Vitamin C restores ovarian follicular reservation in a mouse model of aging / 대한해부학회지

Ovarian aging is related to the reduction of oocyte quality and ovarian follicles reservation leading to infertility. Vitamin C is a natural antioxidant which may counteract with adverse effects of aging in the ovary. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible effect of vitamin C on NMRI mice ovarian aging according to the stereological study. In this experimental study, 36 adult female mice (25–30 g) were divided into two groups: control and vitamin C. Vitamin C (150 mg/kg/day) were administered by oral gavage for 33 weeks. Six animals of each group were sacrificed on week 8, 12, and 33, and right ovary samples were extracted for stereology analysis. Our data showed that the total volume of ovary, cortex, medulla and corpus luteum were significantly increased in vitamin C group in comparison to the control groups (P≤0.05). In addition, the total number of primordial, primary, secondary, and antral follicles as well as granulosa cells were improved in vitamin C group in compared to the control groups (P≤0.05). No significant difference was observed in total volume of oocytes in antral follicles between control and vitamin C groups. Our data showed that vitamin C could notably compensate undesirable effects of ovarian aging in a mouse model.

In vitro development of embryos from experimentally Kerack-addicted Mice

Background: Prenatal drug exposure, as a common public health concern, is associated with an increased risk of adverse effects on early embryo development

Objective: To investigate the in vitro development of - embryo from experimentally Kerack-addicted mice

Materials and Methods: Twenty-five female mice were studied in five groups: control, vehicle, and three experimental groups of Kerack-dependent mice [I, II, and III] which received different doses of Kerack for 14 days. After the establishment of addiction model [7 days], experimental groups I, II, and III were given Kerack intraperitoneally at the doses of 5, 35, and 70 mg/kg, twice a day for a period of 7 days, respectively. The vehicle group received normal saline and lemon juice whilst the control group just received water and food. Morulae were obtained through oviduct flashing. The survived embryos were cultured in T6+ 5mg/ml bovine serum albumin. The developmental rates up to hatched stage daily and embryo quality [differential staining and Tunnel staining] were also assessed

Results: The developmental potential of embryos obtained from the addicted mother was significantly decreased in comparison with control group. There was a significant reduction in the rate of blastocyst formation in the high dose Kerack dependent group. However, in addicted mice there was reduction in the total cell number [40.92% vs. 65.08% in control] and, inner cell mass percentage [17.17% vs. 26.15% in control] while apoptotic cells numbers were increased [7.17 vs. 1.46 in control] [p<0.05]

Conclusion: The Kerack addiction during pregnancy retards preimplantation development and induces apoptosis

Management of chronic heart failure in the older population / 老年心脏病学杂志（英文版）

Chronic heart failure (CHF) is the leading cause of hospitalization for those over the age of 65 and represents a significant clinical and economic burden. About half of hospital re-admissions are related to co-morbidities, polypharmacy and disabilities associated with CHF. Moreover, CHF also has an enormous cost in terms of poor prognosis with an average one year mortality of 33%–35%. While more than half of patients with CHF are over 75 years, most clinical trials have included younger patients with a mean age of 61 years. Inadequate data makes treatment decisions challenging for the providers. Older CHF patients are more often female, have less cardiovascular diseases and associated risk factors, but higher rates of non-cardiovascular conditions and diastolic dysfunction. The prevalence of CHF with reduced ejection fraction, ischemic heart disease, and its risk factors declines with age, whereas the prevalence of non-cardiac co-morbidities, such as chronic renal failure, dementia, anemia and malignancy increases with age. Diabetes and hypertension are among the strongest risk factors as predictors of CHF particularly among women with coronary heart disease. This review paper will focus on the specific consideration for CHF assessment in the older population. Management strategies will be reviewed, including non-pharmacologic, pharmacologic, quality care indicators, quality improvement in care transition and lastly, end-of-life issues. Palliative care should be an integral part of an interdiscipli-nary team approach for a comprehensive care plan over the whole disease trajectory. In addition, frailty contributes valuable prognostic in-sight incremental to existing risk models and assists clinicians in defining optimal care pathways for their patients.

Nitric oxide is necessary for diazoxide protection against ischemic injury in skeletal muscle

Ischemia reperfusion injury [IR injury] is a common problem in clinical conditions. Researches have frequently revealed that ATP- sensitive potassium [K[ATP]] channels and nitric oxide plays a role in protection against ischemic injury in skeletal muscle. The present study aimed at evaluating the possible link between this two pathways. Sixty-eight male wistar rats, were pretreated with saline, diazoxide [K[ATP] opener; 45 mg/Kg, IP], glibenclamide [K[ATP] inhibitor; 5 mg/Kg], or L-NAME [iNOS inhibitor; 20 mg/Kg, IP] before 3 h ischemia and 2 h reperfusion. Activities of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase [SOD] and catalase [CAT], and the level of malondialdehyde [MDA] and expression of iNOS were measured in muscle tissue. Tissue MDA content was significantly increased by IR [p < 0.001]. Diazoxide significantly decreased the IR-induced elevation of tissue MDA level [p < 0.05] and Glibenclamide increased MDA [p < 0.05 vs. IR group]. L-NAME inhibited the effect of diazoxide on decreasing MDA [p < 0.01 vs., diazoxide+IR group] and IR decreased the activity of SOD and CAT [p < 0.01], while pretreatment with diazoxide increased activity of SOD and CAT [p < 0.01]. Glibenclamide decreased SOD and CAT activity after IR [p < 0.05]. L-NAME pretreatment in diazoxide-treated rats abolished the effect of diazoxide on increasing the activity of SOD and CAT [p < 0.05 vs. Diaz+IR]. Expression of iNOS was increased by IR [p < 0.01 vs. Sham group]. Diazoxide significantly decreased iNOS expression after IR [p < 0.05 vs. IR]. L-NAME significantly decreased iNOS expression after IR [p < 0.01] in diazoxide-treated rats [p < 0.01 vs. Diaz+IR]

Neuroprotective effects of carnosic acid in an experimental model of Alzheimer's disease in rats

Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of neurodegenerative disorder. It has been suggested that oxidative stress can be one of the pathological mechanisms of this disease. Carnosic acid [CA] is an effective antioxidant substance and recent studies have shown that its electrophilic compounds play a role in reversing oxidative stress. Thus we tried to find out whether CA administration protects hippocampal neurons, preventing neurodegeneration in rats, Animals were divided into four groups: Sham-operated [sham], CA-pretreated sham-operated [sham+CA], untreated lesion [lesion] and CA-pretreated lesion [lesion+CA]. Animals in all groups received vehicle or vehicle plus CA [CA: 10mg/ kg] intra-peritoneally one hour before surgery, again the same solution injected 3-4 hours after surgery [CA: 3 mg/kg] and repeated each afternoon for 12 days. A lesion was made by bilateral intra-hippocampal injection of 4 microl of beta amyloid protein [1.5 nmol/microl] or vehicle in each side. 14 days after surgery, the brains were extracted for histochemical studies. Data was expressed as mean +/- SEM and analyzed using SPSS statistical software. Results showed that pretreatment with carnosic acid can reduce cellular death in the cornu ammonis 1 [CA1] region of the hippocampus in the lesion+CA group, as compared with the lesion group. Carnosic acid may be useful in protecting against beta amyloid-induced neurodegeneration in the hippocampus

Gender differences in the etiology of heart failure: A systematic review / 老年心脏病学杂志（英文版）

Background Heart failure (HF) is an increasing problem for the aging population, specifically among women. The etiology of HF influences both the selection and outcome of the treatment. There are variations between genders in morbidity and mortality in different studies, possibly reflecting etiology. The objective of this study was to examine the strength of evidence available for gender differences in the etiology of chronic heart failure. Methods Computer-assisted searches from 1980-2009 for gender differences in the etiology of heart failure were performed (Medline, EMBASE and PubMed). From 2347 abstracts reviewed based on inclusion criteria, 35 original articles were chosen for review. Data extraction was based on observational studies (prospective/retrospective cohort or cross sectional) with a mean follow up of 3 months. There was no interrater variability between the 2 reviewers on data-extraction. Results Ventricular systolic dysfunction being more associated with male sex, but female sex was more reported to be associated with preserved left ventricular function. lschemic etiology and associated coronary heart disease were strongly correlated with male sex. The risk for HF was dramatically more elevated for women with systolic hypertension but the association for diabetes mellitus as the etiology of HF was somewhat equal between males and females. Conclusions One of the limitations in reaching conclusions about gender differences in cardiovascular disease is that many major clinical trials do not include a gender analysis nor they are powered to do so as women are under-represented in most of the HF studies. The need remains for a well designed prospective study of sufficient numbers of male and female patients with and without heart failure and analyzing etiology and risk factors based on the sex differences.