ABSTRACT
@#Introduction: Depression is a mental disorder that is increasingly common nowadays. It can emerge as morbidity in chronic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The leaf extract of Moringa oleifera (MO) has shown to be a complementary therapy in depression, besides its anti-inflammatory role. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of MO leaf extract on Depression in RA patients. Methods: This quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest control group design comprised 32 RA patients. The participants were divided into the control (n = 16) and intervention (n = 16) groups. The intervention group received two MO leaf extract-containing capsules b.i.d. for 28 days. The depression was evaluated by Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and serum cortisol test. Statistical analyses used both paired and unpaired t-tests. Results: The posttest means comparison of BDI-II and serum cortisol showed a significant difference between groups (p = 0.031 and p = 0.015, respectively). The pretest-posttest difference within the control group did not show significant improvement in BDI-II and serum cortisol (p = 0.076 and p = 0.106). Meanwhile, significant BDI-II and serum cortisol improvement were found in the intervention group (p = 0.003 and p = 0.048, respectively). Conclusion: MO leaf extract reduces depression in RA patients based on BDI-II and serum cortisol assessment.
ABSTRACT
@#Introduction: The toxicity of high concentration monosodium glutamate (MSG) has become a controversial issue because of its inconsistent results in human and animal studies. This present study aims to evaluate the effect of subchronic high-doses oral administration of MSG on spatial memory performance and hippocampal pyramidal cells number. Methods: This study involved twenty-eight male Wistar rats, which were divided into a control group of NaCl 0.9% and three intervention groups of MSG 1.0 mg/g bodyweight (M1), 2.0 mg/g bodyweight (M2), and 4.0 mg/g bodyweight (M3) for 30 days. Statistical analysis used a One-way ANOVA test. Results: The result showed significant differences in spatial memory on the Morris Water Maze (MWM) test, including path length (p = 0.020) and escape latency (p = 0.011) according to general linear model repeated measurement analysis. The mean difference of estimated hippocampal pyramidal cells total number among the groups showed volume (p = 0.001), numerical density (p = 0.590), and cells number (p = 0.004). Furthermore, Post-Hoc analysis in both spatial memory and hippocampal pyramidal cells showed that the increasing MSG dose from 1.0 to 4.0 mg/g bodyweight led to a decrease in the results of spatial memory performance on the MWM test and a decrease in hippocampal cells. Conclusion: The present study has provided novel quantitative data that subchronic administration of high-dose MSG caused deleterious effects on the spatial memory function and the volume and number of hippocampal pyramidal cells.
ABSTRACT
Objectives@#A history of severe hypoglycemia (SH) is associated with cardiovascular (CV) events among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In this study, we compared the severity of atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (ACAD) in T2DM patients with and without a history of SH.@*Methodology@#We conducted a comparative case-control study involving 28 T2DM patients with a history of SH within the last 5 years with no documented ACAD, and matched them with 28 T2DM patients with no history of SH. All subjects underwent coronary artery calcium scoring (CACS) with or without coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA) to evaluate the severity of ACAD.@*Results@#A history of SH in T2DM was associated with a higher prevalence of significant ACAD (79% versus 46%, p=0.026). A high CACS (≥100) was seen in a greater number of patients with a history of SH compared to those without (75% versus 43%, p=0.029). Similarly, there was a higher prevalence of obstructive CAD in those with a history of SH compared to those without (72% versus 39%, p=0.036). Median C-reactive protein level was also higher among patients with a history of SH (0.41 mg/dL versus 0.16 mg/dL, p=0.029).@*Conclusion@#In patients with T2DM, a history of SH is significantly associated with ACAD compared to those without SH. A history of SH warrants screening for ACAD.