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AIMS: The study aimed to evaluate the potential benefits of luteolin treatment in Huntington's disease (HD), an inherited progressive neurodegenerative disorder. METHODS: HD N171-82Q transgenic and WT mice received luteolin or vehicle for treatment at 6 weeks of age. The mice's body weight changes and survival rates were monitored throughout the study, and a series of motor functional tests were conducted. Serum level of the marker NfL was also determined. Immunohistochemical staining and western blotting were utilized to assess the expression of huntingtin aggregates. RESULTS: Luteolin treatment enhanced survival and prevented weight loss in HD mice compared to the vehicle-treated HD group. Furthermore, the luteolin-treated HD mice exhibited enhanced motor coordination and balance and significantly reduced motor dysfunction. Also, luteolin decreased serum NfL levels in HD mice. Notably, the accumulation of huntingtin aggregates was significantly reduced in the brain's cortex, hippocampus, and striatum of luteolin-treated HD mice compared to the vehicle-treated HD group. CONCLUSION: Luteolin holds promise as a therapeutic agent for improving survival outcomes, managing motor dysfunction, and reducing huntingtin aggregates in HD. The findings are of significance as currently, there are no approved therapeutic interventions that reverse HD pathology or slow down its progression.

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Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) is an herbal plant with pleiotropic medicinal properties. In this study, we examined the possible protective effect of an ethanolic extract of thyme leaves against the renal oxidative stress induced by sodium nitrite (NaNO2 ). Male Swiss mice received either saline or thyme extract for 15 days (0.5 g/kg body weight, orally). NaNO2 (60 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally at Day 14. The protective group received the thyme extract for 15 days and NaNO2 on Day 14. Blood and kidney samples were taken from all groups to measure serum urea, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, serum, tissue antioxidant activity, and the inflammatory cytokines IL-1ß and IL-6. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to examine the expression of kidney injury marker-1 (Kim-1), TNF-α, nuclear factor erythroid-2 related factor 2 (Nrf2), and hemoxygenase-1 (HO-1), all of which are associated with kidney redox and oxidative stress. Pretreatment with thyme extract reduced the effects of NaNO2 on urea, BUN, and creatinine, and reversed its effect on tissue and serum antioxidants. NaNO2 -induced nephritis as demonstrated by the upregulation in mRNA expression of Kim-1 and TNF-α, which was, however, recovered and protected by pretreatment with thyme extract. Expression of Nrf2 and HO-1 was upregulated by treatment with thyme extract and downregulated by NaNO2 intoxication. NaNO2 -induced congestion in glomeruli and dilatation of the renal tubules, conditions that were restored in the group pretreated with thyme extract. NaNO2 upregulated Bax immunoreactivity and caused apoptosis in renal structures. Thus, thyme extract is effective in managing the renal toxicity associated with oxidative stress and renal redox. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: The results from this study have shown that use of thyme extract may promote better health due to its high antioxidant activity. For instance, it could be ingested to alleviate the symptoms of renal inflammation and oxidative stress associated with nitrite toxicity. Thyme extract regulated renal redox, oxidative stress, antioxidant levels, and inflammation-associated genes at the molecular, biochemical, and cellular immunohistochemical levels.

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Pentavalent antimonials, as the 1st choice for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), have various side effects. Also, there are some reports of drug resistance. Due to its safety, cryotherapy can be a good alternative or complementary treatment in CL. The aim of this study was to explore the possible systemic immunological mechanisms of cryotherapy besides its local effects in the treatment of CL. Twenty patients with CL were selected. The disease was confirmed via a direct smear. A venous blood sample was collected to determine IL-10 and IFN-γ levels before starting cryotherapy. Then, 1 week after 8 sessions of cryotherapy were completed (i.e., 63 d), a 2nd venous sample was taken in order to compare the results with the pretreatment levels of these cytokines using the ELISA method. Cryotherapy resulted in no change in the levels of IL-10 and significantly increased the IFN-γ levels in our patients with CL. Given these inconclusive or even mixed results, a larger sample size is needed in order to better assess the systemic immunological effects of cryotherapy.

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Malondialdehyde (MDA) is one of the most commonly reported biomarkers of lipid peroxidation in clinical studies. The reaction of thiobarbituric acid (TBA) with MDA to yield a pink chromogen attributable to an MDA-TBA2 adduct is a common assay approach with products being quantified by ultraviolet-Vis assay as nonspecific TBA-reactive substances (TBARS) or chromatographically as MDA. The specificity of the TBARS assay was compared with both chromatographic assays for total plasma MDA. The levels of total plasma MDA were significantly lower than the plasma TBARS in each of the samples examined, and interestingly, the interindividual variation apparent in the level of plasma MDA was not evident in the plasma TBARS assay. Each of the four online chromatographic detectors yielded a precise, sensitive, and accurate determination of total plasma MDA, and selected-ion monitoring was the most-accurate assay (101.3%, n = 4). The online diode array detectors provided good assay specificity (peak purity index of 999), sensitivity, precision, and accuracy. This research demonstrates the inaccuracy that is inherent in plasma TBARS assays, which claim to quantify MDA, and it is proposed that the TBARS approach may limit the likelihood of detecting true differences in the level of lipid peroxidation in clinical studies.

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Obesity is the sixth major risk factor for the overall burden of disease globally, and is associated with a constellation of metabolic derangements starting early in life. Features of metabolic syndrome (MS) were assessed among obese young individuals in the UAE. Of the 260 obese young people screened, 44% were found to have MS. Prevalence of MS was more among boys than girls and there was a significant association with a positive family history of obesity, diabetes or hypertension. Subjective report of psychological distress was found in 95%, and significant depressive symptoms were present among three-quarters of those with MS. The prevalence and magnitude of obesity and its sequelae including MS is increasing world wide, and newly modernized countries are particularly at risk. Child health professionals must be aware of this and attempts should be made for early identification and necessary intervention including attention to psychological issues.

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BACKGROUND: Although brief and acute psychoses are usually dramatic in presentation, they usually have benign course. Studies investigating clinical features and changes in diagnosis between psychotic episodes have differed in design. However, some consistent findings have emerged. This study seeks to clarify and extend these features by describing and comparing clinical diagnostic stability in a group of subjects with first episode psychosis diagnosed as acute psychotic disorder (psychogenic psychosis) followed up for 6 years. METHODS: The study comprises a retrospective evaluation of case records of 161 patients admitted for the first time with first episode psychosis. Among this group a subgroup of 69 psychogenic psychoses were followed up with special reference to stability of diagnosis within a period of 6 years. RESULTS: Forty-six patients (67.6%) were male, 22 (32.4%) were female and data were missing in one case-record. There was no significant statistical difference between gender and diagnosis. The mean age was 27.5 years (13-45 years). There were criteria, which distinguish acute psychotic disorder (psychogenic psychosis). These criteria include acute onset with short duration of untreated psychosis, precipitating factors, adjusted pre-morbid personality, no family history of mental disorder, short duration of admission, full recovery in most of cases, with no further admission. Nearly 80% of the patients have never been admitted again in 6 years time. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show a high level of agreement with the original concept of psychogenic psychosis; however, these bear little relationship to the DSM-IV (1994) and ICD-10 (WHO, 1993) criteria for brief or acute psychotic disorder.

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Child Behavior Checklist 2-3 is a parents' report questionnaire whose psychometric properties are known in the Western setting, but no studies have investigated this in an Arabic culture. In this study, the psychometric properties of the Arabic translation were studied using a sample of 694 children age 3 yr., ascertained as part of a community-based epidemiological study in the United Arab Emirates. The item-total correlations for items were satisfactory, ranging from .16 to .58. Cronbach alpha values for reliability ranged from .70 to .88 for the subscales and .93 for the Total score. The test-retest reliability coefficient for the Total score was .83. The validity was also high as 94.1% of those who scored above the cut-off point were classified correctly by a blind clinical interview. The results suggest that Child Behavior Checklist 2-3 is a reliable and valid checklist for use in the Arabic culture.

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