Emotional and psychological reactions of Jordanian medical students to the dissecting room (DR) were assessed. A questionnaire was distributed to 200 students in preclinical years in the academic year 2002-2003 in the faculty of medicine at Jordan University of Science and Technology; 145 students have responded. Varying degree of fear on first entering the DR was reported by 28.4%. The most frequent reactions were recurring visual images of cadavers 28.9% and palpitation 19.3%. Students' reactions were most commonly elicited by smell of the DR 58.5% and by fear of infection 50.3%. The most frequent method of coping with such fears was by rationalization 89.8%. Significant gender differences (P<0.05) were found in the most aspects of DR experiences. Female students showed higher level of fear, reported recurring visual images of cadavers more often than males, were more disturbed by certain stimuli in the DR and used religious books and praying as coping methods more frequently than their male peers. The need for appropriate psychological preparation of students before DR practical on human cadavers is discussed.

Ingestion of Frankincense [Boswellia thurifera (B. thurifera)] resin at a dose of 250 and 500 mg/kg body weight for 60 days by adult male rats was investigated for effects on fertility. Average weights of epididymis, ventral prostate and seminal vesicles increased significantly. Sperm motility and density were also significantly increased in cauda epididymis and in testes in Frankincense-treated groups. A significant increase of spermatogenesis in testes due to increase in the number of primary, secondary spermatocytes and spermatids in the treatment groups was attributed to a significant increase in testosterone and Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). In addition, it also increased the number of implantations and the number of viable fetuses in female rats impregnated by these males, thereby increasing their fertility. The histometery of reproductive organs confirmed those results.

Metallothionein (MT), which binds zinc and other metals, was localized within the rat prostatic complex at light and electron microscopic levels utilizing immunocytochemistry. Two groups of mature, male Sprague-Dawley rats were injected with cadmium chloride subcutaneously (2 mg/kg body weight) to induce the synthesis of MT, and were sacrificed 48 h postinjection. From the first group, prostatic tissue from the three lobes was prepared for light microscopy. The indirect peroxidase antiperoxidase procedure was used for MT localization using rabbit anti-MT as the primary antibody. The three lobes of the rat prostate demonstrated a positive reaction for MT, but among the lobes variations in the intensity and localization of the reaction product occurred. Tissues from the second group of animals were prepared for electron microscopy. Using the indirect immunogold labeling technique with anti-MT, MT localization was confirmed in the rough endoplasmic reticulum, secretory vesicles, secretory products, and subepithelial connective tissue. These localizations suggest that MT binds zinc both intra- and extracellularly, where it may function in zinc storage and metabolism.

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OBJECTIVES: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder, caused by the gradual loss of cells in substantia nigra. Nitric oxide (NO) plays an important role in a variety of signal transduction pathways that are crucial for maintaining the physiologic functions of nervous system. The aims of this study are: 1) To investigate the expression of the inducible form of NO (iNOS), and compare it to neuronal nitric oxide (nNOS) in the brain of a chronic mouse model of PD and 2) To study the effect of endurance exercise training on the expression of these markers. METHOD: Mouse models of PD were obtained using 10 doses of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) (25 mg/kg) and probenecid (250 mg/kg) over 5 weeks. Forty C57BL /6 albino mice were randomly divided into four groups: sedentary control (SC, N = 10), exercise control (EC, N = 10), sedentary PD (SPD, N = 10), exercise PD (EPD, N = 10). At the end of training program, nNOS and iNOS were evaluated in the striatum in all animal groups using immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: nNOS showed significant increases in striatum (ST) of SPD mice compared to SC mice (P > 0.03). There was also decreased expression of nNOS in EC group compared to SC mice, but this decrease was not significant (P > 0.8). Exercise training significantly decreased the level of nNOS in the EPD compared to SPD, (P > 0.04). Although, iNOS expression followed almost the same trend as nNOS, but exercise training did not significantly decrease the expression of iNOS in both EC and EPD groups, P > 0.2 and 0.3 respectively. DISCUSSION: The data from this study suggests that 4 weeks of treadmill exercise has a positive impact on the expression of nNOS and iNOS in the striatum of a PD model. This might clear in part the pathogenicity of the diseases and the positive impact of training on PD.