No abstract

Allium ampeloprasum subsp iranicum (Leek) has been traditionally used in antihemorrhoidal topical herbal formulations. This study aimed to evaluate its safety and efficacy in a pilot randomized controlled clinical trial. Twenty patients with symptomatic hemorrhoids were randomly allocated to receive the topical leek extract cream or standard antihemorrhoid cream for 3 weeks. The patients were evaluated before and after the intervention in terms of pain, defecation discomfort, bleeding severity, anal itching severity, and reported adverse events. A significant decrease was observed in the grade of bleeding severity and defecation discomfort in both the leek and antihemorrhoid cream groups after the intervention, while no significant change was observed in pain scores. There was no significant difference between the leek and antihemorrhoid cream groups with regard to mean changes in outcome measures. This pilot study showed that the topical use of leek cream can be as effective as a standard antihemorrhoid cream.

Aim Anal stenosis is an uncommon complication of anorectal surgery, mostly resulting from circumferential hemorrhoidectomy or resection of the skin tag in surgical management of chronic anal fissure. The aim of anoplasty is to restore normal function to the anus by dividing the stricture and widening the anal canal. Internal sphincterotomy may cause gas incontinence and if we manage the stenosis without sphincterotomy it could be failed. Could we use anoplasty without sphincterotomy? Method The patients with anal stenosis were assigned in to two groups. The first group underwent Y-V anoplasty without partial lateral internal sphinctrotomy and the second one underwent Y-V anoplasty with partial lateral internal sphinctrotomy. Result A total of 25 patients (10 male and 15 female) underwent anoplasty, 14 without partial lateral internal sphincterotomy and 11 patients with partial lateral internal sphincterotomy. The healing rate of stenosis was 91% and 93% in groups undergoing anoplasty without partial lateral internal sphinctrotomy and anoplasty with partial lateral internal sphictrotomy, respectively (p value 0.69). There was no significant change in both groups for post-operative incontinence complaints. Conclusion The healing rate of anal stenosis was the same in the patients who underwent Y-V anoplasty with or without partial lateral internal sphinctrotomy. There was no significant change in post-operation incontinence between the two groups. Therefore, Y-V anoplasty would be a safe and simple surgical method in selected patients. Partial lateral internal sphinctrotomy procedure has been noticed in individual cases.

No abstract

CD4CD25FoxP3 cells are a newly recognized subset of T cells which was first reported in autoimmune diseases. In our previous study, this subset was detected in tumor-draining lymph nodes (TDLNs) of patients with breast cancer. As little is known about their function in TDLNs of cancer patients, in this study, their frequency as well as their ability to produce interleukin (IL)-2, IL-10, or interferon (IFN)-γ were investigated in TDLNs of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Mononuclear cells were isolated from lymph nodes of 13 patients with CRC using Ficoll-Hypaque gradient centrifugation. Cells were stimulated in vitro and stained with CD25, CD4, FoxP3, IFN-γ, IL-10, and IL-2 or isotype matched antibodies and subjected to flow cytometry. The frequency of CD4CD25FoxP3CD127 cells was significantly lower than CD4CD25FoxP3CD127 population in TDLNs of CRC patients. The percentage of CD127 cells and also the MFI of FoxP3 expression was significantly lower in CD4CD25FoxP3 in comparison with CD4CD25FoxP3 population. Moreover, CD4CD25FoxP3 cells contained higher percentages of IL-2- and IFN-γ-producing cells than CD4CD25FoxP3 subpopulation. But, no difference was seen between two subsets in terms of IL-10 production. CD4CD25FoxP3 cells in TDLNs of CRC patients had lower suppressive and higher effector properties in comparison with CD4CD25FoxP3 conventional regulatory T cells.