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ABSTRACT Urethral stricture is a common disease with high recurrence rate. Several manipulations were defined to prevent the recurrence but the results were disappointing. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of triamcinolone and mitomycin-C on urethral stricture formation and their effect on inhibition of urethral fibrosis. A total of 24 New Zealand rabbits were divided into 3 groups. Urethras of rabbits were traumatized with pediatric resectoscope. Resection area was irrigated with 10mL saline, swapped with a cotton wool soaked with 0.5mg/mL MMC and injected by 40mg triamcinolone in groups 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Retrograde urethrogram was performed at 28th day of procedure and the urethra was removed for histopathologic evaluation. There were significant differences in urethral diameters and in lumen reduction rate between the control and study groups (p

Background: Alpha lipoic acid is a potent antioxidant that plays numerous roles in human health. This study examined the effect of ALA on rat sciatic nerve ischemia reperfusion damage. Aims: Protective effect of alpha lipoic acid (ALA) on sciatic nerve following ischemia-reperfusion in rats was investigated by using light microscopy and biochemical methods. Provided that the protective effect of ALA on sciatic nerve is proven, we think the damage to the sciatic nerve that has already occurred or might occur in patients for various reasons maybe prevented or stopped by giving ALA in convenient doses. Study Design: Animal experiment. Methods: Forty-two adult male Sprague-Dawley rats (250-300 grams) were used in this study. Rats were randomly divided into six groups including one control (Group 1), one sham (Group 2), two ischemia-reperfusion (Groups 3 and 4) and two treatment groups (Groups5 and 6). Doses of 60 and 100 mg/kg ALA were given (Group 5 and 6) intra peritoneally twice, 1 and 24 hours before the ischemia to each treatment group. Ischemia was carried out the abdominal aorta starting from the distal part of the renal vein for two hours followed by reperfusion for three hours. In immunohistochemical methods, fibronectin immunoreactivity was analyzed. For biochemical analyses, the tissues were taken in eppendorf microtubes and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) enzyme activities as well as malondialdehyde (MDA) and nitricoxide (NO) levels were measured. Results: Fibronectin was observed to have increased significantly in the ischemia group; on the other hand, it was observed to have decreased in parallel to the doses in the ALA groups. Biochemical studies showed that SOD and GSHPx declined with ischemia-reperfusion, but the activities of these enzymes were increased in the treatment groups in parallel with the dose. It was found that increased MDA levels with ischemia-reperfusion were decreased in parallel with ALA dose. There were no statistically significant changes in NO. Conclusion: Increased fibronectin observed after ischemia/reperfusion of rat sciatic nerve is reduced after the administration of ALA. This indicates that the function of fibronectin, to reconnect cut nerve segments and regenerate nerves, is more prominent than its function in tissue healing after ischemia. ALA administered before ischemia decreases MDA and increases SOD and GSHPx. We think that ALA may protect against the pathological changes in ischemic nerve and may be used to devise more efficient treatments.

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the possible protective effects of curcumin against cholestatic oxidative stress and liver damage in common bile duct ligated rats.Material and Methods: A total of 18 male Wistar albino rats were divided into three groups: control, common bile duct ligation (BDL) and BDL+curcumin.Each group contained 6 animals. The rats in the curcumin treated group were given curcumin (100 mg/kg) once a day orally for 14 days, starting 3 days prior to BDL operation. Following 14 days of treatment, all the animals were decapitated and liver tissue samples were obtained for histopathological investigation.Results: The changes demonstrating the bile duct proliferation and fibrosis in expanded portal tracts, including the extension of proliferated bile ducts into lobules, mononuclear cells, and neutrophil infiltration into the widened portal areas, were observed in BDL group. Treatment of BDL with curcumin attenuated liver damage. Both the elevated alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), and the activity of TUNEL in the BDL were observed to be reduced with the curcumin treatment. Conclusion: Our data indicate that curcumin reduced BDL-induced cholestatic liver injury, bile duct proliferation, fibrosis.

The aim of this study was designed to investigate the possible beneficial effects of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, Quinapril (Q) and, the angiotensin (ang) II T(1) (AT1) receptor blocker, irbesartan (Irb), in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes in rats. The rats were randomly allotted into one of five experimental groups: A (control), B (diabetic untreated), C (diabetic treated with Q), D (diabetic treated with Irb), and E (diabetic treated with Q&Irb), each group containing 10 animals. Groups B-E received STZ. Diabetes was induced in four groups by a single intraperitoneal (i.p) injection of STZ (50 mg/kg, freshly dissolved in 5 mmol/L citrate buffer, pH 4.5). Two days after STZ treatment, development of diabetes in four experimental groups was confirmed by measuring blood glucose levels in a tail vein blood samples. Rats with blood glucose levels of 250 mg/dL or higher were considered to be diabetic. The rats in Q-, Irb-, and Q&Irb-treated groups were given Q (in a dose of 3 mg/kg body weight), Irb (5 mg/kg body weight), and Q&Irb (in a dose of 1.5 mg/kg + 2.5 mg/kg body weight) once a day orally by using intra-gastric intubation for 12 weeks starting two days after STZ injection. Treatment of Q and especially Irb reduced the glomerular size and thickening of capsular, glomerular, and tubular basement membranes; and increased amounts of mesangial matrix and tubular dilatation and renal function as compared with diabetics untreated. Notably, the better effects were obtained when Q and Irb given together. We conclude that Q, Irb, and especially Q+Irb therapy causes renal morphologic and functional improvement after STZ-induced diabetes in rats. We believe that further preclinical research into the utility of Q and Irb treatment, alone or its combination, may indicate its usefulness as a potential treatment in diabetic nephropathy (DNp).