The effects of tualang honey on female reproductive organs, tibia bone and hormonal profile in ovariectomised rats - animal model for menopause

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Honey is a highly nutritional natural product that has been widely used in folk medicine for a number of therapeutic purposes. We evaluated whether Malaysian Tualang honey (AgroMas, Malaysia) was effective in reducing menopausal syndrome in ovariectomised female rats; an animal model for menopause.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The rats were divided into two control groups and three test groups. The control groups were sham-operated (SH) and ovariectomised (OVX) rats. The SH and OVX control rats were fed on 0.5 ml of distill water. The rats in the test groups were fed with low dose 0.2 g/kg (THL), medium dose, 1.0 g/kg (THM) and high dose 2.0 g/kg (THH) of Tualang honey in 0.5 ml of distill water. The administration was given by oral gavage once daily for 2 weeks. The reproductive organs (uterus and vagina), tibia bone and aorta were taken for histopathological examination while serum for hormonal assays.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Administration of Tualang honey for 2 weeks to ovariectomised rats significantly increased the weight of the uterus and the thickness of vaginal epithelium, restored the morphology of the tibia bones and reduced the body weight compared to rats in the ovariectomised group. The levels of estradiol and progesterone, in honey treated groups were markedly lower than that in the OVX group. At low doses (0.2 g/kg; THL group) of Tualang honey there was an increased in serum free testosterone levels compared to OVX group (P < 0.01). Progesterone concentrations was significantly decreased in the OVX group as compared to SHAM group (P < 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Tualang honey was shown to have beneficial effects on menopausal (ovariectomised) rats by preventing uterine atrophy, increased bone density and suppression of increased body weight. Honey could be an alternative to HRT.</p

Effect of Oral Clonidine onPost Operative Nausea andVomiting in GynecologicalLaparoscopic Surgery

Introduction & Objective: Despite advances in anesthesia nausea and vomiting is still a frequent post operative complication of general anesthesia for laparoscopic surgery. Many treatment modalities have been tried to reduce this unpleasant side effect. In this study we assessed the efficacy of oral clonidine in laparoscopic surgery in gynecological laparoscopic surgery. Materials & Methods: In this prospective double blind study, 86 ASA classes 1 or 2 were selected. Study group (n=43) received clonidine (0.2 mg tablet with 50 cc water) 60 – 90 minutes before surgery while control group ( n=43) received placebo. The patients were monitored for presence of nausea and vomiting for 24 hours. Moreover sedation scores and hemodynamic changes between 2 groups were compared. Collected data were analyzed by SPSS using chi–square and Fisher tests. Results: Nine patients (20.9%) in study group and 19 patients (44.2%) in control group nauseated (p = 0.0 21) while 16.3% of patients in study group and 34.9% in control group vomited (p = 0.048). Conclusion: Clonidine had statistically significant effect on reducing the incidence of both nausea and vomiting. It is a simple effective solution and its routine use can be suggested in gynecological laparoscopic surgery

"Does Magnesium Sulfate attenuate hypertensive response to laryngoscopy and intubation? "

Endotrachial intubation can have serious deleterious hemodynamic changes. Hypertension and tachycardia are especially dangerous in coronary artery disease, intracranial hypertension. Magnesium sulfate is known for its vasodilating properties. Several studies have reported favorable protective hemodynamic properties of magnesium when used as a premedicant in cardiac or elderly patients. Our aim was to evaluate whether magnesium had the same properties if used just before laryngoscopy in young healty subjects undergoing elective non-cardiac surgery. This double-blind study was done in Ahwaz university during a 6-month period starting at November 2000. 90 American Society of Anesthesia class I and II patients scheduled for elective surgery under general anesthesia were included. Premedication was excluded and patients were anesthetized with sodium thiopental 5 mg/kg, morphine 0.1 mg/kg, atracurium 0.6 mg/kg. Patients then received either 50 mg/kg (not exceeding 4 g) magnesium sulfate (n=45), or normal saline as placebo (n=45) in a double-blind (n=45), or normal saline as placebo (n=45) in a double-blind setting. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures and heart rate were recorded at 6 times: before induction, after induction 30 seconds and 1, 2, 3 minutes after intubation. Magnesium ion plasma levels were measured before induction and 5 minutes after intubation. Only diastolic pressure at 30 second after intubation had a significant lower value in magnesium group (P&lt;0.002) and other variables were statistically nonsignificant. In the magnesium group Mg++ plasma concentration was 5.936±1.009 meq/l (mean±SD) at 5 minutes after induction. We concluded that magnesium sulfate had a very limited usefulness in the attenuation of blood pressure and heart rate in young healthy patients if given during induction of anesthesia

Comparison of Clonidin, Pethedin and Fentanyl for Post-spinal Anesthesia Shivering in Elective Caesarian Sections

ABSTRACT: Introduction & Objective: Post operative shivering is a prevalent complication of general and spinal anesthesia. Many drugs were used for prevention and treatment of shivering. The objective of this study was the comparison of clonidin, pethedin and fentanyl for treatment of post spinal anesthesia shivering. Materials & Methods: In this double blind randomized clinical trial, we compared the effects of 3 drug regimens to treat post operative shivering after spinal anesthesia in 60 elective caesarian sections with ASA class 1. Patients were divided into 3 groups (20 patients for each group). Each group received intravenously either pethedin 25 mg, clonidine 30 μg or fentanyl 50 μg. If a patient did not respond to the first dose, the same dose would be repeated up to a total of 3 times (with 5 minute intervals). Homodynamic changes, treatment responses and side effects were recorded. Then the resulting data were analyzed by SPSS software and chi-square test. Results: Considering control of shivering after first injection with pethedin 70%, clonidin 50% and fentanyl 30% with (p=0.04) major side effects in pethedin group were tachycardia 10%, nausea & vomiting 15%. In clonidine group the main side effects were dry mouth & drowsiness (16.7% & 3.3%) respectively. Fentanyl group had only 3.3% nausea vomiting accounting for the fewest number of side effects (p< 0.05). Homodynamic was stable in fentanyl & clonidine groups. Conclusion: We concluded that, clonidine offers better thermodynamics along with modest failure rate but pethedin was most effective with more serious side effects

Comparison between Fenugreek and Lovastatin in restoration of endothelial function in an experimental old rat model

The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) with that of lovastatin in restoration of endothelia function in the aorta taken form aged N-Mair rats. For this purpose, 4 groups of old N-Mari rats were used (n=6), normal saline treated control group, lovastatin (10 mg/kg, orally) and fengreek seed powder in normal saline suspension (100 or 500 mg/kg) were administered orally daily for 8 weeks. The rate of relaxation of ephedrine- precontracted aorta to acetycholine, the lipid profiles, and histological examinations of the aorta were compared between these two groups and with a control non-treated normal saline treated group. The results showed that treatment with lovastatin and fenugreek produced significant reduction in IDL, VLDL triglyceride and total cholesterol, while HDL was increased as compared to control non-treated group. Lovastatin induced an increase in contraction/mg tissue weight. However, improvement in endothelial function was significantly increased in all treatment groups. The histological findings showed significant reduction in thickness and lipid deposits in the aorta in all treatment groups. The improvement in the epithelial function was correlated with LDL-cholesterol lowering and partly with the reduction in the thickness of the aortic intimal layer. This study demonstrated that fenugreek is as effective as lovastatin in reducing the features associated with atherosclerosis

Comparison of Preanesthetic Sedation after Intranasal Administration of Fentanyle, Ketamin and Midazolam

Introduction & Objective: Induction of anesthesia in children can be a challenge for anesthetist. A stormy induction may increase the personality & behavioral changes. Therefore, it is desirable that they enter the operating room sedated. Many drugs are used for preanesthetic medication and there are many routes for administration. One route of administration is nasal mucous. In this study we compared the effect and side effect of three drugs (midazolam, ketamin and fentanyle) after intra nasal administration. Materials & Methods: This is a double blind clinical trial. In this study we selected 60 patients (20 patients for every group A, B or C.) We used 3 mg/kg ketamin or 3µg/kg fentanyle or 0.3 mg/kg midazolam by intranasal spray. After administration and in 5, 10 and 15 minutes, we observed the SPO2, PR and RR. After 15 min’s we separated children from parents and brought them to the operating room and controlled the acceptance of separation, depth of sedation with Ramsay score, acceptance of mask and tolerance of IV canulation. The data were then analyzed using K2 and kruskal-wallis test. Results: In our study we found that in SPO2 fentanyle had the highest rate of reduction even though none of the children had SPO2 lower than 90%. There were no differences between drugs in RR. In fentanyle group, we had the lowest rate and in ketamin group the highest rate. Midazolam had the medium rate. The rate of sedation for acceptance of separation from parents had no difference between the groups and all drugs with this dosage were effective for this aim. However, in Ramsay score, acceptance of mask and tolerance of IV canulation, the midazolam was more effective than the others. Conclusion: Intranasal administration of midazolam is a safe route for sedation in children in the pre-anesthetic time

Induction of IL-12 from human monocytes after stimulation with Androctonus crassicauda scorpion venom

The objective of this study was to evaluate the capacity of venom from Androctonus crassicauda to induce expression/production of interleukin (IL)-12 by isolated human monocytes. For this purpose, isolated human monocytes were exposed to different concentrations of the venom (0.16-20 μg/ml) for varying periods (6, 12, and 24 h). Apart from measures of venom cytotoxicity (i.e., lactase dehydrogenase activity LDH release), measures of IL-12 p40 mRNA (by Real-time PCR) of IL-12 release (by ELISA) were performed. The results showed that the venom produced significant concentration- and duration of incubation-dependent cytotoxicity. Expression of IL-12 p40 mRNA was significantly increased at all exposure timepoints relative to that in unexposed cells, but was maximal after 6 h of exposure. At that timepoint, the effect from a dose of 2.5 μg venom/ml provided the maximal increase among all doses tested. At the level of the protein itself, IL-12 production remained almost consistently elevated (vs. unexposed control values) across all exposure timepoints, with the greatest formation again occurring after 6 h of incubation at a dose of 2.5 μg venom/ml. The findings from this study demonstrated that venom from the A. crassicauda scorpion contained active constituents that could induce a sustained activation of human monocytes that was manifested, in part, as promotion of the expression/production of IL-12. © 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd

"THE ROLE OF PROSTAGLANDINS AND MAST CELLS IN THE MODULATION OF ACUTE ACID-INDUCED TRACHEAL CONTRACTION IN RAT"

The exact role of the epithelial lining of the trachea in modulating the bronchial tone is controversial. The present study was an attempt to verify the role of both prostaglandins and mast cells in the acute phase of acid inspiration in rat. Four groups (n = 6) of N. Mari rats were employed. The first group was used as placebo control, and normal saline was injected. To the second group hydrochloric acid (25 µl) with pH of 1.3 was injected into the trachea through the criothyroid membrane. The third and fourth groups were pretreated for three consecutive days either with indomethacin (10 mg/Kg) or nebulized sodium cromoglycate (20 mg/Kg), 1 hour prior to installation of the acid. Three minutes after instillation of acid, the trachea was removed. The tracheal spirals were prepared and immediately suspended in an organ bath containing Tyrode’s solution. Dose response curves to acetylcholine (10-9 to 10-3M) were constructed. The results showed that the responses to acetylcholine in the acid treated trachea were significantly (P&lt;0.01) reduced compared with the control saline treated trachea due to acute acid-induced tracheal contraction. Incubation with atropine, induced reduction of baseline tension and reversed the responses to acetylcholine. Both indomethacin and sodium cromoglycate, reversed the responses to acetylcholine and were in similar range as the control trachea. In conclusion, it seems that both prostaglandins and mast cells are important mediators in the acute phase of airway smooth muscle contraction following instillation of acid