Introduction: Acute toxicity management is a major medical problem in the whole world as poisoning is one of the most common causes for coming to hospital emergency departments. Early diagnosis and treatment in emergency department and ICU are critical for the poisoned patient to reduce hospital morbidity and mortality. Objective: Evaluation of the validity of coma scaling systems as Glasgow coma scale (GCS), Reed scale, poisoning severity score (PSS), modified acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) score (MAS) and vital signs as predictors of clinical course and outcome of acutely poisoned patients. Patients and Methods: This retrospective study was carried out on 100 acutely intoxicated patients. They were selected from patients attended Sohag University Hospitals with age more than 18 years old who were in need for intermediate or intensive care unit. The study was conducted during the period from March 2018 to the end of February 2021. Results: this study revealed that 62% of the patients were in the age group 18-30 years old and 63% were females. The majority of them intoxicated by oral route (91%) and most of them were suicidal (68%). For the outcome, 75% of patients had been survived and 25% of patients died. PSS, Reed, MAS and GCS as coma scaling scores at admission showed significant difference between survivors and non-survivors of these patients. Systole and diastole as parameters of vital signs also showed significant difference between survivors and non-survivors. While, pulse, temperature and respiratory rate showed non-significant difference between survivors and non-survivors.
Conclusion:The study concluded that PSS, Reed scale, MAS, GCS, diastole and systole respectively are valid prognostic tools for the outcome in acutely poisoned patients.
Doxorubicin (DOX) is an anthracycline antibiotic and a quinone-containing chemotherapeutic drug used for various types of cancers. However, as with most anticancer drugs, it causes many toxic effects, one of them is cognitive impairment. The present study investigated the prophylactic and ameliorative effect of n-acetylcysteine (NAC) against DOX-induced neurotoxicity in rats. Rats were divided into four groups. Control group: rats received saline. NAC treated group: rats received NAC (100 mg/kg, p.o.) daily for 35 days. DOX-treated group: rats received DOX (4 mg/kg, i.p.) for four weeks on day 7, 14, 21 and 28. DOX+NAC treated group 1: rats received NAC (100 mg/kg, p.o.) daily for 35 days and DOX (4 mg/kg, i.p.) for four weeks on day 7, 14, 21 and 28). DOX+NAC treated group 2: rats received NAC (100 mg/kg, p.o.) daily started at the 7th day of the experiment till the end of the experiment and DOX (4 mg/kg, i.p.) for four weeks on day 7, 14, 21 and 28. The present results showed a significant reduction in the body weight, which was associated with a significant increase in brain to body weight ratio in DOX-treated rats. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) level, malondialdehyde (MDA) and total protein levels were significantly elevated. Whilst, reduced glutathione (GSH) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) levels were significantly decreased. Moreover, there were histopathological abnormalities in the brain tissue of DOX-treated rats, as most of the neurons degenerated and the blood vessels surrounded with wide perivascular spaces. In addition, the neuropil was vacuolated. The present study demonstrated that NAC has a neuroprotective effect on the brain damage induced by DOX, through inhibition of inflammation and oxidative stress. This neuroprotective effect was more pronounced in DOX+NAC treated group 1, as it produced a significant increase in brain GSH and GPx levels and more improvement in the histopathological abnormality compared to DOX+NAC treated group 2.
Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) is a widely used food additive that has several deleterious effects on different body organs. Tannic acid (TA) is a naturally occurring antioxidants with several pharmacological properties. The present study was designed to study the toxic effects of MSG on the pancreas with the possible ameliorative role of TA. Forty male albino rats were used in this study in the form of four groups, 10 rats each. Group I, was the control group, fed on the standard diet, Group II received TA (100mg/kg), Group III received MSG (2g/kg) and Group IV received TA and MSG orally by gavage for 4weeks. Biochemical analysis revealed that MSG affected the pancreatic function by a significant increase in the serum levels of amylase and lipase enzymes, as well as, the blood sugar level (p < 0.001) meanwhile it did not significantly affect plasma insulin level (p>0.05). Histopathological examination showed severe destruction in the pancreatic architecture with hypertrophy and hyperplasia in the pancreatic islets as well as a decrease in the number of acinar cells in addition to congestion and dilation in the blood vessels. Co-administration of TA with MSG attenuated these effects; this role may be explained by its anti-oxidative effects that need future research to explain the mechanism of action. It is concluded that MSG has a deleterious effect on the pancreas functionally and morphologically and TA act as a good antioxidant agent against MSG toxicity.
Determination of sex is one of the most important and vital steps in forensic medicine. Sexual dimorphism using odontometric analysis is found to vary in different populations making it necessary to attain values of a specific population which makes identification of person as easy as possible. The present study aims to establish sexual differentiation using dental parameters including dental linear dimensions and indices. Maxillary jaw casts from total of 100 subjects (50 males and 50 females) between ages 17 and 24 years were taken. Mesiodistal (MD) and Buccolingual (BL) dimensions of each tooth of from maxillary jaw cast excluding third molar were measured using precision calipers, dental indices were calculated. Data was collected and statistical analysis was done using SPSS software version 20. Bucccolingual dimension was proved to be a better parameter than MD for assessment of gender in case of left central incisor, canines and left first molar. Crown index of right central incisor, second premolars, and left first molars was the best index for sex prediction of most of the teeth.
The synthetically new illicit drugs which are called New psychoactive substances (NPS) are the calamity of the modern era. Their danger is much more than the natural drugs of abuse and at the same time, they cannot be detected on regular drug screens making diagnosis very difficult. The number of NPS is growing very fast making their detection more complicated. Another challenge is that their health effects are not well studied and cannot be predicted. Synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) are the most prevalent group in all available NPS. One recent member of the SCs group is AB-CHMINACA. This review article summarizes the available data about AB-CHMINACA. The obtained data were summarized under the following subtitles; historical background, chemical structure, classification, physical characters, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, toxicity, methods of detection, the magnitude of the problem, and the situation in Egypt. The reviewed studies reveal that AB-CHMINACA like other SC substances are considered toxic with high liability for dependence. Most of the available studies are case reports. The available literature is lacking in specific organ pathology and well-structured toxicity studies.
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