Nigella sativa relieves the deleterious effects of ischemia reperfusion injury on liver

Background. Ischemia-reperfusion, commonly seen in the fields of trauma surgery and renal transplantation, is a major cause of acute kidney injury and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The protective effects of Nigella sativa against ischemia-perfusion damage to various organs have been previously documented. However, its protective effects on kidney tissue against ischemia-reperfusion injury are unclear. In this study, we aimed to examine the effect of Nigella sativa in modulating inflammation and apoptosis after renal I/R injury. Materials and methods. Thirty male Wistar-albino rats were divided into three groups: sham-operated, ischemia-reperfusion, and ischemia-reperfusion + Nigella sativa. Rats in the third group were given Nigella sativa 6 h prior to ischemia-reperfusion and at the beginning of reperfusion. All rats except those in the sham-operated group underwent 45 min of bilateral renal ischemia followed by 45 min of reperfusion. Blood samples and liver tissues were harvested from the rats, and then rats were sacrificed. Serum urea and creatinine levels were determined. Total antioxidant capacity (TAC), catalase (CAT), total oxidant status (TOS), oxidative stress index (OSI), and myeloperoxidase (MPO) in kidney tissue and blood were measured. Kidney tissue histopathology was also evaluated. Results. Nigella sativa was effective in reducing serum urea and creatinine levels as well as decreasing the tubular necrosis score. Nigella sativa treatment significantly reduced OSI and TOS levels and increased TAC levels in both kidney tissue and blood. Conclusion. The observed differences seem to demonstrate the protective effect of Nigella sativa against renal I/R injury in rat kidneys.

Pneumobilia is described as occurrence of free air in the gallbladder or biliary tree. There are a number of causes of pneumobilia, including surgically created biliary enteric fistula, instrumentation of the bile duct on endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, emphysematous cholecystitis, and pyogenic cholangitis. Pneumobilia has also occurred following blunt abdominal trauma, but to date, no more than five cases of such injury have been reported in the literature. In this report, we present a patient struck by a motor vehicle with traumatic pneumobilia following blunt trauma to the abdomen, which was managed conservatively.