It is documented that chronic renal diseases are gender related. The protective role of angiotensin II receptor 1 (AT1) blocker losartan against cisplatin (CP)-induced nephrotoxicity was reported in males, but the role of gender is not well known. Six groups of Wistar rats were studied. Rats were divided into two groups of males and females to receive losartan for 9 days plus a single dose of CP (7 mg/kg) at day 3. Two positive control groups of males and females received the same regimen, except that they received saline instead of losartan. The negative control groups received saline instead of CP at day 3 and also saline instead of losartan. The blood samples were obtained, and the kidneys underwent histopathological investigations. All the CP-treated animals lost weight, but losartan promoted weight loss in females (p < 0.05). Coadministration of losartan and CP in females, but not in males, significantly increased the serum levels of blood urea nitrogen and creatinine when compared with the negative and positive control groups (p < 0.05). No significant differences were observed in serum levels of total proteins, magnesium, and nitrite between the groups. Administration of CP increased the kidney tissue damage score (KTDS) and normalized kidney weight (p < 0.05). However, in the presence of AT1 blockade, the KTDS (nonsignificantly) and normalized kidney weight (significantly, p < 0.05) increased in the CPtreated females. Such an observation was not seen in males. Losartan may prevent CP-induced nephrotoxicity in males, but it promotes the CP-induced damage in females, which may be related to the renin-angiotensin system receptors in the kidneys.

Context:Acne vulgaris affects about 85% of teenagers and may continue to adulthood. There are about two million visits to physicians per year for teenagers and the direct cost of acne treatment in the US exceeds $1 billion per year.Evidence Acquisition:A wide variety of treatment regimens exist for acne vulgaris including benzoil peroxide, retinoids, isotretinoids, keratolytic soaps, alpha hydroxy acids, azelaic acid, salicilic acid as well as hormonal, anti-androgen or antiseborrheic treatments. However, none of these methods is free of side effects and their exact role in therapy is not clear. In this paper apart from presenting the possible causes of acne vulgaris and its available drugs, recently published papers about medicinal plants used in the treatment of acne vulgaris were reviewed.Results:Consumption of alternative and complementary medicine, including medicinal plants, is increasing and is common amongst patients affected by acne and infectious skin diseases. Medicinal plants have a long history of use and have been shown to possess low side effects. These plants are a reliable source for preparation of new drugs.Conclusions:Many plants seem to have inhibitory effects on the growth of bacteria, fungi and viruses in vitro. However, there are a few clinical evidences about the effectiveness and safety of these plants in the treatment of acne and other skin infections.

Background. The nephroprotective effect of vitamins E and C or losartan against cisplatin (CP)- induced nephrotoxicity when they are accompanied by estrogen was investigated. Methods. The ovariectomized rats received estradiol valerate for two weeks. At the end of the first week, a single dose of CP (7 mg/kg, IP) was also administered, and they received placebo (group 1), vitamin E (group 2), vitamin C (group 3), or losartan (group 4) every day during the second week, and they were compared with another three control groups. Results. CP alone increased the serum levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (Cr), and kidney tissue damage score (KTDS), significantly (P < 0.05), however at the presence of estradiol and CP, vitamin C, vitamin E, or losartan not only did not decrease these parameters, but also increased them significantly (P < 0.05). The serum level of superoxidase dismutase (SOD) was reduced by CP (P < 0.05), but it was increased when estradiol or estradiol plus vitamin C or losartan were added (P < 0.05). Conclusion. The particular pharmacological dose of estrogen used in this study abolish the nephroprotective effects vitamins C and E or losartan against CP-induced nephrotoxicity.

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Although vitamin E or losartan as prophylaxes demonstrated some protective effects, the combination of losartan and vitamin E did not protect against CDDP-induced nephrotoxicity, for unknown reasons which may relate to pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic drug interactions.

Background:Investigations have attempted to modify the outcome of tubular injury by either ameliorating renal tubular damage or promoting tubular regeneration in the case of acute tubular necrosis. Objectives: We investigated the protective effect of Eprex an erythropoietin analogue on tubular injury induced by gentamicin (GM). Materials and Methods: Forty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups. In group 1,rats were served as a sham group. In group 2, rats were injected intraperitoneally with 100 mg/kg of GM for 10 consecutive days (positive control group) and then were sacrificed. In group 3, rats received GM for 10 days then Eprex 100U/kg was injected intraperitoneally for the next 10 days and then they were sacrificed at the day 20th. In group 4 rats were injected a combination of GM (80 mg/kg) and Eprex 100U/kg intraperitoneally for 10 days and then were sacrificed. Results: The results indicated that, Eprex prevented the increase in serum creatinine (Cr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN). The effect of Eprex on damage score, showed that co-administration of GM and Eprex (group 3 and 4) reduced the kidney tissue damage compared to positive control group (P<0.05). This result indicat that Eprex potentially can reduce or prevent the kidney tissue damage. Conclusions: Ameliorative effect of Eprex when the drug was given in combination with GM and also when the drug was applied after GM-induced tubular damage, revealed the renoprotective potency of Eprex. Eprex is a promising drug to prevent or attenuate tubular damage induced by GM or other nephrotoxic agents which act through the same mechanisms as gentamicin.

Background:Cisplatin (CP) is an effective drug in cancer therapy to treat the solid tumors, but it is accompanied with nephrotoxicity. The protective effect of estrogen in cardiovascular diseases is well-documented; but its nephron-protective effect against CP-induced nephrotoxicity is not completely understood.Materials and Methods:Thirty ovarectomized Wistar rats were divided in to five groups. Groups 1-3 received different doses of estradiol valerate (0.5, 2.5 and 10 mg/kg/week) in sesame oil for 4 weeks, and at the end of week 3, a single dose of CP (7 mg/kg, intraperitoneal [IP]) was administrated. Group 4 (positive control) received the same regimen as group 1-3 without estradiol without vehicle. The negative control group (Group 5) received sesame oil during the study. The animals were sacrificed 1 week after CP injection for histopathological studies.Results:The serum level of blood urea nitrogen and creatinine, kidney tissue damage score (KTDS), kidney weight and percentage of body weight change in CP-treated groups significantly increased (P < 0.05), however, there were no significant differences detected between the estrogen-treated groups (Groups 1-3) and the positive control group (Group 4). Although, estradiol administration enhanced the serum level of nitrite, it was not affected by CP. Finally, significant correlation between KTDS and kidney weight was detected (r2 = 0.63, P < 0.01).Conclusion:Estrogen is not nephron-protective against CP-induced nephrotoxicity. Moreover, it seems that the mechanism may be related to estrogen-induced oxidative stress in the kidney, which may promote the nephrotoxicity.

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