No abstract

In this study, the effects of cadmium toxicity and the protective effects of L-carnitine on spermatogenesis in Sprague-Dawley rat were evaluated. Animals were subdivided into five groups. Cadmium chloride (1-mg/kg body weight) was injected intraperitoneally during 16 days at intervals of 48 h between subsequent treatments. L-carnitine (500 mg/kg b.w., IP) was pretreated in both of control and cadmium-injected rats. Animals were killed on day 17 after the first treatment. The left cauda epididymis was removed and immediately immersed into Hank's balanced salt solution for evaluation of sperm count and viability. Following contamination with cadmium, a decrease in the number and viability of cauda epididymis sperm, the number of cell proliferation, and Johnsen Scores in the seminiferous tubules was observed. Consequently, L-carnitine treatment caused an increase in the number and viability of cauda epididymis sperm, the number of cell proliferation, and Johnsen Scores in the cadmium-induced group.

Background: Data about the relation between dietary insulin load (DIL) and dietary insulin index (DII) with metabolic syndrome (MetS) and obesity are scarce. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine the association of the insulinemic potential of the diet with MetS and obesity amongst Iranian adults. Methods:This cross-sectional study was conducted amongst 850 adults aged 20-59 years. Dietary data were collected using a 168-item food frequency questionnaire. DIL was calculated using a standard formula and DII was obtained by dividing DIL by the total energy intake of each participant. The guidelines of the International Diabetes Federation were used to define MetS. General obesity was considered as body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m 2 , and abdominal obesity as waist circumference ≥ 94 cm for men and ≥ 80 cm for women.Results: Mean DIL and DII values were 101 684 ± 54 802 and 49.4 ± 33.4, respectively. The mean age of participants was 44.9 ± 10.7 years and 36.8%, 28.5% and 48.8% of participants were suffering from MetS, general and abdominal obesity, respectively. In contrast with DIL (P = .73), participants in the last quartile of DII (P = .62) had lower odds of MetS than the first quartile. There were non-significant inverse associations between DIL (P = .91, P = .85) and DII (P = .59, P = .53) with odds of general and abdominal obesity before and after the adjustment of confounders, respectively. Conclusions:We did not observe any significant association of DIL and DII with the risk of MetS and obesity amongst the Iranian population. Further prospective studies are needed to confirm the findings of this study.

Sperm premature chromatin condensation (PCC) has been considered as the second cause of failed fertilization post-intracytoplasmic sperm injection (post-ICSI). Cytoplasmic factors, including oocyte cytoplasmic immaturity have been suggested to induce PCC sperm. However, recent studies suggest that sperm chromatin anomaly might also lead to PCC sperm. During this study, human sperm from infertile patients with protamine deficiency or with adequate amount of protamine assessed by chromomycin A3 were injected into metaphase II mouse oocyte, treated with colcemid. Chromatin analysis was carried out on the injected oocyte. The results of this study show that contrary to the percentage of intact sperm, percentage of PCC sperm was significantly higher in oocytes injected with protamine deficient sperm (36.43 +/- 4.46) compared to oocytes injected with sperm with an adequate amount of protamine (11.99 +/- 3.54, P < 0.001). A significant correlation was also observed between percentage of PCC sperm and protamine deficiency (r = 0.46, P = 0.004). Therefore, it can be suggested that oocytes injected with protamine deficient sperm have a higher chance of forming PCC sperm and may result in failed fertilization post-ICSI.

Object. The objective was to investigate the effect of Elaeagnus angustifolia (E. angustifolia) extract on the joint lubrication and the activity of antioxidant in non-traumatic knee osteoarthritis model in rat. Methods. In this study, 28 male albino Wistar rats were randomly assigned into four groups, each comprised of seven rats: Control (healthy animals); Saline (intra-articular injection of 50 µL Saline); monoidoacetate, MIA (intra-articular injection of 50 µL MIA(; and MIA+extract (intra-articular injection of MIA and 500mg/kg daily of E. angustifolia extract intraperitoneally for four weeks). Osteoarthritis was induced by injection of 50 μL solution of 3 mg MIA in rats through infrapatellar ligament. Six weeks after intra-articular injection, Joint friction parameters consisting of cycle number, maximum peak, exponential and linear slope of cycle decay, and coefficient of friction) COF) were measured in knee joint. Activity of the superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were determined in blood plasma. Results. MIA injection reduced the cycle number of joint oscillation compared to the Control group. In the MIA+extract group, cycle number and maximum peak increased significantly compared to the MIA group (P=0.032 and P=0.016, respectively). E. angustifolia extract resulted in the increase of SOD and GPx activity (P=0.011 and P=0.05, respectively) and the decrease of MDA activity (P=0.000) compared to MIA group. Conclusions. The results showed that E. angustifolia extract is effective to improve the antioxidant enzyme activity and subsequently to decrease the joint friction in the non-traumatic knee osteoarthritis model.