Current Issue : January - March Volume : 2015 Issue Number : 1 Articles : 7 Articles
Objective. Numerous epidemiological studies have linked diabetes mellitus (DM) with an increased risk of developing Alzheimer�s\ndisease (AD). However, whether or not diabetic encephalopathy shows AD-like pathology remains unclear. Research Design\nand Methods. Forebrain and hippocampal volumes were measured using stereology in serial coronal sections of the brain in\nstreptozotocin- (STZ-) induced rats.Neurodegeneration in the frontal cortex, hypothalamus, and hippocampus was evaluated using\nFluoro-Jade C (FJC). A? aggregation in the frontal cortex and hippocampus was tested using immunohistochemistry and ELISA.\nDendritic spine density in the frontal cortex and hippocampus was measured using Golgi staining, and western blot was conducted\nto detect the levels of synaptophysin. Cognitive ability was evaluated through the Morris water maze and inhibitory avoidant box.\nResults. Rats are characterized by insulin deficiency accompanied with polydipsia, polyphagia, polyuria, and weight loss after STZ\ninjection. The number of FJC-positive cells significantly increased in discrete brain regions of the diabetic rats compared with the\nage-matched control rats. Hippocampal atrophy, A? aggregation, and synapse loss were observed in the diabetic rats compared\nwith the control rats.The learning andmemory of the diabetic rats decreased compared with those of the age-matched control rats.\nConclusions. Our results suggested that aberrant metabolism induced brain aging as characterized by AD-like pathologies....
Angiotensin-(1-7) [Ang-(1-7)] may have beneficial effects in diabetes mellitus-induced erectile dysfunction (DMIED) but its\nmolecular actions in the diabetic corpus cavernosum (CC) are not known.We characterized the effects of diabetes and/or chronic\nin vivo administration of Ang-(1-7) on vascular reactivity in the rat corpus cavernosum (CC) and on protein expression levels\nof potential downstream effectors of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) such as angiotensin-converting enzyme\n(ACE), ACE2, Rho kinases 1 and 2 (ROCK1 and ROCK2), and omega-hydroxylase, the cytochrome-P450 enzyme that metabolizes\narachidonic acid to form the vasoconstrictor, 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid. Streptozotocin-treated rats were chronicically\nadministered Ang-(1-7) with or without A779, a Mas receptor antagonist, during weeks 4 to 6 of diabetes. Ang-(1-7) reversed\ndiabetes-induced abnormal reactivity to vasoactive agents (endothelin-1, phenylepherine, and carbachol) in the CC without\ncorrecting hyperglycemia. Six weeks of diabetes led to elevated ACE, ROCK1, ROCK 2, and omega-hydroxylase and a concomitant\ndecrease in ACE2 protein expression levels that were normalized by Ang-(1-7) treatment but not upon coadministration of A779.\nThese data are supportive of the notion that the beneficial effects of Ang-(1-7) in DMIED involve counterregulation of diabetesinduced\nchanges in ACE, ACE2, Rho kinases, and omega-hydroxylase proteins in the diabetic CC via a Mas receptor-dependent\nmechanism....
Purpose. Evaluated the effects of continuous electrical current (CEC) or zinc administrated by transdermal iontophoresis (Zn+TDI).\nMethods. 120 male Wistar rats were submitted to an incision surgery at the anterior region of abdomen and distributed into 6\nexperimental groups with 40 animals: 3 diabetic groups and 3 normal groups, untreated and treated with CEC alone or with Zn\n+ TDI. Each group was further divided into 4 subgroups with 10 rats each to be evaluated on the 4th, 7th, 14th, and 21st day after\nsurgery. In each period, clinical and laboratory parameters from the animals were analyzed. Results. The analysis by optical and\nscanning electron microscopy showed a delay in the phases of wound healing in diabetic rats without treatment in all periods of\nthe experiment; breaking strength (BS) was significantly reduced in skin scars of untreated diabetic rats when compared to other\ngroups. In contrast, BS in skin scars of nondiabetic groups and diabetic rats treated with Zn + TDI showed significant increase in\nthose, besides not presenting delayed healing. Conclusion. Electrical stimulation of surgical wounds used alone or in association\nwith zinc by TDI is able to consistently improve the morphological and ultrastructural changes observed in the healing of diabetic\nanimals....
Diabetes mellitus and obesity have assumed the proportion of unparallel man-made cum environment influenced calamity. At present there is no sure shot way to escape the fury of these two. These arise due to inherent traits in the victim or due to unhealthy dietary regime or some sort of metabolic hitches. Diabetes, often referred to by doctors as diabetes mellitus, describes a group of metabolic syndromes in which the victim has elevated blood sugar level, either because insulin production is scarce, or body's cells do not respond properly to insulin, or both. Signature symptoms of diabetes are polyuria (frequent urination), polydipsia (frequent urge for water) and increased hunger bouts (polyphagia); other symptoms are diabetic retinopathy, diabetic neuropathy and diabetic nephropathy. Diabetes type 1 lasts a lifetime, there is no known cure. Type 2 usually lasts a lifetime; however, some people have managed to get rid of their symptoms without medication, through a combination of exercise, diet and body weight control....
Diabetic nephropathy (DN) belongs to debilitating microvascular complications of diabetes and is the leading cause of end-stage\nrenal diseases worldwide. Furthermore, outcomes from the DCCT/EDIC study showed that DN often persists and progresses\ndespite intensive glucose control in many diabetes patients, possibly as a result of prior episode of hyperglycemia, which is\ncalled ââ?¬Å?metabolic memory.ââ?¬Â The underlying mechanisms responsible for the development and progression of DN remain poorly\nunderstood. Activation of multiple signaling pathways and key transcription factors can lead to aberrant expression of DNrelated\npathologic genes in target renal cells. Increasing evidence suggests that epigenetic mechanisms in chromatin such as DNA\nmethylation, histone acetylation, and methylation can influence the pathophysiology of DN and metabolic memory. Exciting\nresearches from cell culture and experimental animals have shown that key histone methylation patterns and the related histone\nmethyltransferases and histone demethylases can play important roles in the regulation of inflammatory and profibrotic genes in\nrenal cells under diabetic conditions. Because histone methylation is dynamic and potentially reversible, it can provide a window of\nopportunity for the development of much-needed novel therapeutic potential for DN in the future. In this minireview, we discuss\nrecent advances in the field of histone methylation and its roles in the pathogenesis and progression of DN....
Diabetic nephropathy (DN), as one of the chronic complications of diabetes, is themajor cause of end-stage renal disease.However,\nthe pathogenesis of this disease is not fully understood. In recent years, research on microRNAs (miRNAs) has become a hotspot\nbecause of their critical role in regulating posttranscriptional levels of protein-coding genes that may serve as key pathogenic factors\nin diseases. Several miRNAs were found to participate in the pathogenesis of DN, while others showed renal protective effects.\nTherefore, targeting miRNAs that are involved in DN may have a good prospect in the treatment of the disease. The aim of this\nreview is to summarize DN-related miRNAs and provide potential targets for diagnostic strategies and therapeutic intervention....
VitaminDdeficiency is frequent among patients with heart failure (HF) and diabetes, disorders associated with exercise intolerance\nand muscle weakness. This study aims to search for associations between vitamin D sufficiency and physical function indexes in\npatients with HF and diabetes. A cross-sectional study of 146 HF patients, 39.7% with diabetes, at a Brazilian tertiary outpatient\nclinic was performed. Patients underwent clinical evaluation, 6-minute walk test (6MWT), handgrip strength, physical activity\nlevel (IPAQ), and biochemical evaluations including serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D. Classification was done according to vitamin D\nstatus (?30 ng/dL, sufficient) and presence/absence of diabetes in vitamin sufficient, no diabetes (DS-C, n = 25), vitamin sufficient,\ndiabetes (DS-DM, n = 18), vitamin deficient, no diabetes (DD-C, n = 63), and vitamin deficient, diabetes (DD-DM, n = 40).\nPatients age was 55.4 �± 8 yrs; 70.5% had vitamin D deficiency. Clinical characteristics were similar among groups. Total time\nexpended in physical activity was similar among groups (P = 0.26). DS-C covered higher distances in the 6MWT (392 �± 60\nm) versus DD-DM (309 �± 116 m); P = 0.024. Handgrip strength was similar among groups but tended to lower levels in DD-DM\n(P = 0.074) even after being adjusted to physical activity (P = 0.069). Vitamin D deficiency can influence physical function in HF\ndiabetic patients....
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