Hepatocellular carcinomas will emerge as a major form of malignancy in the coming decades. When these tumors are in advanced stages, few therapeutic options are available. Therefore, it is essential to search for new treatment modalities to fight this disease. Aim: Evaluate the possible protective and therapeutic effects of Cannabis extract on dimethylnitrosamine (DMNA)-induced hepatocarcinogenicity in mice. Methods: Seventy-five male mice were divided into five groups of 15 each: group I mice received corn oil only as the control group; group II mice were injected intraperitoneally with DMNA (10 lg/kg body weight) weekly for 12 weeks; group III mice were pretreated orally with cannabis extract (0.5 ml/kg body weight) every other day for two weeks before the injection of DMNA, and continued until the end of the experiment (12 weeks); group IV mice were treated orally with cannabis extract every other day simultaneously with DMNA injection and continued until the end of the experiment; group V mice were treated orally with cannabis extract every other day after receiving the last intraperitoneal injection of DMNA. A real time PCR was used to quantify telomerase reverse transcriptase and caspase-8 m-RNA expression level.

Liver is removed from albino rat and assayed for total adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) activity following administration with single and repeated doses of larvin and cypermethrin. The data indicate that the total (Na+, K+; Mg2+) dependent ATPase in the liver tissue is significantly inhibited by single and repeated doses of both insecticides. This inhibition is more pronounced by the repeated dose of cypermethrin than that of larvin. The in vitro study revealed that the inhibition encountered by different concentration of both larvin and cypermethrin is of the irreversible non-competitive type. This data indicate that these insecticides can cause biochemical and histopathological changes in the liver ATPase activity which may inhibit several biochemical functions of ATPase system such as: the active transport of metal ions, oxidative phosphorylation of liver cells and generally the muscle contraction.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of triclabendazole (CAS 68786-66-3) therapy alone or in combination with ascorbic acid (vitamin C, CAS 50-81-7) and tocofersolan (vitamin E, CAS 30999-06-5), in Fasciola hepatica patients, on Lipo-peroxidation (LPO) and blood antioxidant capacity. 32 Fasciola hepatica patients were divided into two groups (16 acute and 16 chronic). Each group was divided into two subgroups of 8 patients each. One subgroup was given two consecutive oral doses each of 10 mg/kg body weight of triclabendazole suspension and the other received vitamin C (1000 mg/day) and vitamin E (600 mg/day) for two months, together with the same dose of triclabendazole given to the first subgroup. Ten healthy subjects served as controls. The results revealed a significant increase in serum and erythrocyte lipid peroxide levels and a significant decrease in glutathione levels as well as in glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities in all study groups compared to their corresponding control values. After triclabendazole treatment, pronounced improvements in all studied parameters were observed which could be attributed to the fasciolicidal effect of the drug. The significant improvement of SOD and GPX activities and in lipid peroxide levels after vitamins supplementation as compared to their corresponding values after treatment with triclabendazole alone could be explained on the basis of the potent action of these vitamins in protection against oxidative damage.

The present work is an up-to-date approach to study the correlation between the excretion pattern of tryptophan metabolites along the kynurenine pathway (after loading with 2 gm. L-tryptophan), and the N-nitrosamine content in urine of bilharzial bladder cancer patients. The control group was composed of healthy subjects who had no reported history of S. haematobium infection and no current bacterial cystitis. The N-nitrosamine content was determined by the colorimetric method of Eisebrand and Preussmann (1970). It was demonstrated that 64 per cent of the patients metabolized the tryptophan load abnormally and the others metabolized it almost normally. Moreover, the N-nitrosamines were present in 43 per cent of controls and 93 per cent of patients have these derivatives in higher values. The presence of an inverse correlation between certain tryptophan metabolites, shown previously to be bladder carcinogens, and the N-nitrosamine content, especially after loading, was interpreted in view of the possible conversion of some tryptophan metabolites into N-nitrosamines either under endovesical conditions or during the execution of the colorimetric determination of these compounds. Therefore, thorough investigation is urgently needed to study the origin of these urinary N-nitrosamines. Moreover, improved method(s) for their colorimetric determination are also urgently needed.