OBJECTIVETo investigate the protective effect of L-carnitine on the testis and epididymis against ornidazole (ORN)-induced injury in male rats.

METHODSForty male SD rats weighing 200 -230 g were randomly divided into 5 groups, Group A treated with 0.5% sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, and Groups B, C, D and E with ORN at the daily dose of 400 mg/kg, 800 mg/kg, 400 mg/kg plus LC 100 mg/kg and 800 mg/kg plus LC 100 mg/kg, respectively, all by oral gavage for 20 days continuously. Twenty-four hours after the last administration, all the rats were put to death, their testes and epididymides harvested, weighed and subjected to HE staining. The indexes of the testes and epididymides were obtained and their histopathological changes observed.

RESULTSCompared with Group A, Groups B and C showed significant decreases in the indexes of the testis and epididymis (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01), while Group D exhibited no difference and Group E extremely significant difference (P < 0.01). HE staining revealed that the spermatogenic cells at all levels of testicular seminiferous tubules were neatly arranged in Group B, caduceus in some seminiferous tubules, with decreased number of sperm and sporadic spermatogenic cells in the epididymal duct. Necrotic and caduceus spermatogenic cells were observed in the seminiferous tubules of Group C, with significantly decreased number of sperm and lots of non-sperm cell components in the epididymal duct. No obvious changes were found in the testicular seminiferous tubules, nor evident reduction in the number of sperm in the epididymal duct of Group D. Group E showed decreased number of sperm in the testicular seminiferous tubules, necrotic and caduceus spermatogenic cells, obviously reduced number of sperm and a lot of non-sperm cell components in the epididymal duct.

CONCLUSIONORC can induce histopathological changes in the testis and epididymis of male rats, and L-carnitine plays a role in protecting the testis and epididymis from ORN-induced injury in male rats.

Animals ; Carnitine ; pharmacology ; Epididymis ; drug effects ; pathology ; Male ; Ornidazole ; adverse effects ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Testis ; drug effects ; pathology

The major cause of pseudomembranous colitis is known to be Clostridium difficile (C. difficile). There are few reports that Clostridium species other than C. difficile has caused pseudomembranous colitis. We report a case of pseudomembranous colitis caused by clostridium glycolicum(C. glycolicum). A 47-year-old woman who had operational history for rectal cancer 3 months ago, was readmitted with diarrhea of 3 days duration. Seven weeks before admission, she had received ornidazole and ceftriaxone due to diarrhea and abdominal pain, and her symptoms were improved. She had received additional radiation therapy for rectal cancer during six weeks before the recent onset of diarrhea. On admission, she complained of watery diarrhea ten times a day and abdominal pain. She had tenderness on both lower abdomen. Pseudomembrane was observed by colonoscopic and histologic examination. VIDAS C. difficile toxin A II assay was positive and C. glycolicum was isolated in the stool. She recovered after receiving oral metronidazole treatment.
Abdomen ; Abdominal Pain ; Ceftriaxone ; Clostridium difficile ; Clostridium* ; Diarrhea ; Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous* ; Female ; Humans ; Metronidazole ; Middle Aged ; Ornidazole ; Rectal Neoplasms

Trichomoniasis is a sexually transmitted disease by Trichomonas vaginalis infection that may be associated with preterm delivery and low birth weight in the newborn infants. T. vaginalis may be transmitted to neonates during passage through an infected birth canal and neonatal infection is usually self-limiting course, but rare cases of symptomatic neonatal infection such as vaginitis, urinary tract infection and respiratory infection have been reported. We experienced a case of symptomatic neonatal trichomoniasis which was confirmed by wet mount examination of vaginal discharge and urine specimens in premature baby with intrauterine growth retardation. The patient had complete resolution of symptoms such as vaginal discharge and pyuria after treatment with ornidazole (tiberalR). We report this case with a brief review of the related literatures.
Fetal Growth Retardation ; Humans ; Infant, Low Birth Weight ; Infant, Newborn ; Ornidazole ; Parturition ; Pyuria ; Sexually Transmitted Diseases ; Trichomonas vaginalis ; Urinary Tract Infections ; Vaginal Discharge ; Vaginitis

BACKGROUND: We thought that nitroimidazoles including metronidazole had been overused empirically for treatment of trichomoniasis in Korea. But there were not any reports about in vitro-drug susceptibility and distribution of resistant strains of Trichomonas vaginalis up to date. Therefore, we made an experiment in order to observe the susceptibility of clinical isolates of T. vaginalis to a variety of antiprotozoal agents. METHODS: Twenty-six strains of T. vaginalis isolated from 217 patients afflicted with the increased vaginal discharge were tested by Meingassner's microtiter plate method in newly devised anaerobic box, in which anaerobic and microaerobic conditions were more easily manipulated. The agents used in this study for testing the minimal lethal concentration (MLC) to the clinical isolates were as follows; nitroimidazoles, doxycycline, Zinc sulfate and gentian violet as chemotherapeutic agents and povidone-iodine as vaginal cleansing agents were studied. RESULTS: In anaerobic culture, according to anaerobic resistance cut-point (minimal lethal concentration >3.1 microgram/mL) proposed by M ller etc., metronidazole (MTZ)-, tinidazole (TNZ)-and ornidazole (ONZ)-resistant strains were four (4/26, 15.4%), two (2/26, 7.7 %) and two (2/26, 7.7%) strains, respectively. Among these resistant strains, two strains (G7 and G16) were resistant to two drugs and one strain (G20) resistant to three drugs concomitantly. Their resistance range was narrow as 6.25~12.5 microgram/mL. MLC of clotrimazole was > or = 2,000 microgram/mL in all strains, econazole was as high as 62.5~250 microgram/mL and miconazole was also high as 62.5~> or = 2,000 microgram/mL. In microaerobic culture (O2 concentration <5%), all strains showed lower MLC to MTZ, TNZ and ONZ than >100 microgram/ mL (aerobic resistance cut-point proposed by M ller etc.). MLC of doxycycline ranged 62.5 to 250 microgram/mL both in microaerobic and anaerobic conditions. All strains of T. vaginalis growed well in 3,000 microgram/mL of povidone-iodine. 22 strains (84.6%) among 26 T. vaginalis strains showed MLCs of 3.5 mM~7.0 mM to zinc sulfate. Gentian violet showed 15.6~62.5 microgram/mL of MLC. CONCLUSION: In absolute anaerobic culture, 4 strains (15.4%) among 26 T. vaginalis strains were resistant to metronidazole. But these 4 strains were not resistant in microaerobic culture depending on Miler's aerobic resistance cut-point (>50~100 microgram/mL), the value decided in normal O2 pressure. Vaginal PO2 is 0~28mm Hg (median 1 mmHg) at healthy or trichomonas-infected women. Therefore, we think that his aerobic resistance cut-point value is hard to be available in microaerobic condition and microaerobic resistance guide-line is to be established newly.
Anti-Infective Agents ; Antiprotozoal Agents* ; Clotrimazole ; Detergents ; Doxycycline ; Econazole ; Female ; Gentian Violet ; Humans ; Korea ; Metronidazole ; Miconazole ; Nitroimidazoles ; Ornidazole ; Povidone-Iodine ; Tinidazole ; Trichomonas vaginalis* ; Trichomonas* ; Vaginal Discharge ; Zinc Sulfate

OBJECTIVETo explore the protective effect of L-carnitine (LC) on the reproductive function of male rats with asthenospermia induced by ornidazole (ORN).

METHODSForty male SD rats (200-230 g) were randomly divided into Groups A (control: 0.5% carboxymethylcellulose solution), B (medium-dose ORN: 400 mg/kg/d), C (medium-dose ORN + LC: ORN 400 mg/kg/d + LC 100 mg/kg/d), D (high-dose ORN: 800 mg/kg/d), and E (high-dose ORN + LC: ORN 800 mg/kg/d + LC 100 mg/kg/d). All the rats were treated via gastric gavage for 20 days consecutively, and then killed for the detection of sperm motility and the sperm count of the cauda epididymis.

RESULTSCompared with Group A, there was a significant decrease in sperm motility and sperm count in Groups B and D (P < 0.05), while Group C showed a significant increase in both the parameters as compared with B (P < 0.05), but with no significant difference from A (P > 0.05). Group E exhibited no obvious improvement in sperm motility and sperm count, with no difference from D (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONL-carnitine can improve the sperm motility and sperm count of the male rats with ornidazole-induced asthenospermia.

Animals ; Asthenozoospermia ; chemically induced ; drug therapy ; Carnitine ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Ornidazole ; adverse effects ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sperm Count ; Sperm Motility ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo explore the reductive effect of ornidazole on sperm motility in rats and its mechanism of action.

METHODSTwenty rats were randomly divided into three groups, a low dosage group (LD group, n = 5), a high dosage group (HD group, n = 8) and a normal control group (n = 7). Ornidazole (200 mg/kg, 400 mg/kg) was given to the LD and HD groups, and 0.5% carboxymethylcellulose sodium (CMC) administered to the normal control, all for 20 consecutive days. Immediately after, sperm density, motility and the morphological changes of the testis and epidiclymis were measured, and the concentrations of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), alpha-glycosidase, malondialdehyde (MDA) and fructose in the testis and epididymis tissues were monitored.

RESULTSCompared with the normal control, there were no obvious changes in sperm density (P > 0.05), but a significant decrease in sperm motility in the LD and HD groups (P < 0.01), and the concentration of LDH obviously declined (P < 0.01) while that of MDA distinctly increased in the HD group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSpermatogenic cells could be damaged by the increase of inhibiting MDA, while sperm motility could be decreased by inhibiting energetic transferase or non-protein substance in the epididymis. This might be one of the mechanisms of ornidazole on weak sperm models in rats.

Animals ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Epididymis ; cytology ; Male ; Ornidazole ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sperm Count ; Sperm Motility ; drug effects ; Spermatozoa ; drug effects ; Testis ; cytology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the distribution of ornidazole in the salivary and serum of healthy adults and explore the feasibility of monitoring serum drug concentration with salivary.

METHODSSix volunteers received a single dose of 0.6 g ornidazole via intravenous infusion. The concentrations of ornidazole in the saliva and serum were assayed by high-performance liquid chomatography, and the correlation of the drug concentrations in saliva to that in serum was analyzed.

RESULTSThe concentration of ornidazole in the saliva was strongly associated with that in the serum (r = 0.825-0.969), and the ratio of saliva-to-serum concentration (S/P) of ornidazole was 0.99 ± 0.13.

CONCLUSIONDetection of saliva ornidazole concentration is feasible for monitoring the therapeutic concentration of ornidazole.

Adult ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; blood ; pharmacokinetics ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Feasibility Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Ornidazole ; analysis ; blood ; pharmacokinetics ; Saliva ; metabolism ; Young Adult

PURPOSE: In a previous study, we have shown that anticancer agents inhibiting topoisomerases improve survival of tumor cells under hypoxic condition. In the present study, we evaluated whether and how cell survival effect of the anticancer agents under hypoxic conditions could be eliminated by the addition of nitroimidazoles, a class of bioreductive agents. METHODS: Human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2) were incubated with different combinations of pimonidazole (1~1,000 microg/ml) and doxorubicin (0.1 or 1 microg/ml) concentrations under different O2 concentrations [1, 3, 5, 10 and 21 O2]. Then cell numbers, glucose concentrations and lactic acid concentrations in the medium were measured, and DNA fragmentation assay was performed. Finally, different combinations of nitroimidazoles, such as pimonidazole, misonidazole, etanidazole, tinidazole, metronidazole, ornidazole or dimetridazole, and anticancer agents, such as doxorubicin, campothecin, epirubicin, dactinomycin, etoposide or mitomycin C was added to the cell culture medium under hypoxic conditions (1% O2). RESULTS: Pimonidazole at a concentration of 100 microg/ml eliminated cell survival effect of doxorubicin at the concentrations of 0.1 and 1 microg/ml under hypoxic condition (1% O2) by promoting apoptosis. Almost all the cells died even after 24 hours of incubation for all the oxygen concentrations at a combination of 100 microg/ml pimonidazole and 1 microg/ml doxorubicin. Finally, pimonidazole at a concentration of 100 microg/ml, and misonidazole or etanidazole at a concentration of 1,000 microg/ml eliminated cell survival effect of all the anticancer agents tested under hypoxic condition. CONCLUSION: Combination therapy of doxorubicin (adriamycin) with pimonidazole can maximize dororubicin efficacy by eliminating cell survival effect of doxorubicin under hypoxic conditions in treating solid tumors, such as breast cancer.
Anoxia ; Antineoplastic Agents ; Apoptosis ; Breast Neoplasms ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Cell Count ; Cell Culture Techniques ; Cell Survival ; Dactinomycin ; Dimetridazole ; DNA Fragmentation ; Doxorubicin ; Epirubicin ; Etanidazole ; Etoposide ; Glucose ; Humans ; Lactic Acid ; Metronidazole ; Misonidazole ; Mitomycin ; Nitroimidazoles ; Ornidazole ; Oxygen ; Tinidazole

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) on the reproductive function of the male rats with ornidazole-induced infertility.

METHODSFifty 10-12 weeks old adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups: low-dosage uPA (330 IU/[kg x d]), mid-dosage uPA (1000 IU/[kg x d]), high-dosage uPA (3000 IU/[kg x d]), ornidazole (400 mg/[kg x d]) and control (0.5% Carboxymethylcellulose solution). The ornidazole group was treated by gastric gavage, and the rats in the uPA groups given both ornidazole by gastric gavage and uPA by intraperitoneal injection at the same time. All the rats were treated for 20 days consecutively, followed by copulation experiment. The rats were sacrificed and the reproductive system explored.

RESULTSThe percentage of motile sperm and the number of embryos in the high-dosage uPA group increased significantly (P < 0.01) compared with the ornidazole group.

CONCLUSIONuPA can antagonize ornidazole-induced infertility in male rats. The effect might be attributed to the improvement of sperm motile function by uPA.

Animals ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Infertility, Male ; chemically induced ; drug therapy ; physiopathology ; Male ; Ornidazole ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reproduction ; drug effects ; Sperm Motility ; drug effects ; Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator ; pharmacology

Objective: To investigate the improving effect of astaxanthin (AST) on the sperm quality of rats with ornidazole (ORN)-induced oligoasthenozoospermiaand its action mechanism. METHODS: Forty adult male SD rats were equally randomized into groups A (solvent control), B (low-dose ORN ［400 mg/（kg·d）］), C (high-dose ORN ［800 mg/（kg·d）］), D (low-dose ORN ［400 mg/（kg·d）］ + AST ［20 mg/（kg·d）］), and E (high-dose ORN ［800 mg/（kg·d）］ + AST ［20 mg/（kg·d）］), all treated intragastrically for3 weeks.After treatment, the epididymal tails ononeside was taken for determination of sperm concentration and activity, and the epididymideson the other side harvested for measurement of the activities of GSH-Px, GR, CAT and SOD and the MDA contentin the homogenate. RESULTS: Compared with group A, sperm motilityin the epididymal tail andGSH-Px and SOD activities in theepididymiswere markedly decreased while the MDAcontent significantlyincreased in group B (P<0.05), spermmotility and concentrationin the epididymal tail, testisindex, and the activities of GSH-Px, GR, CAT and SOD in the epididymis were remarkably reduced while theMDA contentsignificantly increased in group C(P<0.05). In comparison with group B, group D showed markedly increased sperm motility (［45.3±8.7］% vs ［66.3±8.9］%, P<0.05) in the epididymal tail and SOD activity in the epididymis (［116.7±25.3］ U/mg prot vs ［146.1±23.8］ U/mg prot, P<0.05), decreased MDA content(［1.68±0.45］ nmol/mg prot vs ［1.19±0.42］ nmol/mg prot, P<0.05).Compared with group C, group Eexhibited significant increases in the weight gained (［89.0±9.5］ vs ［99.9±4.1］ %, P<0.05) and sperm motility (［17.9±3.5］% vs ［27.3±5.3］ %, P<0.05) but a decrease in the content of MDA (［2.03±0.30］ nmol/mg prot vs ［1.52±0.41］ nmol/mg prot, P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS AST can improve spermquality in rats with ORN-inducedoligoasthenozoospermia, which may be associated with its enhancing effect on the antioxidant capacity of the epididymis.
Animals ; Antioxidants ; pharmacology ; Asthenozoospermia ; prevention & control ; Epididymis ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Male ; Oligospermia ; prevention & control ; Ornidazole ; Oxidative Stress ; Protective Agents ; pharmacology ; Radiation-Sensitizing Agents ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sperm Count ; Sperm Motility ; Spermatozoa ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Xanthophylls ; pharmacology