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Glyphosate, a common herbicide widely used all over the world, can reach the aquatic environment and adversely affect their living organisms. The current study was designed to investigate the possible ameliorating effect of Foeniculum vulgare (Fennel) against glyphosate exposure in Nile tilapia. The fish in this study were assigned into six groups: Control group, Fennel 1 group and Fennel 2 group: fed on 1 and 2 ml/kg diet, respectively, Glyphosate group: exposed to 1.2 ± 0.05 mg/L glyphosate in water, Glyphosate + Fennel 1 group and Glyphosate + Fennel 2 group: exposed to glyphosate and fed on fennel supplemented diet, all for 30 days. Blood and tissue samples were collected from all groups at the end of the experiment. The biochemical analysis of serum revealed a significant increase in alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities after glyphosate exposure. Moreover, a profound state of hepatic oxidative stress was observed in fish exposed to glyphosate as an increase in malondialdehyde and DNA fragmentation and a decrease in antioxidant enzyme activities. The gene expression of hepatic pro‐inflammatory cytokines (Tumour necrosis factor‐α–Interleukin‐1β) was up‐regulated in the glyphosate group. On the other hand, a diet supplemented with fennel extract reversed to a large extent the above‐mentioned adverse effects of glyphosate exposure in a dose‐dependent manner. Therefore, we could conclude that fennel supplementation provides a natural, safe and economically available method to reverse and protect against the inevitable pesticide exposure in non‐target organisms as Nile tilapia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intussusception is a relatively common disease in pediatric age but it is uncommon in adults. We report a case of a 49-year-old male who presented with an acute jejunojejunal intussusception revealed by abdominal pain and vomiting. He underwent an en bloc resection, and pathological findings concluded to a metastasis of a pulmonary combined small cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. A subsequent CT scan revealed the primitive mass of the right lung with no evidence of secondary localization. The biopsy was difficult to perform. The patient underwent a pneumonectomy with lymph node dissection confirming the same diagnosis. He made a good recovery from the surgery, and a postoperative chemotherapy was administrated, and he is in remission until this date.

Objectives. Desmoid tumor also called aggressive fibromatosis is a rare type of benign tumor. It is a mesenchymal malignancy without metastatic potential. The standard management is resection, but other options including observation may be discussed. Desmoid-type fibromatosis may occur throughout the body, but the abdominal wall is the most common site. The aim of our study was to assess the clinicoepidemiological profile, prognostic factors, and treatment outcome of desmoid tumors. Methods. A monocentric retrospective study was conducted over a period of 19 years between February 2000 and November 2019 at the oncology department of Salah Azaïz Institute. Our study concerns 30 patients with desmoid tumor. All data regarding patients were obtained from the medical record. Results. Thirty patients were included. The median age was 35 years with a female predominance (sex ratio = 0.07). A palpable mass was the most common complaint (n = 27). Median tumor size was 5 cm. The principal site of involvement was the abdominal wall (n = 14). Surgery was performed in 27 patients. The histopathology reports listed 14 (52%) cases with negative margins and 13 (48%) cases with positive margins. Radiation therapy was performed in 2 patients. One patient received tamoxifen. Local recurrence occurred in 11 patients. Two patients died of their desmoid tumor. Abdominal wall tumors have less risk of recurrence compared with other sites (p=0.047). Macroscopic margin involvement (R2) was the only prognostic factor influencing disease-free-survival (p=0.034). Conclusion. Desmoid tumors are aggressive tumors with a tendency for local recurrence. Abdominal wall tumors have less risk of recurrence. Macroscopic margin involvement was the only prognostic factor that affects disease-free-survival.

Background. Adult granulosa cell tumors (AGCTs) are the most common sex cord-stromal tumors. Unlike epithelial ovarian tumors, they occur in young women and are usually detected at an early stage. The aim of this study was to report the clinical and pathological characteristics of AGCT patients and to identify the prognostic factors. Methods. All cases of AGCTs, treated at Salah Azaïz Institute between 1995 and 2010, were retrospectively included. Kaplan-Meier’s statistical method was used to assess the relapse-free survival and the overall survival. Results. The final cohort included 31 patients with AGCT. The mean age was 53 years (35–73 years). Patients mainly presented with abdominal mass and/or pain (61%, n=19). Mean tumor size was 20 cm. The majority of patients had a stage I disease (61%, n=19). Two among 3 patients with stage IV disease had liver metastasis. Mitotic index was low in 45% of cases (n=14). Surgical treatment was optimal in almost all cases (90%, n=28). The median follow-up time was 14 years (1–184 months). Ten patients relapsed (32%) with a median RFS of 8.4 years (6.8–9.9 years). Mean overall survival was 13 years (11–15 years). Stage I disease and low-to-intermediate mitotic index were associated with a better prognosis in univariate analysis (resp., p=0.05 and p=0.02) but were not independent prognostic factors. Conclusion. GCTs have a long natural history with common late relapses. Hence, long active follow-up is recommended. In Tunisian patients, hepatic metastases were more frequent than occidental series. The prognosis remains good and initial staging at diagnosis is an important prognostic factor.

Vasculitis is a rare complication of antithyroid drugs (ATDs). It was first described with Propylthiouracil (PTU). We report a new case of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) vasculitis with glomerulonephritis induced by Benzylthiouracile (BTU). A 50-year-old man with Graves disease treated with BTU developed general malaise and haematuria without skin rash or respiratory involvement. Laboratory data revealed acute renal failure with proteinuria and haematuria. An indirect immunofluorescence test for ANCA was positive, showing a perinuclear pattern with specificity antimyeloperoxidase (MPO). A renal biopsy was performed and revealed pauci-immune extracapillary glomerular nephropathy and necrotic vasculitis lesions. Based on these findings we concluded to the diagnosis of rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis associated with ANCA induced by BTU therapy. The drug was therefore discontinued and the patient was treated with steroids and immunosuppressive treatment during 3 months. Renal failure, proteinuria and haematuria significantly improved within 2 months. However, P-ANCA remained positive until 10 months after drug withdrawal. Thyroid function was kept within normal range using iodine solution. We demonstrated clearly that BTU may induce severe forms of vasculitis with glomerulonephritis. Thus, the ANCA must be measured when confronted to systemic manifestation during treatment.

Oxidative stress is a common mechanism contributing to the initiation and progression of hepatic damage. Hence there is a great demand for the development of agents with potent antioxidant effect. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the efficacy of Holothuria atra extract (HaE) as an antioxidant against 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene- (DMBA-) induced hepatorenal dysfunction. Experimental animals were divided into two main groups: protective and curative. Each group was then divided into five subgroups pre- or posttreated either with distilled water (DMBA subgroups) or with HaE (200 mg/kg body weight) for seven and fourteen days. Single oral administration of DMBA (15 mg/kg body weight) to Wistar rats resulted in a significant increase in the serum liver enzymes and kidney function’s parameters. DMBA increased level of liver malondialdehyde (MDA), decreased levels of reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) in the liver tissue, and induced liver histopathological alterations. Pre- or posttreatment with HaE orally for 14 days significantly reversed the hepatorenal alterations induced following DMBA administration. In conclusion, HaE exhibits good hepatoprotective, curative, and antioxidant potential against DMBA-induced hepatorenal dysfunction in rats that might be due to decreased free radical generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study aimed to evaluate the antibacterial, anti‐inflammatory, analgesic, and renoprotective effects of echinochrome pigment extracted from sea urchin. The disk diffusion method was used for the antibacterial activity of echinochrome against four different bacterial strains; Salmonella typhimurium, Pseudomonas aeroginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Listeria monocytogenes. While, acetic acid‐induced writhing, formalin‐induced licking, and hot plate latency assays evaluate the analgesic activity. The biochemical and oxidative stress markers of kidneys, as well as the histopathological examination, were measured to evaluate the renoprotective activity of echinochrome for cecal ligation and puncture‐induced renal injury in rats. Echinochrome pigment exhibited in vitro antibacterial activity against all aforementioned bacterial species besides a powerful anti‐inflammatory impact in vitro by the effective stabilization of the RBCs membrane and in vivo by decrease levels of serum IL6 and TNF‐α. What's more, echinochrome showed a notable analgesic efficacy as well as an enhancement of the kidney's biochemical markers, oxidative stress status, and histopathological screening. Ech attenuated cecal ligation and puncture‐induced renal injury by improving renal biomarkers, suppressing reactive oxygen species propagation as well as its antibacterial, anti‐inflammatory, and anti‐nociceptive activities. Practical applications: Sea urchins are rich in pharmacologically important quinone pigments, specifically echinochrome. The current study aimed to evaluate the role of echinochrome as a renal protective remedy in sepsis and clarify its biological activities.Echinochrome exhibited antibacterial activity in vitro against Salmonella typhimurium, Pseudomonas aeroginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Listeria monocytogenes.Our results revealed that echinochrome protects the kidney against damage caused by sepsis in rats.Echinochrome can use in the treatment of sepsis as an antibacterial, anti‐inflammatory, and antioxidant agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immunity occupies the top priority in aquaculture. Great efforts have been made to study fish immunity, but little is known about the immunity of grey mullet, Mugil cephalus despite of its importance. We evaluated the effect of different doses (0, 1, 10 and 100 µg/kg body weight) of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on the expression of non‐specific immune response genes (interleukin (il) 1β, il8, il10 and tumour necrosis factor alpha (tnfα)) in the liver, as well as its effect on the fractionation of serum protein in juvenile grey mullet along different times and concentrations. Analysis revealed that LPS initially caused an upregulation in the studied cytokines. After that, transcripts levels were switched sequentially between downregulation and upregulation, ending with an upregulation at 1 week post injection in il8, il10 and tnfα. Regarding il1β, its initial upregulation was followed by gradual decreases, which reached a marked downregulation at 1 week post injection. Protein fractionation exhibited many changes among doses and time. Nine fractions were discernable in protein electrophoresis of serum in all doses. The most pronounced changes were detected in fractions 7–9 (generally refer to γ globulins or immunoglobulins) using densitometric analysis. In addition, LPS suggested to modulate the levels of serum transferrin. It is known that LPS is a component of the cell wall of Gram negative bacteria, and this study sheds light on the molecular fitness mechanisms against bacterial infection, which could help in developing a strategy to improve resistance to bacterial diseases, or possibly to enhance immune response in grey mullet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LPS significantly changed the lymphocytes count at different doses and times postinjection without interaction between LPS doses and time ( I p i = .002 for LPS; I p i = .015 for time; I p i > .05 for interaction). GLO:7ZE/01jan20:are14309-fig-0003.jpg PHOTO (COLOR): The effects of different doses of LPS and time intervals on the catalase (CAT) enzyme activities (U/g tissue) in the liver of grey mullet, Mugil cephalus. Catalase enzyme, H/L ratio, lipopolysaccharides, Mugil cephalus, oxidative stress, sodium oxide dismutase. [Extracted from the article]

Background. The present study aimed to assess the effectiveness of clam extract in combination with atorvastatin against experimentally hyperlipidemia in rats. Method. Forty male rats were divided into 5 groups (8 rats /group): control, high fat diet (HFD), atorvastatin (AROR), clam extract (CE), and ATOR + CE. Results. The treatments with ATOR and /or CE significantly reduced the body weight gain, AST, ALT, ALP, TL, TC, TG, LDL-C, urea, creatinine, and uric acid levels while they increased total proteins, albumin, and HDL-C. The treatment with ATOR only did not cause any significant change in CK and MDA along with antioxidant system, while the treatment with CE alone or with ATOR significantly decreased CK and MDA accompanied by improving the antioxidant system. Conclusion. Combination of CE extract with atorvastatin improved the hyperlipidemic efficacy and reduced undesirable side effects especially on muscle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]