Solid herbal extract of Primula veris L. improves morphofunctional condition of rats' myocardium in chronic alcohol intoxication.

Background and aim: Chronic alcohol intoxication (CAI) induces heart damage. One of the promising ways of its treatment involves the administration of herbal medicinal products. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of solid herbal extract of Primula veris L. (PVSHE) on the morphofunctional changes in rats' myocardium after CAI. Experimental procedure: CAI was simulated for 24 weeks. Loading testing was used to assess the functional condition of the heart, the functional assessment of mitochondria was based on the polarographic determination of oxygen consumption rate and determination of the indices of lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzymes activity. We performed a microscopic examination of the left ventricle following the standard protocol of histological processing and h&e staining. Results and conclusion: PVSHE restricts the toxic effects of ethanol on the heart which was indicated by a higher rise in the rates of myocardial contraction (by an average of 3.9 times, P < 0.05) and relaxation (2.6 times under volume load, P < 0.05), LVP (by an average of 1.7 times, P < 0.05) and MISP (by an average of 1.5 times, P < 0.05). PVSHE caused an improvement in the functional state of rats' cardiac mitochondria exposed to CAI, which was demonstrated by on average 1.3-1.4 times (P < 0.05) as high RCR as compared to the control group. The histological examination of the myocardium of the animals treated with PVSHE showed the increase in the volume fraction of cardiac myocytes, and a 31.2% (P < 0.05) decline in the interstitial volume. Therefore, PVSHE has a protective effect on the heart after CAI.

Klotho Protein and Cardio-Vascular System.

Klotho protein affects a number of metabolic pathways essential for pathogenesis of cardio-vascular diseases and their prevention. It inhibits lipid peroxidation and inflammation, as well as prevents endothelial injury and calcification of blood vessels. Klotho decreases rigidity of blood vessels and suppresses development of the heart fibrosis. Low level of its expression is associated with a number of diseases. Cardioprotective effect of klotho is based on its ability to interact with multiple receptors and ion channels. Being a pleiotropic protein, klotho could be a useful target for therapeutic intervention in the treatment of cardio-vascular diseases. In this review we present data on pharmaceuticals that stimulate klotho expression and suggest some promising research directions.

ß-amyloidopathy in the Pathogenesis of Age-Related Macular Degeneration in Correlation with Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Involvement of new biotechnology and genetic engineering methods to the study of the aging organism allowed to select a group of neurodegenerative diseases (NDD) which have a similar mechanism of pathogenesis including pathological processes of protein aggregation and its deposition in the structures of nerve tissue. The development of eye and brain from one embryonic germ layer, community of ethiopathogenetic and morphological manifestations of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD), a common pathway of ß-amyloid precursor protein (APP) are associated with the pathological aggregation of fibrillar ß-amyloid (Aß) protein and the development of ß-amyloidopathy in structural elements of the eye and the brain. The review demonstrates the keynote of AMD and AD pathogenesis is ß-amyloidopathy that is a manifestation of proteinopathy leading to cytotoxicity, neurodegeneration and the development of pathological apoptosis activated by the formation of intracellular Aß. This view on the problem predetermines the development of new strategies for the creating of ophthalmogeriatric and neuroprotective drugs affecting the pathogenesis and including all stages of Aß formation and pathological aggregation.