Brazil nut () and metformin abrogate cardiac complication in fructose/STZ-induced type 2 diabetic rats by attenuating oxidative stress and modulating the MAPK-mTOR/NFkB/IL-10 signaling pathways.

Background: The global prevalence of diabetic heart complication has been on the increase, and some of the drugs that are currently used to treat diabetes mellitus (DM) have not been able to mitigate this complication.

Objective: This study determines the effect of Brazil nut () and metformin on diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) in fructose/streptozotocin (STZ)-induced type 2 diabetic rats and also characterizes using Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrophotometry and Fourier Transform Infrared the bioactive compounds in 50% aqueous ethanol extract of Brazil nut.

Design: After inducing type 2 DM, 30 male albino Wistar rats were separated into five groups that comprised of six rats per group, and they were treated as follows: groups 1 (Control) and 2 (Diabetic control) rats received rat pellets and distilled water; group 3 (Diabetic + Brazil nut) received rat pellets and Brazil nut extract (100 mg/kg, orally) dissolved in distilled water, group 4 (Diabetic + metformin) received metformin (100 mg/kg, orally) dissolved in distilled water, while group 5 (Diabetic + Brazil nut + metformin) received oral administrations of Brazil nut (100 mg/kg) and metformin (100 mg/kg) dissolved in distilled water.

Protection of β-pancreatic cells from dysfunctionality of insulin using vitexin by apoptosis of INS-1 cells.

Aims: This study was performed to explore the possible beneficial effects of vitexin on high glucose (HG)-induced cytotoxicity in pancreatic β-cells.

Methods: INS-1 pancreatic β-cell line has used this study. HG-induced (33 Mm) exposed INS-1 cell death; the apoptosis INS-1 cells treated vitexin 10, 20, 40, and 80 µg/mL for 24 hours.

The effect of Bertholletia excelsa on body weight, cholestrol, and c-reactive protein: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background & Objective(s): Bertholletia excelsa is a rich herbal source of anti-oxidants and phenols. The goal of this study is to evaluation the effect of bertholletia excelsa nut on body weight, C-reactive protein (CRP) and lipid profile.

Methods: A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus and Web of sciences databases by two reviewers up to October 2019.

Aptamer-17β-estradiol-antibody sandwich ELISA for determination of gynecological endocrine function.

17β-Estradiol-E2 (17β-E2) is a steroid hormone that plays a major role in the reproductive endocrine system and is involved in various processes, such as pregnancy, fertility, and menopause. In this study, the performance of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for 17β-E2 quantification was enhanced by using a gold nanoparticle (GNP)-conjugated aptamer. An anti-17β-E2-aptamer-GNP antibody was immobilized on an amine-modified ELISA surface.

An experimental study of exenatide effects on renal injury in diabetic rats1.

Purpose: To investigate the effects of exenatide on renal injury in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

Methods: Fifty SD rats were randomly divided into normal control, model, exenatide-1, exenatide-2 and exenatide-3 groups, 10 rats in each group. The diabetic nephropathy model was constructed in later 4 groups.

An insight into the key genes and biological functions associated with insulin resistance in adipose tissue with microarray technology.

In the present study, the key genes and biological functions associated with insulin resistance were investigated by comparing the gene expression profiles of adipose tissue obtained from insulin‑sensitive and insulin‑resistant patients. The gene expression data set GSE20950 was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus, including 39 adipose tissue samples obtained from insulin‑sensitive and insulin‑resistant patients undergoing gastric bypass surgery. Adipose samples were divided into two groups (the insulin‑sensitive and insulin‑resistant groups) and the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened out with packages of R.

Longitudinal study of diffusion tensor imaging properties of affected cortical spinal tracts in acute and chronic hemorrhagic stroke.

This study investigated the clinical value of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in predicting the motor outcome in patients with basal ganglia hemorrhage. This prospective study included 23 patients assessed with DTI to measure the fractional anisotropy (FA) value in affected cortical spinal tract (CST) at three time points: day 0, day 30 and day 90 after onset. The motor function score (MFS) was applied to evaluate motor function and patients were divided into good and poor outcome groups according to the MFS on day 90.

Serum lycopene levels in patients with diabetic retinopathy.

Purpose: Accumulating evidence indicates that oxidative stress may play an important role in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes and its complications. Lycopene, a very potent antioxidant of carotenoids, has received considerable scientific interest in recent years for its potential role in the prevention of oxidative stress-related chronic diseases. This study was undertaken to investigate whether the serum levels of lycopene are altered between type 2 diabetic patients with and without diabetic retinopathy.

Intensive therapy for diabetes through influence on innate immune system.

Steno-2 Study has previously shown that original intensive therapy reduced the risk of cardiovascular and microvascular events to about 50% of that of conventional treatment in type 2 diabetic patients. Further, in the subsequent follow-up study, intensive therapy was found to have sustained beneficial effects on cardiovascular events and death rate in this population. Another clinical trial, China Da Qing Diabetes Prevention Study, has recently reported that group-based lifestyle interventions over six years could prevent or delay the development of diabetes in patients with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT).