Effects of Ginseng Supplementation and Endurance-Exercise in the Artery-Specific Vascular Responsiveness of Diabetic and Sedentary Rats.

This study examined the effects of 12 weeks North-American ginseng supplementation, exercise training, and sedentary behavior on vascular responses in type I diabetic rats. The following hypotheses were tested: (1) ginseng supplementation would result in improved vascular responsiveness and sensitivity; (2) exercise training would result in further improvement in these vascular responses; (3) control rats with no access to exercise would show a depressed vascular response compared to control rats that were not exposed to a sedentary lifestyle. Groups: non-diabetic sedentary control (C), sedentary diabetic (D), sedentary diabetic with ginseng supplementation (D+GS), diabetic with ginseng supplementation and high-intensity endurance exercise (D+GS+EX), and control not exposed to sedentary behavior (C).

Heat shock protein concentration and clarity of porcine lenses incubated at elevated temperatures.

Purpose: To quantify the concentration of heat shock proteins in lenses in lens organ culture at elevated temperatures, and to examine the relation between elevated temperature and lens clarity.

Methods: Pig lenses obtained from a local abattoir were dissected aseptically and incubated in medium M199 without serum for 4 days to stabilize, and lenses with protein leakage of less than 10 mg/l were obtained for heat shock exposure. Heat shock was performed by incubation for 1 h in M199 without serum at various temperatures ranging from 37 °C to 55 °C.

Exercise is the primary factor associated with Hsp70 induction in muscle of treadmill running rats.

Aim: The cytoprotective, inducible stress protein, Hsp70, increases in muscles of rodents subjected to strenuous treadmill running. Most treadmill running protocols employ negative reinforcement to encourage animals to exercise. As these stimuli may themselves activate stress responses, the present investigation was conducted to determine their contribution to the exercise-induced expression of Hsp70.

Modelling cortical cataractogenesis XXIV: uptake by the lens of glutathione injected into the rat.

Purpose: Work of several groups including ours has shown that injection of glutathione may help to prevent the formation of cataract in the rat lens both in vitro and in vivo. These experiments were initiated to investigate the mechanism by which injected glutathione reaches the lens in vivo. The route is uncertain, but might involve either aqueous or vitreous humors, in contact with the lens anterior and posterior, respectively.