Ines Feki

Hypoglycemic and antioxidant effects of leaf essential oil of Pelargonium graveolens L’Hér. in alloxan induced diabetic rats

BackgroundRose-scented geranium (Pelargonium graveolens L’Hér.), which is used in traditional Tunisian folk medicine for the treatment of hyperglycaemia, is widely known as one of the medicinal herbs with the highest antioxidant activity. The present paper is conducted to test the hypoglycemic and antioxidative activities of the leaf essential oil of P. graveolens.MethodsThe essential oil P. graveolens was administered daily and orally to the rats at two doses of 75 mg/kg and 150 mg/kg body weight (b.w.) for 30 days. The chemical composition of P. graveolens essential oil, body weight, serum glucose, hepatic glycogen, thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), the components of hepatic, and renal and serum antioxidant systems were evaluated. The hypoglycemic effect of rose-scented geranium was compared to that of the known anti-diabetic drug glibenclamide (600 μg/kg b.w.).ResultsAfter the administration of two doses of essential oil of Pelargonium graveolens L’Hér. together with glibenclamide which is known by its antidiabetic activities and used as reference (600 μg/kg b.w.), for four weeks, the serum glucose significantly decreased and antioxidant perturbations were restored. The hypoglycemic effect of P. graveolens at the dose of 150 mg/kg b.w. was significantly (p< 0.05) more effective than that of glibenclamide. It is through the histological findings in hepatic and renal tissues of diabetic rats that these beneficial effects of geranium oils were confirmed.ConclusionsIt suggests that administration of essential oil of P. graveolens may be helpful in the prevention of diabetic complications associated with oxidative stress. Our results, therefore, suggest that the rose-scented geranium could be used as a safe alternative antihyperglycemic drug for diabetic patients.

On a Riesz basis of eigenvectors of a nonself-adjoint analytic operator and applications

In the present paper, we deal with the perturbed operatorwhere is a closed densely defined linear operator on a separable Hilbert space X with domain while are linear operators on X with the same domain and satisfying a specific growing inequality. The basic idea here is to investigate under sufficient conditions assuring the existence of a Riesz basis of eigenvectors of the operator . The obtained results are of importance for application to a nonself-adjoint problem describing the radiation of a vibrating structure in a light fluid and to a nonself-adjoint Gribov operator in Bargmann space.

On a Riesz basis of exponentials related to the eigenvalues of an analytic operator and application to a non-selfadjoint problem deduced from a perturbation method for sound radiation

In the present paper, we prove that the family of exponentials associated to the eigenvalues of the perturbed operator T(ɛ) ≔ T0 + ɛT1 + ɛ2T2 + … + ɛkTk + … forms a Riesz basis in L2(0, T), T > 0, where ɛ∈C, T0 is a closed densely defined linear operator on a separable Hilbert space H with domain D(T0) having isolated eigenvalues with multiplicity one, while T1, T2, … are linear operators on H having the same domain D⊃D(T0) and satisfying a specific growing inequality. After that, we generalize this result using a H-Lipschitz function. As application, we consider a non-selfadjoint problem deduced from a perturbation method for sound radiation.

Clozapine-induced myocarditis: A rare adverse drug reaction not to ignore

Therapies - In Press.Proof corrected by the author Available online since lundi 17 septembre 2018

Oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol protect rats’ pups against bisphenol A induced hypothyroidism

Bisphenol A (BPA) can disturb the endocrine system and the organs that respond to endocrine signals in organisms, indirectly exposed during prenatal and/or early postnatal life. The present study was designed to assess the protective effect of phenolic compounds from olive leaves against BPA induced thyroid dysfunction and growth perturbation in young rats during lactation. The BPA disrupting effect on thyroid function was investigated by measuring changes in plasma levels of thyroid hormones. Free triiodothyronine (FT3) and thyroxine (FT4) were decreased in young rats breast-fed from mothers treated with bisphenol A. This effect was associated with an increase in the plasma level of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). The histological and immunohistochemical study of the thyroid gland revealed a disturbance in morphological structure and thyroid cells function. Thyroid dysfunction led to a disruption in the skeletal bone growth of young rats. In fact, the infrared microspectroscopic analysis and histological examination of femoral bone showed significant changes in their histoarchitecture associated with a perturbation in the mechanism of bone tissue mineralization. The administration of oleuropein or hydroxytyrosol in BPA treated lactating mothers improved the thyroid cells function by enhancing thyroid hormone levels. Moreover, these phenolics increased the body growth characterized by an amelioration in the structure and the microstructure of femoral bone tissue. HPLC analysis of rats-breast milk indicated the presence of oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol, which could contribute to the protective effect against bisphenol A induced hypothyroidism in pups rats.

Is there a Place for Prebiotics in the Management of Neonatal Inguinal Hernia? A Preliminary Study

The objective of this study was to assess the place of prebiotics in the management of neonatal inguinal hernia. Boys with a diagnosis of unilateral non-complicated inguinal hernia, aged less than 40 days, were prospectively followed from January 2012 to December 2014. Clinical and psychiatric data and outcomes were collected before and after prebiotics (Primalac AC) administration. Ninety-eight patients were included. There were 75 inguinal hernias and 23 inguino-scrotal hernias. Before prebiotics administration 72.2% of infants had abdominal distention and 98% had colic. After prebiotics, abdominal distention and colic regressed in 85.2% and 73.2% of patients, respectively. Hernias disappeared clinically in 66.3% of cases. The factors associated with the disappearance of hernias were the type of the hernia (p<0.001), colic (p<0.001), and abdominal distention (p<0.001). Prebiotics would be a new adjunct in the management of neonatal inguinal hernia. They decrease colic and abdominal distention, which seems helpful to prevent strangulation and probably get spontaneous resolution of small hernias.

Eating Disorders and Cyclothymic Temperament: A Cross-Sectional Study on Tunisian Students

Purpose: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of eating disorders in a sample of young Tunisians and to study their links with cyclothymic temperament. Subjects and methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study on 107 students from the Faculty of Medicine of Sfax, Tunisia. For assessment of eating disorders, we used the Eating Attitude Test with 40 items, in its validated Tunisian-Arabic version. For evaluation of cyclothymic temperament, the Arabic version of the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San-Diego auto questionnaire (TEMPS-A) was used. Results: Prevalence of eating disorders was 21.5% in our sample. The percentage of students who had a cyclothymic temperament was 25.2%. We found a statistically significant correlation between eating disorders and cyclothymic temperament (p=0.000). Cyclothymic temperament increased by 3.75 the risk of developing eating disorders in female students. Conclusion: Our results corroborate the tendency to a more homogenous repartition of eating disorders worldwide. We found a positive correlation between eating disorders and cyclothymic temperament, which confirms the data of the recent, very scarce literature on the subject.

SFCP P-095 - Y’a-t-il une place des prébiotiques dans la prise en charge des hernies chez les nourrissons : Etude préliminaire.

Objectifs Evaluer l’effet et la place des prebiotiques dans la prise en charge des hernies inguinales chez les nouveaux nes et les nourrissons. Materiels et methodes Il s’agit d’une etude prospective ayant interesse 65 nourrissons de sexe masculin âges entre 1 et 40 jours colliges entre Janvier 2012 et decembre 2013. Tous les patients ont ete mis seulement sous lait artificiel riche en prebiotique (Primalac AC*) ou en association avec un allaitement maternel. Resultats Trente garcon ont ete inclus,11 prematures et 19 nes a terme. Avant l’administration des prebiotiques 16 patients avaient une distension abdominale, 29 avaient des coliques avec une moyenne d’anxiete parentale de 61 (score de Spielberger). Apres prebiotiques, la disparition de la hernie a ete confirmee cliniquement et radiologiquement chez 19 patients. Pour les 11 restants, la moyenne d’âge au moment de l’intervention a ete de 7.5 mois. La regression des coliques et du ballonnement abdominal ont ete observes respectivement dans 86 et 85% des cas. Le score moyen de l’anxiete parentale a ete de 34,33. Conclusion Les prebiotiques auraient agit en retardant l’âge au moment de l’intervention et sur la disparition de la hernie. Des etudes randomisees et elargies sont necessaires pour confirmer ou infirmer de t’elles hypotheses.