Protective Role of Curcumin against N-Nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA)-Induced Toxicity in Rats

The present investigation was aimed at studying the possible role of curcumin against N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA)-induced toxicity in albino rats. Administration of NDEA to rats at a concentration of 0.1 mg/ml in drinking water ad libitum for 21 days produced toxicity in them, which was evident from histopathological changes in the rat livers, and increased levels of blood serum enzyme markers, i.e. aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, and lactate dehydrogenase. In addition, the levels of oxidative stress markers like lipid peroxidation (LPO), protein carbonyl (PCC), and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activity were elevated and the total glutathione (GSH) content was reduced in the livers. The administration of curcumin to rats at concentrations of 10, 20, and 40 mg/ml in drinking water along with 0.1 mg/ml of NDEA for 21 days effectively suppressed NDEA-induced toxicity and also resulted in a dose-dependent reduction in the levels of blood serum enzyme markers (AST, ALT, ALP, and LDH). Moreover, LPO, PCC, and GST activity were reduced and the GSH level was increased upon the administration of curcumin along with NDEA. The results obtained for the comet assay in rat hepatocytes and blood lymphocytes showed a significant dose-dependent decrease in the mean tail length. The micronucleus assay performed on rat hepatocytes also showed a dose-dependent reduction in the frequency of micronucleated cells along with curcumin administration. These results suggest that curcumin has a protective role against NDEA-induced toxicity in albino rats.     

Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis resembling Rasmussen’s encephalitis on magnetic resonance imaging

Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) is a rare, slowly progressing but invariably fatal disease that is related to a prior measles virus infection and most commonly affects paediatric patients. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is the modality of choice for determining such changes in white matter. SSPE typically demonstrates bilateral but asymmetric periventricular and subcortical white matter involvement. We herein report a rare case of unilateral white matter involvement in a 13-year-old boy with SSPE that closely simulated Rasmussen’s encephalitis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of an atypical presentation on MR imaging in which SSPE was a rare cause of unilateral brain parenchymal involvement in a patient with intractable seizures.     

Primary exophytic laryngeal amyloidosis presenting as sudden airway obstruction

Primary amyloidosis of larynx is an uncommon phenomenon, the precise etiopathogenesis of which is not yet clear. It can present with slowly increasing hoarseness or difficulty in breathing. It presents more commonly as infiltrative lesion, exophytic presentation is a rare occurrence.     

Primary malignant melanoma of cervix: a case report

Primary malignant melanoma of cervix is a rare entity. A case of primary malignant melanoma of cervix presented with vaginal discharge and black colored growth over cervix. Histology showed malignant pleomorphic cells with melanin pigment in the cytoplasm.     

Presence of two Ca2+ influx components in internal Ca2+-pool-depleted rat parotid acinar cells

The molecular mechanism(s) involved in mediating Ca²⁺ entry into rat parotid acinar and other non-excitable cells is not known. In this study we have examined the kinetics of Ca²⁺ entry in fura-2-loaded parotid acinar cells, which were treated with thapsigargin to deplete internal Ca²⁺ pools (Ca²⁺-pool-depleted cells). The rate of Ca²⁺ entry was determined by measuring the initial increase in free cytosolic [Ca²⁺] ([Ca²⁺]_i) in Ca²⁺-pool-depleted, and control (untreated), cells upon addition of various [Ca²⁺] to the medium. In untreated cells, a low-affinity component was detected with K _Ca = 3.4 ± 0.7 mM (where K _Ca denotes affinity for Ca²⁺) and V _max = 9.8 ± 0.4 nM [Ca²⁺]_i/s. In thapsigargin-treated cells, two Ca²⁺ influx components were detected with K _Ca values of 152 ±  79 μM (V _max = 5.1 ± 1.9 nM [Ca²⁺]_i/s) and 2.4 ±  0.9 mM (V _max = 37.6 ± 13.6 nM [Ca²⁺]_i/s), respectively. We have also examined the effect of Ca²⁺ and depolarization on these two putative Ca²⁺ influx components. When cells were treated with thapsigargin in a Ca²⁺-free medium, Ca²⁺ influx was higher than into cells treated in a Ca²⁺-containing medium and, while there was a 46% increase in the V _max of the low-affinity component (no change in K _Ca), the high-affinity component was not clearly detected. In depolarized Ca²⁺-pool-depleted cells (with 50 mM KCl in the medium) the high-affinity component was considerably decreased while there was an apparent increase in the K _Ca of the low-affinity component, without any change in the V _max. These results demonstrate that Ca²⁺ influx into parotid acinar cells (1) is increased (four- to five-fold) upon internal Ca²⁺ pool depletion, and (2) is mediated via at least two components, with low and high affinities for Ca²⁺. Received: 30 October 1995/Received after revisionand accepted: 13 December 1995     

Expression of CD4 on peripheral blood granulocytes. a novel finding in a case of myelodysplastic syndrome in association with t(5;12)

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are associated with cell maturation defects that can manifest as abnormal surface antigen expression. We describe a patient with refractory anemia with excess blasts, who presented with infection and extensive dysplastic features in peripheral blood granulocytes. The granulocytes expressed CD11b, CD13, CD15, CD33, and CD43. The granulocytes also expressed CD4 antigen. Cytogenetic analysis showed a clonal t(5;12)(q33;p13). The patient improved on antibiotics with partial improvement in the dysplastic features. However, shortly after, the patient experienced paravertebral extramedullary blast transformation followed by a leukemia phase of acute monoblastic leukemia. The patient died a few days later. This is the first report describing anomalous expression of CD4 on granulocytes in MDS. Since the breakpoint on chromosome 12 is near the CD4 gene, which is mapped to 12p12, we hypothesize that dysregulation of the CD4 gene may have occurred resulting in its persistent expression on mature and maturing granulocytes.     

Differential effects of hot-humid and hot-dry environments on mental functions

Twenty five subjects acclimatised to heat artificially were exposed to "basic effective temperatures" (BET) of 25.0 degrees, 29.6 degrees, 32.2 degrees, 33.3 degrees and 35.0 degrees C BET under conditions of both humid and dry heat. The object of the investigation was to ascertain the nature of effects of varying degrees of heat stress on mental alertness, associative learning, reasoning ability and dual-performance efficiency. A further aim was to determine the temperature levels at which impairment of psychological functions was severe enough to be of practical concern. The duration of each exposure was four hours, during which subjects performed physical exercise followed by rest every 30 min. It was found that all the psychological functions tested were adversely affected under extreme heat, and that a significant drop in various psychological functions was seen at effective temperatures of 32.2 degrees C and 33.3 degrees C in hot-humid and hot-dry conditions respectively. It is concluded that at the same effective temperatures the magnitude of the overall effect on psychological functions under humid conditions is relatively greater than that under dry conditions.