Malnutrition resulting from protein and calorie deficiency continues to be a major concern worldwide especially in developing countries. Specific deficiencies in the protein intake can adversely influence reproductive performance. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of curcumin and curcumin nano-emulsion on protein deficient diet (PDD)-induced testicular atrophy, troubled spermatogenesis and decreased reproductive performance in male rats. Juvenile rats were fed the protein deficient diet (PDD) for 75 days. Starting from day 60 the rats were divided into 4 groups and given the corresponding treatments for the last 15 days orally and daily as follows: 1st group; curcumin group (C) received 50 mg/kg curcumin p.o. 2ndgroup; curcumin nano-form low dose group (NCL) received 2.5 mg/kg nano-curcumin. 3rd group; curcumin nano-form high dose group (NCH) received 5 mg/kg nano-curcumin. 4th group served as malnutrition group (PDD group) receiving the protein deficient diet daily for 75 days and received distilled water ingestions (5 ml/kg p.o) daily for the last 15 days of the experiment. A normal control group was kept under the same conditions for the whole experiment and received normal diet according to nutrition requirement center daily for 75 days and received distilled water ingestions (5 ml/kg p.o) daily for the last 15 days of the experiment. PDD induced significant (P < 0.05) reduction in serum testosterone level, sperm motility, testicular GSH, CAT, SOD, testicular cell energy (ATP, ADP and AMP), essential and non-essential amino acids in seminal plasma, an increase in testicular MDA, NOx, GSSG and 8-OHDG. Data was confirmed by histological examination and revealed pathological alteration in the PDD group. Ingestion of curcumin (50 mg/kg) and curcumin nano-emulsion (2.5 and 5 mg/kg) showed significant (P< 0.05) amelioration effects against PDD-induced disrupted reproductive performance as well as biochemical and pathological alterations and the overall results of the nano-emulsion (5 mg/kg) were comparable to curcumin (50 mg/kg). The present study suggests that administration of curcumin nano-emulsion as a daily supplement would be beneficial in malnutrition- induced troubled male reproductive performance and spermatogenesis cases.

Nd diffuse types. Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2)/neu overexpression is a predictor of poor prognosis. This study aimed to evaluate HER-2/neu expression in gastric carcinomas and to correlate its expression with clinicopathological parameters and other prognostic factors. Patients and methods Forty-five cases of primary gastric carcinoma were included in this study. Thirty-two cases were of intestinal type and 13 cases were of the diffuse type. All specimens were formalin fixed, routinely processed, stained with hematoxylin and eosin, and immunohistochemically stained with HER-2/neu. Results Overexpression of HER-2/neu was detected in five out of 30 (11.1%) gastric carcinomas. There was a nonsignificant difference (P>0.05) in different histologic types. Also HER-2/neu expression showed a nonsignificant correlation with both histologic grade and tumor stage. Conclusion Our results revealed a limited effect of HER-2/neu on the biologic behavior of gastric carcinoma. However, further study with a larger sample size is recommended to clarify the therapeutic role of trastuzumab (Herceptin) in gastric carcinoma patients expressing HER-2/neu....