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Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a common health problem, and associated with obesity, metabolic syndrome (MetS), and diabetes. Growing evidence shows that 25-hydroxyvitamin-D3 (25-OH-D) insufficiency and high parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels may be correlated to glucose intolerance, MetS, obesity, and cardiovascular abnormalities similar to OSAS. Bisphenol A (BPA) is an endocrine disruptor agent which exerts a wide variety of metabolic effects. It has estrogenic activity and its exposure may contribute to weight gain, obesity, impaired glucose metabolism, and the development of diabetes, also similar to OSAS. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationships between OSAS and serum BPA, 25-OH-D, and PTH levels. This study enrolled 128 subjects, with all of the OSAS patients having been diagnosed by polysomnography. The 128 subjects were divided into three groups: a control (n = 43), a moderate OSAS (n = 23) (AHI = 15-30), and a severe OSAS groups (n = 62) (AHI > 30). The serum BPA, 25-OH-D, and PTH levels for each subject were analyzed. 25-OH-D was lower in both OSAS groups, and PTH was higher in the OSAS groups than in the control subjects. The BPA levels were higher in the severe OSAS group than the moderate OSAS and control. There was a positive correlation between the BPA and body mass index, and a negative correlation between the 25-OH-D and BPA levels in all of the individuals. OSAS is related to high BPA and PTH levels, and low vitamin D levels. There is a positive association between BPA levels and OSAS, and the severity of OSAS. These results suggest that the BPA levels may have a role in the pathogenesis of OSAS.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of hemiplegia on diaphragmatic movements using motion-mode ultrasonography. Methods: 23 hemiplegic patients who were diagnosed with a single-hemisphere lesion (mean age 60.5 years; 13 males and 10 females) and a control group of 20 patients (13 males and 7 females) were all evaluated by ultrasonography. Ultrasonography recordings were made of the amplitude of diaphragmatic movement during spontaneous and deep breathing. The patients underwent lung function tests. Results: When the hemiplegic and control groups were compared, the forced vital capacity, forced expired volume in 1 s, maximum inspiratory pressure and maximum expiratory pressure values were significantly lower in the groups with right and left hemiplegia (p,0.05). When a comparison was made between the right hemiplegic group and the control group and between the left hemiplegic group and the control group in terms of diaphragmatic excursions, for both groups, no significant difference was determined between the movements of the right hemidiaphragm during spontaneous and deep breathing and those of the left hemidiaphragm in spontaneous respiration. In contrast, for both hemiplegic groups, a significant decrease was noted in the movements of the left hemidiaphragm in deep respiration. Conclusion: The diaphragm is both contralaterally innervated and ipsilaterally innervated, and innervation exhibits marked variations from person to person. This provides an explanation for varying diaphragmatic movements in hemiplegic cases during deep respiration.

Thymoquinone is the major active component derived from Nigella sativa. Methotrexate is a folic acid antagonist widely used in clinic. Aim of this study was to investigate the possible protective role of thymoquinone on testicular toxicity of methotrexate. Experiments were performed on male C57BL/6 mice (6 weeks old, 20 ± 2 g). The animals were divided into four groups with six mice in each group. Equivalent volumes of saline were injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) in the control group. In the thymoquinone group, mice received thymoquinone i.p. with a dose of 10 mg/kg/day for 4 days. Mice in the methotrexate group received single dose of methotrexate i.p., with a dose of 20 mg/kg. Finally, in the methotrexate plus thymoquinone group, in the first and the following 3 days after methotrexate administration, thymoquinone was injected with a dose of 10 mg/kg/day, i.p. At the end of the experiment, the left testis was quickly removed and divided into two parts for histological examination and biochemical analysis. Methotrexate alone increased total antioxidant capacity and myeloperoxidase activity compared to the controls. Thymoquinone treatment decreased total antioxidant capacity and prevented the increase in the myeloperoxidase activity. Light microscopy showed in mice that receiving methotrexate resulted in interstitial space dilatation, edema, severe disruption of the seminiferous epithelium and reduced diameter of the seminiferous tubules. Administration of thymoquinone reversed histological changes of methotrexate significantly. We suggest that thymoquinone use may decrease the destructive effects of methotrexate on testicular tissue of patients using this agent.

Acute renal failure due to ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury is a common complication in cardiovascular surgery. We determined the influence of tadalafil on renal injury in a renal I/R model in rats. For this purpose, 21 male Wistar albino rats were separated into 3 groups: sham, placebo and tadalafil. A right nephrectomy was performed, and the left renal pedicles were occluded for 60 min and reperfused for 60 min in the placebo and tadalafil groups. A single dose of tadalafil (10 mg/kg) through an orogastric tube was administered to the tadalafil group. Tubular atrophy with acute inflammation in renal histology, total oxidant status (TOS) and total antioxidant status (TAS) were determined in tissue homogenates. Compared to the tadalafil group, tubular atrophy and acute inflammation was significant in the placebo group. TAS levels were significantly higher in the tadalafil group compared to the placebo (p = 0.01) and sham groups (p = 0.04). While TOS levels were significantly higher in the placebo group (p = 0.03), tadalafil did not significantly alter the TOS levels. The beneficial effects of tadalafil can be attributed to its protective effects on renal tubular cells and inhibition of leukocyte infiltration in renal tissue. We think that tadalafil treatment has an important role in reducing renal injury resulting from renal I/R.

No abstract

Methotrexate is used to treat certain types of cancer of the breast, skin, head and neck, or lung. Methotrexate can cause serious or life-threatening side effects on liver, lungs, kidneys, and immune system. Methotrexate chemotherapy causes testicular damage in humans. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible protective role of erdosteine on testicular toxicity of methotrexate in mice. Twenty-six male mice were divided into four groups as follows: group 1, control; group 2, erdosteine-treated; group 3, methotrexate-treated; and group 4, methotrexate + erdosteine treated. On the first day of experiment, a single dose of methotrexate was intraperitoneally administered to groups 3 and 4, although a daily single dose of erdosteine was orally administered to group 2 and 4 for 7 days. At the end of the experiment, the testes of the animals were removed and weighed. The levels of total antioxidant capacity and total oxidative stress, and myeloperoxidase activity in the methotrexate group were higher than the control group (p<0.05). Lipid peroxidation levels were not changed in methotrexate group compared with control group. In conclusion, erdosteine could effectively protect the testes in methotrexate-induced toxicity.

Kisspeptin is a recently discovered hypothalamic peptide which plays an important role in the central control of reproductive functions. We have investigated direct and indirect effects of kisspeptin on the liver oxidative stress in young male rats. Twenty-four rats were divided into four groups (n = 6/group). First group served as control and received saline. Kisspeptin-10 was administered to the animals in the second group (20 nmol/rat/day), for a period of 7 days. Rats were given only one dose gosereline (0.9 mg/rat), a GnRH agonist in the third group. The last group received kisspeptin-10 with gosereline. The activities of catalase, superoxide dismutase (SOD), xanthine oxidase (XO), adenosine deaminase (AD) and level of malondialdehyde were studied in liver tissue. Serum samples were separated for total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total oxidant status (TOS), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), colesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and triglyceride. Kisspeptin increased the activities of SOD and catalase (p < 0.05). When compared to the control group, the levels of malondialdehyde, TOS and AST were lower, but levels of BUN, cholesterole, HDL and AD were higher in the other three groups (p < 0.05). In conclusion, our findings suggest that kisspeptin may have antioxidant and thus protective effects on the liver tissue.