Tehran University Medical Journal

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Background: Because of eventual side effects of chemical drugs, the efficacy of natural wound healing accelerators in long-term diseases and some situations is demanded to practitioners. The initial aim of our study was to assess full thickness excisional skin wound healing and inflammation diminution, Morphometrically and Histopathologically, after topical application of dried extract of Echinacea purpurea aerial part in rats, compared with zinc oxide.

Methods: Sixty wistar rats received four full thickness excisional wounds with the aim of surgical punch on the back skin under surgical anesthesia. All rats were randomly divided into groups 1, 2 and 3, of Echinacea purpurea, zinc oxide and control, respectively. All of them were treated topically once a day for 21 uninterrupted days. Healing of the wounds was daily measured by taking digital photographs and analysis. Histopathologic assessment was carried out in the 0th, 3rd, 7th, 14th, and 21st days of treatment period as well, and wound healing was assessed using 1 to 6 healing grades.

Results: According to Morphometric findings, the wound contraction rate in group 1 after 21 days of skin punching, with wound size of 0.18±0.03 mm² in contrast with group 2, 2.81±0.21mm², was much higher than that in other groups. Group 1 with wound contraction rate of 2.5 times in the day 7 and 3 times in the day 14 more than group 2, had the best wound contraction (p<0.01). histopathologic assessment revealed that, overall healing rate in the group 1 was highest (p<0.01).

Conclusion: Echinacea purpurea dried herbal extract could be a new capable remedy to accelerate skin wound healing because of its potential anti-phlogosis and wound healing stimulatory properties.

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Background: Despite advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment, survival rate of patients suffering from glioblastoma multiform (GBM) has not been significantly improved. Therefore, novel therapeutic adjuncts to routine therapies have been suggested over time. Inhibition of angiogenesis by antiangiogenic drugs is one of the new approaches to inhibit the growth of malignant cells. Microvessel density (MVD) assay is a technique performed by counting immunohistochemically-stained blood vessels. Nowadays, athymic nude mice are widely used for the establishment of xenograft tumor models in cancer research. The aim of this study was to evaluate the MVD of autochthonous xenograft models of GBM isolated from Iranian patients for use in pharmaceutical research on antiangiogenic drugs.Methods: Fresh tumor samples of GBM were obtained from three patients in Cancer Institute of Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Fall of 2010 and Winter of 2011. After preliminary processing, minced tumor samples were implanted heterotopically on flanks of athymic nude mice. Two months later, the animals were sacrificed and the xenograft tumor samples were sent to the pathology laboratory. After establishing the proof of the xenograft tumor type, MVD-CD34, an endothelial cell marker, was assessed by counting hot spot areas in 22 samples.Results: The mean number of microvessels in these xenograft tumor models was 30±2.1. Conclusion: These autochthonous xenograft models of GBM can be used in preclinical settings for research on antiangiogenic drugs regarding a pharmacogenomics-based treatment regimen for the Iranian population. Moreover, such models can be used in future studies for determining the sensitivity or resistance to antiangiogenic drugs in individualized cancer therapy.