Effects of magnesium sulfate on tissue lactate and malondialdehyde levels after cerebral ischemia

In the present study, the effects of magnesium sulfate on tissue lactate and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels after cerebral ischemia in rabbits were studied. The rabbits were divided equally into three groups. Group 1 (n = 8) was the sham-operated control group, in group 2 (n = 8) only cerebral ischemia was induced by clamping bilaterally the common carotid arteries for 60 min, and in group 3 (n = 8) magnesium sulfate was administered at a dose of 100 mg/kg i.v. within 5 min after opening the clamps. In group 1 EEG recordings were obtained immediately and 60 and 120 min after craniectomy. In groups 2 and 3 EEG recordings were obtained immediately after craniectomy but before clamping and 60 min after clamping. One hour after opening the clamps and taking EEG recordings, brain cortices were resected, and the concentrations of lactate and MDA were determined using spectrophotometric/enzymatic and thiobarbituric acid methods, respectively. In all groups, there were significant differences between MDA and lactate levels (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in lactate levels between groups 2 and 3 (p > 0.05), and also the preischemic EEG grades were the same in all groups. Preischemic and postischemic EEG values were significantly different (p < 0.05), and there were also significant differences between postischemic EEG grades in groups 2 and 3 (p < 0.05). There was a correlation between postischemic EEG grades and MDA and lactate levels. These results demonstrate that cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury leads to an increase in brain tissue lactate and MDA levels, that magnesium sulfate suppresses the increase of MDA and lactate concentrations, and that magnesium sulfate treatment improves the EEG changes. The EEG grades correlated well with MDA and lactate levels.     

The positivity of rheumatoid factor and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody in nonarthritic patients with chronic hepatitis c infection

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) has extrahepatic autoimmune properties and a variety of autoantibodies were found in patients with HCV. Patients with HCV infection may have rheumatic symptoms and signs, and 50–70% of the cases may contain rheumatoid factor (RF). The increased prevalence of RF in patients with HCV infection diminishes the diagnostic specificity of serum RF for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in patients with HCV. Therefore, the presence of RF mostly does not help in distinguishing between RA and HCV-associated rheumatic symptoms. In this study, we studied whether cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) antibody, a highly specific biomarker for RA in the general population, was useful for the diagnosis of RA in nonarthritic patients with HCV (hepatitis C virus). Blood samples from 39 patients with chronic HCV infection, 87 normal sera from volunteer blood donors and 108 blood samples from patients with rheumatoid arthritis, from the rheumatology clinic, were taken. RF was measured using the Dade-Behring nephelometer and antibodies to CCP were measured with ELISA. According to statistical analysis, the sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value of the anti-CCP test was superior to the RF test. Cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody is a more useful test than RF among patients with chronic HCV infection without arthritis.     

Sexual dependency of rat sciatic nerve fiber conduction velocity distributions

Gender differences, either with the structural or through with hormones, dictate how the corresponding organ or organ system responses to physiological signals. Current study aims to investigate gender dependent differences in conduction related parameters of rat sciatic nerve. Compound action potentials (CAP) were recorded via suction electrode whereas the conduction velocity distributions (CVD) were performed using the method known as collision technique in the literature. Studied CAP parameters, namely conduction velocities (CV), area of the CAPs and time required to reach the maximum depolarization (TP) have been found significantly different for female and male rats. Detailed analyses have shown that sex dependent differences were more remarkable in the right leg responses of female and male rats. Additionally, CVDs indicate that the number of fibers having CVs between 5-30 m/s is much more in male right sciatic nerve trunk when compared to age matched female rats. The present study, for the first time clearly shows that shift in the contribution of nerve fibers to lower CVs is the main causal of the sex dependent differences seen in rat sciatic nerve fibers.     

Effects of Carvacrol on Survival,Mesenteric Blood Flow,Aortic Function and Multiple Organ Injury in a Murine Model of Polymicrobial Sepsis

Carvacrol (CRV) has strong cytoprotective, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. We aimed to demonstrate the possible protective effects of CRV on survival, mesenteric artery blood flow (MBF), vascular reactivity, and oxidative and inflammatory injuries in a murine model of polymicrobial sepsis induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). Wistar rats were allocated into the following four groups: Sham, CLP, Sham + CRV, and CLP + CRV. The animals were orally administered with CRV (80 mg/kg/day) or vehicle (corn oil; 1 mL/kg/day) for 7 days. At the eighth day, Sham or CLP procedure was applied. Twenty hours after the operations, MBF and contractile responses of isolated aortic preparations to phenylephrine were measured. Tissue samples were obtained for biochemical and histopathological assessments. Additionally, survival rates were recorded throughout 96 h. CRV administration improved the mesenteric perfusion, contractile function of aorta, and survival after CLP. CRV substantially prevented the elevations in the levels of LDH, BUN, Cr, and inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1 beta and interleukin-6) but could not prevent the elevations of AST and ALT after CLP. The decreased liver, kidney, and spleen glutathione levels and increased liver, kidney, lung, and spleen malondialdehyde levels induced by CLP were substantially restored by CRV. Also, histopathological protective effects of CRV on multiple organ damage due to CLP were observed. CRV possesses strong ameliorative effects on sepsis due to its protective effects on mesenteric perfusion and aortic function and its antioxidative and anti-inflammatory effects.     

Correlation of low back pain caused by lumbar spinal stenosis and depression in women: a clinical study

Objective:

Low back pain (LBP) due to spinal stenosis may be one of the most debilitating symptoms to decrease the quality of life. The cause and effect association of LBP and depression is vague. Pain may also be a somatization symptom of depression. This is more frequent in the female population. This clinical study was designed to evaluate the correlation between the level of back pain caused by lumbar spinal stenosis and depression in the female population.

Method:

The study included 50 consecutive female patients with spinal stenosis. The stenosis diagnosis is made by neurological examination and neuro-imaging. The study group was psychiatrically evaluated and grouped as those with and without depression. Visual analog scale (VAS), Oswestry disability index (ODI) and Hamilton Depression Scale (HDS) were utilized in initial evaluation of the group.

Results:

Twenty-one patients with lumbar spinal stenosis had depression (DLS Group) and 29 did not (LSS Group). Mean HDS scores were 8.97 and 32.48 for Group LSS and Group DLS, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference between the VAS scores of the groups (the mean VAS scores were 5.6 and 7.6, for groups LSS and DLS, respectively). The mean ODI values for LSS (65.24?±?4.58) and DLS (75.1?±?6.7) groups were also significantly different. In Group DLS, there were positive correlations between ODI and VAS with HDS (p?Conclusion: Our findings indicated a relationship between lumbar spinal stenosis associated pain levels and depression. However, the cause and result relationship still needs to be established yet.     

Vascular endothelial function and plasma homocysteine levels in Behcet's disease

The purpose of the present study was to test endothelial function and to determine if plasma homocysteine levels are associated with endothelial injury in patients with Behcet's disease (BD). Flow-mediated dilation in patients with BD was smaller than that of control subjects (p = 0.001), and mean plasma homocysteine levels in patients with BD were significantly higher (p = 0.0001). On regression analysis, only mean plasma homocysteine concentration was independently related to flow-mediated dilation (F = 5.7, p = 0.001).