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Background: With a wide range of applications, titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) are manufactured worldwide in large quantities. Recently, in the field of nanomedicine, intravenous injection of TiO2 nanoparticulate carriers directly into the bloodstream has raised public concerns on their toxicity to humans. Methods: In this study, mice were injected intravenously with a single dose of TiO2 NPs at varying dose levels (0, 140, 300, 645, or 1387 mg/kg). Animal mortality, blood biochemistry, hematology, genotoxicity and histopathology were investigated 14 days after treatment. Results: Death of mice in the highest dose (1387 mg/kg) group was observed at day two after TiO2 NPs injection. At day 7, acute toxicity symptoms, such as decreased physical activity and decreased intake of food and water, were observed in the highest dose group. Hematological analysis and the micronucleus test showed no significant acute hematological or genetic toxicity except an increase in the white blood cell (WBC) count among mice 645 mg/kg dose group. However, the spleen of the mice showed significantly higher tissue weight/body weight (BW) coefficients, and lower liver and kidney coefficients in the TiO2 NPs treated mice compared to control. The biochemical parameters and histological tissue sections indicated that TiO2 NPs treatment could induce different degrees of damage in the brain, lung, spleen, liver and kidneys. However, no pathological effects were observed in the heart in TiO2 NPs treated mice. Conclusions: Intravenous injection of TiO2 NPs at high doses in mice could cause acute toxicity effects in the brain, lung, spleen, liver, and kidney. No significant hematological or genetic toxicity was observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The combination of mifepristone and misoprostol is an established method for induction of early first trimester abortion, but there is no consensus about the best evaluation of treatment outcome. We evaluate serum Angiopoietin-2(Ang-2) and β human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) in women who had undergone a medical abortion as markers of prolonged uterine bleeding (PUB). Methods: Prospective trial involving 2843 women attending an gynecology outpatient clinic who following a medical abortion with mifepristone and misoprostol, the study cohort was divided into women with duration of uterine bleeding >14 days (PUB) and women with duration of uterine bleeding ≤14 days (normal uterine bleeding, NUB). Serum determinations of Ang-2 levels by ELISA and β-hCG levels by electrochemiluminiscence immunoassay. Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) analyses were calculated and plotted for the diagnostic accuracy of serum β-hCG and Ang-2 concentration to discriminate PUB and NUB. Results: Baseline characteristics for both groups were similar, Only duration of bleeding showed a significant difference between the PUB group and NUB group. Ang-2 serum levels moderately correlated with serum β-hCG levels with statistically significant correlation coefficients of 0.536. Serum β-hCG and Ang-2 levels on day 7 and on day 14 after medical abortion were signifcantly higher in PUB group than in NUB group. Plotted as ROC curves, β-hCG area under curve (AUC) was 0.65 (95% CI, 0.53–0.76) on day 7, rising to AUC = 0.83 (95% CI, 0.75–0.92) on day 14. Using Ang-2 on day 7 and day 14 as predictive parameter resulted in an analogous AUC (AUC = 0.61 on day 7, AUC = 0.78 on day 14). Conclusions: Both parameters are clinically useful as a diagnostic test in predicting PUB after medical abortion, and can be helpful in uncertain clinical situations, but should be considered as supplementary to a general clinical evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]