METHODS: Pressurized hot water extraction P. tenellus was carried out and standardized to 7.9% hydrosable tannins. In vitro toxicity of the extract was tested on NIH 3 T3 cell by MTT assay. The cellular antioxidant level was quantified by measuring cellular level of glutathione. Oral sub-chronic toxicity (200, 1000 and 3000 mg/kg body weight) of P. tenellus extract were evaluated on healthy mice. Liver and kidney antioxidant level was quantified by measuring levels of Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Potential (FRAP), superoxide dismutase, glutathione.
RESULTS: The P. tenellus extract did not induce cytotoxicity on murine NIH 3 T3 cells up to 200 μg/mL for 48 h. Besides, level of glutathione was higher in the extract treated NIH 3 T3 cells. P. tenellus extract did not cause mortality at all tested concentration. When treated with 1000 mg/kg of the extract, serum liver enzymes (ALP and ALT) and LDH were lower than normal control and mice treated with 200 mg/kg of extract. Moreover, SOD, FRAP and glutathione levels of liver of the mice treated with 200 and 1000 mg/kg of extract were higher than the normal control mice. On the other hand, when treated with 3000 mg/kg of extract, serum liver enzymes (ALP and ALT) and LDH were higher than normal mice without changing the liver SOD and glutathione level, which may contribute to the histological sign of ballooning hepatocyte.
CONCLUSION: P. tenellus extract standardized with 7.9% hydrosable tannins and their catabolites increased the antioxidant levels while reducing the nitric oxide levels in both liver and kidney without causing any acute and sub-chronic toxicity in the mice.
Methods: We evaluated commonly used surrogate and imputed baseline creatinine values against a "reference" creatinine measured during follow-up in an adult clinical trial cohort. Known AKI incidence (Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes [KDIGO] criteria) was compared with AKI incidence classified by (1) back-calculation using the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) equation with and without a Chinese ethnicity correction coefficient; (2) back-calculation using the Chronic Kidney Disease-Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equation; (3) assigning glomerular filtration rate (GFR) from age and sex-standardized reference tables; and (4) lowest measured creatinine during admission. Back-calculated distributions were performed using GFRs of 75 and 100 ml/min.
Results: All equations using an assumed GFR of 75 ml/min underestimated AKI incidence by more than 50%. Back-calculation with CKD-EPI and GFR of 100 ml/min most accurately predicted AKI but misclassified all AKI stages and had low levels of agreement with true AKI diagnoses. Back-calculation using MDRD and assumed GFR of 100 ml/min, age and sex-reference GFR values adjusted for good health, and lowest creatinine during admission performed similarly, best predicting AKI incidence (area under the receiver operating characteristic curves [AUC ROCs] of 0.85, 0.87, and 0.85, respectively). MDRD back-calculation using a cohort mean GFR showed low total error (22%) and an AUC ROC of 0.85.
Conclusion: Current methods for estimating baseline creatinine are large sources of potential error in acute infection studies. Preferred alternatives include MDRD equation back-calculation with a population mean GFR, age- and sex-specific GFR values corrected for "good health," or lowest measured creatinine. Studies using surrogate baseline creatinine values should report specific methodology.
Materials and Methods: A farmer complained that Cobb 500 chickens, raised in the open house, were having bloody diarrhea, open mouth breathing, non-uniform growth, and ruffled feathers. The mortality was about 100 birds (from about 7000 birds) per day. The sick birds were isolated and subjected to physical examination, postmortem, and histopathological analyses. Gross lesions were observed and recorded. The lung samples have proceeded with histopathological evaluations. The lungs, kidneys, trachea, air sac, and heart samples were collected to isolate bacteria and fungi through a series of conventional cultural methods, followed by molecular confirmation of the IBV.
Results: Postmortem examination revealed air sacculitis, hemorrhagic tracheitis, pulmonary congestion, fibrin deposition in the liver and air sac, hemorrhagic enteritis, and renomegaly. The bacterial culture and biochemical tests revealed E. coli in the lungs, trachea, liver, intestine, and kidney samples. However, no fungus could be isolated from those samples. Histological evaluation of lung samples demonstrated infiltration of inflammatory cells in the pulmonary tissues. Apart from this, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction confirmed the presence of avian coronavirus responsible for infectious bronchitis (IB).
Conclusion: The chickens were diagnosed with IB concurrent with E.coli. The chickens exhibited typical nephropathogenic strain of IBV infection, causing high mortality.
AIM OF THE STUDY: In this study, the effects of F3, lutein and β-sitosterol on tumor development and metastasis were investigated in 4T1-induced mouse mammary carcinoma model.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Tumor-bearing mice were fed with F3 (100 mg/kg/day), lutein (50 mg/kg/day) and β-sitosterol (50 mg/kg/day) for 30 days (n = 5 each group). Tumor physical growth parameters, animal body weight and development of secondary tumors were investigated. The safety profile of F3 was assessed using hematological and histomorphological changes on the major organs in normal control mice (NM).
RESULTS: Our findings revealed significant reduction of physical tumor growth parameters in all tumor-bearing mice treated with F3 (TM-F3), lutein (TM-L) or β-sitosterol (TM-β) as compared with the untreated group (TM). Statistically significant reduction in body weight was observed in TM compared to the NM or treated (TM-F3, TM-L and TM-β) groups. Histomorphological examination of tissue sections from the F3-treated group showed normal features of the vital organs (i.e., liver, kidneys, lungs and spleen) which were similar to those of NM. Administration of F3 to NM mice (NM-F3) did not cause significant changes in full blood count values.
CONCLUSION: F3 significantly reduced the total tumor burden and prevented secondary tumor development in metastatic breast cancer without significant toxicities in 4T1-induced mouse mammary carcinoma model. The current study provides further support for therapeutic development of F3 with further pharmacokinetics studies.
Objective: This study aimed to develop and validate the questionnaire on end-of-life care knowledge, perceptions, and preferences among hemodialysis (HD) patients.
Subject and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 92 HD patients from 14 centers. It involved four phases including (i) developing the questionnaire and pretesting, (ii) improving and editing and redistribution to respondents for the pilot study, (iii) factor analysis (FA), and (iv) internal consistency reliability testing.
Results: The result of FA with varimax rotation performed identified three domains for the 41 items, with 10-20 items in each domain. All the 41 analyzed items had a good factor loading of more than 0.4 with the lowest value of 0.421 and were nicely fit into three respective domains: knowledge, perceptions, and preferences. Internal consistency reliability analysis Cronbach's α values were between 0.5 and 0.7 for all domains, higher than the level set for this study (0.5).
Conclusion: The questionnaire was successfully validated and considered a useful tool in describing ESRD patients' end-of-life care knowledge, perceptions, and preferences.
METHODS: The national nephrology societies of the region; responded to the questionnaire; based on latest registries, acceptable community-based studies and society perceptions. The countries in the region were classified into Group 1 (High|higher-middle-income) and Group 2 (lower|lowermiddle income). Student t-test, Mann-Whitney U test and Fisher's exact test were used for comparison.
RESULTS: Fifteen countries provided the data. The average incidence of ESKD was estimated at 226.7 per million population (pmp), (Group 1 vs. Group 2, 305.8 vs. 167.8 pmp) and average prevalence at 940.8 pmp (Group 1 vs. Group 2, 1306 vs. 321 pmp). Group 1 countries had a higher incidence and prevalence of ESKD. Diabetes, hypertension and chronic glomerulonephritis were most common causes. The mean age in Group 2 was lower by a decade (Group 1 vs. Group 2-59.45 vs 47.7 years).
CONCLUSION: Haemodialysis was the most common kidney replacement therapy in both groups and conservative management of ESKD was the second commonest available treatment option within Group 2. The disease burden was expected to grow >20% in 50% of Group 1 countries and 78% of Group 2 countries along with the parallel growth in haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis.
DESIGN: Observational study.
SETTING: A single-centre study in which eligible patients were recruited from T2DM clinic. Following consent, patients completed a questionnaire and underwent physical examinations. Patients had blood drawn for laboratory investigations and had a transthoracic echocardiography.
PARTICIPANTS: A total of 305 patients who were not known to have CVD were recruited. Patients with deranged liver function tests and end stage renal failure were excluded.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Echocardiographic parameters such as left ventricular ejection fraction, left ventricular mass index (LVMI), left ventricular hypertrophy, left atrial enlargement and diastolic function were examined.
RESULTS: A total of 305 patients predominantly females (65%), with mean body mass index of 27.5 kg/m2 participated in this study. None of them had either a history or signs and symptoms of CVD. Seventy-seven percent of patients had a history of hypertension and 83% of this study population had T2DM for more than 10 years. Mean HbA1c of 8.3% was recorded. Almost all patients were taking metformin. Approximately, 40% of patients were on newer anti-T2DM agents such as sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 and dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors. Fifty-seven percent (n=174) of the study population had SBHF at the time of study: diastolic dysfunction, increased LVMI and increased left atrial volume index (LAVI) were noted in 51 patients (17%), 128 patients (42%) and 98 patients (32%), respectively. Thirty-seven patients (12%) had both increase LVMI and LAVI.
CONCLUSION: Our study has revealed a high prevalence of SBHF in T2DM patients without overt cardiac disease in Malaysia that has one of the highest prevalence of TDM in the world.