Rare Presentation of Rhino-Orbital-Cerebral Zygomycosis: Bilateral Facial Nerve Palsy

Rhino-orbital-cerebral zygomycosis afflicts primarily diabetics and immunocompromised individual, but can also occur in normal hosts rarely. We here presented an interesting case of facial nerve palsy and multiple cold abscesses of neck due to rhino-orbital-cerebral zygomycosis in an otherwise healthy man. Although some reports of facial nerve paralysis in conjunction with rhino-orbital-cerebral zygomycosis exist, no case of bilateral complete facial paralysis has been reported in the literature to date

The Etiologic Profile of the Pediatric Seizure: An Epidemiological Study from Iran

Background: Seizures are one of the most common neurologic disorders in children. The aim of this study is to determine the main etiologies of seizure in children. Methods: Children with a complaint of seizure in Loghman Hakim hospital, from June 2014 to January 2016 were evaluated. The final diagnosis of seizure was made by a pediatric neurologist. The age, sex, type of seizure, associated fever, history of head trauma and other variables related to seizure in pediatric group were reviewed from the medical records.Results: A total of 200 children with a diagnosis of seizures were included in this study. A total of 59% were male patients. The age of the patients ranged from 3 months to 102 months with a mean of 23 months.About one-quarter of the patients had focal seizures while others had generalized seizures. Sixteen patients (8%) had a positive family history of epilepsy. Of total 126 patients (63%) experienced their first lifetime seizure. The body temperature of the patients ranged from 36.1 °C to 39.8 °C with a mean of 38.2 °C. The etiologies of seizures were febrile seizure (82%), vaccine-associated seizures (3%), hypoglycemia (6%), hypocalcemia (2%), hyponatremia (2%), encephalopathy (2%), hyperglycemia (1%), epilepsy (1%) and intracerebral hemorrhage (1%).Conclusion: While fever is the most common etiology of seizure in children, hypoglycemia should be taken into consideration as the second most common etiology of seizure. Although other etiologies such as hyponatremia and intracerebral hemorrhage are less common, they should be kept in mind due to their life-threatening complications. Hence, the results of this study underscores the importance of history and laboratory findings of the children with seizure.

Effects of Echinacea purpurea Extract on Sperm Characteristics and Hematology Following Testicular Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Rat

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of Echinacea purpurea extract on sperm characteristics following testicular ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in rats. Materials and Methods: To evaluate this hypothesis, 30 adult rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: sham operations, I/R group and 3 groups of treatment with E. purpurea extract (25, 50 and 100 mg/kg). To achieve testicular I/R, torsion (720°) of spermatic cord for 2 hours and reperfusion of the tests for 24 hours were performed. Treatment was done by intraperitoneal injection of 3 different doses of E. purpurea extract, 1 hour after ischemia. Then, the sperm count, motility and mobility were determined. Results: There was a significant increase in sperm count, motility and mobility in treatment groups compared to I/R group (P<0.05). Treatment with E. purpurea extract (25, 50 and 100 mg/kg) significantly attenuated the adverse effect of testicular I/R on sperm mortality compared to the control group (P < 0.05). No significant difference was observed in hemograms. Conclusions: These results confirmed beneficial effects of E. purpurea extract on sperm characteristics after testicular I/R injury in rats

Antifungal activity of Gracilaria corticata methanol extract against Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Microsporum canis, and Microsporum gypseum on rat dermatophytosis models

Background and Purpose: Dermatophytosis is one of the most prevalent zoonotic diseases. Increased resistance of dermatophytosis causing pathogens against antidermatophytic agents highlights the need for alternative medicine with higher efficiency and lower side effects. In the present study, the in vitro antifungal activities of different concentrations of Gracilaria corticata methanol extract against Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Microsporum canis, and Microsporum gypseum were assessed and their efficacy was evaluated in rat dermatophytosis models.Materials and Methods: The broth microdilution and well diffusion methods were used to determine the in vitro antidermatophytic activity. The in vivo study was carried out using 40 dermatophytosis-infected adults male Wistar rats. The animals were divided into 4 groups (5% and 10% G. corticata ointment, terbinafine, and Vaseline) and treated with ointment until complete recovery. The percentage of wound closure was calculated for each group.Results: The results revealed that G. corticata methanol extract was effective to varying extents against the tested dermatophytes. The highest inhibitory activity of G. corticata was found against T. mentagrophytes with minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum fungicidal concentration values of 4 and 9 µg mL-1, respectively. The in vivo experiment revealed that 10% G. corticata ointment significantly accelerated skin lesions reduction and completely cured M. gypseum, T. mentagrophytes, and M. canis infections after 19, 25, and 38 days, respectively.Conclusion: The methanol extract of G. corticata exhibited significant antifungal activity in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that it could be used as an alternative to antidermatophytic therapy in a dose-dependent manner

Effects of different plant extracts at various dietary levels on growth performance, carcass traits, blood serum parameters, immune response and ileal microflora of Ross broiler chickens

A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different plant extracts (common nettle, coriander, dill and thyme) at various dietary levels (0, 150, 300 and 450 mg/L) on growth performance, carcass traits, blood serum parameters, immune response and ileal microflora of 650 male Ross chickens (13 treatment groups; five replicates/treatment group; 10 birds/replicate) in a 42-day trial. Plant extracts were added to drinking water. Supplementation, except for coriander, increased feed intake (p < .05). Thyme extracts at 300 mg/L improved both weight gain and feed efficiency (p < .05). Thyme or dill (300 mg/L) improved carcass and drumsticks yields (p < .05). Pre-slaughtered body weight was increased by supplementation with plant extracts at 300 mg/L (p < .05). Plant extracts positively affected blood serum parameters decreasing concentrations (p < .05) of total protein, albumin, urea and total cholesterol. Dill extract increased IgG against sheep red blood cells at d 28 (p < .05) and d 42 (IgG; tendency p= .0698), whereas coriander extract (450 mg/L) raised immune response against avian influence within 42 d from vaccination (p < .05). Plant extracts reduced coliforms (except dill at 300 mg/L level; p < .05) and aerobic bacteria (except dill; p < .05). Negative gram bacteria were increased by thyme and dill treatments at 150 mg/L (p < .05) whereas lactobacilli bacteria were raised by thyme at 150 mg/L level (p < .05). In conclusion, supplementation with thyme at 300 mg/L level had the greatest benefits on the evaluated parameters.HIGHLIGHTS Thyme supplementation at 300 mg/L level could improve broiler chicken growth performance, carcass traits and blood serum parameters. Thyme supplementation at 150 mg/L could positively affect ileal microbiota increasing lactobacilli bacteria and reducing coliforms. However, no relevant effects of the thyme treatment were observed on broiler chicken immune responses

The effect of green synthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles/collagen/HA scaffold in bone regeneration: As an animal study

Abstract Background The bone defects cannot heal by themselves when their range exceeds the critical size defect (CSD). In clinical treatment, significant bone defects are often caused by trauma, developmental deformity, tumour resection and infection. Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of green synthesis of TiO2 from propolis extract/collagen/HA (Hydroxyapatite) scaffolds on bone regeneration in rats. Methods Water uptake, biodegradability, porosity and biodegradation of the scaffolds were evaluated after they were synthesised using freeze‐dry method. Cell viability by MTT assay was then evaluated. During the 4, 8 and 12 weeks following the scaffold implantation, the bone regeneration was evaluated using macroscopic and microscopic tests to determine the effectiveness of green synthesis of TiO2 from propolis extract/collagen/HA scaffolds. Results Compared to the HA/Coll scaffold, ProTiO2/HA/Coll scaffold was reduced porosity, water absorption and degradability porosity. Based on in vitro tests, both synthetic scaffolds induced cell growth and were less toxic and stimulated cell growth. Based on histopathological testing, the ProTiO2/HA/Coll scaffolds formed high levels of bone during 12 weeks in comparison with HA/Coll and control group. Conclusions ProTiO2/HA/Coll composite can be used in regenerative medicine, bone fillers and scaffolds. As a result, this research suggests that ProTiO2/HA/Coll composites could be promising candidates for bone regeneration

The effects of dexamethasone and erythropoietin on mice sciatic nerve crush injury: histopathologic and functional outcomes

Peripheral neuropathies are one of the major causes of motor and sensory disability. The multitude of nerve injuries and associated comorbidities provides a strong impetus to find a drug that potentiate or accelerate axonal regeneration. Systemic drug delivery has been a promising strategy in this regard. This study aimed to evaluate dexamethasone and erythropoietin effects on sciatic nerve regeneration. Twenty-three mice were randomly assigned to sham, control, dexamethasone, erythropoietin, and dexamethasone + erythropoietin groups. The left sciatic nerve was crushed using mosquito hemostatic forceps. Medications were administered once daily for 28 days. The sham group received neither crush injury nor medication. Histopathologic and walking track analyses were performed. Medical therapy influence on functional recovery was observed in as soon as 14 days. Although functional recovery was superior in the dexamethasone + erythropoietin group, a complete return to near-normal function was seen after 28 days in all of the groups. Dexamethasone yielded superior SFI values compared to the erythropoietin on day 14, although this was not statistically significant (p = 0.534). Histopathologically, recovery of average axonal number up to 75% normal nerve and significant decline of axonal swelling was observed in the erythropoietin and dexamethasone + erythropoietin groups, which were statistically significant compared to the dexamethasone group (p = 0.008). Marked immunoreactivity to Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) was present in the dexamethasone group. Furthermore, immunoreactivity to S-100 protein was observed in regenerated nerves in all groups. Present data provide insights into the neurotrophic effects of dexamethasone and erythropoietin on sciatic crush; however, further investigation is required to justify the clinical application of these agents