Our observations suggest that taurine treatment attenuates the accumulation of gentamicin within kidney tissue and counteracts the deleterious effect of gentamicin on renal tubular function. They may have potentially important clinical implications.

The findings of the present study confirm the relationship between GCF ELA and MPO activity and periodontal disease and also support the functional relativity between the two enzymes. Furthermore, based on these findings, it can be suggested that data presentation by use of total activity seems to be more sensitive in both the reflection of the actual enzymatic profile of GCF and also the existing clinical periodontal status. For each GCF component, the validity of different modes of data presentation should be considered.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) on (1) the velocity of orthodontic tooth movement and (2) the nitric oxide levels in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) during orthodontic treatment. The sample consisted of 20 patients (14 girls, six boys) whose maxillary first premolars were extracted and canines distalized. A gallium-aluminum-arsenide (Ga-Al-As) diode laser was applied on the day 0, and the 3rd, 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th days when the retraction of the maxillary lateral incisors was initiated. The right maxillary lateral incisors composed the study group (the laser group), whereas the left maxillary lateral incisors served as the control. The teeth in the laser group received a total of ten doses of laser application: five doses from the buccal and five doses from the palatal side (two cervical, one middle, two apical) with an output power of 20 mW and a dose of 0.71 J /cm(2). Gingival crevicular fluid samples were obtained on the above-mentioned days, and the nitric oxide levels were analyzed. Bonferroni and repeated measures variant analysis tests were used for statistical analysis with the significance level set at p ≤ 0.05. The application of low-level laser therapy accelerated orthodontic tooth movement significantly; there were no statistically significant changes in the nitric oxide levels of the gingival crevicular fluid during orthodontic treatment.

Reperfusion injury has been well documented in organs other than testis. An experimental study was conducted to investigate reperfusion injury in testes via the biochemical changes after unilateral testicular torsion and detorsion. As unilateral testicular torsion and varicocele have been shown to affect contralateral testicular blood flow, reperfusion injury was studied in both testes. Given that testicular blood flow does not return after 720 degrees testicular torsion lasting more than 3 h, the present study was conducted after 1 and 2 h of 720 degrees torsion. Adult male albino rats were divided into seven groups each containing ten rats. One group served to determine the basal values of biochemical parameters, two groups were subjected to 1 and 2 h of unilateral testicular torsion respectively, two groups were subjected to detorsion following 1 and 2 h of torsion respectively, and two groups underwent sham operations as a control. Levels of lactic acid, hypoxanthine and lipid peroxidation products were determined in testicular tissues. Values of these three parameters obtained from the sham operation control groups did not differ significantly from basal values (P > 0.05). All three parameters were increased significantly in both ipsilateral and contralateral testes after unilateral testicular torsion when compared with basal values (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively). Detorsion caused significant changes in lipid peroxidation products levels in ipsilateral but not in contralateral testes when compared with values obtained after torsion (P < 0.01 and P > 0.05, respectively). It is concluded that ipsilateral testicular torsion causes a decrease in perfusion not only in the ipsilateral but also in the contralateral testis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Object. Melatonin is a very effective antioxidant agent. This study was performed to investigate the effects of melatonin in experimental spinal cord injury (SCI). The authors also compared its effects with those of methylprednisolone, which also protects the spinal cord from secondary injury because of its antioxidant effect on membrane lipids. Methods. Adult male albino rats were used for the study, and paraplegia was produced using a previously described weight-drop technique. Melatonin and methylprednisolone were given intraperitoneally by bolus injections of 100 mg/kg and 30 mg/kg, respectively, immediately after induction of trauma. The animals were killed, and 1-cm samples of injured spinal cord were obtained at 1, 24, and 48 hours postinjury. Lipid peroxidation was estimated by thiobarbituric acid test. Electron microscopic studies were performed to determine the effects of melatonin on neurons, axons, and subcellular organelles after experimental SCI. A grading system was used for quantitative evaluation. Following SCI, there was significant increase in lipid peroxidation. In melatonin- and methylprednisolone-treated groups, lipid peroxidation was found to decrease to the baseline (preinjury) levels. There was a significant difference between trauma-alone and treatment groups, but no statistical difference was found between the melatonin- and methylprednisolone-treated groups. Electron microscopic findings showed that SCI produced by the weight-drop technique resulted in profound tissue damage. Conclusions. Both melatonin and methylprednisolone have been shown to protect neuron, axon, myelin, and intracellular organelles including mitochondrion and nucleus. However, this study provides quantitative evidence that this protection of neurons and subcellular organelles of spinal cord after secondary injury is much more obvious in melatonin-treated rats than those treated with methylprednisolone. In view of these data, melatonin has been shown to be very effective in protecting the injured spinal cord from secondary injury.