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The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of sildenafil on dopamine, 5-hydroxyindol acetic acid (5-HIAA) and selected biomarkers of oxidative stress in the brain of hypoglycemic rats. The animals were treated intraperitoneally as follows: group 1 (control), saline solution; group 2, insulin (10 U per rat or 50 U kg−1); group 3, insulin + single dose of sildenafil (50 U kg−1 + 50 mg kg–1); group 4, insulin + three doses of sildenafil every 24 hours (50 U kg−1 + 50 mg kg−1). In groups 2, 3 and 4, insulin was administered every 24 hours for 10 days. Blood glucose was measured after the last treatment. On the last day of the treatment, the animals´ brains were extracted to measure the levels of oxidative stress markers [H2O2, Ca2+,Mg2+-ATPase, glutathione and lipid peroxidation (TBARS)], dopamine and 5-HIAA in the cortex, striatum and cerebellum/medulla oblongata by validated methods. The results suggest that administration of insulin in combination with sildenafil induces hypoglycemia and hypotension, enhances oxidative damage and provokes changes in the brain metabolism of biogenic amines. Administration of insulin and sildenafil promotes biometabolic responses in glucose control, namely, it induces hypoglycemia and hypotension. It also enhances oxidative damage and provokes changes in the brain metabolism of biogenic amines.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most common psychiatric illnesses in the general population. In mental disorders, the activation of inflammatory pathways in the brain is a major producer of excitotoxicity and an inducer of oxidative stress. The occurrence of these 2 events is partly responsible for the neuronal damage inherent in patients with mental disorders. In the case of MDD, the release of hormone and increase in pro-inflammatory cytokines in plasma and indicators of oxidative stress have been identified as consequences of this event. The most important affectations in patients with MDD are changes in their cognitive and executive functions due to brain inflammation. Hence, these biomarkers can serve as diagnostic and severity classification tools and treatment. In this work, we described the communication pathway between the immune and neuroendocrine systems in MDD and suggested possible therapeutic options for the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several risks for diseases, such as atherosclerosis, renal diseases, and diabetes, have inextricably been linked with obesity. Nowadays, this health-risk-laden disease is being managed with assorted types of drugs, some of which guarantee modest benefits. The chronic inflammatory effect of obesity has a negative effect in insulin signaling, a situation attributable to insulin resistance that culminates in high blood sugar inputs seen in diseases such as type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Food such as beans with different bioactive compounds could reduce the risk of diabetic complications. Demand for bean products is growing because of its robust contents of several health-promoting components, eg, saponins. Saponins are characterized by containing lower glucose and cholesterol levels and have been doted with antioxidant activities, as well as anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic effects. In this writing, the attributes of saponins in providing substantial health and nutritional benefits in humans, as well as in improving and ameliorating diabetic complications, were reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many years, depressive disorder (DD) was considered a transient and natural disease of people´s mood. Its etiology had been attributed mainly to biochemical alterations of the monoamines and their receptors. Nevertheless, its prevalence and considerable impact on the family and social environment of those afflicted by it have placed the disease as a global public health problem. Neuroprogression is the term used to describe the changes in several psychiatric conditions evidenced and observed in the clinical manifestations, biochemical markers, and cerebral structures of the patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), which frequently overlap with neurodegenerative disorders. DD is considered a potentially aggressive state of neuronal deterioration involving apoptosis, reduced neurogenesis, decreased neuronal plasticity, and increased immune response. Clinically, it encompasses a poor response to treatment and an increase in depressive episodes, both of which bring about vulnerability and decline of functions associated with structural changes in the brain. The interest of this work is to review the metabolic processes involved in the morphologic alterations in the limbic system reported in patients with MDD, as well as the neurologic bases of this complex pathology that include environmental stress, genetic vulnerability, alterations in the neurotransmission, and changes in the neuroplasticity, all of which today bring into limelight a mechanism of progressive neuronal damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the main complications in patients with diabetes and has been the leading cause of visual loss since 1990. Oxidative stress is a biological process resulting from excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This process contributes to the development of many diseases and disease complications. ROS interact with various cellular components to induce cell injury. Fortunately, there is an antioxidan t system that protects organisms against ROS. Indeed, when ROS exceed antioxidant capacity, the resulting cell injury can cause diverse physiological and pathological changes that could lead to a disease like DR. Objective: This paper reviews the possible mechanisms of common and novel biomarkers involved in the development of DR and explores how these biomarkers could be used to monitor the damage induced by oxidative stress in DR, which is a significant complication in people with diabetes. Conclusion: The poor control of glucemy in pacients with DB has been shown contribute to the development of complications in eyes as DR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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