Abstract Nephrotoxicity is defined as rapid deterioration in kidney functions. It arises from direct exposure to drugs or their metabolites. Methotrexate is a famous chemotherapeutic drug with anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive properties. A high-dose methotrexate-induced renal dysfunction can be life threatening. Cyanocobalamin, one of the forms of vitamin B12, acts as a coenzyme in the conversion of homocysteine to methionine in the cytosol, and the conversion of methylmalonyl-CoA to succinyl-CoA in the mitochondrion. This study is designed to examine the effect of cyanocobalamin in two different doses each co-administered with methotrexate at 20 mg/kg induced nephrotoxicity in rats through the involvement of Nrf2/keap1 molecular mechanism in this respect. Rats utilized in this study were randomized into 4 groups (ten rats per each group); Group 1- (Control) rats intraperitoneally injected with 0.5ml normal saline once daily for 7 consecutive days. Group 2- Rats intraperitoneally injected with 0.5ml normal saline once daily for 7 consecutive days; and at day 2, a single intraperitoneal dose of methotrexate (20mg/kg) is to be injected. Group 3- Rats intraperitoneally injected with a 0.5mg/kg cyanocobalamin once daily for 7 consecutive days, and at day 2, a single intraperitoneal dose of methotrexate (20mg/kg). Group 4- Rats intraperitoneally injected with a 2mg/kg cyanocobalamin once daily for 7 consecutive days, and at day 2, a single intraperitoneal dose of methotrexate (20mg/kg). Co-administration of cyanocobalamin at doses cyanocobalamin 0.5mg/kg and 2mg/kg with methotrexate showed significant reduction (P<0.05) in malondialdehyde, significant elevation (P<0.05) in reduced glutathione level, significant upregulation in renal Nrf2 expression and significant down regulation in renal keap1 expression each compared to corresponding levels in methotrexate-only treated group. In conclusion this study demonstrated that co-administration of cyanocobalamin at two different doses with MTX resulted in attenuation of its nephrotoxicity by the utilization of selected parameters. Keywords: Nephrotoxicity, methotrexate, cyanocobalamin, malondialdehyde, glutathione, Nrf2, Keap1.
Background: Chronic cigarette smoking is one of the major risk factors for coronary artery disease. However, it has additional cardiac adverse effects independent of coronary atherosclerosis. Patient and Methods: After informed consent and perm- ission from the review board of the hospital, 80 healthy subjects who were classified as smokers or non-smokers were included in the study. They were examined by standard echocardiography protocol which was followed by two-dimensional speckle tracking to assess the functions of the right ventricle. Results: The tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) was significantly reduced in smokers as compared to non-smokers (P < 0.05). The tricuspid flow peak late diastolic velocity (A wave) was sig
... Show MoreBackground: Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is an autoimmune vesiculobullous mucocutaneous disease with life-threatening consequences. Rituximab (RTX) has recently emerged as an effective treatment for PV. Objectives: This study aims to determine changes in neutrophil and platelet counts for PV patients treated with RTX or corticosteroids combined with Imuran (azathioprine). Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Dermatology at Baghdad Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq. Thirty PV patients received two types of treatment: 15 patients were administered RTX and 15 patients took corticosteroids with Imuran (azathioprine). Neutrophil and platelet counts were detected at the hospital laboratory. Results
... Show MoreIn the present study, histological study was carried out on adult chickens to shed light on the effects of GH and IGF-1 on the heart, liver, and gizzard. The microscopic examination had shown that GH and IGF1 promote protein synthesis in the heart tissue. The herein work referred to the presence of a considerable amount of adipose tissue among the bundles of cardiac muscles, which is related to the metabolic process. The results also revealed that GH and IGF-1 promote both protein synthesis and Mitosis in the tissues of the liver and gizzard Moreover, the above hormones stimulate apoptosis, regeneration and secretory activity in gizzard secretory glands
This study aims to measure and analyze the direct and indirect effects of the financial variables, namely (public spending, public revenues, internal debt, and external debt), on the non-oil productive sectors with and without bank credit as an intermediate variable, using quarterly data for the period (2004Q1–2021Q4), converted using Eviews 12. To measure the objective of the study, the path analysis method was used using IBM SPSS-AMOS. The study concluded that the direct and indirect effects of financial variables have a weak role in directing bank credit towards the productive sectors in Iraq, which amounted to (0.18), as a result of market risks or unstable expectations in the economy. In addition to the weak credit ratings of borr
... Show MoreBackground and Aim. Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a major risk factor for the progression to heart failure (HF), which is associated with an increase in left ventricular volume (LVV). This study aims to measure ventricular function and myocardial perfusion imaging markers of the left side of the heart, which can be performed with injection of a 99mTc at stress and rest by using single-photonemission-computed-tomography (SPECT). Subject and methods. The study included 121 patients with CAD, comprising 53 females and 68 males with ages between 25 to 88 years and 265 healthy subjects comprising 84 males and 181 females. All patients and healthy subjects volunteered to participate in this study. They were classified according to
... Show MoreThe study was conducted to determine the effect of of cumin (Cuminum cyminum) and ginger (Zingiber officinale) powder on performance in Japanese quails. 630 bird (7 birds for each treatment) nine weeks of age were used. Experiment was continued for 12 weeks divided to six periods and the birds distributed randomly on nine combinations of cumin and ginger, three levels of each plant powder namely, 0, 0.5 and 1%. T1 (Control) contain the slandered diet (0% of cumin and 0% of ginger), T2: (0% of cumin and 0.5% of ginger), T3: (0% of cumin and 1% of ginger), T4: (0.5% of cumin and 0% of ginger), T5: (0.5% of cumin and 0.5% of ginger), T6: (0.5% of cumin and 1% of ginger), T7: (1% of cumin and 0% of ginger), T8: (1% of cumin and 0.5% of ginger),
... Show MoreThe present work presents design and implementation of an automated two-axis solar tracking system using local materials with minimum cost, light weight and reliable structure. The tracking system consists of two parts, mechanical units (fixed and moving parts) and control units (four LDR sensors and Arduino UNO microcontroller to control two DC servomotors). The tracking system was fitted and assembled together with a parabolic trough solar concentrator (PTSC) system to move it according to information come from the sensors so as to keep the PTSC always perpendicular to sun rays. The experimental tests have been done on the PTSC system to investigate its thermal performance in two cases, with tracking system (case 1) and without trackin
... Show MoreThe aim of the current research is to analyze the content of the two science books (chemistry units) for the two grades ( first and second intermediate ) according to environmental ethics, as the research community and its sample of the two science books (chemistry units) for the two grades ( first and second intermediate ), approved by the Iraqi Ministry of Education for the academic year ( 2021-2022 ), and the two researchers adopted the descriptive ( analytical ) approach, and the researchers built a standard for environmental ethics, and the validity of the tool was confirmed by presenting it to a group of experts, and then the researchers analyzed the two books in light of the standard prepared based on the implicit explicit idea, and
... Show MoreThe genus of Chrysobothris Eschscholtz, 1829 is one of the most diverse and widespread genera of the family Buprestidae of some 700 described species distributed throughout the world. In Iraq, particularly in the Kurdistan region, about 4 species had been recorded so far, many of these species are sympatric, share larval host plants, and are difficult to reliably separate morphologically. The current study investigates species limits and relationships among the recognized species occurring within the Erbil Province; mitochondrial cytochrome C oxidase (COX I) molecular analysis confirmed the monophyly of two Chrysobothris species, Ch. affinis (Fabricius, 1794) and Ch. chrysostigma (Linnaeus, 1758). Implications of the resultant larval mor
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