Medical Laboratory Journal
Volume:14 Issue: 5, Sep Oct 2020

Intestinal parasitic infections are a major public health problem worldwide, especially in developing countries. It is estimated that around 3.5 billion people are infected with intestinal parasites. Human intestinal parasites (HIP) are clinically important due to broad epidemiological distribution, reinfection and drug resistance. In the last decades, bioactive compounds from herbs were used against a wide variety of microorganisms including parasites. We aimed to perform a systematic review on studies on the effects of medicinal herbs on HIPs in Iran.

Relevant scientific publications until April, 2015 were extracted from five English databases (PubMed, Google Scholar, Ebsco, Science Direct and Scopus) and four Persian databases (Magiran, Irandoc, IranMedex and the Scientific Information Database).

A total of 18 papers and two dissertations met the inclusion criteria. Overall, 22 different plant extracts were used against Giardia lamblia, Entamoeba histolytica, Cryptosporidium and Hymenolepis nana. Based on the results, the extracts could exert time- and dose-dependent inhibitory effects against the tested HIPs. Five plants types including Allium, Chenopodium botrys, Carum copticum, F. asafoetida and Artemisia annua were able to completely inhibit the tested parasites, while Thymus vulgaris and A. paradoxum showed the lowest inhibitory effect (7%).

Given the findings, it is recommended to conduct in vivo studies on medicinal herbs with favorable in vitro effects against HIPs.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of octopine (phytogenic-derivative of arginine) on antioxidant indices, trace elements and lipid profiles of a mouse model of breast cancer.

In this study, 48 Balb/c mice were divided into six groups: healthy control, cancer control, cancer group receiving 50 mg of octopine, cancer group receiving 100 mg of octopine and cancer group receiving 150 mg of octopine. The octopine treatment was carried out for three weeks. The 4T1 cell line was used to induce cancer. Fasting blood samples were taken from mice to evaluate lipid profile, copper and zinc levels. Malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activity in breast tumor tissues was evaluated. Data were analyzed by SPSS 18 software using one-way ANOVA and t-test.

Octopine had no significant effect on superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activity in the treatment group compared with the control cancer group. However, it significantly increased total antioxidant capacity and decreased malondialdehyde activities. Furthermore, treatment with octopine significantly decreased serum zinc, copper, TG, cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein levels but significantly increased high-density lipoprotein compared with the untreated cancer group.

Octopine administration is effective in reducing some oxidative stress indices and improving trace elements abnormalities and lipid profile in mouse models of breast cancer.

 Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant disorder that mainly affects adults. Although mutations in the IT15 gene have been known as the main cause of the disease, patients with HD like (HDL) syndrome have mutations in genes other than the IT15 gene.  In this study, we investigate the frequency of mutations in SCA17/TBP, JPH3 and PRNP genes in patients with HDL syndrome.   

The frequency of mutations in SCA17/TBP, JPH3 and PRNP genes was studied in 56 patients with HDL phenotype but without trinucleotide expansion in the IT15 gene. DNA was extracted from peripheral whole blood by the salting out method. PCR was performed using specific primers for each gene. PCR products were separated on polyacrylamide gel. Sequencing was performed on some samples to confirm the PCR results.

We found neither trinucleotide expansion in the JPH3 and SCA17, nor octapeptide insertion in the PRNP gene.

Based on the results, Iranian patients with HDL syndrome do not have mutation in the TBP, JPH3 and PRNP genes. However, this result may be due to population differences, rarity of the mutations in the studied genes and the small number of study subjects. Therefore, studies with a larger study population that investigate other mutations, such as point mutations in the mentioned genes may help clarify the exact cause of HDL phenotype in Iranian patients.

The incidence of drug-resistant candidiasis has increased dramatically.This study aimed to evaluate antifungal effects of fluconazole alone and in combination with ibuprofen on isolates from patients with mucosal candidiasis.

Candida species isolated from 142 patients with suspected mucosal (oral and vaginal) candidiasis were identified by culture on CHROMagar Candida medium and carbohydrate assimilation test using the API 20CAUX kit. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of fluconazole alone and in combination with ibuprofen was determined by the broth microdilution method.

Among isolates, 43.7% were identified as Candida species (Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Candidia parapsilosis, Candida tropicalis, Candida guilliermondii and Candida kefyr). The highest rate of fluconazole resistance was observed among C. albicans (50%) and C. parapsilosis (4.8%) isolates. MIC90 of ibuprofen-fluconazole combination against C. albicans isolates was 32 μg/mL, which was 8-fold less than that of fluconazole alone (MIC90= 256μg/mL) (P<0.01). Moreover, the MIC90 of fluconazole-ibuprofen combination against C. parapsilosis isolates was 4-fold less than that of fluconazole alone.

Our results revealed partial fluconazole resistance among Candida isolates from patients with mucosal candidiasis. However, the resistance rate reduced 2.5 fold following treatment with the ibuprofen-fluconazole combination. Therefore, it is recommended to further investigate the therapeutic potential of this drug combination for treatment of fungal infections, such as candidiasis.

Evidence suggests that decrease in the serum concentration of myostatin (MSTN) may reduce age-related decrement in muscle mass, especially in older individuals. This study aimed at investigating the effects of 12 weeks of resistance training with and without blood flow restriction on MSTN and muscular strength (MS) of elderly women.

Thirty elderly women were randomly assigned into three groups of resistance training with blood flow restriction (n=10), resistance training without blood flow restriction (n=10) and control (n=10). The resistance training intervention was carried out three sessions a week for 12 weeks. Body composition, MS and serum concentrations MSTN were assessed at baseline and 48-36 hours after the last training session.

There was a significant time × group difference in MS following 12 weeks of exercise intervention (P=0.001). However, there was no significant group and time × group difference in MSTN concentrations (P=0.2).

Low intensity BFRT does not decrease MSTN concentrations in elderly women. However, low intensity BFRT can increase MS values in these individuals.

Cerebral ischemia causes irreversible structural and functional damages in certain areas of the brain, especially the hippocampus. Evidence indicates that physical exercise may reduce the damages caused by cerebral ischemia. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of 8-week exercise preconditioning on the expression of NT-3 and TrkC genes in the CA1 region of the hippocampus after the cerebral ischemic-reperfusion in male rats.

Twenty-one male Wistar rats weighing 250-300 gr were randomly selected and divided into three groups (healthy control, control + ischemia and exercise + ischemia). Rats in the exercise group ran on a treadmill 5 days per week for 8 weeks. Ischemia by occlusion of both common carotid arteries (CCA) was created for 45 minutes. In order to evaluate the gene expression, Real time PCR technique was used.

NT-3 gene expression was significantly different between exercise + ischemia with control + ischemia groups and control + ischemia with healthy control groups (P <0.05), and TrkC gene expression was significantly different between exercise + ischemia with healthy control groups and control + ischemia with healthy control groups (P <0.05).

The results of this study demonstrated that exercise before the induction of ischemic stroke increased the NT-3 gene expression but did not influence the TrKC gene expression.

Evidence has shown that inflammatory mediators play an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate effects of eight weeks of continuous and intermittent aerobic exercise on some inflammatory indices in men with heart failure.

The effects of continuous aerobic exercise (at 45-70% maximum heart rate) and intermittent aerobic exercise (at 45-80% of maximum heart rate) on the level of interleukin 6 (IL-6) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) were evaluated in 42 men with heart failure using commercial ELISA kits. Blood samples were taken after 12 hours of fasting one hour before the first session and 48 hours after the last exercise session. The subjects performed exercises three sessions a week, for eight weeks. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA at significance of 0.05.

After the exercise program, serum hs-CRP (P=0.023), IL-6 (P=0.018) and TNF-α (P=0.048) differed significantly between the exercise groups and the control group. In addition, serum levels of IL-6 and hs-CRP decreased slightly in the intermittent aerobic group, but there was no significant difference between the two exercise groups. Intermittent aerobic exercise significantly reduced serum TNF-α level compared to the control group.

Probably aerobic exercise can have positive effects on the level of hs-CRP, IL-6 and TNF-α in patients with heart failure.

The aim of this study was to investigate the rate of Myostatin (MSTN) and Follistatin (FLST) gene expression in fast and slow twitch muscles in response to 8 weeks of high intensity interval training (HIIT).  To this end, 12 male 8-week old Wistar rats were randomly classified into two groups of exercise (n=6) and control (n=6). Exercise group performed a progressive HIIT protocol, five times weekly for 8 weeks using alternating sprint running for 30 min/session that divided into three 4min bouts (35-50m/min speed, >90% VO2 max) separated by a 2min active recovery period (30-50% VO2 max). Gene expression levels for MSTN and FLST in Soleus (SOL) and Extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles were measured by real-time RT-PCR. MSTN mRNA levels has slightly (7%); yet significantly (p<0.001), decreased in SOL muscle, while expression of this gene in EDL muscle decreased (30%) (p<0.001). Moreover, FLST gene expression in SOL muscle increased 31% (p<0.001). Interestingly, level of FLST gene expression in EDL muscle increased 100% compared to control group (p<0.001).The results provide a perspective regarding muscle differentiation in MSTN and FLST and their variation in response to HIIT and suggests that HIIT may be an effective way to decrease adipose tissue by MSTN and FLST regulation in skeletal muscles.