Physiology and Pharmacology

Introduction: Iron plays an important role in physiological processes as a trace element. Today, iron oxide nanoparticles have attracted extensive attention due to their super paramagnetic properties and a variety of potential applications in many fields. The main objective of this study was to evaluate in vitro and in vivo toxic effects of the iron oxide nanoparticles on L929 cell line, kidney and liver function, in order to achieve a safe application of the mentioned

Peptic ulcer is a disorder of the upper gastrointestinal tract that is caused by gastric acid. There are various chemical agents available for the treatment of peptic ulcers, but claim serious side effects. Herbal drugs are preferred over chemical agents due to their relatively less toxicity, better acceptability and better compatibility with human body. Lesser adverse effects, economical, effective and easy availability. The present research has been carried out to investigate antiulcer activity of Hydroalcoholic leaf extract of Pisonia grandis R.Br (HEPG) using Indomethacin induced gastric ulcer and Pylorus ligation induced gastric ulcer in wistar rats. Ulcer score, ulcer index and number of ulcers were determined for indomethacin and pylorus ligation induced gastric ulcers. Antiulcer effect of Pisonia grandis R.Br (HEPG) was compared with standard drug omepprazole (20mg/kg). These observations helped us to conclude that Hydroalcoholic leaf extract of Pisonia grandis R.Br had significant antiulcer properties.

As doenças hepáticas são responsáveis pela morte de milhares de pessoas em todo o mundo. As lesões hepáticas evoluem cronicamente para a cirrose hepática (CH), a qual é responsável por complicações secundárias à hipertensão portal e insuficiência hepática. O objetivo deste estudo foi realizar uma revisão sobre CH e suas principais complicações (hemorragia digestiva alta varicosa - HDAv, encefalopatia hepática, ascite e peritonite bacteriana espontânea - PBE), com o conhecimento direcionado ao farmacêutico, abrangendo a fisiopatologia e a farmacologia clínica empregada no tratamento de pacientes acometidos pela CH descompensada.
Palavras chaves: cirrose hepática, farmacêutico e farmacologia clínica.
Abstract (HEPATIC CIRRHOSIS AND ITS MAJOR COMPLICATIONS: KNOWLEDGE DIRECTED TO THE PHARMACIST): Hepatic diseases are responsible for the death of thousands of people worldwide. The hepatic lesions evolve chronically to cirrhosis, which is responsible for complications secondary to portal hypertension and hepatic insufficiency. The aim of this study was to perform a review about hepatic cirrhosis and its major complications (varicose digestive hemorrhage, hepatic encephalopathy, ascites and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis), with the knowledge directed to the pharmacist, covering the pathophysiology of this disease and the clinical pharmacology used in the treatment of patients with decompensated cirrhosis. Keywords: liver cirrhosis, pharmacist and clinical pharmacology.

Neurochemistry and drug addiction. Neurocognitive approach. Cognitive Neuroscience. Research for the Postgraduate Program in Cognitive Sciences of the University of Costa Rica. This research establishes a theoretical basis for the biochemical and neurophysiological bases of behavior and mental phenomena, as well as analyzing the neuropathologies derived from the consumption of toxic substances. Plausible explanations are given for the relationships between toxic and addictive and addictive behaviors, and their neurophysiological and genetic bases. // Neuroquímica y toxicodependencia. Enfoque de neurocognoscitivo.  Neurociencias Cognoscitivas. Investigación para el Programa de Postgrado en Ciencias Cognoscitivas de la Universidad de Costa Rica.  Esta investigación, establece una fundamenta teórica de las bases bioquímicas y neurofisiológicas de la conducta y de los fenómenos mentales, así como analiza las neuropatologías derivadas del consumo de tóxicos. Se plantean explicaciones plausibles de las relaciones entre tóxicos y conductas dependientes y adictivas, y sus bases neurofisiológicas y genéticas. // Rodolfo J. Rodríguez-Rodríguez. E-Mail: rodolfojrr@gmx.com

Objective structured practical examination (OSPE) a new
assessment tool has been implemented in a few medical colleges.
This method of assessment was planned to be implemented in our
medical college, before which the authors planned to compare the
scores obtained by the students by conventional method of
examination and OSPE. The marks obtained by the two methods
of examination were compared and a feedback was collected from
students to study their perspective towards OSPE. There was
statistically significant difference in the mean of the scores
obtained by conventional method and that of OSPE. The students’
perception about OSPE was good. This study enabled the authors
to standardize the pattern of OSPE and implement it.

Peptic ulcer represents a serious medical condition, Approximately
500,000 new cases are reported each year, with 5 million people
alone affected in United States alone. The highest risks of
contracting peptic ulcer disease are those generations born around
the middle of the 20th century. Ulcer disease has become a disease
predominantly affecting the older population, with the peak
incidence occurring between 55 and 65 years of age. Thirty – five
percent of patients diagnosed with gastric ulcers will suffer serious
complications. Patients with peptic ulcer disease may present with
a range of symptoms, from mild abdominal discomfort to
catastrophic perforation and bleeding. Most patients with peptic
ulcer disease present with abdominal discomfort, pain, or nausea.
The various herbal plants are claimed to posses anti ulcer.
Preclinical experiments are done to screen the anti ulcer activity in
various herbal drugs using various animal models discussed in
screening assays.

It is well documented that physical activity can induce a number of various stimuli which are able to enhance the strength and endurance performance of muscles. Moreover, regular physical activity can preserve or delay the appearance of several metabolic disorders in the human body. Physical exercise is also known to enhance the mood and cognitive functions of active people, although the physiological backgrounds of these effects remain unclear. In recent years, since the pioneering study in the past showed that physical activity increases the expression of the brain derived neurothophic factor (BDNF) in the rat brain, a number of studies were undertaken in order to establish the link between that neurothrophin and post-exercise enhancement of mood and cognitive functions in humans. It was recently demonstrated that physical exercise can increase plasma and/or serum BDNF concentration in humans. It was also reported that physical exercise or electrical stimulation can increase the B...

implications for global health. It is the fourth leading cause of
death in the United States, exceeded only by heart attacks, cancers,
and stroke. This can result from several types of anatomical
lesions, including loss of lung elastic recoil and fibrosis and
narrowing of small airways. Inflammation, edema, and secretions
also contribute variably to airflow limitation. Occupational
exposure to dusts and chemicals, asthma, age, tobacco smoke and
genetic factors likely play a major role and which also account for
much of the heterogeneity susceptibility to smoke and other
factors. Many factors may play a role, but to date, only α-1
protease inhibitor deficiency has been unambiguously identified.
Exposures other than cigarette smoke can also contribute to the
development of COPD. Spirometry is recommended in COPD
guidelines for the accurate diagnosis of this disease. Wheezing,
productive cough, barrel chest and shortness of breath are some of
the hallmark signs of COPD. Although COPD cannot be cured
but it can be managed my reducing symptoms and improving
overall health, WHO and NICE have guidelines regarding COPD
which outline management via pharmacotherapy for approaching
COPD. The advances in understanding the pathogenesis of COPD
have identified the provided therapy for management of this
disease, if these guidelines are accurately followed, reduction in
further complications or mortality from this ailment can be
achieved.

Aim: To determine the prescribing rate and pattern of antiparkinson drug use and to assess associated adverse drug reactions in patients with idiopathic Parkinson disease.
Materials and methods: Data was collected from the outpatients in neurology and medical records department. Patient demography, disease duration, symptoms, comorbid conditions, drug, dose, adverse drug reaction if any were noted. Information was collected again from the study participants during their routine follow up visit three months later to monitor the symptoms and adverse drug reactions (if any) occurring due to treatment. Causality assessment was done for the ADRs reported based on WHO scale.
Results: Male predominance was seen. A majority of patients were between 51 and 80 years and most of the patients had onset of disease between 51 and 70 years. The common presenting symptoms were rigidity, tremor and bradykinesia. Out of 100 patients, 48 received levodopa+carbidopa alone and the rest received combination therapy. The number of antiparkinson drug prescriptions increased with the disease duration. Sixty three patients had subjective improvement in the symptoms, of which bradykinesia was most common. Levodopa induced dyskinesia was the most common adverse drug reaction. The number of adverse drug reactions was significantly higher among patients receiving combination therapy.
Conclusion: Our study provides a basic knowledge about the drug prescribing pattern in the treatment of Parkinson disease and also the adverse reactions to the drugs prescribed.

The present study was conducted to investigate the physiological and pharmacological effect of Somina (herbal Preparation) on cardiac activity of Frog. The dose of Somina (20mg/ml) competitively acts on muscarinic receptor and reduced the heart rate while increased the cardiac force and duration of cardiac cycle. It is therefore concluded that
somina drug regulates the cardiac activity by increasing efficiency of heart.

Elevated concentration of the homocysteine (Hcy) in human tissues, resulting either from mutations in genes enconding Hcy-metabolizing enzymes, or from deficiences of folic acid has recognized cytotoxic effect. Even a mild Hcy level increase is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and stroke in humans and also a risk factor for neurodegenerative disordes, such as dementia, or Alzheimer's disease. However, it is not yet clear whether homocysteine is a marker, or a causative agent. We present here an overview of recent data on the homocysteine metabolism and on the genetic and the metabolic causes of hyperhomocysteinemia-related pathologies in humans. In context of our results which detected an increased oxidative stress in hyperhomocysteinemic rats we discuss here the role of free radicals in this disorder. Imbalance between homocysteine auto-oxidation, production of reactive metabolites and cellular antioxidant defence induced by hyperhomocysteinemia results to cytotoxicity...

Cysteinyl leukotrienes play a part in inflammatory processes such as inflammatory bowel diseases. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of the cys-LT-1 receptor antagonist montelukast on a mild colitis model in rats. Colitis was induced by administrating 4% dextran sulphate sodium (DSS, MW 45,000) in drinking water for 9 days. Montelukast (10 mg/kg/day) or vehicle was given by gastric gavage once daily simultaneously with DSS administration. A healthy control group receiving water as drinking fluid and vehicle by gastric gavage was included. Body weight loss, consistency of faeces (loose/diarrhoea) and occult blood in the faeces/ gross bleeding were assessed on days 6 - 9. After sacrifice, the following were assessed: colonic histology, the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase, macrophage/monocyte marker ED1, cyclooxygenase-1 and cyclooxygenase-2, as well as the production of leukotriene B(4) and E(4), prostaglandin E(2), its metabolite bicyclic-prostaglandin E(2)...

Introduction: Lipid emulsions are increasingly used as an antidote to lipophilic drug intoxications. The dose recommended by the American Society of Regional Anesthesia is used primarily for the treatment of local anesthetic systemic toxicity. There is insufficient information about what the dose of lipid emulsions (LE) should be in other intoxications depending on their severity. Aim: To determine the LE dose in a shock or haemodynamic instability in patients with acute exogenous intoxications treated with LE. Materials and methods: Forty-nine patients with acute lipophilic drug intoxications were treated with LE in the Clinic of Toxicology at the Naval Hospital in Varna. Statistical analysis was performed using the statistical functions of Excel 2016 and the Statistica 7.0 software package. Results: The percentage of patients receiving a low dose of LE of 0.3 ml/kg (93.87%) was significantly higher than the percentage of patients treated with a medium (2.04%) and a high dose (4.08...

Introduction: Musculoskeletal growth is variable during adolescent period and reaches its maximum by 18 years, whereas hemopoietic parameters reach adult values by 15 years. After adolescence period, the blood parameters may vary with nutrition and built of the individual. The purpose of this study was to find out any correlation between anthropometric and hematological parameters after the adolescent growth period.

In the last years, a polymorphic family of placenta-expressed proteins has been discovered in ruminant species and used for pregnancy diagnosis. Pregnancy diagnosis is an important part in reproduction management of ruminants. The pregnancy-associated glycoproteins (PAG) are synthesized in the mono- and binucleate cells of the ruminant's trophectoderm. Part of them is released into maternal blood circulation where they can be assayed by different RIA and ELISA systems. Due to large variety of expressed molecules and to large variations in the post-translational processing of the glycoproteins, different immuno-systems present different ability to quantify the PAG released in blood. Recent investigations showed that surprisingly the level of milk production in ruminants can modify the concentration of PAG circulating in blood. On the whole, the data show that the RIA methods are very precise for measuring PAG concentrations in the maternal blood and milk of the ruminants. Differe...

Abūl-Qāsim Khalaf ibn ʿAbbās al-Zahrāwī Latinised as Abulcasis or Zahravius, lived between 936–1013 AD. He was born and raised in Al-Zahra a suburb of Córdoba (Arabic: Cortoba) in Spain. He was a famous surgeon, a talented pharmacist and a capable pharmacologist. Zahrawi is very famous for his surgical contribution, but this work explores his pharmaceutical and pharmacological contribution with respect to his treatise Kitab al-Tasreef. He served as the court physician to Caliph ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān III an-Nāṣir (912–961 AD). He wrote his famous book “Kitab al-Tasreef li-man ‘ajaza ‘an al-ta’lif” (The Arrangement of Medical Knowledge for one who is not able to compile it) around the year 1000 AD after fifty years of clinical experience. This book is also a chief source for indicating pharmaceutical contribution of al-Zahrāwī apart from the field of surgery. Twenty seven volumes, from Volume 3 to 29, of thirty volumes of the book Kitab al- Tasreef are related to Unani pharmacy and pharmacol...

Abūl-Qāsim Khalaf ibn ʿAbbās al-Zahrāwī Latinised as Abulcasis or Zahravius, lived between 936–1013 AD. He was born and raised in Al-Zahra a suburb of Córdoba (Arabic: Cortoba) in Spain. He was a famous surgeon, a talented pharmacist and a capable pharmacologist. Zahrawi is very famous for his surgical contribution, but this work explores his pharmaceutical and pharmacological contribution with respect to his treatise Kitab al-Tasreef. He served as the court physician to Caliph ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān III an-Nāṣir (912–961 AD). He wrote his famous book “Kitab al-Tasreef li-man ‘ajaza ‘an al-ta’lif” (The Arrangement of Medical Knowledge for one who is not able to compile it) around the year 1000 AD after fifty years of clinical experience. This book is also a chief source for indicating pharmaceutical contribution of al-Zahrāwī apart from the field of surgery. Twenty seven volumes, from Volume 3 to 29, of thirty volumes of the book Kitab al- Tasreef are related to Unani pharmacy and pharmacol...

Different psychosomatic disorders are observed in postmenopausal women. The decrease of estrogen production is believed to be the main cause of their severity. It is nowadays evident that the decreased melatonin release in women at this age who suffer from postmenopausal disorders might also contribute to the severity of the symptoms. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of melatonin supplementation on female hormones release and the alteration in climacteric symptoms. The study included 60 postmenopausal women, aged 51 - 64 years, who were randomly allotted into two equal groups. Group I was recommended placebo (2 x 1 tablet) and Group II - melatonin (3 mg in the morning and 5 mg at bedtime) for 12 months. Serum levels of 17β-estradiol, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), melatonin and urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (aMT6s) excretion as well as Kupperman Index (KI) and body mass index (BMI) were determined before the start and at 12 months after placebo or melatonin admini...

Hyperoxia-induced lung injury is well known in animal and human studies. We have previously shown that hyperoxic exposure of guinea pigs is associated with suppression of cough reflex. The goal of this study was to determine the effects of oral N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on hyperoxia-induced oxidative stress in lung tissue directed on cough reflex. The experimental group was pretreated with NAC daily for 7 days and subsequently exposed to 100% O2 for 60 h. Hyperoxic group inhaled 100% O2 only. The control group was exposed to normoxia. Cough was induced by inhalation of citric acid aerosol before and after exposure to oxygen. Cough was also induced by mechanical stimulation of airways in anesthetized animals just after the end of oxygen exposure. Our results showed a significant decrease (P=0.002) in citric acid-induced cough in hyperoxic animals and reversal of that effect in animals pretreated with NAC. In addition, there was a significant interaction between antioxidant therapy and h...

Warfarin, a vitamin K antagonist (VKA), is commonly used to prevent thromboembolic events in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) venous thromboembolism (VTE) or mechanical heart valve (1-4). However , VKA therapy is challenging because of its narrow therapeutic index combined with the wide inter -individual dosing variation. The eficacy and safety of warfarin treatment are highly dependent on the time for which the international normalized ratio (INR) is in the therapeutic range (TTR) (5). Factors influencing the TTR quality have been identified mostly in AF patients (5, 6). The risk of death, bleeding, myocardial infarction or stroke has been related to the quality of the INR control and was higher in patients with TTR < 60% (6). In recently published study on patients with mechanical heart valves, the risk of complications including bleeding and death but not thromboembolism has been significantly higher at lower TTR levels (7). In turn, AF patients who had TTR>75% were m...

Compounds with dual action on cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) may be a treatment option for erectile dysfunction, as they not only promote penile erection but also prevent the upregulation of phosphodiesterase-5. In this study, we examined the possible relaxant effect and mechanism of 17-nor-subincanadine E (SEC, 0.2–200 mmol l 21), a plant-derived alkaloid, in rabbit corpus cavernosum (RbCC) strips that had been precontracted by exposure to phenylephrine (10 mmol l 21) or a high concentration of K 1 (60 mmol l 21) in vitro. In addition to SEC's effect on cAMP and cGMP levels, electrical field stimulation (EFS) in phenylephrine-precontracted RbCC and calcium chloride (1–100 mmol l 21) evoked responses in depolarized RbCC were analysed. SEC relaxed the phenylephrine-precontracted RbCCs in a concentration-dependent manner. Atropine, guanethidine and N-v-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) did not have any effect on the relaxation of RBCCs. When 1H-1,2,4 oxadiazole[4,3-a] quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ) was added, it effectively blocked the relaxant response of SEC. Although SEC enhanced the maximal relaxation produced by sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and forskolin in phenylephrine-precontracted cavernosal smooth muscle, it caused a decrease in the maximal contractile response induced by calcium chloride in depolarized RbCCs. The relaxant effect of SEC was paralleled by an increase in the tissue levels of the cyclic nucleotides cAMP and cGMP. We conclude that SEC promotes the relaxation of RbCC, possibly favouring cAMP and cGMP accumulation and calcium blockade. This novel mechanism could be useful for patients who do not benefit from phosphodiesterase inhibitors and for those with endothelial and nitrergic dysfunction, such as patients with diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidaemias.

International Journal of Pharmacological Sciences (IJPS) is a peer-reviewed, open access journal which focuses fundamental and applied pharmacological research. The journal documents practical and theoretical results which make a fundamental contribution for the development of applied pharmacological science research.

In the last years, a polymorphic family of placenta-expressed proteins has been discovered in ruminant species and used for pregnancy diagnosis. Pregnancy diagnosis is an important part in reproduction management of ruminants. The pregnancy-associated glycoproteins (PAG) are synthesized in the mono- and binucleate cells of the ruminant's trophectoderm. Part of them is released into maternal blood circulation where they can be assayed by different RIA and ELISA systems. Due to large variety of expressed molecules and to large variations in the post-translational processing of the glycoproteins, different immuno-systems present different ability to quantify the PAG released in blood. Recent investigations showed that surprisingly the level of milk production in ruminants can modify the concentration of PAG circulating in blood. On the whole, the data show that the RIA methods are very precise for measuring PAG concentrations in the maternal blood and milk of the ruminants. Differe...

Introduction: Effect of tripolar TENS of vertebral column on slow and fast motoneurons (MNs) activity of soleus muscle was previously investigated. In this study for better differentiation of the behavior of slow and fast MNs, we exploited H-reflex recovery curve recording in two muscles of soleus and lateral gastrocnemius, respectively as the representatives of slow and fast muscles. Methods: 10 healthy non-athlete women aged 22.7±2.21 years participated in two (control and test) sessions. H-reflex recovery curve of ...

Pregnancy diagnosis is an important part in reproduction management of ruminants. The aim of the study was to use a new method for evaluating the bPAG and cPAG in milk and blood bPAG and compare this results with the other method for pregnancy diagnosis in the cows. The study was carried out in 220 Holstein Frisian cows. Heparinised blood samples were taken from the jugular vein and stored at -20 degrees C until PAG assay by RIA. For bPAG and cPAG, RIA test, milk samples were homogenized. Pure bPAG was used as a standard tracer described by Zoli et al. (1992). The cows were diagnosed as pregnant by means of USG (Aloka SSD 210) and by rectal palpation. bPAG and cPAG concentration in milk increased after 28 day of pregnancy and showed the rapid increase near the parturition. The same results of bPAG concentration we obtained in the blood samples. The decline of bPAG concentration was faster in the milk than in the blood. The data showed that the RIA method is precise enough to measure...

Introduction: Thymol has negative ionotropic effect on heart and has direct effect on calcium release from sarcoplasmic reticulum. Some of the herbal plants just like carum copticum consist of thymol. The postganglionic neurons of the gastrointestinal parasympathetic system are located mainly in the myenteric and submucosal plexuses. Stimulation of these parasympathetic nerves causes general increase in activity of the entire enteric nervous system. This in turn enhances activity of most gastrointestinal functions. Therefore the present study has been designed to find out the anti spasmodic effects of thymol on rat’s ileum smooth muscle. Methods: In this study rat’s ileum contraction was recorded through an isolated tissue chamber in an organ bath by using isotonic transducer and oscillographic device and in each experiment the effective concentration of Carum Copticum and thyme essential oil (0.002, 0.005 and 0.01) on acetylcholine induced contraction in isolated rat’s ileum was ev...

Introduction: Abusing drugs such as morphine continues to be a serious medical and social problem. Defining a habit that increases the devastating effect such as compulsive use and craving is necessary. Methods: This experiment was designed in four groups 1) group-housed (GH) 2) isolation 3) group-housed morphine-treated (GHMT) (4) isolated-housed morphinetreated (IHMT). Rats were received morphine (0.75 mg/rat/day) for three weeks for inducing morphine dependence. BrdU (50 mg/kg/day) injection begins from the first day of the experiment and lasted for 21 days for assessing neurogenesis. At the end of experiment sensitization with open field, copper in serum with an atomic spectrophotometer, taste disturbance for bitter (potassium chloride, KCl) and sour (citrate), mood disturbance with tail suspension test, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in CSF with Elisa, malondialdehyde (MDA) in serum with thiobarbituric acid (TBA) and neurogenesis with BrdU staining were assessed. Resu...

Introduction: In the arcuate nucleus, kisspeptin, neurokinin-B and pro-dynorphin (KNDy) neurons control the function of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons. Early investigations indicated that exercise with various intensities affects luteinizing hormone (LH) and testosterone (T) in different ways. Meanwhile the molecular mechanisms underlying its function not yet been fully understood. Accordingly, the present study evaluated the role of alterations in the levels of KNDy mRNA upstream of GnRH neurons in conveying the effects of various short-term exercise intensities on the male hypothermic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. Methods: Twenty-one adult Wistar rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: control, one-month regular moderate exercise (ME) and one-month regular intensive exercise (IE). In ME (22m/min) and IE (35m/min) groups, the rats were treated 5 days a week for 60min each day. Finally, we assessed serum levels of LH and T using the ELIZA technique and KNDy and Gnrh...

Introduction: Selena-diazole has antioxidant, and antitumor activities. Also selena-diazol exhibited promising antifungal, antibacterial, viral infection and neurodegenerative disease. The aim of the study is to evaluate the antioxidant activity of a novel -(4,5,6,7-tetrahydro- [1,2,3-] selenadiazolo [4,5 e] pyridine-4,6-diyl) bis(benzene-1,3-diol) (T) against dipyrone (Di) induced oxidative stress. Methods: In vitro antioxidant using DPPH, concentrations of T and ascorbic acid (AA) at 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50μg was measured. In vivo study conducted using four groups, received 50mg/kg of T or/and Di and DW for 30 days. Antioxidant estimated in vivo by serum superoxide dismutase activity (SOD); Glutathione Peroxidase enzyme GPx measured by using Rat SOD1 kit and Rat GPX1 ELISA Kit respectively. Furthermore, Malondialdehyde (MDA) is reliable biomarkers to predict oxidative stress. Results: The results indicate IC50 rate using DPPH of T compound 48.888μg/ml. GPx of T and T&Di groups were ...

Introduction: Chemical drugs and herbal medicine play a significant role in the management of diabetes mellitus complications. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Fumaria parviflora as an herbal source and glibenclamide as a chemical drug, on the liver tissue of diabetic rats. Methods: Male Wistar rats (n=32) were classified randomly into four groups (8/group), including control, diabetic (induced by 50mg/kg streptozocin), 250mg/kg hydroalcoholic extract of Fumaria parviflora (DFP) and 5mg/kg glibenclamide groups. After 21 days of treatment, liver tissues and blood samples were stored at -80°C to test lipid profile, liver enzymes and some oxidative stress markers. Results: In the diabetic group compared to the control group, the activities of SOD and GPx and also the serum levels of alkaline phosphatase were significantly decreased, while the levels of malondialdehyde, alanine aminotransferase and aspartate transaminase enhanced. Treatment with DFP and glibenclam...

Physiology and Pharmacology, 14 (4), 389-396 Winter 2011 [Article in Persian] ... Increased synaptic activity in magnocellular neurons of supraoptic nucleus ... Mitra Yousefpour1,2,3, Nima Naderi1, Mahyar Janahmadi1,2, Amir-Mohammad Alizadeh1, Fereshteh Motamedi1,2* ... 1. Neuroscience Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science,Tehran, Iran 2. Dept. Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran 3. Dept. Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Army University of Medical Science, ...

Diabetes mellitus contributes to oxidative stress and also induces inflammation and hence severe
complications. Several drugs have been introduced so far to salvage this metabolic disease alongside
its complications. This study was designed to investigate the effects of gliclazide on serum uric acid
and C-reactive protein (a biomarker of inflammation) in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Sixteen wistar
rats were divided into 4 experimental groups with four rats each; Group A-control (Drug vehicle),
Group B-diabetic, Group C- diabetic/gliclazide (10mg/kg twice daily) and Group D-normal/gliclazide
(10mg/kg twice daily). After four weeks, animals in all groups were fasted for 12 hours and blood
samples were taken by cardiac puncture for determination of serum uric acid and C-reactive protein
(CRP) levels. There was no significant change in serum uric acid levels (p>0.05) when the
experimental groups were compared with the controls. On the other hand, there was significant
decrease (p<0.05) in CRP levels when values in the controls was compared with diabetic treated and
normal treated groups. These findings suggest that gliclazide possesses cardioprotective properties
since CRP has been implicated in atherosclerotic changes which are a common complication of
diabetes mellitus