Although sex dreams (SD) are of common occurrence, studies dealing with them are still restricted. SD had been reported as accompanying nocturnal orgasms in women and they were reported usually as a reflection of their actual experience. This cross-sectional descriptive study aimed to provide information about SD prevalence, frequency, content, and drives in a group of Egyptian married women. Overall, 211 married women answered a self-report questionnaire including 23 items covering the epidemiology of participants, sexual activity, and SD details. Overall, 106 of the participants (51.3%) experienced the occurrence of SD. The most common frequency of SD was once/month occurring in 25.6% of the participants; most common content seen was kissing (39.6%), most commonly occurring in familiar places (62.3%), most common persons seen were husbands (33.6%), feeling pleasure after it (54.7%) with increased emotional satisfaction (46.2%). The most common drive to have SD was to be in a sexually stimulating situation (51.8%). Occurrence of SD was more common in women aged 20 -29, in those having a university degree and in house wives. SD was proportional to coital frequency and the frequency of orgasm. It is concluded that SD is not uncommon in married women where sexual thoughts and motives are represented.

Aflatoxin B1 (AF) is an unavoidable environmental pollutant that contaminates food, feed, and grains, which seriously threatens human and animal health. Arabic gum (AG) has recently evoked much attention owing to its promising therapeutic potential. Thus, the current study was conducted to look into the possible mechanisms beyond the ameliorative activity of AG against AF-inflicted hepatic injury. Male Wistar rats were assigned into four groups: Control, AG (7.5 g/kg b.w/day, orally), AF (200 µg/kg b.w), and AG plus AF group. AF induced marked liver damage expounded by considerable changes in biochemical profile and histological architecture. The oxidative stress stimulated by AF boosted the production of plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) level along with decreases in the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) level and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity. Additionally, AF exposure was associated with down-regulation of the nuclear factor erythroid2–related factor2 (Nrf2) and superoxide dismutase1 (SOD1) protein expression in liver tissue. Apoptotic cascade has also been evoked following AF-exposure, as depicted in overexpression of cytochrome c (Cyto c), cleaved Caspase3 (Cl. Casp3), along with enhanced up-regulation of inflammatory mediators such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-6, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and nuclear factor kappa-B transcription factor/p65 (NF-κB/p65) mRNA expression levels. Interestingly, the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory contents of AG may reverse the induced oxidative damage, inflammation, and apoptosis in AF-exposed animals.

Although the combination of antibiotics is generally well-tolerated, they may have nephrotoxic effects. This study investigated whether tigecycline (TG) and gentamicin (GM) co-administration could accelerate renal damage. Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into six experimental groups: the control, TG7 (tigecycline, 7 mg/kg), TG14 (tigecycline, 14 mg/kg), GM (gentamicin, 80 mg/kg), TG7+GM, and TG14+GM groups. The combination of TG and GM evoked renal damage seen by the disruption of kidney function tests. The perturbation of renal tissue was mainly confounded to the TG and GM-induced oxidative damage, which was exhibited by marked increases in renal MDA (malondialdehyde) along with a drastic reduction in GSH (reduced-glutathione) content and CAT (catalase) activity compared to their individual treatments. More obvious apoptotic events and inflammation were also revealed by elevating the annexin-V and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels, aside from the upregulation of renal PCNA (proliferating cell nuclear antigen) expression in the TG and GM concurrent treatment. The principal component analysis indicated that creatinine, urea, annexin-V, IL-6, and MDA all played a role in discriminating the TG and GM combined toxicity. Oxidative stress, inflammatory response, and apoptosis were the key mechanisms involved in this potentiated toxicity.

Cadmium (Cd) is a hazardous environmental pollutant that menaces human and animal health and induces serious adverse effects in various organs, particularly the liver and kidneys. Thus, the current study was designed to look into the possible mechanisms behind the ameliorative activities of Tamarindus indica (TM) and coenzyme Q10 (CoQ) combined therapy toward Cd-inflicted tissue injury. Male Wistar rats were categorized into seven groups: Control (received saline only); TM (50 mg/kg); CoQ (40 mg/kg); Cd (2 mg/kg); (Cd + TM); (Cd + CoQ); and (Cd + TM + CoQ). All the treatments were employed once daily via oral gavage for 28 consecutive days. The results revealed that Cd exposure considerably induced liver and kidney damage, evidenced by enhancement of liver and kidney function tests. In addition, Cd intoxication could provoke oxidative stress evidenced by markedly decreased glutathione (GSH) content and catalase (CAT) activity alongside a substantial increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations in the hepatic and renal tissues. Besides, disrupted protein and lipid metabolism were noticed. Unambiguously, TM or CoQ supplementation alleviated Cd-induced hepatorenal damage, which is most likely attributed to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory contents. Interestingly, when TM and CoQ were given in combination, a better restoration of Cd-induced liver and kidney damage was noticed than was during their individual treatments.

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