International journal of basic science in medicine
Volume:7 Issue: 4, Dec 2022

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative factor of tuberculosis (TB) infections, has an atypical outer membrane mostly consisting of lipids with long-chain and branched fatty acids termed mycolic acids. These lipids establish a permeability barrier that inhibits numerous environmental solutes from entering the bacteria, making them acid-fast and enabling them to thrive in harsh environments. To meet their target, anti-TB drugs need to penetrate this layer. This review focuses on drug development initiatives that have contributed to TB drug development, lipids’ roles in M. tuberculosis pathogenesis, and recently made fresh remarkable progress in developing novel lead chemical compounds that target their biosynthesis metabolisms. Selective bacterial membrane targeting as a promising therapeutic approach against persistent infectious diseases such as TB has been proposed in this review study.

In medicine, the application of nanotechnology is related to the use of nanoscale materials to improve and develop new diagnostic and therapeutic methods. Due to the unique physicochemical and optical characteristics of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs), such as high biocompatibility, surface properties, and relative stability, they have been widely investigated for medical purposes, particularly as a theranostic agent in cancer diagnosis and treatment.

This review concentrates on current progress in the applications of TiO2 nanostructures in cancer diagnosis and treatment domains. Studies have shown that TiO2 NPs can be promising in various medical imaging techniques. In the field of cancer treatment, researchers have evaluated the ability of TiO2 NPs in up-to-date therapeutic approaches, including drug delivery, sonodynamic, photodynamic, photothermal, and ionizing radiation therapies. In the current review, we focus on the ability of TiO2 NPS as a radiation sensitizer to improve the efficiency of cancer diagnosis and treatment. Finally, according to the studies that have been conducted on controlling and optimizing the factors involved in the TiO2 NP radiosensitization, the mechanism of TiO2 NPs in producing the radiosensitivity effect has been discussed.

Ethanol is a suitable solvent for many in vivo and ex vivo studies. However, it can interfere with normal muscle contraction and make variations in the results. Contrary to the present study, previous investigations revealed the suppressant effect of ethanol on muscle contraction.

This study was based on an isolated chick biventer cervicis nerve-muscle using the twitch tension recording technique. Nerve and muscle complexes were exposed to several concentrations of ethanol (100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 mM), and impulses were recorded.

Twitch height increased in time and dose-dependent manner, and the concentration of 500 mM of ethanol after 30 minutes revealed the most elevation of muscle impulses.

The potential effects of ethanol on striated muscle contraction are important and should be considered in studies using ethanol as a solvent.

There is a high prevalence of hemoglobinopathies, including thalassemia, in Sistan and Baluchistan province of Iran. It is important to appropriately screen young adults to control the birth of new cases of thalassemia. In many less-equipped centers, this practice only relies on cell blood count. This study investigated the hematological parameters of young adults referring to the Central Laboratory of Sistan, Zabol, for premarital screening for thalassemia.

This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in Zabol, Sistan and Baluchistan province of Iran from August 2020 to August 2021. Complete blood count (CBC) parameters of 2926 young adults were collected using a Sysmex KX-21 device and were compared with available reference intervals according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute.

The means of women’s and men’s age were 38.84 ± 16.32 and 36.64 ± 14.14 years, respectively. The average values for each parameter in the studied population were red blood cell (RBC) (4.78 ± 0.55), hemoglobin (13.19 ± 2.46 g/dL), hematocrit (40.11 ± 3.57%), mean corpuscular volume (MCV) (85.16 ± 28.33), neutrophil (52.12 ± 9.98), lymphocyte (37.84 ± 9.03), mixed leukocytes (10.00 ± 3.51), platelets (244.02 ± 62.32). The mean values of hemoglobin (14.48 ± 5.17 vs. 12.69 ± 1.39 g/dL), hematocrit (43.01 ± 3.89 vs. 38.97 ± 3.45%), serum ferritin (115.4 ± 74.3 vs. 69.20 ± 12.36 g/dL), total iron-binding capacity (316.84 ± 1.38 vs. 320.95 ± 41.01, P = 0.01), and serum iron (85.05 ± 28.51 vs. 76.25 ± 28.22, P = 0.02) were significantly lower in women than in men. Out of 2,926 people who entered this study, 195 (6.66%) were suspected of having thalassemia because of their low MCV (71.61 ± 7.33 fL) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) (23.67 ± 2.66 pg).

The relatively low hemoglobin in females referring for premarital screening for thalassemia awakens healthcare experts to carefully examine these cases for the possibility of thalassemia minor after excluding other common possible reasons such as iron deficiency anemia using iron studies and hemoglobin electrophoresis. 

Microvascular and endothelial disorders play a significant role in the pathophysiology of coronary slow flow phenomenon (CSFP). However, according to previous studies, the etiology of CSFP is not completely understood. As CD40 and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) are reported to play an important role in atherosclerosis process as well as microvascular and the endothelial dysfunction, this study evaluated the role of these two biomarkers in the pathophysiology of CSFP.

One-hundred twenty-nine volunteers who were candidates for angiography and fulfilled the inclusion criteria were selected, including 29 patients with coronary artery diseases (CADs) which had less than 50% stenosis (CAD + , < 50%) and without CSF, 22 CAD + patients which had 50-90% stenosis (CAD + , 50%-90%) without CSF, 16 CAD + patients with CSF, 22 patients with CSF without stenosis in their arteries, and 40 healthy individuals as controls. The serum levels of CD40 and DPP-4 were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit.

There was no significant correlation between the serum concentration of CD40 and the thrombosis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) frame count (P = 0.571). However, the serum concentration of CD40 in CAD + patients with CSF was significantly higher than the values in patients without CSF (P = 0.022). Moreover, the concentration of DPP-4 in different coronary vessels did not exhibit any significant relation with TIMI score (P = 0.763).

In the present study, no significant correlation was found between the serum concentrations of CD40 and DPP-4 and the mean corrected TIMI frame count (CTFC). Accordingly, further studies with larger population sizes are needed to investigate the correlation between CD40 and DPP-4 serum levels and CSFP. 

Today, anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) and growth hormone are widely used in men and women to increase strength and muscle mass in athletes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of resistance training (R) and Tribulus terrestris (TT) on aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in rats exposed to stanozolol (S).

In this experimental study, 49 male Sprague Dawley rats with an age range of 8-10 weeks and an approximate weight of 180-200 g were randomly divided into 7 groups of seven animals, including: (1) sham, (2) stanozolol (5 mg/kg/day) (S), (3) 50 mg/kg T. terrestris extract (TT50), (4) 100 mg/kg T. terrestris extract (TT100), (5) resistance training (RT), (6) RT + TT50, and (7) RT + TT100. Resistance training was performed for eight weeks, three sessions per week. Data analysis was performed using one-way analysis of variance and Tukey’s post hoc test in SPSS version 22.0 (P ≥ 0.05).

AST, ALT, and ALP levels in the RT, TT50, TT100, RT + TT50, and RT + TT100 groups were significantly lower compared to the S group (P ≥ 0.05). AST and ALP levels in the TT100 group were lower compared to the TT50 group (P ≥ 0.05). Moreover, ALT and ALP levels in the RT + TT100 group were lower compared to the RT + TT50 group (P ≥ 0.05).

It seems that resistance training together with TT consumption synergistically improves liver enzymes in rats exposed to stanozolol. In addition, the effect of resistance training + 100 mg/kg T. terrestris extract (RT + TT100) is much more favorable than RT + TT50, TT50, and TT100.