Introduction: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic autoimmune disease that involves multiple organs including the kidneys, skin, joints and serous membranes. Previous studies have shown that elevated Ki-67 indices are correlated with the cellular proliferation and clinical findings in lupus nephritis (LN). Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between glomerular, tubular and interstitial expression of Ki-67 in kidney biopsy specimens of different classes of LN and and various clinicopathological features. Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 16 biopsy-proven LN patients. The diagnosis of LN was based on renal biopsy findings, particularly by immunofluorescence (IF) study. The diagnosis of LN with IF was concluded by the deposition of C1q in association with prominent IgG and C3 deposits and the deposition of IgM and IgA (full-house pattern). The morphologic variables on light microscopy were also examined. In this study, the glomerular (gKi-67), interstitial (iKi-67) and tubular (tKi-67) expressions of Ki-67 were assessed. Results: This study comprised of 16 cases of biopsy-proven LN which were stained for Ki-67 with immunohistochemistry. Of the 16 patients, 13 (81.2%) were females. The mean ± SD of age, quantity of proteinuria and serum creatinine in all patients were 37±11.6 years, 1844±582 mg/d and 1.5±0.93 mg/ dL, respectively. Our study showed that the association between gKi-67, iKi-67, and tKi-67 with age, gender, level of proteinuria and serum creatinine was not significant (P>0.05). The association between Ki-67 with interstitial fibrosis, the number of crescents, and the activity and chronicity percentages was also not significant (P>0.05). Moreover, the relationship of gKi-67 with global versus segmental involvement of the glomeruli was not significant (P>0.05). Furthermore, the correlation of gKi-67 with IgA, IgG, IgM, C3 and C1q deposits was not significant (P>0.05). The association of iKi-67 with age, gender, level of proteinuria and serum creatinine was not significant as well. However, the correlation of iKi-67 with C1q deposits was inversely significant (r=-0.544, P=0.029); however this correlation was not significant with IgA, IgG, IgM and C3 deposits (P>0.05). Conclusion: In this study, the relationship of iKi-67 with C1q deposits suggests that C1q has a significant role in the inflammatory process of LN. Since our study was conducted on a relatively small sample size, it, therefore, requires further investigations on larger samples.
Background: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most prevalent bacterial infections that occur in children worldwide. Objective: This meta-analysis aims to investigate the utility of probiotics as preventive therapy in children with a UTI. Methods: The Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus were searched for articles that investigated the relationship between probiotic consumption and the risk of UTIs. The quality of the articles was evaluated using the Jadad scale. The pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using a random-effects model. Subgroup analyses and sensitivity analyses were also conducted. The Cochran Q test and the statistic I2 were used to evaluate heterogeneity. To determine any potential publication bias, the Egger’s and Begg’s tests were used. Results: In total, eleven studies were selected for systematic review and meta-analysis. Compared to children who did not receive probiotics, the OR of developing or having a recurring urinary tract infection in those who received probiotics was 0.94 (95% CI; 0.88–0.999; p-value=0.046). The Begg's and Egger's tests showed no evidence of publication bias between probiotics and the risk of developing new or recurring urinary tract infections. Conclusion: Based on this systematic review and meta-analysis, probiotics could be an alternative therapy for children who are at risk of developing a UTI. They are non-pharmaceutical options and could be used as natural prophylaxis for UTIs. However, the currently published evidence does not irrefutably confirm that probiotics provide a protective effect against urinary bacterial infections. Therefore, there need to be large-scale randomized clinical trials undertaken to investigate the possible prophylaxis of probiotics.
Introduction: Gentamicin is an aminoglycoside antibiotic that is widely administered to treat infections caused by gram-negative bacteria. Gentamicin may cause renal injury in patients after seven days of administration. Atorvastatin is a cholesterol-lowering statin that acts through the mevalonate pathway. Objectives: In this study, we investigated the histopathological effects of atorvastatin against gentamicin-induced renal injury. Materials and Methods: Twenty male Wistar rats were randomly assigned into five groups and treated as the following; group 1 (normal group, no drug), group 2 [gentamicin group, daily 80 mg/kg, intra-peritoneal (i.p.) for 7 days], groups 3 to 5 (gentamicin 80 mg/kg + atorvastatin at doses of 5, 25 and 75 mg/kg, respectively). Kidney sections were examined for histopathological parameters including vacuolization of the kidney tubular cells, degeneration, necrosis, flattening of the tubular cells and debris in the tubular lumen. Results: Compared to the normal group, gentamicin significantly exacerbated the histopathological parameters. Treatment with atorvastatin significantly decreased vacuolization, degeneration, necrosis and debris in the nephrotoxic rats. Conclusion: The findings of this research indicated that atorvastatin therapy can ameliorate histopathological renal injury following gentamicin injection.
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