Serap Yildirim

Royal Jelly Modulates Oxidative Stress and Apoptosis in Liver and Kidneys of Rats Treated with Cisplatin

Cisplatin (CDDP) is one of the most active cytotoxic agents in the treatment of cancer and has adverse side effects such as nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity. The present study was designed to determine the effects of royal jelly (RJ) against oxidative stress caused by CDDP injury of the kidneys and liver, by measuring tissue biochemical and antioxidant parameters and investigating apoptosis immunohistochemically. Twenty-four Sprague Dawley rats were divided into four groups, group C: control group received 0.9% saline; group CDDP: injected i.p. with cisplatin (CDDP, 7 mg kg−1 body weight i.p., single dose); group RJ: treated for 15 consecutive days by gavage with RJ (300 mg/kg/day); group RJ + CDDP: treated by gavage with RJ 15 days following a single injection of CDDP. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) levels, glutathione S-transferase (GST), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities were determined in liver and kidney homogenates, and the liver and kidney were also histologically examined. RJ elicited a significant protective effect towards liver and kidney by decreasing the level of lipid peroxidation (MDA), elevating the level of GSH, and increasing the activities of GST, GSH-Px, and SOD. In the immunohistochemical examinations were observed significantly enhanced apoptotic cell numbers and degenerative changes by cisplatin, but these histological changes were lower in the liver and kidney tissues of RJ + CDDP group. Besides, treatment with RJ lead to an increase in antiapoptotic activity hepatocytes and tubular epithelium. In conclusion, RJ may be used in combination with cisplatin in chemotherapy to improve cisplatin-induced oxidative stress parameters and apoptotic activity.

Protective effect of Panax ginseng against serum biochemical changes and apoptosis in liver of rats treated with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)

The purpose of this study was to investigate possible beneficial effects of Panax ginseng (PG) on carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4))-induced acute hepatotoxicity in rats. CCl(4) challenge elevated serum enzyme activities of liver and some biochemical parameters, but these effects were prevented by the pretreatment of rats with PG. Histologically, a great amount of mononuclear cells infiltration, necrotic cells and few fibroblasts were observed in liver of CCl(4) group. Also, CD68(+) and caspase-3 staining cells were diffused in both lobular and portal areas. However, PG pretreatment had a little influence on the number of caspase-3 immunopositive staining cells in the liver, but CD68(+) staining areas were significantly decreased in the PG+CCl(4) when compared to CCl(4) group. We conclude that PG treatment may play a protective role by enhancing liver enzyme activities and recovering biochemical parameters, and improving the changes in histological structure against CCl(4)-induced liver damages in rats.

Cognitive functions and serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in patients with major depressive disorder.

OBJECTIVE We assessed major cognitive domains in major depressive disorder (MDD) compared to a healthy control group using neurocognitive tests. We hypothesized that lower serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels would be associated with poorer neurocognitive performance in patients with major depression and that these associations would be shown in healthy controls as well. METHOD Executive functions, sustaining and focusing of attention, memory functions, and verbal fluency were assessed in this study using the Trail-Making Test (TMT), Stroop Color Word Interference Test-TBAG Form (SCWT), Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA), Auditory Consonant Trigram test (ACTT), Digit Span subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale (DST), Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT), and Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT). RESULTS The MDD group showed significantly poorer performance than the control group in cognitive functions; they also had lower levels of BDNF than the control group. However, there was no correlation between cognitive performances and BDNF levels except in the TMT, Part B. CONCLUSIONS The current understanding of the importance of neurocognitive assessment and related biological markers in depression is improving. Further studies with larger sample sizes evaluating neurocognitive functions with molecular analyses of BDNF levels may reveal a novel marker for predicting and monitoring neurocognitive deficits in depression.

Serum Adiponectin Levels in Patients with Esophageal Cancer

OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to investigate a possible relationship between serum levels of adiponectin and clinicopathological characteristics in esophageal cancer. This is the first report evaluating serum adiponectin levels in patients with esophageal cancer. METHODS Sixty-two patients with esophageal cancer and thirty healthy subjects were included in the study. Adiponectin levels were determined by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. RESULTS The mean serum adiponectin level in the cancer group was significantly low compared with the adiponectin level in the healthy control group. Furthermore, adiponectin levels of the patients gradually decreased with increase in tumor stage. The patients with adenocarcinoma of the esophagus had significantly lower values of serum adiponectin than patients with squamous cell carcinoma. CONCLUSION We concluded that decreased circulating adiponectin levels may play a role in the progression and/or development of esophageal cancers. However, for clinical use of serum adiponectin in terms of early diagnosis and treatment, further studies should be performed.

Pomegranate Seed Extract Attenuates Chemotherapy-Induced Acute Nephrotoxicity and Hepatotoxicity in Rats

Cisplatin (CDDP), one of the most active cytotoxic agents against cancer, has adverse side effects, such as nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity. The present study was designed to investigate the potential protective effect of pomegranate seed extract (PSE) against oxidative stress caused by CDDP injury of the kidneys and liver by measuring tissue biochemical and antioxidant variables and immunohistochemically testing caspase-3-positive cells. Twenty-four Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 4 groups: control; CDDP: injected intraperitoneally with CDDP (7 mg/kg body weight, single dose); PSE: treated for 15 consecutive days by gavage with PSE (300 mg/kg per day); and PSE+CDDP: treated by gavage with PSE 15 days after a single injection of CDDP. The degree of protection against CDDP injury afforded by PSE was evaluated by determining the levels of malondialdehyde as a measure of lipid peroxidation. The levels of glutathione and activities of glutathione peroxidase, glutathione S-transferase, and superoxide dismutase were estimated from liver and kidney homogenates; the liver and kidney were also histologically examined. PSE elicited a significant protective effect toward liver and kidney by decreasing the level of lipid peroxidation; elevating the levels of glutathione S-transferase; and increasing the activities of glutathione peroxidase, glutathione S-transferase, and superoxide dismutase. These biochemical observations were supported by immunohistochemical findings and suggested that PSE significantly attenuated nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity by the way of its antioxidant, radical-scavenging, and antiapoptotic effects. This PSE extract could be used as a dietary supplement in patients receiving chemotherapy medications.

Handedness, eyedness, and hand–eye crossed dominance in patients with schizophrenia: Sex-related lateralisation abnormalities

Schizophrenia is referred to as cerebral lateralisation abnormality. In this study the possible relationships among handedness, eye dominance, and crossed and non-congruent hand–eye dominance in patients with schizophrenia are investigated. A total of 88 patients with schizophrenia and 118 controls were included in the study. The patient group included 60 men and 28 women who ranged in age from 17 to 63 years. Diagnoses were made on the basis of information provided from clinical interviews and Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV. Handedness was ascertained by using the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory. Eye dominance was measured only by the near–far alignment test. Patients with schizophrenia had a significantly increased frequency of mixed-handedness and decreased frequency of both right- and left-handedness in comparison with controls. Also, the male patients with schizophrenia had significantly increased frequencies of left eye dominance, crossed hand–eye dominance, and non-congruent hand–eye dominance compared to controls, but not the female patients. Cerebral lateralisation abnormalities in schizophrenia may be associated with sex-related hormonal factors.

Paraoxonase 1 gene polymorphisms, paraoxonase/arylesterase activities and oxidized low-density lipoprotein levels in patients with migraine

The vascular endothelial dysfunction has been implicated in the pathogenesis of migraine. Oxidized low‐density lipoprotein (ox‐LDL) may impair endothelial function. Paraoxonase‐1 (PON‐1) prevents oxidative modification of LDL cholesterol (LDL‐C). So we investigated serum PON‐1 and arylesterase (ARE) activities, PON‐1 55 L/M and 192Q/R polymorphisms and the serum lipid profile in patients with migraine. Biochemical parameters and PON‐1 polymorphism analyses were assessed in 104 patients with migraine and 86 healthy subjects. Ox‐LDL was detected by ELISA, and polymorphisms were determined using PCR–restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Patients with migraine had lower PON‐1 and ARE activities (p < 0·001, for both) and higher ox‐LDL and LDL‐C levels (p < 0·001, for both) and ox‐LDL: LDL‐C ratio (p < 0·005) than the controls. The genotype distribution and the allele frequencies for PON‐1 55 L/M and 192Q/R polymorphisms were not different among the study populations. The results of our current study indicate that migrainous patients have decreased serum PON‐1 and ARE activities and increased serum ox‐LDL levels, which may have a clinical importance in the treatment of migraine. Copyright

Dose-dependent protective effect of L-carnitine on oxidative stress in the livers of hyperthyroid rats.

OBJECTIVE The present study was designed to investigate the dose-dependent protective effect of L-carnitine (LC) on thyroid hormone-induced oxidative stress in rat liver tissue. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty-one male Sprague Dawley rats were divided into four groups: control, hyperthyroidism, hyperthyroidism plus L-carnitine 100, and hyperthyroidism plus L-carnitine 500. Hyperthyroidism was induced in rats by injecting 250 μg of L-thyroxine/kg body weight/day for twenty consecutive days. The activities of catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) and the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured in liver homogenates. RESULTS The liver CAT, GPX and MPO activities were significantly lower in the hyperthyroid rats than in the control group. Treating hyperthyroid rats with both low-dose (100 mg/kg) and high-dose (500 mg/kg) L-carnitine for 10 days resulted in a marked increase in the activities of the antioxidant enzymes in the liver tissue. CONCLUSION The present study indicates that the low-dose L-carnitine application was sufficient to prevent L-thyroxine-induced oxidative stress in rat livers.

DIFFERENCES BY SEX AND HANDEDNESS IN RIGHT AND LEFT FEMUR BONE MINERAL DENSITIES

Left-handedness was reported to be a risk factor for accident-related injuries, head injuries, traumatic brain injuries, sport-related injuries, and bone breaks and fractures. As decreased bone mineral density is a good marker of bone fractures, the femoral bone mineral densities of normal left-handed university students were compared with those of right-handed students. Hand preference of 66 men and 47 women was assessed using the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory. Measures of bone mineral density with a Hologic QDR-4500W (S/N 48403) densitometer showed bone mineral densities of both right and left proximal femur regions were higher in right-handed than in left-handed students. These results are consistent with the claim that left-handed participants had higher trauma and injury risk. Also, these results may explain the sex-related differences by handedness for susceptibility in accident-related injuries such as bone fractures.

Relationship of serum paraoxonase enzyme activity and thermal burn injury.

OBJECTIVE This study investigated changes in serum oxidative stress parameters in burn cases compared to healthy controls. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study was performed in 41 burn patients with mild to severe thermal burn injuries and 38 healthy volunteers. The burn cases were selected from patients who were hospitalized in the burn unit for the treatment of second- and third-degree burns. Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and PON-1 paraoxonase and arylesterase activities were measured in patient serum samples. RESULTS PON-1 paraoxonase activity and MDA levels in patients with major thermal burn injury were significantly higher than healthy controls, but PON-1 arylesterase activities were lower. A significant negative correlation was observed between the burn percentage of the total body surface area and the PON-1 arylesterase activities in patients. CONCLUSION Human thermal burn injury was associated with an increase in MDA production and a decrease in PON-1 arylesterase activity, which was proportional to the percentage of total burned surface area.