Publications by authors named "Michael Barletta"

Article Synopsis
  • Inhalant abuse involves inhaling chemical vapors, such as 1,1-difluoroethane (DFE), to achieve euphoric effects, often leading to serious health risks.
  • An animal study was conducted with Sprague Dawley rats to explore the effects of DFE inhalation on electrolyte levels, cardiomyocyte damage, and oxidative stress, simulating human inhalant abuse scenarios.
  • The results indicated that DFE can cause significant increases in plasma potassium and magnesium levels, elevated cardiac enzymes, and hyperemia in heart tissues, suggesting it leads to fatal cardiac arrhythmias and underlining the need for awareness in clinical settings related to inhalant abuse.
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Background: Interest in natural compounds as sources of potentially new treatment options is growing rapidly. Preliminary screening of many different plant extracts showed that Wrightia tinctoria acts as a potent human platelet aggregation inhibitor. The aim of the present study was to isolate and characterize the active compound responsible for potent inhibition of human platelet aggregation in vitro.

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This study has compared the actions of the sulfur-containing compounds taurine (TAU) and thiotaurine (TTAU) with those of insulin (INS) on the oxidative stress that develops in the aorta and heart as a result of diabetes. Diabetes was induced in male Sprague-Dawley rats with streptozotocin (60 mg/kg, i.p.

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The aim of this study is to evaluate the antidiabetic activity of two Indian Ayurvedic herbs using an oral glucose tolerance test and blood insulin levels to understand the mechanism of action using the Zucker diabetic rat model. Herbal extracts of Wrightia tinctoria and Parthenocissus quinquefolia at a dose of (250 mg/kg body weight) were used throughout the study. Following a glucose challenge of 2 gm/kg using oral gavage, a timed glucose tolerance test was used to determine the ability of these extracts to alter glucose levels in diabetic animal model.

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1,1-Difluoroethane (DFE) is a halogenated hydrocarbon used as a propellant in products designed for dusting electronic equipment and air brush painting. When abused, inhaled DFE produces intoxication and loss of muscular coordination. To investigate DFE toxicokinetics, groups (n = 3) of Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to 30 s of 20 L/min DFE.

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Syzygium cumini seed kernel extracts were evaluated for the inhibition of alpha-glucosidase from mammalian (rat intestine), bacterial (Bacillus stearothermophilus), and yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, baker's yeast). In vitro studies using the mammalian alpha-glucosidase from rat intestine showed the extracts to be more effective in inhibiting maltase when compared to the acarbose control. Since acarbose is inactive against both the bacterial and the yeast enzymes, the extracts were compared to 1-deoxynojirimycin.

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