concentration of serum selenium in multiple sclerosis patients compare to healthy subject in Tehran

Multiple sclerosis [MS] is an inflammatory demyelinating disease which the exact etiology is still are far to be clear. Reasons for this autoimmune disease are unknown origin. The aim of present study was to evaluate serum levels of selenium in patient with MS compare to healthy subjects. A total of 46 subjects were enrolled in the study, Sera of 23 MS cases and 23 healthy normal cohorts as control group were obtained. Atomic absorption spectrophotometer was employed for estimating serum selenium level. Serum. selenium levels were significantly lower in MS than in control cohorts [60.87+/-13 compared with 85.74+/-12, P-value < 0.0001]. Serum selenium levels may thus be a marker of MS; the decreasing levels of serum selenium may be host defense strategies of body

effects of cyclosporin-A on functional outcome and axonal regrowth following spinal cord injury in adult rats

It has been shown that the immunophilin ligands have the special advantage in spinal cord repair. In this study, the effects of cyclosporine A [CsA] on functional recovery and histological outcome were evaluated following spinal cord injury in rats. After spinal cord hemisection in thirty six adult female Sprague-Dawley rats [200- 250 g], treatment groups received CsA [2.5 mg/kg i.p.] at 15min and 24h after lesion [CsA 15min group and CsA 24h group] daily, for 8 weeks. Control and sham groups received normal saline and in sham operated animals the spinal cord was exposed in the same manner as treatment groups, but was not hemisected. Hindlimb motor function was assessed in 1, 3, 5 and 7 weeks after lesion, using locomotive rating scale developed by Basso, Bresnahan and Beattie [BBB]. Motor neurons were counted within the lamina IX of ventral horn and lesion size was measured in 5 mm of spinal lumbar segment with the epicenter of the lesion site. The mean number of motor neurons and the mean BBB scale in 3, 5 and 7 weeks in CsA 15min groups significantly increased compared to the control group. Although, the lesion size reduced in rats with CsA treatment compared to the control group, no significant difference was observed. Thus, it can be concluded that CsA can improve locomotor function and histological outcome in the partial spinal cord injury

Neuroprotective effect of exogenous melatonin on dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra in ovariectomized rats

Melatonin has receptors in substantia nigra pars compacta [SNc] and regulates development of dopaminergic [DA] neurons. This study was undertaken to determine ability of melatonin to protect SNc dopaminergic neuron loss induced by estrogen deficiency in ovariectomized rats. Female rats were randomized into four groups of seven each: control, ethanol sham, ovariectomy [ovx] and ovx with melatonin [ovx + m]. In ovx, ovaries were removed. Ovx + m group was intraperitoneally injected with melatonin for 10 days, while the ethanol sham group received only ethanol. All rats were perfused with 4% paraformaldehyde, midbrains removed, fixed and paraffin embedded, then processed for Nissl and tyrosine hydroxylase staining [IHC]. Ten sections of SNc in Nissl and IHC staining were analyzed in each animal, Nissl stained and tyrosine hydroxylase [TH] immunoreactive cells were counted in five experimental groups randomly. Data was analyzed using SPSS by ANOVA and /-test. Differences were considered significant for P<0.05. There was less cell number in ovx compared to control and ethanol sham groups significantly [P<0.001]. The ovx + m group had more cells than the ovx group in the SNc significantly [P<0.001]. Furthermore, there was significant decrease of TH positive cell number in the ovx group compared to control and ethanol sham groups [P<0.05]. The number of TH immunoreactive cells-was higher in ovx + m compared to the ovx group [P<0.05]. These findings can be compared with human and used in clinical application for prevention of DA neuron death of SNc after ovariectomy

Neuroprotective effects of carnosic acid in an experimental model of Alzheimer's disease in rats

Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of neurodegenerative disorder. It has been suggested that oxidative stress can be one of the pathological mechanisms of this disease. Carnosic acid [CA] is an effective antioxidant substance and recent studies have shown that its electrophilic compounds play a role in reversing oxidative stress. Thus we tried to find out whether CA administration protects hippocampal neurons, preventing neurodegeneration in rats, Animals were divided into four groups: Sham-operated [sham], CA-pretreated sham-operated [sham+CA], untreated lesion [lesion] and CA-pretreated lesion [lesion+CA]. Animals in all groups received vehicle or vehicle plus CA [CA: 10mg/ kg] intra-peritoneally one hour before surgery, again the same solution injected 3-4 hours after surgery [CA: 3 mg/kg] and repeated each afternoon for 12 days. A lesion was made by bilateral intra-hippocampal injection of 4 microl of beta amyloid protein [1.5 nmol/microl] or vehicle in each side. 14 days after surgery, the brains were extracted for histochemical studies. Data was expressed as mean +/- SEM and analyzed using SPSS statistical software. Results showed that pretreatment with carnosic acid can reduce cellular death in the cornu ammonis 1 [CA1] region of the hippocampus in the lesion+CA group, as compared with the lesion group. Carnosic acid may be useful in protecting against beta amyloid-induced neurodegeneration in the hippocampus

Transplantation of olfactory mucosa improve functional recovery and axonal regeneration following sciatic nerve repair in rats

Olfactory ensheathing glia [OEG] has been shown to have a neuroprotective effect after being transplanted in rats with spinal cord injury. This study was conducted to determine the possible beneficial results of olfactory mucosa transplantation [OMT] which is a source of OEG on functional recovery and axonal regeneration after transection of the sciatic nerve. In this study, 36 adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were used. The sciatic nerve was transected in 24 rats and immediately repaired by sciatic-sciatic anastomosis, and randomly divided equally into two groups. The experimental group received the OMT at the transected site and the control group received the respiratory mucosa transplant. In another twelve rats as sham-operated animals, the sciatic nerve was exposed but no transection was made. DiI retrograde tracing was injected in the gastrocnemius muscle two months after surgery to allow visualization of the extent of axonal regeneration. Functional recovery was also assessed at 15, 30, 45 and 60 days after surgery using walking track analysis and sciatic function index [SFI] calculations. The total number of DiI labeled motorneurones in the ventral horn [L4-L6] and the SFI scores were significantly higher in the group of rats that received olfactory mucosa rather than respiratory mucosa. The outcome indicates that olfactory mucosa is a useful treatment to improve nerve regeneration in mammals with peripheral nerve injury

beneficial effect of [-]-epigallocatechin-3-gallate in an experimental model of Alzheimer's disease in rat: a behavioral analysis

Progressive cognitive decline is one of the hallmark symptoms of Alzheimer's disease [AD] which can be modeled by beta-amyloid injection into specific regions of brain. Since epigallocatechin-3-gallate [EGCG] is a potent antioxidant agent which its role against oxidative stress and inflammation has been shown in prior studies, we tried to determine whether EGCG administration protects against beta-amyloid-induced memory and coordination impairment in rats. Animals [male Wistar rats] were divided into four groups: sham operated, EGCG-pretreated sham operated [sham + EGCG], untreated lesion [lesion], and EGCG-pretreated lesion [lesion + EGCG]. Animals in lesion, lesion + EGCG, and sham + EGCG groups received sterile saline or saline plus EGCG [10 mg/kg] intraperitoneally one day pre-surgery and every other day for three weeks. The lesion was induced one day after EGCG pretreatment by injection of 4 microl of sterile saline or water containing 2 nmol/microl beta-amyloid [1-40] into the hippocampal fissure. For behavioral analysis, psychomotor coordination [PMC] index and spontaneous alternation behavior were assessed using Rota-rod Treadmill and Y-maze, respectively at the third week post-lesion. We found that beta-amyloid [1-40] injection into hippocampus can decrease these behavioral indexes in lesion group in comparison with sham group which is similar to behavioral changes in AD. On the other hand, pretreatment with EGCG can improve the PMC index and spatial Y-maze alternation in the lesion + EGCG group in comparison with lesion group. We concluded that EGCG can be effective in restoring beta-amyloid-induced behavioral derangements in rats regarding coordination and memory abilities

Time course of changes in passive aviodance and y-maze performance in male diabetic rats

Diabetes mellitus is accompanied with disturbances in learning, memory, and cognitive skills in the human society and experimental animals. Therefore, this research study was conducted to evaluate time-dependent changes in passive avoidance and Y-maze performance in male diabetic rats. For this purpose, male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control and diabetic groups. For induction of diabetes, streptozotocin [STZ] was injected i.p. at a single dose of 60 mg/kg. For evaluation of learning and memory, initial latency [IL] and step-through latency [STL] were determined at the end of 1[st], 2[nd], and 3[rd] months using passive avoidance and Y-maze tasks. It was found out that mean IL exhibits a significant increase only at the end of 2[nd] [p<0.05] and 3[rd] [p<0.01] months. In addition, STL significantly reduced at the end of 2[nd] [p<0.05] and 3[rd] months [p<0.01]. Regarding Y-maze task, alternation score of the diabetic rats was lower than that of the control ones at the end of 1[st] [p<0.05], 2[nd] [p<0.01], and 3[rd] [p<0.01] months as compared to time-matched control group. To conclude, at least one month is strictly required for development of behavioral disturbances in passive avoidance and Y-maze tasks in STZ-diabetic rats