The efficiency of oat bran and barley bran in lowering the induced hyperlipidemia and hypercholesterolemia in blood of male Albino rats (Rattus rattus) was studied. Twenty rats were divided into four groups each consisted of five rats and fed the specified test diets for eight weeks. The first group (G1) is the negative group which was fed basal diet, the second group (G2) was fed 1.0% cholesterol, was the third group (G3) fed 1.0% cholesterol and 10% oats bran, and the fourth group (G4) was fed 1.0% cholesterol and 10% barley bran. Feeding rats on 1% cholesterol significantly increased serum total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein, and very low density lipoprotein and triglyceride and decreased serum high density lipoprotein. Furthermore, enzyme activity of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphatase was increased, and lipid peroxide was increased, whereas catalase and glutathione-S-transferase were decreased. Kidney functions parameters in the cholesterol supplemented group were elevated compared with the negative control. In addition, histological alteration in kidney, liver, heart, and testes was observed, compared with the negative control. Hypercholesterolemic rats supplemented with oat bran and barley bran showed significant decrease in lipid parameters, significant increase in high density lipoprotein-cholesterol, improved antioxidant enzyme, and improved histopathology of kidney, liver, heart, and testes. In conclusion, both oat bran and barley bran had protective effects against induced hyperlipidemia and improved histological alterations. Oat bran appeared more efficient than barley bran in lowering the lipid profile levels in hypercholesterolemic rats.

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the most common single cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), where diabetic nephropathy (DN) is considered the cause in almost half of all patients with ESRD. Despite the availability of many modern therapies for glycemic control, there are no specific curative treatments yet for DN and many diabetic patients still progressed to severe renal damage. Currently, albuminuria is the most commonly used marker to predict onset and progression of DN clinically. However, this traditional marker for DN lacks both sensitivity and specificity to detect early stage of DN. Furthermore, there is a lack of a strong association between albuminuria and glomerular filtration rate (GFR). As such, it is crucial to find earlier and reliable markers for DN diagnosis and intervention providing an opportunity to stop the permanent damage caused by it. Objective: This study focuses on Cyclophilin A (CypA) in urine. CypA is a protein with ubiquitous characteristics, mostly distributed in the cytoplasm and facilitates protein folding and protein trafficking. It has relatively high expression level in normal kidneys. Recently, CypA has been reported to be a reliable novel marker for early diagnosis of DN. Subjects and Methods: Our study was conducted on 90 subjects of comparative age and sex. They were selected from Endocrinology Clinic after written consent at Ain Shams University Hospital and Railway Hospital. Participants were divided into: Group I: 30 healthy control subjects, Group II: 30 T2DM patients without albuminuria (normoalbuminuric), and Group III: 30 T2DM patients with albuminuric DN. Results: Our study showed that regarding the level of urinary CypA there was a highly statistical significant difference between the three groups (F= 221.730, p< 0.01), being higher in GII (normoalbuminuric) (1.69±0.87 ng/ml) than in GI (control) (0.55±0.14 ng/ml) (t= 7.04, p< 0.01) and higher in GIII (albuminuric DN) (6.01±1.61 ng/ml) than GII (t= 12.93, p< 0.001) and GI (t= 18.55, p< 0.0001). In addition, we found that urinary CypA was significant higher in GIIIb (macroalbuminuria) (7.23±0.76 ng/ml) than in GIIIa (microalbuminuria) (4.79±1.25 ng/ml) (t= 6.49, p< 0.01). It worth mentioning that, the level of urinary CypA started to increase significantly in stage 2 DN (2.49±0.50 ng/ml) in spite of normal level of albuminuria (no albuminuria) comparing with each of stage 1 DN (1.03±0.15 ng/ml), diabetics with no renal affection (0.99±0.45 ng/ml) and GI (healthy control) (0.55±0.14 ng/ml). There was significant positive correlation between urinary CypA and each of: sCr in GII (r= +0.39, p< 0.05), GIIIa (r= +0.89, p< 0.001) and GIIIb (r= +0.99, p< 0.001) and ACR in GIIIa (r= +0.93, p< 0.001) and GIIIb (r= +0.98, p< 0.001). Conclusion: Our study showed that there was a high significant difference in the level of urinary CypA between diabetic patients with any degree of renal affection and healthy subjects being higher in diabetics with renal affection even without the presence of albuminuria.

Aim of the work: To assess the role of radiofrequency ablation as an alternative tool in management of symptomatic benign thyroid nodules. Methods: We assessed non-functioning benign thyroid nodules in 10 patients, after treatment by radiofrequency (RF) ablation and follow-up for 6 months. RF ablation was done by Cool-Tip RF system and cooled internal electrode. Nodule volume, cosmetic and symptom scores were calculated earlier prior to treatment and throughout the follow-up. We assessed all efficacy related factors and reported complications. Results: A statistically significant difference existed between volume of nodules before the procedure with mean volume was 22.20 ± 4.61 and 1 month after with mean volume 12.38 ± 2.91with mean reduction ratio of 44.27 ± 5.77% and 3 months after the procedure with mean volume 8.08 ± 2.92 with mean reduction ratio of 65.14 ± 8.92%, also 6 months after procedure with mean volume 6.90 ± 2.78 with mean reduction ratio of 71.10 ± 7.71 %. The symptoms were significantly improved after RF ablation of patients complaining of compressive and cosmetic problems.