A Green Approach for the Biosynthesis of Gold Nanoparticles Using Cuminum cyminum L. Seed and Its Application for Pain Management in Rats.

Background: This study investigated the antinociceptive effect of cumin and its biosynthesized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). Methods: Cumin extract (E) and cumin-AuNPs (GN) were prepared and administered intraperitoneally at the concentrations of 200, 500, and 1000 mg/ml to 27 male rats. Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy were applied for AuNPs synthesis confirmation. The nociceptive behavior was assessed, and IL-6 serum levels were measured. Results: Cumin-AuNPs showed a peak absorption of 515 nm, and a size of about 40 nm. Three different concentrations of extract had no significant effect on acute and chronic nociceptive behavior. GN + E200 (46.00 ± 10.59) showed a significant acute anti-nociceptive effect compared to the control (98.66 ± 4.91; p = 0.029) and SS300 (98.33 ± 20.30; p = 0.029) groups. Also, GN + E500 (42.00 ± 11.84) significantly reduced acute nociceptive behavior compared to the control (98.66 ± 4.91; p = 0.019), SS300 (98.33 ± 20.30; p = 0.020), and GN + E1000 (91.00 ± 26.00; p = 0.040) groups. IL-6 serum levels reduced significantly in GN + E500 (24.65 ± 10.38; p = 0.002) and SS300 (33.08 ± 1.68; p = 0.039) compared to the controls (46.24 ± 3.02). Chronic nociceptive behavior was significantly lower in the SS300 (255.33 ± 26.30) compared to E200 (477.00 ± 47.29; p = 0.021), E500 (496.25 ± 46.29; p = 0.013), and GN + E500 (437.00 ± 118.03; p = 0.032) groups. Conclusion: Our findings suggest the potential effects of cumin-AuNPs on formalin-induced nociceptive behavior, which is independent of IL-6serum levels.

Heterozygous Dcc Mutant Mice Have a Subtle Locomotor Phenotype.

Axon guidance receptors such as deleted in colorectal cancer (DCC) contribute to the normal formation of neural circuits, and their mutations can be associated with neural defects. In humans, heterozygous mutations in DCC have been linked to congenital mirror movements, which are involuntary movements on one side of the body that mirror voluntary movements of the opposite side. In mice, obvious hopping phenotypes have been reported for bi-allelic Dcc mutations, while heterozygous mutants have not been closely examined. We hypothesized that a detailed characterization of Dcc heterozygous mice may reveal impaired corticospinal and spinal functions. Anterograde tracing of the Dcc+/- motor cortex revealed a normally projecting corticospinal tract, intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) evoked normal contralateral motor responses, and behavioral tests showed normal skilled forelimb coordination. Gait analyses also showed a normal locomotor pattern and rhythm in adult Dcc+/- mice during treadmill locomotion, except for a decreased occurrence of out-of-phase walk and an increased duty cycle of the stance phase at slow walking speed. Neonatal isolated Dcc+/- spinal cords had normal left-right and flexor-extensor coupling, along with normal locomotor pattern and rhythm, except for an increase in the flexor-related motoneuronal output. Although Dcc+/- mice do not exhibit any obvious bilateral impairments like those in humans, they exhibit subtle motor deficits during neonatal and adult locomotion.

Enzymatic antioxidant system and endothelial function in patients with metabolic syndrome.

BACKGROUND: This study examined the relationship between serum glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPx-1) activity and endothelial dysfunction in the subjects with and without metabolic syndrome (MetS). METHODS: This case-control study was conducted on 76 subjects, 38 were patients with MetS and 38 were without MetS. The demographic, clinical, and laboratory features of the subjects were measured and then compared. The MetS was diagnosed according to the definitions of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) and International Diabetes Federation (IDF). Serum GPx-1 activity was measured by standard methods. Endothelial dysfunction was assessed with flow-mediated dilation (FMD) technique. RESULTS: In case-control study of 76 subjects, all of MetS risk factors including abdominal obesity, triglyceride (TG), low serum level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), hypertension (HTN), and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) were significantly higher than healthy individuals (P < 0.050). FMD was significantly lower than normal subjects (P < 0.050). Serum GP-1 activity was significantly lower in patients with MetS compared to normal subjects (21.7 ± 13.5 vs. 79.0 ± 38.6, respectively) (P = 0.001). The value of GPx-1 was significantly correlated with diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (r = -0.249, P = 0.040), C-reactive protein (CRP) (r = -0.409, P = 0.014), and FMD (r = 0.293, P = 0.050) in patients with MetS. The results of logistic regression showed that a unite increase in CRP (mg/dl), FMD (%), and endothelin-1 (ET-1) (pg/ml) and a unit decrease in GPx significantly increased the odds ratio (OR) of MetS; after adjusting for age and sex the results remained significant except for FMD (P < 0.050). CONCLUSION: Endothelial dysfunction is related to serum GPx-1 activity in patients with MetS. GPX-1 activity is associated with risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and peripheral vascular diseases (PVDs) in patients with MetS.

Exploring the role of circadian clock gene and association with cancer pathophysiology.

Most of the processes that occur in the mind and body follow natural rhythms. Those with a cycle length of about one day are called circadian rhythms. These rhythms are driven by a system of self-sustained clocks and are entrained by environmental cues such as light-dark cycles as well as food intake. In mammals, the circadian clock system is hierarchically organized such that the master clock in the suprachiasmatic nuclei of the hypothalamus integrates environmental information and synchronizes the phase of oscillators in peripheral tissues.The circadian system is responsible for regulating a variety of physiological and behavioral processes, including feeding behavior and energy metabolism. Studies revealed that the circadian clock system consists primarily of a set of clock genes. Several genes control the biological clock, including BMAL1, CLOCK (positive regulators), CRY1, CRY2, PER1, PER2, and PER3 (negative regulators) as indicators of the peripheral clock.Circadian has increasingly become an important area of medical research, with hundreds of studies pointing to the body's internal clocks as a factor in both health and disease. Thousands of biochemical processes from sleep and wakefulness to DNA repair are scheduled and dictated by these internal clocks. Cancer is an example of health problems where chronotherapy can be used to improve outcomes and deliver a higher quality of care to patients.In this article, we will discuss knowledge about molecular mechanisms of the circadian clock and the role of clocks in physiology and pathophysiology of concerns.

Correlation Between Resistin Level and Metabolic Syndrome Component: A Review.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) has a collection of some abnormal and pathological conditions that cause many critical diseases. Resistin is one of the possible candidates for these pathologies but there are not enough data to prove if resistin has positive, neutral, or negative effects on one or some components of MetS. This review summarizes data about comparing the effects and contribution of resistin in initiation and progression of MetS components and also its different actions between human and other mammalians. This summarized data about the relationship of resistin and MetS components have been obtained from clinical researches and in some cases even animal studies. To find the relevant studies, the search in PubMed, Science Direct, and Scopus were performed. Human and animal studies on relationships between resistin and MetS (initiation and progression of components) were included in our search. In experiments reported among different human genetic groups as well as the patients with various disease such as diabetes, no significant correlation is shown between FBG and resistin level. Furthermore, this review shows that the results of correlation between resistin and TG, HDL, and central or abdominal obesity were inconsistent. These inconsistencies can arise from different sample size or genetic groups, gender, and also from experimental studies. Therefore, to obtain precise results systematic review and meta-analyses are required.

Weight Loss Associated With Consumption of Apples: A Review.

Apples are known as a major source of polyphenols, dietary fiber, carotenoids, and other nutrients. There are many documents and studies that show fruit polyphenols likely promote anti-obesity effects and exert their beneficial effects via scavenging free radicals, regulating gene expression, and altering signal transduction in target cells and tissues, especially fat tissues.The goal of this review is to presenti the major components of apple and the evidence that indicates its potential to diminution weight gain risk from in vitro, animal, and epidemiological and clinical studies. This review summarizes data about the apple and apple products that been have reported to reduce weight gain by various mechanisms, including antioxidant, antiproliferative, and cell signaling pathways. An extensive search was performed in PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, and Google Scholar to identify human, animal, and cell culture studies on the association between weight loss and apple consumption, published from inception up to journey 15, 2017. The feeding of apples rats (7-10 mg/kg/d) in different forms in 8 experiments have shown that this caused weight loss during 3 to 28 weeks. In agreement with this, the obtained results from 5 experiments on humans have revealed that consumption of the whole apple or apple juice (240-720 mg/d) in 4-12 weeks by fat people can cause weight loss. Experiments on animals and humans have shown that the consumption of apples in different forms can cause weight loss in overweight ones. However, the main questions are which kind of apple, which part of it, how much, and how long overweight persons should consume them to reduce their body fat and body mass index (BMI). Then, it is necessary to do a meta-analysis to show how these factors affect the body fat percentage and whether this weight-lowering effect is statistically significant or not.

Distinct Contributions of Mesencephalic Locomotor Region Nuclei to Locomotor Control in the Freely Behaving Mouse.

The mesencephalic locomotor region (MLR) has been initially identified as a supraspinal center capable of initiating and modulating locomotion. Whereas its functional contribution to locomotion has been widely documented throughout the phylogeny from the lamprey to humans, there is still debate about its exact organization. Combining kinematic and electrophysiological recordings in mouse genetics, our study reveals that glutamatergic neurons of the cuneiform nucleus initiate locomotion and induce running gaits, whereas glutamatergic and cholinergic neurons of the pedunculopontine nucleus modulate locomotor pattern and rhythm, contributing to slow-walking gaits. By initiating, modulating, and accelerating locomotion, our study identifies and characterizes distinct neuronal populations of this functional region important to locomotor command.

Functional Food and Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Treatment: A Review.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is now the leading cause of death globally and is a growing health concern. Lifestyle factors, including nutrition, play an important role in the etiology and treatment of CVD. Functional foods based on their basic nutritional functions can decrease the risk of many chronic diseases and have some physiological benefits. They contain physiologically active components either from plant or animal sources, marketed with the claim of their ability to reduce heart disease risk, focusing primarily on established risk factors, which are hyperlipidemia, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, obesity/overweight, elevated lipoprotein A level, small dense low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and elevated inflammatory marker levels. Functional foods are suspected to exert their cardioprotective effects mainly through blood lipid profile level and improve hypertension control, endothelial function, platelet aggregation, and antioxidant actions. Clinical and epidemiological observations indicate that vegetable and fruit fiber, nuts and seeds, sea foods, coffee, tea, and dark chocolate have cardioprotective potential in humans, as well whole-grain products containing intact grain kernels rich in fiber and trace nutrients. They are nutritionally more important because they contain phytoprotective substances that might work synergistically to reduce cardiovascular risk. This review will focus on the reciprocal interaction between functional foods and the potential link to cardiovascular health and the possible mechanisms of action.

Comparing the effects of mineral trioxide aggregate and calcium enriched mixture on neuronal cells using an electrophysiological approach.

INTRODUCTION: The main goal of this ex vivo study was to assess and compare the cellular and electrophysiological effects of two dental biomaterials, white mineral trioxide aggregate (WMTA) and calcium enriched mixture (CEM) cement, on neuronal cell excitability and electrical properties. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A conventional intracellular current clamp technique was used to study the cellular effects of WMTA and CEM on the excitability, firing and the shape of action potential of neuronal soma membrane of F(1) nerve cells. The dental biomaterials were prepared according to the manufacturers' directions and were applied to the bathing media and 0.05 mL of total mixture of each dental material at a distance of 3 mm from the cells. RESULTS: Findings indicated that exposure to both dental biomaterials shifted the irregular high frequency firing type observed in control conditions to a more regular low frequency firing pattern. Neuronal exposure to WMTA, but not CEM, significantly hyperpolarized the cell resting membrane potential. Both treatments significantly influenced the duration and the amplitude of action potentials. Extracellular application of either CEM or WMTA caused a significant increase in the after hyperpolarization (AHP) amplitude and AHP area, but the potentiating effect of WMTA was more effective than CEM. CONCLUSION: Treatment with WMTA or CEM resulted in a profound alteration in the firing behaviour of F(1) cells and changed the AP characteristics. Both dental biomaterials reduced the neuronal activity possibly through enhancement of K(+) outward current. This may possibly explain the positive mechanisms of these biomaterials in regenerative endodontics, though further research is needed for such a conclusion.

Reduction of chronic non-specific low back pain: a randomised controlled clinical trial on acupuncture and baclofen.

BACKGROUND: Chronic non-specific low back pain (LBP) is a prevalent (80%) and multi-dimensional illness. This study aims to test whether acupuncture, baclofen, or combined treatment with acupuncture and baclofen alleviates symptoms of non-specific chronic LBP in men. METHODS: Eight-four (84) men aged 50-60 years with non-specific chronic LBP were randomly assigned to four groups: the baclofen group received only baclofen (30 mg/day); the acupuncture group received only acupuncture at selected acupoints; the acupuncture + baclofen group received combined treatment with acupuncture and baclofen treatments; and the control group received no pain reduction treatment. After five weeks of treatment, visual analogue scale (VAS) and self-reported pain disability with the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RDQ) were conducted for outcome measures. RESULTS: After treatment, the baclofen, acupuncture and acupuncture + baclofen groups all had lower VAS and RDQ scores. Significantly higher reduction and improvement in VAS and RDQ scores were found in the acupuncture and acupuncture + baclofen groups compared to the baclofen group. CONCLUSION: The present study indicates that the combined treatment of acupuncture and baclofen is more effective than baclofen treatment alone to reduce pain in patients with non-specific chronic LBP. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ACTRN12609000698279.