Both NS and TQ, particularly NS can partly protect gastric mucosa from acute alcohol-induced mucosal injury, and these gastroprotective effects might be induced, at least partly by their radical scavenging activity.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of pancreatitis in cases of organophosphate (OP) poisonings admitted to Yüzüncü Yõl University Teaching Hospital over an 18-month period. Materials and Methods: A total of 47 patients of acute poisoning with OP insecticides attended the Emergency Department of the Yüzüncü Yõl Medical School Hospital, from May 1999 to December 2000, and were prospectively studied. Serum amylase and lipase levels were studied with colorimetric assay. Serum SGOT, SGPT, LDH, CPK, K levels, leukocyte count and total hospitalization days were also evaluated. Results: Four of 47 patients had obviously elevated amylase and lipase levels (amylase >300 U/L, lipase >60 U/L). Only two of the patients with amylase levels between 100 and 300 U/L had also elevated levels of lipase. None of the patients with normal amylase levels had elevated levels of lipase. A total of 12.76% was diagnosed as acute pancreatitis. Conclusion: Acute pancreatitis as a complication of OP intoxication is not a rare condition. In order to improve the outcome of OP poisoning, early diagnosis of acute pancreatitis is important and serum levels of amylase and lipase should be routinely considered carefully. In acute pancreatitis, serum levels of SGOT, SGPT, LDH and leukocyte counts may also be found to be elevated. However, serum K levels are only slightly decreased.

The aim of our study was to evaluate the effectiveness of resveratrol in experimentally induced endometrial implants in rats through inhibiting angiogenesis and inflammation. Endometrial implants were surgically induced in 24 female Wistar-Albino rats in the first surgery. After confirmation of endometriotic foci in the second surgery, the rats were divided into resveratrol (seven rats), leuprolide acetate (eight rats), and control (seven rats) groups and medicated for 21 d. In the third surgery, the measurements of mean areas and histopathological analysis of endometriotic lesions, VEGF, and MCP-1 measurements in blood and peritoneal fluid samples, and immunohistochemical staining were evaluated. After treatment, significant reductions in mean areas of implants (p < 0.01) and decreased mean histopathological scores of the implants (p < 0.05), mean VEGF-staining scores of endometriotic implants (p = 0.01), and peritoneal fluid levels of VEGF and MCP-1 (p < 0.01, for VEGF and p < 0.01, for MCP-1) were found in the resveratrol and leuprolide acetate groups. Serum VEGF (p = 0.05) and MCP-1 (p = 0.01) levels after treatment were also significantly lower in the resveratrol and leuprolide acetate groups. Resveratrol appears to be a potential novel therapeutic agent in the treatment of endometriosis through inhibiting angiogenesis and inflammation. Further studies are needed to determine the optimum effective dose in humans and to evaluate other effects on reproductive physiology.

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Objective Micro RNAs (miRNAs) are a large family of short (∼21-nucleotide) non-coding mRNAs that repress gene expression through degradation of target mRNAs and/or inhibition of their translation. In the mouse, miRNAs play a key role in cumulus cell function and miR-21 is implicated in the regulation of cumulus cell viability. In this study, we asked whether miRNA expression is associated with the number of oocytes retrieved in women undergoing IVF and aimed to identify candidate miRNAs that may play a role in human cumulus cell function. Design Experimental study. Materials and Methods Pooled cumulus cells were collected from 189 consecutive women undergoing in vitro fertilization-intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF-ICSI). Poor responders were identified as patients who produced fewer oocytes than the 25th percentile of their respective age group. MiRNAs were extracted from cumulus cells and miRNA microarray was performed comparing normo-responders (n=3) to poor responders (n=3). Data were analyzed using Partek Genomics Suite software and MATLAB. Expression of miR-21-5p (active strand of miR-21) and miR-21-3p was tested in poor responders (n=21) and non-poor responders (n=29) using quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Regulation of miR-21-5p and miR-21-3p in KGN cells by estradiol was tested in vitro. Results MiRNA microarray analysis showed up-regulation of 16 miRNAs and down-regulation of 88 miRNAs in poor responders compared to the non-poor responders. Notably, miR-21 was significantly up-regulated 5-fold in poor responder samples (p=0.03). qRT-PCR analysis confirmed that miR-21-5p expression was significantly upregulated in poor responder patients (p=0.04), while miR-21-3p expression was significantly lower (p=0.003), suggesting that elevated miR-21-5p expression in cumulus cells is not regulated at the pre-miR-21 level in poor responders. Lastly, we found that both miR-21-5p and miR-21-3p are increased in KGN cells in response to higher doses of estradiol (p<0.05), while their expression is not affected at lower estradiol concentrations. Conclusion We found that poor response to IVF is associated with altered miRNA expression in cumulus cells, specifically with elevated expression of miR-21-5p, and that this elevated expression is independent of lower serum estradiol levels in poor responders. Whether miR-21 plays a role in human cumulus cell function and whether miRNA expression in cumulus cells may be used as a biomarker for oocyte or follicular viability remains to be investigated.