Anti-hemorrhagic effect of hydro-alcoholic extract of the leaves of Mikania glomerata in lesions induced by Bothrops jararaca venom in rats

To investigate the effects of hydroalcoholic leaf extract of Mikania glomerata Spreng (Asteraceae) on the activity of Bothrops jararaca snake venom in Wistar rats. METHODS: Fifty four rats Wistar were divided into six groups of nine animals in each: control treated with saline; control treated with B. jararaca venom; control treated with M. glomerata extract; B. jararaca venom incubated with M. glomerata extract at proportions of 1:1, 1:2, and 1:4. RESULTS: Histopathological and morphometric analysis showed that intradermal administration of snake venom incubated with the hydroalcoholic extract at proportions of 1:1, 1:2 and 1:4 promoted a significant reduction in the number of inflammatory cells and a marked decrease in edema after the third hour. There was also a significant reduction in the intensity of the hemorrhagic halo in animals receiving the snake venom incubated with the extract, with the observation of a progressive and parallel inhibition with increasing proportion of M. glomerata. CONCLUSION: The Mikania glomerata hydroalcoholic extract exerted effective anti-inflammatory and antihemorrhagic activity against the effects induced by Bothrops jararaca snake venom.

Absolute quantification of gene E7 in cervical samples of women infected by HPV using real time PCR

Objective: High grade oncogenic types of human papillomavirus (HPV), especially HPV16 and HPV18, possess a gene called E7, which acts on genes that regulate cell growth, promoting development of pre-neoplastic lesions that can lead to invasive carcinomas. The absolute quantification of this gene in cervical samples of HPV-infected women may contribute for better understanding the evolution of these lesions induced by the virus. Methods: We collected 60 cervicovaginal smears of women infected by HPV with or without uterine cervical squamous intraepithelial lesion, SIL) and 10 samples of women with no HPV infection or SIL. The absolute quantification of gene E7 was performed by Realtime PCR using specific primers and probes. Results: Samples infected by HPV16 have a higher number of gene E7 copies when compared to samples infected by HPV18. In the HPV18 group it was observed that those obtained from patients with low or high grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) or invasive cervical cancer presented significantly higher concentrations of gene E7 when compared to patients with no cervical lesions. The number of gene E7 copies was higher in the group infected by HPV16 than by HPV18. In spite of that, there was no difference in the number of gene E7 copies in samples infected by HPV16 with or without SIL. Conclusions: Among the samples with HPV18, the number of copies of gene E7 was higher in the group with cervical lesions, and no differences were found for SIL, HSIL or invasive cancer patients.

Efeito da aplicação de microcorrente na osteogênese após a fratura / The use of microcurrent on the osteogenesis after fracture

A produção de potenciais elétricos em tecidos biológicos como osso, dentina e outros, é obtida aplicando-se forças mecânicas sobre os mesmos. Este fenômeno conhecido como piezoeletricidade, desempenha papel importante na bioestimulação do processo de reparo de diferentes tecidos, isto porque correntes elétricas afetam a atividade celular e, assim, induzem o crescimento do osso e a osteogênese. No presente estudo investigou-se o efeito de diferentes intensidades de microcorrente no processo da osteogênese na tíbia de ratos da linhagem Wistar após fraturas cirúrgicas. Os animais foram dividos em quatro grupos de controle e submetidos a tratamento diário com microcorrente, com intensidade de 2µA/3min, 2µA/5min e 5µA/3min durante 28 dias. Os resultados mostraram que a estimulação diária com 5µA/3min foi efetiva no aumento da velocidade de reparo ósseo

Efeito da lipólise induzida pela cafeína na performance e no metabolismo de glicose durante o exercício intermitente / Effect of incresed caffeine-induced lipolysis on performance and glucose metabolism during intermittent exercise

Uma elevada taxa na oxidação de ácidos graxos reduz a oxidação de glicose em músculo esquelético. Esse efeito seria importante durante o exercício intermitente intenso, uma vez que, baixos níveis de glicogênio ou altos níveis de lactato muscular estão diretamente envolvidos com o mecanismo de fadiga muscular. Nosso objetivo foi examinar se uma maior disponibilidade de ácidos graxos induz uma redução nos níveis de lactato e glicose sanguínea, seguido de um aumento no tempo de exaustão (TE) durante o exercício intermitente intenso. 10 ciclistas masculinos foram submetidos a testes para determinação do limiar anaeróbio (LA), potência anaeróbia máxima (P.A.M.) e índice de fadiga (I.F.). Após 48 h, foram submetidos a uma sessão de exercício intermitente no ciclo-ergômetro a uma intensidade de 30% acima do LA. Os participantes ingeriram cafeína (CF) (5 mg.kg-1) ou placebo (PL) (5 mg.kg-1) 60 min antes do exercício. Amostras de sangue para determinação de cafeína e ácidos graxos livres (AGL) foram coletadas antes do exercício (0 min) e para determinação de glicose e lactato foram coletadas a cada 5 min durante o exercício. Entre as diferentes variáveis coletadas houve uma diferença significativa no tempo de exaustão (TE) após a ingestão de CF comparado a mesma situação após ingesta de PL (82,4 ± 28 vs 56,2 ± 17 min) (p < 0,05). A ingesta de CF também aumentou as concentrações de AGL antes de exercício (0,183 ± 0,097 vs 0,110 ± 0,052 g.dL-1) (p < 0,05). As concentrações de glicose sanguínea aumentaram significantemente com CF apenas nos instantes finais do exercício (p < 0,05), ao passo que as concentrações de lactato não sofreram alterações (p > 0,05). Os valores de percepção subjetiva de esforço (PSE) foram estatisiticamente significativos apenas no final do exercício quando as análises foram realizadas dentro de cada grupo isoladamente (p < 0,05).

This study examined the influence of caffeine on changes in selected blood and performance variables in response to intermittent exercise. 10 male cyclists withdrew all dietary sources of caffeine for 72 h before two tests. One hour before exercise they ingested placebo (PL) or caffeine (CF) capsules (5 mg.kg-1), rested quietly and then cycled at 30% above the anaerobic threshold (AT) until voluntary exhaustion. Blood samples for caffeine and free fatty acids (FFA) analysis were taken immediately before the exercise and samples for glucose and lactate analysis were taken during exercise. The variables rating perceived exertion (RPE), heart rate (HR) and time to exhaustion (TE) were also measured during exercise. There was a significant difference in CF compared with PL trial for TE (82,4 ± 28 vs 56,2 ± 17 min) and FFA (0,183 ± 0,097 vs 0,110 ± 0,052 g.dL-1) (p < 0,05). Glucose blood concentrations also significantly increased in CF trial in the end of exercise (p < 0,05), whereas lactate concentrations did not change during the exercise for both trial (p > 0,05). The RPE values just show significance toward the end of exercise when the result were compared separately into the same group (p < 0,05), but failed for significance when CF and PL were compared (p > 0,05). Therefore, our results suggest that an increased caffeine-induced lipolysis may contributed with a reduced consume of glucose by skeletal muscle following by a marked increase in the performance during intermittent exercise.