Effect of Aromatase Inhibitors versus Clomiphene Citrate for Ovulation Induction in Infertile Women with Ovulatory Dysfunction (PCO)

A RCT conducted to assess the efficacy of letrozole as an ovulation induction agent in infertile women, and to compare the effectiveness of letrozole with the current standard agent, clomiphene citrate given for three successive cycles on the induction of ovulation. Forty-five infertile women with anovulation included, the subjects were randomly divided into two groups; subjects were allocated to either CC (100) or letrozole (5 mg) daily—5 days starting on the third day of menses, for 3 months. On stimulation day 12 subjects, serum estradiol and transvaginal sonography to document the number of follicles was done. On stimulation day 21 subjects, serum progesterone and ultrasound for the thickness of endometrium was done. Participants were followed-up monthly. Results revealed that the mean number of follicles reaching >18 mm and endometrial thickness in the letrozole comparable to those receiving clomiphene citrate. Letrozole showed lower estradiol level compared to Clomiphene citrate (P < 0.05). Ovulation occurred in 84.4%, 78.1% in the letrozole and clomiphene citrate, respectively, and pregnancy rate is 18.8% in the letrozole group compared to 15% in the clomiphene citrate group. In conclusion, there was no significant increase in the number of follicles, endometrial thickness and pregnancy rate induced by letrozole compared with clomiphene citrate

A randomized controlled clinical trial evaluating the effect of Trigonella foenum-graecum (fenugreek) versus glibenclamide in patients with diabetes

Background: Herbal medicines long have been used in the management of diabetes mellitus (DM).Objective: This study was conducted to ascertain if fenugreek compared with glibenclamide had any impacts on controlling blood glucose in patients with uncontrolled type II DM on conventional therapy.Methods: A total of 12 patients with uncontrolled DM and on metformin were recruited and divided into two groups. Patients in group 1 received 2 g fenugreek per day, whereas those in group 2 received glibenclamide 5 mg once daily. The impacts of fenugreek on the glycemic control and lipid profile were measured before initiation of the regimen and then after 12 weeks.Results: Only 9 of the 12 study participants completed the study. Fenugreek at 2 g/day caused an insignificant drop in fasting blood glucose (P = 0.63), but the fasting insulin level increased significantly (P = 0.04). The ratio of high- to low-density lipopro- tein was significantly decreased from before to after treatment (P = 0.006). Fenugreek did not cause any notable adverse impacts on hepatic and renal functions throughout the study.Conclusion: Fenugreek could be used as adjuvant therapy to anti-diabetic drugs to control blood glucose, and further studies are needed.Keywords: Trigonella foenum-graecum (fenugreek), glibenclamide, diabetes

Protective effect of L-arginine in experimentally induced Necrotizing Enterocolitis in rats

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the neonatal intensive care unit which recently the etiology of NEC remains unclear, prevention and treatment strategies are often inadequate. Accordingly, a lot of research was conducted to evaluate L-arginine as one of the effective medications to protect the premature infants, where. The objective of the current study was to test the hypothesis that administration of L-arginine would have a protective effect in experimentally induced necrotizing enterocolitis in rats. The study was conducted on 46 male albino rats which were divided into three main groups:  Control group, L-arginine group, and the experimental group which has been divided into two sub-groups; Group A: received Lipopolysaccharides to induce NEC, Group B: injected by L-arginine prior to the disease induced by endotoxin, asphyxia and cold stress. After the animals had been scarified, histological changes were evaluated, gene expression of both iNOS and IL-12 were measured, and apoptosis also was detected by flowcytometry technique. The findings observed a significant increase in the expression of iNOS gene and IL-12 gene and a noticeable decrease of the apoptosis index. In addition, administration of L-arginine attenuated body weight, body temperature, and the histological changes were altered by LPS/asphyxia. As such, the study was able to demonstrate that L-arginine administration significant protective effect against NEC, but further clinical studies are still required on preterm infant to confirm these results. Key words: Necrotizing enterocolitis, L-arginine, Interleukin-12, Inducible nitric oxide synthase, Lipopolysaccharides, Messenger Ribonucleic acid (mRNA

Protective Impact of L-arginine against Necrotizing Enterocolitis

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is the most common acute surgical disease in preterm infants in intensive neonatal care. Premature infants are infant born prematurely and have a low birth weight. The disease is characterized by an inflammatory process in the intestines, which sometimes worsen and reach the level of necrosis. This process, in the intestinal wall, can destroy and kill the tissue of the intestinal wall and, later, it makes an intestinal perforation. Intestinal contents, in this case, leak to the abdominal cavity, endangering the child's life. Different studies showed that the arginine level in many premature infants is low, and subsequent studies have linked low arginine plasma concentrations with NEC disease. This paper concerned with awareness of this disease, its symptoms and its causes, in addition to L-arginine medication role in necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) treatment, which is a semi essential cationic amino acid

A randomized controlled clinical trial evaluating the effect of Trigonella foenum-graecum (fenugreek) versus glibenclamide in patients with diabetes

Background: Herbal medicines long have been used in the management of diabetes mellitus (DM). Objective: This study was conducted to ascertain if fenugreek compared with glibenclamide had any impacts on controlling blood glucose in patients with uncontrolled type II DM on conventional therapy. Methods: A total of 12 patients with uncontrolled DM and on metformin were recruited and divided into two groups. Patients in group 1 received 2 g fenugreek per day, whereas those in group 2 received glibenclamide 5 mg once daily. The impacts of fenugreek on the glycemic control and lipid profile were measured before initiation of the regimen and then after 12 weeks. Results: Only 9 of the 12 study participants completed the study. Fenugreek at 2 g/day caused an insignificant drop in fasting blood glucose (P = 0.63), but the fasting insulin level increased significantly (P = 0.04). The ratio of high- to low-density lipoprotein was significantly decreased from before to after treatment (P = 0.006). Fenugreek did not cause any notable adverse impacts on hepatic and renal functions throughout the study. Conclusion: Fenugreek could be used as adjuvant therapy to anti-diabetic drugs to control blood glucose, and further studies are needed. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v19i1.34 Cite as: Najdi RA, Hagras MM, Kamel FO, RM M. A randomized controlled clinical trial evaluating the effect of Trigonella foenum-graecum (fenugreek) versus glibenclamide in patients with diabetes. Afri Health Sci. 2019;19(1). 1594-1601. https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v19i1.3

Effect of epigallocatechin-3-gallate on inflammatory mediators release in LPS-induced Parkinson's disease in rats

357-362Degeneration of dopamine (DA)-containing neurons in the substantia nigra of the midbrain causes Parkinson's disease (PD). Although neuroinflammatory response of the brain has long been speculated to play a role in the pathogenesis of this neurological disorder, the mechanism is still poorly understood. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) in prevention of inflammatory mediators release and protection of dopaminergic neurons from lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced neurotoxicity. A single intraperitoneal injection of LPS (15 mg/kg) in male Sprague Dawley rats resulted in an increase of midbrain content of TNF-, NO and a decrease of DA level at 4, 24 h, 3 and 7 days compared to the control. In addition, LPS reduced the number and the density of tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive (TH-ir) neurons in the midbrain at 7 days. Pretreatment with EGCG (10 mg/kg) 24 h before LPS for 7 days decreased TNF- and NO compared to LPS-treated rats. Moreover, it increased DA level and preserved the number and the density of TH-ir neurons compared to LPS group. In conclusion, EGCG was found to have a potential therapeutic effect against LPS-induced neurotoxicity via reducing TNF- and NO inflammatory mediators and preserving DA level in midbrain. </span

Yersinia Pseudotuberculosis Modulates Regulatory T Cell Stability via Injection of Yersinia Outer Proteins in a Type III Secretion System-Dependent Manner.

Adaptive immunity is essentially required to control acute infection with enteropathogeni

Yersinia Pseudotuberculosis Modulates Regulatory T Cell Stability via Injection of Yersinia Outer Proteins in a Type III Secretion System-Dependent Manner

Adaptive immunity is essentially required to control acute infection with enteropathogenic Yersinia pseudotuberculosis (Yptb). We have recently demonstrated that Yptb can directly modulate naïve CD4+ T cell differentiation. However, whether fully differentiated forkhead box protein P3 (Foxp3+) regulatory T cells (Tregs), fundamental key players to maintain immune homeostasis, are targeted by Yptb remains elusive. Here, we demonstrate that within the CD4+ T cell compartment Yptb preferentially targets Tregs and injects Yersinia outer proteins (Yops) in a process that depends on the type III secretion system and invasins. Remarkably, Yop-translocation into ex vivo isolated Foxp3+ Tregs resulted in a substantial downregulation of Foxp3 expression and a decreased capacity to express the immunosuppressive cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10). Together, these findings highlight that invasins are critically required to mediate Yptb attachment to Foxp3+ Tregs, which allows efficient Yop-translocation and finally enables the modulation of the Foxp3+ Tregs' suppressive phenotype