The Wonders of Phosphodiesterase-5 Inhibitors: A Majestic History.

The Nobel Prize winning discovery of nitric oxide (NO) in 1986 was the starting point for a new innovation in drug discovery. NO acting as a mediator at different physiological systems is believed to be involved in many physiological and pathological conditions through the formation of the second messenger cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP). cGMP-dependent vasodilation effect of NO is important in regulating pulmonary and systemic pressures, maintaining penis erection, preventing atherosclerosis, preventing platelet aggregation, and protecting and controlling cardiac functions.

Cross-sectional pilot study about the health status of diabetic patients in city of Misurata, Libya.

Background: Being a leading cause of death worldwide, epidemiological studies about diabetes mellitus have encouraged governments to initiate or improve local diabetes monitoring and prevention strategies.

Objective: The main objective of this study was to examine the profile of diabetic patients in the city of Misurata, the third largest city in Libya.

Methods: 260 diabetic cases of both gender randomly selected from the total number of patients admitted to the centre of diabetes and endocrine disorders, Misurata -Libya for the period between January to March 2008.

The analgesic effect of different antidepressants combined with aspirin on thermally induced pain in Albino mice.

Background: Combination analgesics provide more effective pain relief for a broader spectrum of pain. This research examines the possible potentiation of the analgesic effect of different classes of antidepressants when combined with aspirin in thermal model of pain using Albino mice.

Methods: Different groups of six animals each were injected intraperitoneally by different doses of aspirin (50, 100, or 200 mg/kg), imipramine (2.

Antiinflammatory sesquiterpenes from the root oil of Ferula hermonis.

Ferula hermonis Boiss. (Apiaceae), commonly known as 'Shilsh-el-zallouh', 'Hashishat-al-kattira' or 'The Lebanese viagra', is a small shrub that grows abundantly on the Hermon Mountain between Syria and Lebanon. The seeds and roots of this plant have long been used in the Middle East as an aphrodisiac, and for the treatment of frigidity and impotence for both men and women.

Central monoamines and their role in major depression.

The role of the monoamines serotonin and noradrenaline in mental illnesses including depression is well recognized. All antidepressant drugs in clinical use increase acutely the availability of these monoamines at the synapse either by inhibiting their neuronal reuptake, inhibiting their intraneuronal metabolism, or increasing their release by blocking the alpha(2) auto- and heteroreceptors on the monoaminergic neuron. This acute increase in the amount of the monoamines at the synapse has been found to induce long-term adaptive changes in the monoamine systems that end up in the desensitization of the inhibitory auto- and heteroreceptors including the presynaptic alpha(2) and 5-HT(1B) receptors and the somatodendritic 5-HT(1A) receptors located in certain brain regions.