Objective To investigate the protective effects of aqueous seed extracts of fennel “Foeniculum vulgare” (FVE) and caraway “Carum carvi” (CCE) on liver, kidney and reproductive organs in female rats against cadmium chloride (CC) intoxication. Methods A total of 36 adult female rats were divided into six groups, six in each group. Control group (fed normal diet), CC-treated group (50 mg CC/kg diet), CCE-treated group (150 mg CCE/kg diet), CCE + CC group, FVE (150 mg/kg diet) and FVE + CC. One month later, all rats were sacrificed and all samples were collected at proestrus phase. Results The toxic effects of CC were confirmed biochemically by significant increase of serum concentration of liver enzymes (P < 0.05), and creatinine (P < 0.001). Moreover, CC increased significantly the serum level of malondialdehyde (MDA) and decreased the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) (P < 0.001). In addition, serum concentrations of estrogen, progesterone, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) were significantly decreased (P < 0.01). Histopathologically, CC-treated group revealed marked pathological changes in renal, hepatic, ovarian and uterine tissues. All toxic findings observed in liver and kidney with CC treatment were found to be ameliorated markedly after co-treatments with FVE or CCE. Furthermore, co-treatment of FVE with CC improved significantly all studied reproductive parameters (P < 0.01). Conclusions Both FVE and CCE could be used as efficient treatments for liver and kidney against CC intoxication. Moreover, FVE could be utilized as a potent treatment to protect and improve female fertility from cadmium intoxication.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The diagnosis of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is based on a polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) exceeding 250/μL in ascitic fluid. The aim of the study was to evaluate serum procalcitonin and ascitic fluid calprotectin as accurate diagnostic markers for detecting SBP. METHODS: Seventy-nine patients with cirrhotic ascites were included. They were divided into a SBP group, including 52 patients, and a non-SBP group of 27 patients. Serum procalcitonin, ascitic calprotectin, and serum and ascitic levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: Serum procalcitonin and ascitic calprotectin were significantly higher in SBP patients than in non-SBP patients. Significant increases in both serum and ascitic levels of TNF-α and IL-6 were observed in SBP patients versus non-SBP patients. At a cutoff value of 0.94 ng/mL, serum procalcitonin had 94.3% sensitivity and 91.8% specificity for detecting SBP. In addition, at a cutoff value of 445 ng/mL, ascitic calprotectin had 95.4% sensitivity and 85.2% specificity for detecting SBP. Both were positively correlated with ascitic fluid proteins, PMN count, TNF-α, and IL-6. CONCLUSIONS: According to our findings, determination of serum procalcitonin levels and ascitic calprotectin appears to provide satisfactory diagnostic markers for the diagnosis of SBP.
Ascites ; Ascitic Fluid* ; Diagnosis ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; Interleukin-6 ; Leukocyte L1 Antigen Complex* ; Neutrophils ; Peritonitis* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

Objective: To document Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) antibody status in patients with liver disease, blood samples were taken from 180 hepatic patients and 180 healthy controls. Methods: Toxoplasma IgG antibody was detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and histopathological assessment of liver biopsy METAVIR score was applied. Results: Anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies were found in 32.8% of patients and in 22.2% of controls (P = 0.02). Toxoplasma seropositivity was significantly associated with lymphadenopathy, history of blood transfusion and reflex impairment in patients. Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) and chronic HCV-related cirrhosis groups compared to chronic HBV and chronic HBV-related cirrhosis groups expressed significantly higher prevalence of T. gondii seropositivity (odds ratio (OR) = 4; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.3-12.6; P = 0.013, OR = 4.8; 95% CI: 1.5-14.9; P = 0.006, respectively). Within the chronic HCV group, T. gondii seropositivity significantly associated disease evolution as regards to METAVIR histopathological system for fibrosis and inflammation (. OR = 19.4; 95% CI: 2.3-165.2; P = 0.0008, OR = 0.29; 95% CI: 0.1-0.8; P = 0.01, respectively). Albumin, international normalized ratio (INR) and platelets count were the laboratory parameters significantly altered in Toxoplasma-positive chronic HCV patients (P = 0.001, 0.03, 0.04, respectively). Child-Pugh scoring for cirrhosis in chronic HCV group placed the majority of seropositive patient in class C with significant statistical difference compared to Child A reference group (OR = 0.08; 95% CI: 0.01-0.5; P = 0.003). Conclusions: Toxoplasma seropositivity was high in patients with cirrhosis and associated higher grades of inflammation and necrosis signifying disease evolution, suggesting that cirrhotic patients may thus form a risk group for toxoplasmosis.