cigarette smoking on the pattern electroretinogram (PERG) were investigated. First, variability of the PERG was studied in a group of young male smokers (26 right eyes of 26 subjects). Then PERGs were investigated in a group of habitual smokers (17 right eyes of 17 subjects) in separate real smoking and sham smoking sessions. On each session PERGs were recorded pre-smoking (PS), immediately after smoking (IAS) and 5 min after smoking (5th) conditions. Real smoking significantly increased P50 amplitudes and decreased N95 latencies. Regarding P50 amplitudes in the real smoking sessions, the differences were significant between PS and IAS (PS: 3.3 ± 0.5 μV, IAS: 3.7 ± 0.7μV, P = 0.015) and between PS-5th (PS: 3.3 ± 0.5μV, 5th: 4.1 ± 0.9μV, P = 0.039). There was significant difference (P = 0.024) between N95 latencies of PS (98.5 ± 6.9 ms) and IAS (94.7 ± 5.1 ms) in the real smoking sessions. No statistically significant difference was observed in sham smoking sessions. Our results indicated, for the first time, that cigarette smoking may influence PERG amplitude and latency significantly in habitual smokers.     

Oronasopharyngeal suction versus no suction in normal, term and vaginally born infants: a prospective randomised controlled trial

This prospective randomised controlled trial aimed to compare the effects of oronasopharyngeal suction with those of no suction in normal, term and vaginally born infants and was performed at a Turkish tertiary hospital from June 2003 to January 2004. A total of 140 newborns were enrolled in the trial (n = 70 per group). The no suction group showed lower mean heart rates through the 3rd and 6th minutes and higher SaO(2) values through the first 6 mins of life (P < 0.001). The maximum time to reach SaO2 of >or= 92% (6 vs. 11 min) and >or= 86% (5 vs. 8 min) were shorter in the no suction group (P < 0.001).     

Power Doppler ultrasound studies of ovarian, uterine, and endometrial blood flow in regularly menstruating women with respect to luteal phase defects

The menstrual cycle outcome of 71 regularly menstruating women was ovulatory in 60.5% of the cases, luteal phase defect in 25.3%, luteinized unruptured follicle in 11.2%, and anovulatory in 2.8%. Significantly lower resistance indices were seen in the uterine, arcuate, radial, and spiral arteries of the ovulatory group in the midluteal phase, which was inversely related to the P level.