The relation of left internal mammary artery atherosclerosis with urotensin-II.

BACKGROUND: The aim of our study is to investigate the effects of urotensin-II (U-II) on the left internal mammary artery (LIMA) wall and role of U-II in atherosclerotic processes affecting the long-term patency of LIMA. METHOD: Patients were divided into 2 groups, namely Group I: patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and Group II: DM + CAD. The patients were evaluated by Gencini scoring before coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Routine tissue follow-up, hemotoxylin-eosin staining and immunoreactivity with U-II were observed. Then, vessel damage score, H-Score and LIMA layer thickness were calculated and evaluated statistically. RESULTS: On light microscopic examination, the LIMA total damage score in DM + CAD group was significantly higher compared to the control group. The assessment of H score revealed that U-II was more intense in tunica intima and tunica media in the DM+CAD group as compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Furthermore, tunica intima and tunica media in the DM + CAD group were thicker than in the control group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: We found that U-II is effective in atherosclerotic processes of arterial grafts. The DM + CAD group has high U-II density with high total damage score in intima and media layers of LIMA. U-II may be effective in late survival results after CABG (Tab. 3, Fig. 2, Ref. 19).

The effect of swimming and running exercises on oxidant-antioxidant and lipid profiles in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

Background: Lifestyle changes in Diabetes Mellitus (DM) positively affect blood glucose and all risk factors. This study aims to determine the effect of swimming and running exercises on oxidant-antioxidant and lipid profiles in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced type 1 diabetic and non-diabetic rats. Methods: We included forty-eight adult male Wistar albino rats in this study, and we randomly classified them into six groups (eight per group). The groups were organized as Control Sedentary, Control Exercise-swimming, Control Exercise-running (CE-r), Diabetes Sedentary (DS), Diabetes Exercise-swimming (DE-s), and Diabetes Exercise running (DE-r). Half of these rats were subjected to experimental diabetes via STZ. We evaluated total oxidant capacity (TOC), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and as lipid parameters: high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and triglycerides. The rats were sacrificed at the end of the four weeks. Results: We found a significant difference between DE-s and DE-r groups in terms of TOC (p =0.043) and SOD (p =0.030). The highest TAC was found in the CE-r group, and the highest TOC was found in the DS group. Exercise significantly reduced LDL levels. There was no significant difference between the DE-s and DE-r groups (p =0.084) for lipid profiles (HDL). Conclusion: Based on the lower TOC (oxidant) and higher SOD (antioxidant) levels in the diabetic running group, these results suggest that running may be more beneficial than swimming for diabetics. HIPPOKRATIA 2023, 27 (4):148-154.

The effect of alpha lipoic acid on rat kidneys in methotrexate induced oxidative injury.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to determine the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of alpha lipoic acid (ALA) on methotrexate (MTX) induced kidney injury in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-two rats were equally divided into four groups; control, ALA, MTX and MTX with ALA groups. A single dose of MTX (20 mg/kg) was administered to make kidney injury to groups 3 and 4, intraperitoneally. The ALA was administered intraperitonealy in groups 2 and 4 and the other groups received saline injection for five days. On the sixth day the blood samples and kidney tissues were obtained for the measurement of TNF-α, IL-1ß, malondialdehyde, glutathione, myeloperoxidase and sodium potassium-adenosine triphosphatase levels and histological examination. RESULTS: Administration of MTX caused a decrease in tissue GSH, and Na+, K+-ATPase activity significantly. A significant increase in tissue MDA and MPO activities were also seen. The pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-ß) were increased in the MTX group significantly. ALA treatment reversed all biochemical indices as well as histopathological alterations induced by MTX administration. CONCLUSIONS: MTX made oxidative damage on kidneys of rat and it was partially prevented by anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of ALA treatment.