Diabetes and Anaemia: A Myth or Reality.

Introduction: Chronic diabetes develops when the pancreas does not release enough insulin or the body cannot use it. Anemia is a disorder characterized by reduced hemoglobin or red blood cells. The body needs hemoglobin to transport oxygen.

Comparison of the Clinical Efficacy of Herbal, Chlorhexidine, and Normal Saline Mouthwash in the Management of Chronic Gingivitis.

Background: The incidence of chronic gingivitis, a widespread inflammatory condition of the gums, is considerable across the demographic spectrum, with potential progression to advanced periodontal pathology in the absence of intervention. The objective of this investigation was to conduct a comparative analysis of the clinical effectiveness of various oral rinses in mitigating the symptoms of chronic gingivitis.

Methods: This empirical study was conducted within the confines of the Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology.

Modulation of resistance artery tone by the trace amine β-phenylethylamine: dual indirect sympathomimetic and α1-adrenoceptor blocking actions.

The trace amine β-phenylethylamine (PEA) is normally present in the body at low nanomolar concentrations but can reach micromolar levels after ingestion of drugs that inhibit monoamine oxidase and primary amine oxidase. In vivo, PEA elicits a robust pressor response, but there is no consensus regarding the underlying mechanism, with both vasodilation and constriction reported in isolated blood vessels. Using functional and biochemical approaches, we found that at low micromolar concentrations PEA (1-30 μM) enhanced nerve-evoked vasoconstriction in the perfused rat mesenteric bed but at a higher concentration (100 μM) significantly inhibited these responses.

Triton X-100 inhibits L-type voltage-operated calcium channels.

Triton X-100 (TX-100) is a nonionic detergent frequently used at millimolar concentrations to disrupt cell membranes and solubilize proteins. At low micromolar concentrations, TX-100 has been reported to inhibit the function of potassium channels. Here, we have used electrophysiological and functional techniques to examine the effects of TX-100 on another class of ion channels, L-type voltage-operated calcium channels (VOCCs).

Synthesis and biological investigations of nitric oxide releasing nateglinide and meglitinide type II antidiabetic prodrugs: in-vivo antihyperglycemic activities and blood pressure lowering studies.

A new group of hybrid nitric oxide-releasing type II antidiabetic drugs possessing a 1-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)diazen-1-ium-1,2-diolate (13 and 18), 1-(N,N-diethylamino)diazen-1-ium-1,2-diolate (14 and 19), or nitrooxyethyl (15 and 20) moiety attached to the carboxylic acid group of the type II antidiabetic drugs nateglinide and meglitinide were synthesized. These prodrugs, based on the beneficial properties of nitric oxide (NO), were designed to reduce the risk of adverse cardiovascular events in diabetic patients. Ester prodrugs (13-15 and 18-20) exhibited appreciable oral antihyperglycemic activity comparable to the parent drugs in nonfasted diabetic rats.

Endothelial calcium-activated potassium channels as therapeutic targets to enhance availability of nitric oxide.

The vascular endothelium plays a critical role in vascular health by controlling arterial diameter, regulating local cell growth, and protecting blood vessels from the deleterious consequences of platelet aggregation and activation of inflammatory responses. Circulating chemical mediators and physical forces act directly on the endothelium to release diffusible relaxing factors, such as nitric oxide (NO), and to elicit hyperpolarization of the endothelial cell membrane potential, which can spread to the surrounding smooth muscle cells via gap junctions. Endothelial hyperpolarization, mediated by activation of calcium-activated potassium (K(Ca)) channels, has generally been regarded as a distinct pathway for smooth muscle relaxation.

Endothelial feedback and the myoendothelial projection.

The endothelium plays a critical role in controlling resistance artery diameter, and thus blood flow and blood pressure. Circulating chemical mediators and physical forces act directly on the endothelium to release diffusible relaxing factors, such as NO, and elicit hyperpolarization of the endothelial cell membrane potential, which spreads to the underlying smooth muscle cells via gap junctions (EDH). It has long been known that arterial vasoconstriction in response to agonists is limited by the endothelium, but the question of how contraction of smooth muscle cells leads to activation of the endothelium (myoendothelial feedback) has, until recently, received little attention.

On the disruption of biochemical and biological assays by chemicals leaching from disposable laboratory plasticware.

Plastic consumables, used universally in bioscience laboratories, are presumed inert with respect to bioassay outcomes. However, it is clear that many pipette tips, microfuge tubes, and other plastic disposables leach bioactive compounds into assay solutions, profoundly affecting data and experimental interpretation. In this paper we discuss the nature and sources of leachates and review several examples of compromised bioassay data that speak to the probable widespread nature of this largely unrecognised source of error.

Effect of dietary palm olein oil on oxidative stress associated with ischemic-reperfusion injury in isolated rat heart.

Background: Palm olein oil (PO), obtained from refining of palm oil is rich in monounsaturated fatty acid and antioxidant vitamins and is widely used as oil in diet in many parts of the world including India. Palm oil has been reported to have beneficial effects in oxidative stress associated with hypertension and arterial thrombosis. Oxidative stress plays a major role in the etiopathology of myocardial ischemic-reperfusion injury (IRI) which is a common sequel of ischemic heart disease.