Rebaudioside A inhibits pentylenetetrazol-induced convulsions in rats

AbstractThe safety of patients with epilepsy consuming sweetening agents, which is becoming increasingly prevalent for various reasons, is a topic that should be emphasized as sensitively as it is for other diseases. Patients with epilepsy consume sweetening agents for different reasons such being diabetic or overweight. They can occasionally be exposed to sweetening agents unrestrainedly through consuming convenience food, primarily beverages. This study aimed to investigate the effects of rebaudioside A (Reb-A), which is a steviol glycoside produced from the herb Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni), on epileptic seizures and convulsions induced by pentylenetetrazole (PTZ). Forty-eight male rats were used. Twenty-four rats were administered 35 mg/kg PTZ to trigger epileptiform activity; the remaining 24 rats were administered 70 mg/kg PTZ to trigger the convulsion model. The epileptiform activity was evaluated by spike percentage, whereas convulsion was evaluated by Racine's Convulsion Scale and the onset time of the first myoclonic jerk. Statistical analysis revealed a statistically significant decrease in the Racine's Convulsion Scale score and increase in the latency of first myoclonic jerk in a dose-dependent manner for the rat groups in which PTZ epilepsy had been induced and Reb-A had been administered. For the groups that were administered Reb-A, the spike decrease was apparent in a dose-dependent manner, based on the spike percentage calculation. These results indicated that Reb-A has positive effects on PTZ-induced convulsions

Oligomeric Thiosemicarbazones as Novel Immobilization Matrix in Biosensing Applications

WOS: 000315657000005Thiosemicarbazone (TSC) matrices are constructed by electrochemically oligomerization on the graphite electrodes to investigate their matrix properties in terms of biomolecule immobilization for the biosensor applications. Amino functionalized oligomeric TSCs were successfully applied for the glucose oxidase (GOx) immobilization using glutaraldehyde (GA) as the crosslinker. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) measurements are used to characterize the modified surface. Electrochemical measurements of the GOx biosensor were performed at ambient conditions at 0.7vs. Ag/AgCl electrode by following the oxygen consumption resulting from the enzyme activity, in the presence of glucose substrate. Linearity, operational stabilities and repeatability are investigated in detail, as well as optimization of pH and enzyme amount,. The optimized biosensor shows a very good linearity between 0.05mM and 1.0mM glucose with a 10s response time. Kinetic parameters such as K-m and I-max are also calculated. Besides the batch configuration, the analytical characteristics of the system were also evaluated in flow injection analysis (FIA) mode. Finally, the new biosensor configuration was applied for glucose determination on a real sample.Dokuz Eylul University, the Scientific Research CouncilDokuz Eylul University [2012.KB.FEN.053]The authors would like to thank Dokuz Eylul University, the Scientific Research Council (Project No: 2012.KB.FEN.053) for financial support

Can occupational exposure to crystalline silica in ceramic industries affect the immune parameters?

53rd Congress of the European-Societies-of-Toxicology (EUROTOX) -- SEP 10-13, 2017 -- Bratislava, SLOVAKIAWOS: 000425486700564…European Soc Toxico

Disseminated hydatid disease treated with albendazole: 15-year experience

Medical therapy is recommended in various situations such as multiple cysts, high risk surgery , presence of small cyst and perioperative phase in the treatment of hydatid cyst. Present study was designed to determine the features of disseminated hydatid cyst cases, outcome of albendazole treatment , diagnosis and management of complications and patients outcome. Methods: 21 patients who had the diagnosis of hydatid cyst based on clinical, radiological, and pathological findings with multiple hydatid cyst in a single organ and/or more than one organ were retrospectively analyzed. The mean age was 34±17.9 (range, 7-71) and F/M was 17/4. Hydatid disease was detected as multiple cysts in the lung in four patients, as multiple cysts in the lung and pleura in one case, and as multiple organ involvement in 16 cases. The most common presentation was the involvement of both lung and liver. The most common symptom was cough. Four asymptomatic patients were detected during family screening. In six patients, Albendazole was started before the operation and the remainders were started after the operation. Cure was achieved in eight patients at the end of medical and/or surgical treatment. Convenient medical treatment with albendazole treatment in appropriately selected patients is an effective treatment option with minimal side effects in hydatid cyst disease. [Med-Science 2018; 7(4.000): 935-9

Hyponatremia prolongs hospital stay and hypernatremia better predicts mortality than hyponatremia in hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia

Introduction: Dysnatremia is reported to have a prognostic effect in various diseases. A limited number of studies have been published on dysnatremia-related parameters and clinical outcome in patients with pneumonia. The aim of the study is to analyze the factors related to baseline dysnatremia and to evaluate the clinical outcome of dysnatremia on hospital stay, 30-day and 1-year mortality in hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP)

Assessment of DNA damage in ceramic workers

It is known that ceramic workers are potentially exposed to complex mixture of chemicals such as silica, inorganic lead, lime, beryllium and aluminum that can be associated with an increased risk of several diseases. All operations in the ceramic industries such as mixing, moulding, casting, shaking out and finishing jobs, have been associated with the higher exposure levels and in most of the silica-related industries, average overall exposure exceeded permissible exposure levels for respirable crystalline silica. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible genotoxic damage in ceramic workers exposed to complex mixture of chemicals mainly crystalline silica. For this purpose, the blood and buccal epithelial cell samples were taken from the ceramic workers (n = 99) and their controls (n = 81). The genotoxicity was assessed by the alkaline comet assay in isolated lymphocytes and whole blood. Micronucleus (MN), binucleated (BN), pyknotic (PYC), condensed chromatin (CC), karyolytic (KYL), karyorrhectic (KHC) and nuclear bud (NBUD) frequencies in buccal epithelial cells and plasma 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) levels were also evaluated. In the study, 38 workers were diagnosed with silicosis, 9 workers were suspected to have silicosis, whereas 52 workers were found to be healthy. DNA damage in blood and lymphocytes; MN, CC + KHC, PYC frequencies in buccal epithelial cells and 8-oxodG levels in plasma were increased in workers compared to their controls. These results showed that occupational chemical mixture exposure in ceramic industry may cause genotoxic damage that can lead to important health problems in the workers

Influences of periodontitis on hippocampal inflammation, oxidative stress, and apoptosis in rats

Background and aim The hippocampus, which has a central role in cognitive and behavioral activities, is one of the most sensitive parts of the brain to systemic inflammatory diseases. This animal study aims to comprehensively investigate the possible inflammatory, oxidative, and apoptotic effects of periodontitis on the hippocampus. Methods Sixteen male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to two groups: control and experimental periodontitis (Ep). In the Ep group, periodontitis was induced by placing 3.0 sutures sub-paramarginally around the necks of right and left mandibular first molars and maintaining the ligatures in place for 5 weeks. Following the euthanasia, mandibula and hippocampus samples were collected bilaterally. Alveolar bone loss was measured histomorphometrically and radiologically on the right and left mandibles. On the right hippocampal sections histological (Caspase-3, TNF-alpha, and 8-OHdG) and the left hippocampal sections, biochemical (IL-1 beta, A beta(1-42), MDA, GSH, and TAS levels) evaluations were performed. Results Histopathological changes associated with periodontitis were limited (p > .05). A slight increase in caspase-3 positive neuron density in EP rats showed that apoptotic changes were also limited (p > .05). 8-OHdG activity, on the other hand, was significantly higher compared to controls (p .05). Conclusion Periodontitis causes marked increases in IL-1 beta levels and oxidative stress in the hippocampus, but limited degenerative and apoptotic changes

What should be the appropriate minimal duration for patient examination and evaluation in pulmonary outpatient clinics?

INTRODUCTION: Patient examinations performed in a limited time period may lead to impairment in patient and physician relationship, defective and erroneous diagnosis, inappropriate prescriptions, less common use of preventive medicine practices, poor patient satisfaction, and increased violent acts against health-care staff

Evaluation of Patients with Fibrotic Interstitial Lung Disease: Preliminary results from the Turk-UIP Study

OBJECTIVE: Differential diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is important among fibrotic interstitial lung diseases (ILD). This study aimed to evaluate the rate of IPF in patients with fibrotic ILD and to determine the clinical-laboratory features of patients with and without IPF that would provide the differential diagnosis of IPF. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included the patients with the usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) pattern or possible UIP pattern on thorax high-resolution computed tomography, and/or UIP pattern, probable UIP or possible UIP pattern at lung biopsy according to the 2011 ATS/ERSARS/ALAT guidelines. Demographics and clinical and radiological data of the patients were recorded. All data recorded by researchers was evaluated by radiology and the clinical decision board. RESULTS: A total of 336 patients (253 men, 83 women, age 65.8 +/- 9.0 years) were evaluated. Of the patients with sufficient data for diag-nosis (n=300), the diagnosis was IPF in 121 (40.3%), unclassified idiopathic interstitial pneumonia in 50 (16.7%), combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema (CPFE) in 40 (13.3%), and lung involvement of connective tissue disease (CTD) in 16 (5.3%). When 29 patients with definite IPF features were added to the patients with CPFE, the total number of IPF patients reached 150 (50%). Rate of male sex (p0.001), smoking history (p0.001), and the presence of clubbing (p=0.001) were significantly high in patients with IPE None of the women 50 years and none of the men 50 years of age without a smoking history were diagnosed with IPE Presence of at least 1 of the symptoms suggestive of CTD, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and antinuclear antibody (FANA) positivity rates were significantly higher in the non-IPF group (p0.001, p=0.029, p=0.009, respectively). CONCLUSION: The rate of IPF among patients with fibrotic ILD was 50%. In the differential diagnosis of IPF, sex, smoking habits, and the presence of clubbing are important. The presence of symptoms related to CTD, ESR elevation, and EANA positivity reduce the likelihood of IPF.company of RocheThis research received unconditional financial support from the company of Roche