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Introduction. Liver biopsy is an invasive determinator for hepatic fibrosis. Serum biomarkers can probably be used as an alternative to liver biopsy in assessment of the degree of fibrosis in patients with chronic Hepatitis C. Method. Eighty patients with chronic Hepatitis C were included in the study using simple nonrandom sampeling metod. After fulfillment of liver biopsy, the patients were categorized according to the METAVIR Scoring system. The Hepascore algorithm is computed based on age, sex, and the serum levels of total bilirubin, δ-glutamyl transferase, α2-Macroglobulin, and hyaluronic acid. The spearman and ROC tests were used. Results. According to the liver biopsy results, 12, 25, 20, 7 and 16 patients had F0, F1, F2, F3, and F4, respectively. With regard to the 0.34 cut-off point Hepascore had 67%, 56%, 64%, and 56% sensitivity, specificity, respectively, positive prediction value (PPV), and negative prediction value (NPV), respectively, for diagnosis of significant fibrosis. For a Hepascore cut-off point 0.61, sensitivity, specificity, respectively, PPV and NPB 82%, 86%, 70%, and 92% in diagnosis of severe fibrosis. For a Hepascore cut-off point 0.84, sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPB were respectively 100%, 97%, 89%, and 100% for diagnosis of cirrhosis. Conclusion. Hepascore has a high value in diagnosis of the level of fibrosis, particularly cirrhosis. Therefore, it can be used for primary screening of patients to determine the need for liver biopsy.

In this study, combinations of Ginkgo biloba leaf extract (EGb761) plus the carotenoid antioxidant astaxanthin (ASX) and vitamin C were evaluated for a summative dose effect in the inhibition of asthma-associated inflammation in asthmatic guinea-pigs. Ovalbumin-sensitized Hartley guinea-pigs challenged with ovalbumin aerosol to induce asthma, were administered EGb761, ASX, vitamin C or ibuprofen. Following killing, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid was evaluated for inflammatory cell infiltrates and lung tissue cyclic nucleotide content. Each parameter measured was significantly altered to a greater degree by drug combinations, than by each component acting independently. An optimal combination was identified that included astaxanthin (10 mg/kg), vitamin C (200 mg/kg) and EGb761 (10 mg/kg), resulting in counts of eosinophils and neutrophils each 1.6-fold lower; macrophages 1.8-fold lower, cAMP 1.4-fold higher; and cGMP 2.04-fold higher than levels in untreated, asthmatic animals (p < 0.05). In conclusion, EGb761, ASX and vitamin C are shown here to interact summatively to suppress inflammation with efficacy equal to or better than ibuprofen, a widely used non-steroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID). Such combinations of non-toxic phytochemicals constitute powerful tools for the prevention of onset of acute and chronic inflammatory disease if consumed regularly by healthy individuals; and may also augment the effectiveness of therapy for those with established illness., (Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of monotherapy with interferon alpha-2b and combination therapy with interferon alpha-2b plus ribavirin on chronic hepatitis C infection in thalassaemic patients., Methods: In parallel group randomized, double blind, controlled trial, 32 thalassaemic patients with chronic hepatitis C infection completed the study. In a random fashion, one group was treated with three million units of interferon alpha-2b three times a week plus ribavirin (800-1200 mg daily). The second group received interferon alpha-2b alone. Treatment duration was 24-48 weeks. Primary efficacy variables were HCV RNA after treatment and sustained viral response (SVR) six months after treatment., Results: The mean age of patients was 22 ± 7.4 years; 19 (59.4%) were male and 13 (40.6) were female. At the end of treatment, no statistically significant differences were found between the groups in HCV RNA and AST. The proportion of patients with SVR six months after treatment was significantly greater in the monotherapy group (90.9%) than in the combination therapy group (44.4%; p = 0.049). A significant difference in mean of ALT was also obtained at the end of treatment between monotherapy and combination therapy groups (30.4 ± 19.2 and 60.1 ± 48.9, respectively; p = 0.02). Response rates were not associated with genotype and severity of hepatitis C infection in both groups., Conclusions: These results suggest that monotherapy may be considered as the first-line therapy in patients with thalassemia.

Resveratrol is naturally present in certain fruits and vegetables including grape skins and especially in red wine. Similar to red wine, resveratrol possesses diverse biochemical and physiological properties including anti-inflammatory and immunomulatory activities as well as wide range of health benefits ranging from chemoprevention to cardioprotection. Recent studies implicated that resveratrol also possesses antiaging properties. The present review describes some of the important physiological properties of resveratrol that accounts for its diverse physiological actions.

The growth in popularity of Over The Counter (OTC) of medicinal products or other natural sources have taken a very large share of healthcare system therefore it is essential to determine their safety as for as public health is concerned.In this study Maximum Tolerated Dose (MTD) was obtained according to CSGMT protocol presented by the Environmental Mutagen Society of Japan. The positive group received mitomycin C in dose of 0.5 mg/kg. The peripheral blood samples before treatment (zero time) were considered as negative control. The MTD of Hypiron was 12 ml/kg and for Chamomilla was 10 ml/kg. Doses of MTD, 1/2 MTD and 1/4 MTD were considered for test groups. Then blood samples were prepared 48 hours after first administration of drugs and kept on precoated Acridine orange slides. The scoring of micronucleated reticulocytes were carried out per 2000 counted reticulocytes in each slide by fluorescent microscope. The results were statistically analyzed. Results of Hypiran were compared with negative control group and the P value was P > 0.05, but the p value of Chamomilla was P < 0.05. Also, the p value of Hypiran and Chamomilla compared with historical negative control group was less, therefore Chamomilla herbal drog can be classified as equivocul category of genotoxicity and Hypiran did not show genotoxicity.

The in vivo rodent micronucleus test is widely used as a genotoxic assay to detect the clastogenic activity of chemicals. In this research the genotoxic effects of herbal drops of garlic and pasipy were evaluated using the micronucleus test. Maximum Tolerated Dose (MTD) was determined by a dose-response test. For each medicine three treatment groups were considered with doses of MTD, 1/2 MTD and 1/4 MTD according to the CSGMT protocol (1995 Japan). Drugs were administered orally to mice (test groups). Mitomicin C was used as a known genotoxic agent in positive control group. The peripheral blood samples before treatment (zero time samples) were considered as negative control. The appearance of a micronucleus is used as an index for genotoxic potential. The results obtained indicated that the herbal drops showed genotoxicity effect and it was dose-dependent compared to the negative control group. This genotoxicity was significant (p < 0.05) but the genotoxic effects of garlic and pasipy were "not significant" compared to the historical negative control group (p > 0.05). Therefore our results if compared to the negative control group is significant and it is worthy of consideration.

Due to the increased use and availability of herbal medicinal products, it has been necessary to perform investigations pertaining to their toxicological safety. The aim of this study was to use the rapid and sensitive technique of Single Cell Gel Electrophoresis (SCGE) or "Comet Assay" to assess the mutagenic potential of two such products: "Hypiran" and "Sankol." The results were compared against positive (hydrogen peroxide) and negative (no mutagen) control groups. The instances of DNA damage were observed in 25 randomly selected cells and viewed under a fluorescence microscope following electrophoresis and staining with ethidium bromide. Both microscopic inspection and calculation of the number of affected/damaged cells were encouraging and were comparable to the observations of previous studies using SCGE. The total instances of cell damage in the presence of "Hypiran" increased as the dose increased, with all 25 cells exhibiting fragmentation at the highest dose. However, "Sankol" only exhibited some damage (8-12% of cells) at all doses. The results obtained suggest that in vitro, "Hypiran" produces dose dependent DNA damage and therefore may possess some mutagenic potential. Compared to the positive control, no significant DNA damage was observed with "Sankol" and hence this compound may have no mutagenic potential. However, further study is required before a full evaluation of these products can be made.

Objective: The aim and purpose of this study was to find out the protective effect of garlic oil in liver toxicity induced by acetaminophen overdose and the comparison of its effect with N-acetylcysteine in albino male mice (18-22 g)., Methods: This study was undertaken during the period from January 1999 through to August 2000, at the School of Pharmacy, Ahwaz University of Medical Sciences, Ahwaz, Iran. All animals were fasted over night and were divided into 8 groups. Each group consisted of 10 mice. Garlic oil was administered intraperitoneally in doses of 100mg/kg, 200mg/kg and 500 mg/kg. Immediately after this, a toxic dose of acetaminophen (500 mg/kg orally) was administered followed by another administration one hour later (500 mg/kg orally). Twenty-four hours after the last administration, blood was withdrawn from the jugular vein of the mice and serum enzyme activities were measured and compared with the control groups. The liver samples were studied for the histopathological examination., Results: The results in group which received 200mg/kg of garlic oil showed good protection activity as compared with the positive control group. The histopathological observations also showed that the area of liver damage was reduced significantly as compared with the positive control group. The severity of injury was variable among the animals and there was less evidence of necrosis in this group. Some protection was observed in other doses of garlic oil but these were not much significant. The results obtained one hour after acetaminophen intoxication (post treatment) showed a less protective effect as compared with the group which received garlic oil simultaneously after acetaminophen intoxication., Conclusion: Garlic oil, as similar to N-acetylcysteine, can eliminate electrophilic intermediates and free radicals through conjugation and reduction reactions. Therefore it protects the liver from toxic doses of acetaminophen. In the present study we also observed the protection by the garlic oil. The clearance of the toxic metabolites of the acetaminophen from the liver occurs much faster in immediate treatment with garlic oil (200mg/kg).

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