Protective Effects of Different Kinds of Filtered Water on Hypertensive Mouse by Suppressing Oxidative Stress and Inflammation

Protective Roles and Therapeutic Effects of Gallic Acid in the Treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases: Current Trends and Future Directions

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are serious life-threatening illnesses and significant problematic issues for public health having a heavy economic burden on all society worldwide. The high incidence of these diseases as well as high mortality rates make them the leading causes of death and disability. Therefore, finding novel and more effective therapeutic methods is urgently required. Gallic acid, an herbal medicine with numerous biological properties, has been utilized in the treatment of various diseases for thousands of years. It has been demonstrated that gallic acid possesses pharmacological potential in regulating several molecular and cellular processes such as apoptosis and autophagy. Moreover, gallic acid has been investigated in the treatment of CVDs both in vivo and in vitro. Herein, we aimed to review the available evidence on the therapeutic application of gallic acid for CVDs including myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury and infarction, drug-induced cardiotoxicity, hypertension, cardiac fibrosis, and heart failure, with a focus on underlying mechanisms.

Associations of alkaline water with metabolic risks, sleep quality, muscle strength: A cross-sectional study among postmenopausal women

Much has been claimed on the health benefits of alkaline water including metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its features with scarcity of scientific evidence. Methods: This cross-sectional comparative study was conducted to determine whether regular consumption of alkaline water confers health advantage on blood metabolites, anthropometric measures, sleep quality and muscle strength among postmenopausal women. A total of 304 community-dwelling postmenopausal women were recruited with comparable proportion of regular drinkers of alkaline water and non-drinkers. Participants were ascertained on dietary intake, lifestyle factors, anthropometric and biochemical measurements. Diagnosis of MetS was made according to Joint Interim Statement definition. A total of 47.7% of the participants met MS criteria, with a significant lower proportion of MetS among the alkaline water drinkers. The observed lower fasting plasma glucose (F(1,294) = 24.20, p = 0.025, partial η2 = 0.435), triglyceride/high-density lipoprotein concentration ratio (F(1,294) = 21.06, p = 0.023, partial η2 = 0.360), diastolic blood pressure (F(1,294) = 7.85, p = 0.046, partial η2 = 0.258) and waist circumference (F(1,294) = 9.261, p = 0.038, partial η2 = 0.263) in the alkaline water drinkers could be considered as favourable outcomes of regular consumption of alkaline water. In addition, water alkalization improved duration of sleep (F(1,294) = 32.05, p = 0.007, partial η2 = 0.451) and handgrip strength F(1,294) = 27.51, p = 0.011, partial η2 = 0.448). Low density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration (F(1,294) = 1.772, p = 0.287, partial η2 = 0.014), body weight (F(1,294) = 1.985, p = 0.145, partial η2 = 0.013) and systolic blood pressure (F(1,294) = 1.656, p = 0.301, partial η2 = 0.010) were comparable between the two different water drinking behaviours. In conclusion, drinking adequate of water is paramount for public health with access to good quality drinking water remains a critical issue. While consumption of alkaline water may be considered as a source of easy-to implement lifestyle to modulate metabolic features, sleep duration and muscle strength, further studies are warranted for unravelling the precise mechanism of alkaline water consumption on the improvement and prevention of MetS and its individual features, muscle strength and sleep duration as well as identification of full spectrum of individuals that could benefit from its consumption.

MitoTEMPOL Inhibits ROS-Induced Retinal Vascularization Pattern by Modulating Autophagy and Apoptosis in Rat-Injected Streptozotocin Model

Diabetic retinopathy leads to retinal malfunction, blindness, and reduced quality of life in adult diabetes patients. The involvement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) regulation stimulated by high blood glucose levels opens the opportunity for ROS modulator agents such as MitoTEMPOL. This study aims to explore the effect of MitoTEMPOL on ROS balance that may be correlated with retinal vascularization pattern, autophagy, and apoptosis in a streptozotocin-induced rat model. Four groups of male Wistar rats (i.e., control, TEMPOL (100 mg/kg body weight [BW]), diabetic (streptozotocin, 50 mg/kg BW single dose), and diabetic + TEMPOL; n = 5 for each group) were used in the study. MitoTEMPOL was given for 5 weeks, followed by funduscopy, and gene and protein expression were explored from the rat’s retina. Streptozotocin injection decreased bodyweight and increased food and water intake, as well as fasting blood glucose. The results showed that MitoTEMPOL reduced retinal vascularization pattern and decreased superoxide dismutase gene expression and protein carbonyl, caspase 3, and caspase 9 protein levels. A modulation of autophagy in diabetes that was reversed in the diabetic + TEMPOL group was found. In conclusion, MitoTEMPOL modulation on autophagy and apoptosis contributes to its role as a potent antioxidant to prevent diabetic retinopathy by inhibiting ROS-induced retinal vascularization patterns.

Changes and clinical significance of serum inflammatory factors in the treatment of pregnancy hypertension syndrome with magnesium sulfate combined with nifedipine

Curative effect of magnesium sulfate combined with nifedipine on pregnancy-induced hypertension and the effect of serum inflammatory factors were investigated. A total of 188 cases of patients were collected as the research subjects. They all had pregnancy-induced hypertension, and were admitted to The First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province hospital from June 2016 to February 2018. There were, 94 patients treated with magnesium sulfate in the control group, and further 94 patients treated with magnesium sulfate combined with nifedipine in the study group. ELISA was used to detect the expression levels of suppressors of cytokine signaling-3 (SOCS-3), interleukin-10 (IL-10) and interleukin 18 (IL-18), and the relationship between serum inflammatory factors and efficacy was analyzed. The curative effect and eutocia rate in the study group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05), and the cesarean section rate was lower than that of the control group (P<0.05). In the study group, the adverse reactions were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, the expression levels of serum SOCS-3 and IL-10 in the study group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05), while the expression level of serum IL-18 was significantly lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). The area under the curve (AUC) of the predictive value of SOCS-3, IL-10 and IL-18 in pregnancy-induced hypertension was 0.717, 0.727 and 0.725, respectively. The best specificity was 76.19, 52.98 and 61.90%, respectively, when the cut-off value was <0.553 ng/l, 48.06 ng/ml and 269.46 ng/ml, and their sensitivity was 70.00, 94.74 and 85.00%, respectively. In conclusion, magnesium sulfate combined with nifedipine significantly improved the disease course of pregnancy-induced hypertension. The levels of SOCS-3, IL-10 and IL-18 in patients are correlated with the curative effect of pregnancy-induced hypertension, suggesting that they have important value in the treatment and monitoring of gestational hypertension.

Islet Transplantation Attenuating Testicular Injury in Type 1 Diabetic Rats Is Associated with Suppression of Oxidative Stress and Inflammation via Nrf-2/HO-1 and NF-κB Pathways

Testicular structural and functional impairment is a serious complication in male diabetes mellitus (DM) patients that leads to impaired fertility in adulthood. In contrast to other endocrine therapies, islet transplantation (IT) can effectively prevent and even reverse diabetic nephropathy and myocardial damage. However, whether IT can alleviate diabetes-induced testicular injury remains unclear. In this study, we sought to investigate the effect of IT on diabetes-induced testicular damage. A diabetic rat model was established by streptozotocin injection. DM, IT, and insulin treatment (INS) groups were compared after 4 weeks of respective treatment. We confirmed that IT could effectively attenuate diabetes-induced testicular damage and recover sperm counts more extensively compared with INS in diabetic rats. In addition, significantly higher levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and lower contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) were detected in the testes of the IT group versus diabetic rats. Mechanism studies revealed that IT significantly activates the expression of Nrf-2, HO-1, and NQO-1 and inhibits upregulation of the NF-κB expression in response to DM, while INS only exhibit slight impact on the protein expression. Therefore, we speculate that IT may prevent the progression of testicular damage by downregulating oxidative stress and inhibiting inflammation via Nrf-2/HO-1 and NF-κB pathways.