Neuroprotective Effects of Meloxicam and Selegiline in Scopolamine-Induced Cognitive Impairment and Oxidative Stress

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by a gradual decline in memory associated with shrinkage of brain tissue, with localized loss of neurons mainly in the hippocampus and basal forebrain, with diminished level of central cholinergic neurotransmitter-acetylcholine and also reported to be associated with accumulation of ubiquitinated proteins in neuronal inclusions and also with signs of inflammation. In these disorders, the abnormal protein aggregates may themselves trigger the expression of inflammatory mediators, such as cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2). In the present study, the effects of Meloxicam, Selegiline, and coadministration of these drugs on scopolamine-induced learning and memory impairments in mice were investigated. Rectangular maze test, Morris water maze test, Locomotor activity, and Pole climbing test were conducted to evaluate the learning and memory parameters. Various biochemical parameters such as acetylcholinesterase(AChE), TBARS assay, catalase activity, and DPPH assay were also assessed. The present study demonstrates that Meloxicam, Selegiline, and co-administration of these test drugs had potential therapeutic effects on improving the antiamnesic activity in mice through inhibiting lipid peroxidation, augmenting endogenous antioxidant enzymes, and decreasing acetylcholinesterase activity in brain. The memory enhancing capacity of the drugs was very significant when compared to disease control (P < 0.001)

NEUROPROTECTIVE EFFECT OF CITRULLUS LANATUS SEED EXTRACTS ON CEREBRAL ISCHEMIC REPERFUSION INJURY INDUCED COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT AND OXIDATIVE STRESS

Objective: Oxidative stress appears to be an early event involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The present study was designed to investigate the neuroprotective effects of citrullus lanatus on bilateral common carotid artery occlusion (BCCAO) induced cognitive impairment and oxidative stress in Wistar albino rats. Methods: Cognitive impairment and oxidative stress were induced by BCCAO for 30 min, followed by 7 d reperfusion of male wistar rats. Morris water maze and rectangular maze performance tests and locomotor activity were used to assess memory performance tasks. To study the activity, rats weighing 250-300g were pre-treated with successive extracts of n-hexane fraction (HF), ethyl acetate fraction (EAF), ethanol fraction (EF) and aqueous fraction (AF) of 400 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg, p. o of each for 10 d and the treatment was continued for another 7 d after cerebral ischemia. Various biochemical parameters like lipid peroxidation, Catalase, DPPH and AchE were also estimated in the brain after the treatment. Results: There was significantly increased oxidative stress and cholinesterase activity with cognitive decline in the hippocampus in rats of BCCAO group as compared to sham-operated (p&lt;0.05). The animals treated with Donepezil, HF and EF prevented the biochemical changes significantly (p&lt;0.001) and there was significant (p&lt;0.001) improvement in cognitive parameters compared to BCCAO treated rats. Conclusion: Thus present study indicates the neuroprotective effect of citrulus lanatus seed extract (HF and EF) against BCCAO induced cognitive impairment and associative oxidative damage

Evaluation of Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Justicia neesii Ramam Whole Plant Extract

The plant Justicia neesii is rich in polyphenolic compounds like lignans which can exhibit anti-inflammatory properties. In this study ethanolic extracts of Justicia neesii was screened for elucidating its antioxidant potential using various methods. In all the methods it has shown good antioxidant nature and reducing ability. The IC50 values against DPPH, H2O2, NO and lipid peroxidases were found to be 55.72μg/mL, 133.35μg/mL, 29.65μg/mL and 271.02μg/mL respectively. The total phenolic content in the ethanolic extract was found to be 99.8mg per gram dry plant in gallic acid equivalents. The anti-inflammatory nature of Justicia neesii was tested using carrageenan induced paw edema model in rats. The extract has shown significant inhibition of paw volume at all the three gradient doses of the extract. The percent inhibition of paw volume is correlating with the standard diclofinac sodium. From this study we concluded that Justicia neesii is a plant with potent anti-inflammatory molecules

DIABESITY - 21st CENTURY THERAPEUTIC CHALLENGE

The significant relationship between obesity and Type 2 Diabetes has been evidenced since ancient times. Ayurveda, Traditional Indian system of medicine, categorizes Prameha (diabetes) into two types i.e. Sthula prameha (diabetes in obese people) and Krisa prameha (diabetes in lean individuals). The alarming rise in prevalence of these disorders without any sign of decline in near future represents a global burden. Several prospective studies present impaired insulin release, impaired glucose tolerance, low grade inflammation and insulin resistance as the major factors for the development of type 2 diabetes. The low grade inflammation that dominates in obesity is the permanent elevation of plasma FFA and the predominant utilization of lipids by the muscle interfering with the uptake of glucose in skeletal muscle. This review article aims at understanding the potential mechanisms that lead human obesity to type 2 diabetes and therapeutic interventions for treating these disorders with a focus on the side effects of the conventional oral hypoglycemic agents and antiobesity agents. WHO and IDF moving with a goal for prevention of this global dual epidemic rather than curing by emphasizing the targets in various pathways and weight loss interventions. In this context, the review article highlights the potential targets for new therapeutic interventions and significance of weight loss for preventing and decreasing the progression of this multifactorial disorder

EFFECT OF THERAPEUTIC LASER IN THE MANAGEMENT OF DIABETIC NEUROPATHY PAIN

Background: Diabetes mellitus is characterized by absolute or relative insulin deficiency, hyperglycemia and development of diabetic specific micro vascular complications in retina, kidney and nerves. Micro vascular disease significantly contributes to increased morbidity and indirectly contributes to mortality through diabetic neuropathy. Pain may occur with either acute or chronic neuropathy. It results from small fibre damage. Lancinating, neuralgia - type will follow ectopic generation of nerve impulses, whereas chronic, burning pain is due to nerve is chaemia. Therapeutic laser (TL) is gaining much importance in reducing neuropathic painObjective: To find out the effect of therapeutic laser in the management of diabetic neuropathy pain by comparing with regular medication.Methods: 50 patients were selected by using lottery method of simple random sampling procedure into two groups (Group A 25 and Group B 25) equally. Group A was treated with medications (oral hypoglycemic, analgesics and anti - depressant drugs) for four weeks. Group B was treated with TL for 10mins for 4 times a week for 4 weeks with a dosage of 4J/cm 2. Their pre &amp; post treatment values were extracted basing on modified Toronto clinical neuropathy score (mTCNS).Results: Both groups pre and post test values were extracted for four weeks and analyzed individually by using Wilcoxon signed rank test. Both groups showed variation in their scores individually. When compared between the groups by using Mann Whitney U - test, group B showed remarkable variation when compared with group A.Conclusion: TL has shown remarkable reduction in pain score of group B when compared with group A. TL is one of the best treatment modality in reducing neuropathic pain. Physiotherapists can gain access with this treatment to proliferate their practice in treating diabetic neuropathic pain. . [Ethiop.J. Health Dev. 2019; 33(2):142-144]Key words: Diabetes mellitus (DM), diabetic neuropathy (DN), low level laser irradiation(LLLI), Mc Gill Pain Questionnaire(MPQ), modified toronto clinical neuropathy score (mTCNS)

Antimicrobial activity of ethanolic extracts of Justicia neesii

Agar well diffusion method was used to evaluate the antimicrobial potential of Justicia  neesii extract. The maximum activity index (AI) values are observed against Klebsiella pneumonia (1.208) and low AI value for Streptococcus faecalis (0.963) compared to other bacterial species. The maximum AI values are observed against Saccharomyces cerevisiae (1.147) and low AI value for Fusarium axisporum (0.986) compared to other fungal species. The MIC and MBC/MFC values indicated the bacteriostatic/ fungistatic nature of the extract and also having good correlation with the zone of inhibition values. The total activity values indicated that J. neesii extract can show antimicrobial activity even at higher dilutions, except for Gram negative bacteria