Khaled M. A. Hassanein

Thymoquinone ameliorates lead-induced brain damage in Sprague Dawley rats.

The present study aims to investigate the protective effects of thymoquinone, the major active ingredient of Nigella sativa seeds, against lead-induced brain damage in Sprague-Dawley rats. In which, 40 rats were divided into four groups (10 rats each). The first group served as control. The second, third and fourth groups received lead acetate, lead acetate and thymoquinone, and thymoquinone only, respectively, for one month. Lead acetate was given in drinking water at a concentration of 0.5 g/l (500 ppm). Thymoquinone was given daily at a dose of 20mg/kg b.w. in corn oil by gastric tube. Control and thymoquinone-treated rats showed normal brain histology. Treatment of rats with lead acetate was shown to produce degeneration of endothelial lining of brain blood vessels with peri-vascular cuffing of mononuclear cells consistent to lymphocytes, congestion of choroid plexus blood vessels, ischemic brain infarction, chromatolysis and neuronal degeneration, microglial reaction and neuronophagia, degeneration of hippocampal and cerebellar neurons, and axonal demyelination. On the other hand, co-administration of thymoquinone with lead acetate markedly decreased the incidence of lead acetate-induced pathological lesions. Thus the current study shed some light on the beneficial effects of thymoquinone against neurotoxic effects of lead in rats.

Role of vitamin C and selenium in attenuation of nicotine induced oxidative stress, P53 and Bcl2 expression in adult rat spleen

UNLABELLED Forty adult female rats were randomly divided into four groups: control, nicotine, nicotine+vitamin C and nicotine+selenium group. Splenic tissues concentrations of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), nitric oxide, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities were measured. The P53 and Bcl2 proteins were detected by Western blot and their expression in splenic tissues were measured by quantitative real time PCR in all groups. Compared to control group, nicotine increased the concentrations of TBARS and nitric oxide significantly. However, Vit. C or Se supplementation with nicotine caused a significant decrease in these concentrations. SOD and CAT activities of nicotine group decreased significantly compared to control group. Treatment with Vit. C or Se plays a significant role in elevation of SOD and CAT activities. In splenic tissues, nicotine significantly decreases the protein levels and the mRNA expression of P53 and increases the protein levels of Bcl2 and its expression. Administration of Vit. C. to nicotine-treated rats completely reversed the decrease in P53 levels and its mRNA expression and the increase in Bcl2 levels and its mRNA expression to the control values. In contrast, Se administration did not induce any significant changes in these genes levels or expressions compared to nicotine group. CONCLUSION Vit. C supplementation to nicotine treated rats was more effective than selenium in attenuation of nicotine-induced oxidative stress, p53 and Bcl2 expression in rat spleen tissues.

Cardio protective effects of Nigella sativa oil on lead induced cardio toxicity: Anti inflammatory and antioxidant mechanism

The present study aimed to evaluate cardio-protective effect of Nigella sativa oil (NSO) on lead induced cardio toxicity. Forty five albino adult rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: control lead (Pb) group that received lead acetate (20 mg/kg/day) 3 times weekly for 8 weeks and PB + NSO group (rats pretreated with Nigella sativa oil (4 ml/kg) orally for 1 h before administration of lead acetate (given as in Pb group). Myocardial injury was assessed by laboratory and pathological studies, and heart rate was recorded in all animals. Lead intake resulted in significant increases in cardiac high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interlukin-6 (IL-6), E-selectin, troponin I, malondialdehyde (MDA) and serum creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB). The cardiac apelin, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione (GSH) levels significantly decreased in Pb group compared to the control. Currently, heart rate and ST segment increased significantly after lead intake. Heart lesions as a result of lead treatment were in the form of hemorrhage, myocardial necrosis, mononuclear cell infiltration and fibrosis. Immuno histochemical results of the heart revealed positive cyclooxyenase-2 (Cox-2) expressions in Pb-treated group. NSO administration produced significant normalization of the physiological parameters as well as restored the histological structure and decreased the COX-2 expression of the heart compared to Pb group. In conclusion, NSO intake has cardio protective potential through its ability to decrease pro inflammatory cytokines, oxidative stress and cardiac tissue damage in lead-induced cardio toxicity. Key words: Nigella sativa oil, lead acetate, cardio toxicity, inflammation.

A retrospective study on clinical findings of 7300 cases (2007–2014) of barren female dromedaries

The objective of this study was to investigate the clinical findings in barren female dromedaries examined for different complaints. Female camels were examined for repeat breeding with regular heat interval (RB-R, n = 5444), refused mating (RM, n = 1299), repeat breeding with long heat interval (RB-L, n = 489), difficulties or bleeding during mating (DM, n = 53), and for manifestation of male-like behavior (MB, n = 15). The genital tracts of all females were evaluated using transrectal palpation, ultrasonography, and exploration of the vagina. Cervical swabs were obtained for bacteriologic examination. Clinical endometritis, ovarian hydrobursitis, and vaginal adhesions were the main clinical findings in the female camels examined for RB-R, RM, and RB-L, respectively. Parity affected the frequency of occurrence of these findings. The incidences of clinical endometritis, ovarian hydrobursitis, and vaginal adhesions in nullipara and multipara were 28% versus 32.3% (P = 0.004), 37.1% versus 23.7% (P = 0.001), and 5.7% versus 18.3% (P = 0.001), respectively. Vaginal adhesions, persistent hymen, pelvic abscess, and vulvar atresia were the clinical findings in the female camels presented due to bleeding at mating or with a history of an incomplete intromission of the penis. The male-like behavior was associated with an enlargement of the clitoris and narrowing of the vulva and vagina. Trueperella pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumonia, Streptococcus zooepidemicus, and β-hemolytic Streptococcus were isolated from females presented for repeat breeding syndrome. In conclusion, clinical endometritis, ovarian hydrobursitis, and vaginal adhesions were the main clinical findings in barren female dromedaries. Parity affected the frequency of the clinical findings.

Protective effects of thymoquinone and l-cysteine on cadmium-induced reproductive toxicity in rats

This study was conducted to investigate the possible protective role of thymoquinone (TQ) and l-cysteine on the reproductive toxicity of male rats induced by cadmium chloride (CdCl2). Forty rats were divided into four even groups. The first group served as untreated control. The second, third and fourth groups received CdCl2, CdCl2 and TQ, and CdCl2 and l-cysteine, respectively for 56 days. Cd exposure caused spermatological damage (decrease sperm count and motility and increased the rates of sperm abnormalities), decrease serum testosterone level and increased oxidative stress. Histological alterations were also observed in the form of vascular and cellular changes in CdCl2 treated rats. The vascular changes were congestion of the blood vessels with interstitial edema in the testes, epididymis, seminal vesicle and prostate. The cellular changes were in the form of degenerative changes with presence of multinucleated giant cells in the lumen of seminiferous tubules, vacuolation and sloughing of the lining epithelium of the epididymis, seminal vesiculitis and prostatitis. Co-administration of TQ and l-cysteine with CdCl2 increased glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and testosterone and reduced lipid peroxidation (LPO) activity. In conclusion, our results showed that TQ and l-cysteine can ameliorate the deleterious effects of CdCl2 probably by activating testicular endocrine and antioxidant systems.

Vascular damage mediates neuronal and non-neuronal pathology following short and long-term rotenone administration in Sprague-Dawley rats

Even though rotenone has been used extensively in recent years to produce a model of Parkinson disease in rats, its systemic effects either on neurons apart from dopaminergic structures or non-neuronal tissues have not been elucidated well. In our present study, 30 adult Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three even groups. A short-term rotenone-treated group received 10 mg/kg b.w. rotenone daily for 7 days. The long-term rotenone-treated group received 3 mg/kg b.w. rotenone daily for 30 days. The control group received vehicle only and were kept 5 rats each in parallel to both short- and long-term rotenone treated groups. It was found that short-term rotenone treatment produced marked vascular damages associated with ischemic neuronal degeneration particularly in the thalamus, cerebellum and nucleus dentatus. In long-term rotenone-treated group, vascular changes were less severe and neuronal degeneration was associated with mild microglial proliferation and astrocytosis. Non-neuronal pathology as the result of short-term rotenone exposure consisted of degeneration and necrosis of seminiferous tubular epithelia with formation of spermatide multinucleate giant cells. On the other hand, long-term rotenone treatment did not affect testicles and only caused sinusoidal dilatation in the liver, myocardial degeneration in the heart and interstitial hemorrhages in the kidneys and lungs. In conclusions, damage to blood vasculature by rotenone appeared mediating neuronal and non-neuronal pathology in Sprague-Dawley rats. This effect might provide new insights for ethiopathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases and contributes to the understanding of hemorrhagic stroke.

Prophylactic effects of thymoquinone against carbon tetrachloride- induced hepatic damage in Sprague-Dawley rats

This study is conducted to investigate the prophylactic effect of thymoquinone (TQ), the major active ingredient of Nigella sativa seeds, against carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced hepatic damage in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Forty rats were divided into four even groups. The first group served as control. The second, third and fourth groups received CCl4, CCl4 and TQ, and TQ only, respectively for 5 weeks. CCl4 (2 ml/kg b.w.) was given orally by gastric tube twice a week on Sunday and Thursday. TQ (20 mg/kg b.w.) was given daily in corn oil by gastric tube. At the end of the experiment, rats were sacrificed, and blood samples and liver specimens were obtained for biochemical analysis and morphological examination, respectively. Control and TQ-treated rats showed normal serum activity for alanine (ALT) and aspartate (AST) aminotransferases, and normal liver histology. Treatment of rats with CCl4 significantly increased serum activity of ALT and AST aminotransferases compared to control rats. Histopathologically, livers from CCl4-treated rats showed dilatation of blood sinusoids and portal blood vessels, Kupffer cell activation, vacuolar degeneration of hepatocytes, focal areas of necrosis and mild hepatic fibrosis. Using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), CCl4 caused clear lesions in the liver including dilatation of endoplasmic reticula, increased extracellular matrix and formation of abundant fatty globules and numerous autophagosomes in hepatocytes. On the other hand, co-administration of TQ with CCl4 significantly decreased serum ALT and AST activities, and attenuated most of CCl4-induced hepatic pathological changes. The present study indicates that TQ has the potential to attenuate CCl4-induced hepatic damage in SD rats.

Pathological and biochemical studies on enterotoxemia in sheep

Enterotoxemic diseases are the most important economic diseases caused by Clostridium perfringens in sheep. The present study was conducted to describe the clinical, biochemical, and the histopathological findings in sheep with enterotoxemia. This study was performed on 26 sheep, 13 out of them with suspected enterotoxemia (6 dead and 7 diseased) and 13 from clinically healthy sheep. Clinically, diseased sheep exhibited incoordination, head tremors, recumbency, and diarrhea. Hematological analyses revealed severe anemia and increased leukocytes especially neutrophils. Biochemical analyses indicated significant increases in liver enzymes, total bilirubin, total protein, and creatinine in diseased sheep. Bacteriological examination of the samples from the intestine, liver, kidney, lung, and heart revealed the presence of C. perfringens in 6 samples (dead sheep) out of 13 samples (46.15%), while it was isolated in one sample (7.69%) from clinically healthy sheep. Histopathological examination of the intestine revealed congestion and necrosis in the epithelial lining with the presence of several clostridial bacilli. The liver specimens revealed necrosis of the hepatocytes with the presence of several clostridial bacilli in the area of necrosis. The kidneys showed glomerular necrosis and coagulative necrosis of the renal tubular epithelium. In conclusion, enterotoxemia as a fatal enteric disease is associated with some characteristic clinical, biochemical, bacteriological, and histopathological alterations. These alterations can be a useful aid for rapid diagnosis of enterotoxemia in sheep farms.

Evaluation of the HerpeSelect Express Rapid Test in the Detection of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Antibodies in Patients With Genital Ulcer Disease

A rapid point‐of‐care test with high sensitivity and specificity is required in order to fulfill the need for early detection and screening of Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV‐2) infection among patients with genital ulcer disease (GUD), for better management and control of virus transmission.

Role of chronic viral hepatitis B and C as risk factors for celiac disease.

Aims: Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune disease and hepatitis B virus (HBV) is suspected to trigger immunologic gluten intolerance in susceptible individuals. The aim of this study is to assess