N-acetylcysteine ameliorates chemotherapy-induced impaired anxiety and depression-like behaviors by regulating inflammation, oxidative and cholinergic status, and BDNF release.

Mood disorders caused by chemotherapy have become more important as the survival of cancer patients increases, and new studies in this field will contribute to the prevention of this disorder. For this purpose, we used methotrexate, a chemotherapeutic agent frequently preferred in oncological cases. Mtx was administered as a single dose of 100 mg/kg intraperitoneally to male Wistar albino rats.

Moderate hypothermia and responses to calcium channel blockers - Role of the nitric oxide.

Moderate hypothermia (25-31 °C) may have a significant influence on vascular tone. At present, very little is known about the role of endothelial nitric oxide on the hypothermia-induced responses. In this study, we investigated the effect of hypothermia (to 28 °C) on the vasodilatation induced by verapamil, a phenylalkylamine calcium channel blocker (10-3 × 10 M) and dihydropyridines, amlodipine (10-3 × 10 M), and benidipine (10-10 M) on 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT or serotonin) precontracted calf cardiac veins.

Cilostazol enhances atorvastatin-induced vasodilation of female rat aorta during aging.

Statins have cholesterol-independent effects including an increased vascular nitric oxide activity and are commonly used by patients with cardiovascular disease. Such patients frequently have cardiovascular diseases, which may be treated with cilostazol, a platelet aggregation inhibitor. This study was designed to investigate whether combined use of cilostazol would increase the inhibitory effect of statin on vascular smooth muscle and how maturation would affect these responses.

Moderate hypothermia attenuates α-adrenoceptor-mediated contraction in human varicose spermatic vein: The role of nitric oxide(Short communication).

The effects of moderate hypothermia (28 °C) on the response of human varicose spermatic vein to α-adrenoceptor agonist phenylephrine and the role of endothelial nitric oxide (NO) in these effects were studied. Concentration-response curves for phenylephrine (10 to 3 × 10 M) were recorded in rings with and without endothelium at 37 and 28 °C. To further analyze the role of NO, in the response to phenylephrine during hypothermia, the effects of this agonist in the presence of N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (10 M) were also determined.

Impact of enriched environment on production of tau, amyloid precursor protein and, amyloid-β peptide in high-fat and high-sucrose-fed rats.

Objective: The Western-type diet is associated with an elevated risk of Alzheimer's disease and other milder forms of cognitive impairment. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of the environmental enrichment on amyloid and tau pathology in high-fat and high-sucrose-fed rats.

Methods: In total, 40 adult male rats were categorised into two main groups according to their housing conditions: enriched environment (EE, n=16) and standard housing condition (n=24).

Environmental enrichment reverses cognitive impairments provoked by Western diet in rats: Role of corticosteroid receptors.

Aims: Previous studies demonstrated that the Western diet (WD), which is rich in saturated fat (HFD) and refined sugar (HSU), is related to the impairments of hippocampus-dependent learning and memory and forebrain synaptic plasticity in rodents. The environmental enrichment (EE) has been shown to enhance learning and memory in the HFD-induced cognitive deficits, but the exact mechanism is still not clearly understood. Therefore, the present study aimed to clarify the effects of the EE on spatial memory in WD-fed rats, and to analyze the potential role of corticosteroid receptors in the EE conditioning.

Rosuvastatin-induced responses in calf cardiac vein.

Objective: The effects of Rho-kinase inhibitors on vasodilatation induced by 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor rosuvastatin (10-9-10-4M) on 5-HT-precontracted calf cardiac vein and the role of endothelium in these effects were analyzed.

Material And Methods: Cardiac vein ring preparations were suspended in organ baths containing 25 ml of Krebs-Henseleit solution, maintained at 37 °C and continuously gassed with 95% O2-5% CO2. At the end of the resting period, the cardiac vein preparations were contracted with 10(-6) M 5-HT.

Curcumin alleviates cisplatin-induced learning and memory impairments.

The present study has been designed to investigate the role of curcumin on cisplatin-inducedcognitive impairment and to reveal mechanisms of cisplatin's detrimental actions on cognition in rats. Animals were treated with cisplatin (5mg/kg/week) and/or curcumin (300mg/kg/day) for 5weeks. Morris water maze test was used to assess spatial learning and memory.

3',4'-Dihydroxyflavonol attenuates spatial learning and memory impairments in global cerebral ischemia.

Objectives: In the present study, effects of 3',4'-dihydroxyflavonol (DiOHF) on anxiety-like behavior, and learning and memory were investigated in a model of transient global cerebral ischemia and reperfusion.

Methods: The animals were assigned to sham-operated, ischemia, and two DiOHF-treated (10 mg/kg i.p.

Cilostazol-induced relaxation of calf cardiac vein and coronary artery during cooling.

Objective: At present very little is known about the role of endothelial nitric oxide (NO) in the effects of temperature on vascular reactivity. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the influence of cooling (to 28 °C) on the vasodilatation induced by cilostazol(10-9-3x10-4M) on carbachol (10-6)-precontracted calf cardiac vein and coronary artery and the role of NO in these effects.

Materials And Methods: Ring preparations of great cardiac vein and the anterior interventricular branch of left coronary artery were used.

Donepezil-induced response of Spirulina supplemented rat urinary bladder.

Objective: At present, very little is known about the effects of donepezil on vascular reactivity. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the responses of rat urinary bladder to donepezil (10-10-3x10-4 M) and the role of Spirulina supplementation in these effects.

Material And Methods: Animals were divided into the two groups of six animals in each group.

Role of curcumin in mesenteric ischemia - reperfusion injury in rats.

Background: Curcumin is an antioxidant molecule that has been shown to attenuate ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in several organ systems. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the possible effects of curcumin on contractile response to agonists and histopathological alterations in rat esophagus subjected to mesenteric I/R.

Materials And Methods: Adult male Wistar albino rats were randomly allocated to 4 groups, namely group I: sham-operated animals (n=10); group II: animals subdued to I/R injury only (n=10) and laparotomy; 45 minutes of superior mesenteric artery ligation were followed by 2 hours of reperfusion, group III: curcumin/sham (n=10); 20 days before I/R, curcumin (200 mg/kg/) was administered by gastric gavage, and group IV: curcumin-I/R (n=10).

Curcumin increases vasodilatory effect of cilostazol in diabetic rat aorta.

Increased generation of oxidants and (or) reduced endogenous antioxidant defense mechanisms are associated with the etiology of diabetic vascular complications. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether curcumin supplementation increases the vasodilatory effect of cilostazol in streptozotocin induced diabetic rat aorta. Cumulative addition of cilostazol caused concentration-dependent relaxations of thoracic aorta rings.

Effects of treatment with coenzyme Q10 on exercised rat aorta.

In this study, the effect of long-term supplementation of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) on the responses of swim-trained rat aorta was investigated. Twenty-four adult male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: untrained, trained, untrained+CoQ10, and trained+CoQ10 group. In the trained groups rats swam for 60 min/day, five days/week for six weeks.

Role of calcium in contractile responses of calf cardiac vein during cooling.

The effects of cooling (to 28 °C) were studied on the responses induced by carbachol (10(-9) - 3 × 10(-4) M) and serotonin (5-HT, 10(-8) - 3 × 10(-4) M) in calf cardiac vein preparations and the role of calcium ions in these effects were analyzed. Ring preparations of veins obtained from calf hearts were suspended in organ baths containing 25 mL of Krebs-Henseleit solution, maintained at 37 °C and continuously gassed with 95%O(2)-5%CO(2). After a resting period, preparations were contracted with carbachol (10(-9) - 3 times; 10(-4) M) and 5-HT (10(-8) - 3 times; 10(-4) M) at 37 °C.

Alpha lipoic acid treatment improved endothelium-dependent relaxation in diabetic rat aorta.

The aim of this study was to ascertain the effects of α-lipoic acid (ALA) treatment on relaxant responses of acetylcholine (ACh) and isoprenaline (ISO) in aortic rings precontracted with serotonin (5-HT, 10(-6) M) obtained from streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced in the rats by 50 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ) via an intraperitoneal injection. Rat body and aorta weights were measured.

Role of the nitric oxide on relaxation of the human umbilical artery during cooling.

In the present study, the effects of cooling (to 28°C) on the vasodilatation induced by diazoxide (10(-9)-3×10(-4) M), isoproterenol (10(-9)-3×10(-4) M) and magnesium sulphate (0.1-30 mM) on serotonin-pre-contracted human umbilical artery and the role of nitric oxide in these effects were analyzed. Diazoxide, isoproterenol and magnesium produced concentration-dependent relaxation of human umbilical artery precontracted with serotonin (10(-6) M).