The implications of the neurotrophic factor TNF-α in depressive disorders

Introducere: Cercetările efectuate în ultima perioadă au adus în atenție faptul că sistemul inflamator citokinic este activat în diverse afecțiuni, printre care și în cadrul stărilor depresive. Se pare că TNF-α joacă un rol important în mecanismele fiziopatologice de dezvoltare ale sindromului depresiv, din cauza implicării pe care o are în inflamație și în apoptoza celulară programată. Scopul lucrării: Scopul studiului a presupus revizuirea potențialului pe care îl are TNF-α ca biomarker în depresie și evaluarea capacității inhibitorilor TNF-α în reducerea simptomatologiei depresive. Metodă: Acesta este un raport de studiu care include o selecție de dovezi științifice necesare pentru revizuirea potențialului pe care îl are TNF-α ca biomarker în depresie și evaluarea capacității inhibitorilor TNF-α în reducerea simptomatologiei depresive. Discuții: Inflamația cronică crescută determinată de concentrația modificată a citokinelor duce la afectare cognitivă, putând fi responsabilă de apariția unor simptome asemănătoare celor din depresie. TNF-α este un marker inflamator cu rol important în cadrul unor procese biologice, cum sunt imunomodularea și răspunsul inflamator. Pornind de la aceste dovezi, a fost sugerat rolul pe care l-ar putea avea inhibitorii TNF-α în reducerea simptomatologiei depresive.Concluzii: 1. Implicarea TNF-α în patogeneza tulburării depresive majore a permis realizarea unor studii care să evalueze capacitatea inhibitorilor TNFα de a reduce simptomatologia depresivă 2. Sunt necesare studii suplimentare care să examineze direct efectul de modulare al inhibitorilor TNF-α, pentru identificarea unor noi ținte terapeutice care să permită îmbunătățirea managementului terapeutic al pacienților cu tulburare depresivă majoră.Introduction: Research conducted in the recent period has brought to attention the fact that cytokine inflammatory system is activated in several disorders, including depressive states. It seems that TNF-α plays an important role in the pathophysiological mechanisms of the development of depressive syndrome, as it is involved in inflammation and programmed cellular apoptosis. Aim of the study: The aim involved reviewing the potential of TNF-α as a biomarker in depression and evaluating the capacity of TNF-α inhibitors in reducing depressive symptomatology. Methods: This is a study report that includes a selection of scientific evidence necessary for reviewing the potential of TNF-α as a biomarker in depression and evaluating the ability of TNF-α inhibitors in reducing depressive symptomatology. Discussions: Increased chronic inflammation induced by altered cytokines concentration leads to cognitive decline, which may be responsible for the appearance of symptoms similar to those in depression. TNF-α is an inflammatory marker with an important role within biological processes, such as immunomodulation and the inflammatory response. Based on this evidence, the role that TNF-α inhibitors could play in reducing depressive symptomatology has been suggested. Conclusions: 1. The implication of TNF-α in the pathogenesis of MDD has allowed for studies to be conducted aim at evaluating the ability of TNF-α inhibitors to reduce depressive symptomatology 2. Further studies are needed to directly examine the modulating effect of TNF-α inhibitors in order to identify new therapeutic targets that could improve the therapeutic management of patients with MDD

The Role of Polyphenols in Modulating PON1 Activity Regarding Endothelial Dysfunction and Atherosclerosis

The incidence and prevalence of cardiovascular diseases are still rising. The principal mechanism that drives them is atherosclerosis, an affection given by dyslipidemia and a pro-inflammatory state. Paraoxonase enzymes have a protective role due to their ability to contribute to antioxidant and anti-inflammatory pathways, especially paraoxonase 1 (PON1). PON1 binds with HDL (high-density lipoprotein), and high serum levels lead to a protective state against dyslipidemia, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, stroke, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and many others. Modulating PON1 expression might be a treatment objective with significant results in limiting the prevalence of atherosclerosis. Lifestyle including diet and exercise can raise its levels, and some beneficial plants have been found to influence PON1 levels; therefore, more studies on herbal components are needed. Our purpose is to highlight the principal roles of Praoxonase 1, its implications in dyslipidemia, cardiovascular diseases, stroke, and other diseases, and to emphasize plants that can modulate PON1 expression, targeting the potential of some flavonoids that could be introduced as supplements in our diet and to validate the hypothesis that flavonoids have any effects regarding PON1 function

Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench: Biological and Pharmacological Properties. A Review

Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench (EP)is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant, commonly known as purple coneflower and it belongs to the Asteraceae family. The Echinacea genus is originally from North America, in the United States, and its species are widely distributed throughout. There are nine different species of Echinacea, but only three of them are used as medicinal plants with wide therapeutic uses: Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench, Echinacea pallida (Nutt.) Nutt. and Echinacea angustifolia DC. Several significant groups of bioactive compounds with pharmacological activities have been isolated from Echinacea species. Numerous beneficial effects have been demonstrated about these compounds. The immunomodulatory effect was initially demonstrated, but over time other effects have also been highlighted. The present review gives a comprehensive summary of the chemical constituents, bioactive compounds, biological effects and therapeutical uses of purple coneflower. Research shows that such a well-known and recognized species needs to be further studied to obtain efficient products with a guarantee of the safety

Liposomes with Caffeic Acid: Morphological and Structural Characterisation, Their Properties and Stability in Time

Medical and pharmaceutical research has shown that liposomes are very efficient in transporting drugs to targets. In this study, we prepared six liposome formulas, three in which we entrapped caffeic acid (CA), and three with only phospholipids and without CA. Determination of entrapment efficiency (EE) showed that regardless of the phospholipids used, the percentage of CA entrapment was up to 76%. The characterization of the liposomes was performed using Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), zeta potential and polydispersity and showed that about 75–99% of the liposomes had dimensions between 40 ± 0.55–500 ± 1.45 nm. The size and zeta potential of liposomes were influenced by the type of phospholipid used to obtain them. CA release from liposomes was performed using a six-cell Franz diffusion system, and it was observed that the release of entrapped CA occurs gradually, the highest amount occurring in the first eight hours (over 80%), after which the release is much reduced. Additionally, the time stability of the obtained liposomes was analysed using univariate and multivariate statistical analysis. Therefore, liposomes offer great potential in CA entrapment

Study for Evaluation of Hydrogels after the Incorporation of Liposomes Embedded with Caffeic Acid

Caffeic acid (CA), a phenolic acid, is a powerful antioxidant with proven effectiveness. CA instability gives it limited use, so encapsulation in polymeric nanomaterials has been used to solve the problem but also to obtain topical hydrogel formulas. Two different formulas of caffeic acid liposomes were incorporated into three different formulas of carbopol-based hydrogels. A Franz diffusion cell system was used to evaluate the release of CA from hydrogels. For the viscoelastic measurements of the hydrogels, the equilibrium flow test was used. The dynamic tests were examined at rest by three oscillating tests: the amplitude test, the frequency test and the flow and recovery test. These carbopol gels have a high elasticity at flow stress even at very low polymer concentrations. In the analysis of the texture, the increase of the polymer concentration from 0.5% to 1% determined a linear increase of the values of the textural parameters for hydrogels. The textural properties of 1% carbopol-based hydrogels were slightly affected by the addition of liposomal vesicle dispersion and the firmness and shear work increased with increasing carbomer concentration