ABSTRACT
Fractionation of the EtOH extract from aerial parts of Baccharis uncinella C. DC. (Asteraceae) led to isolation of caffeic and ferulic acids, which were identified from spectroscopic and spectrometric evidence. These compounds exhibit antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and have been shown to be effective in the prevention/treatment of metabolic syndrome. This study investigated whether the combined treatment of caffeic and ferulic acids exhibits a more significant beneficial effect in a mouse model with metabolic syndrome. The combination treatment with caffeic and ferulic acids was tested for 60 days in C57 mice kept on a high-fat (40%) diet. The data obtained indicated that treatment with caffeic and ferulic acids prevented gain in body weight induced by the high-fat diet and improved hyperglycemia, hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia. The expression of a number of metabolically relevant genes was affected in the liver of these animals, showing that caffeic and ferulic acid treatment results in increased cholesterol uptake and reduced hepatic triglyceride synthesis in the liver, which is a likely explanation for the prevention of hepatic steatosis. In conclusion, the combined treatment of caffeic and ferulic acids displayed major positive effects towards prevention of multiple aspects of the metabolic syndrome and liver steatosis in an obese mouse model.
Subject(s)
Animals , Male , Baccharis/chemistry , Caffeic Acids/administration & dosage , Coumaric Acids/administration & dosage , Metabolic Syndrome/prevention & control , Protective Agents/administration & dosage , Caffeic Acids/chemistry , Cholesterol/metabolism , Coumaric Acids/chemistry , Diet, High-Fat/adverse effects , Drug Therapy, Combination/methods , Fatty Liver/metabolism , Fatty Liver/pathology , Metabolic Syndrome/drug therapy , Mice, Inbred C57BL , Models, Animal , Protective Agents/chemistry , Triglycerides/metabolismABSTRACT
People with epilepsy have an increased risk of dying prematurely and the most common epilepsy-related category of death is sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP). SUDEP is mainly a problem for patients with chronic uncontrolled epilepsy. The ultimate goal of research in SUDEP is to develop new methods to prevent it and actions other than medical and surgical therapies that could be very useful. Nutritional aspects, i.e., omega-3 fatty acids deficiency, could have an interesting role in this scenario. Some animal and clinical studies have suggested that omega-3 fatty acids could be useful in the prevention and treatment of epilepsy and hence SUDEP. It has been ascertained that the only foods that provide large amounts of omega-3 are seafood (fish and shellfish); however, some fish are contaminated with methylmercury, which may counteract the positive effects of omega-3 fatty acids. Our update review summarises the knowledge of the role of fish consumption on epilepsy research.
Pessoas com epilepsia têm um risco aumentado de morrer de forma prematura e a causa mais comum de morte relacionada à epilepsia encontra-se na categoria de morte súbita inesperada em epilepsia (SUDEP). SUDEP é um problema significativo para pacientes com epilepsia crônica não controlada. O principal objetivo nas pesquisas em SUDEP é o desenvolvimento de métodos capazes de levar à sua prevenção e ações outras que não medicamentosas e cirúrgicas que podem ser úteis. Os aspectos nutricionais, como por exemplo, a deficiência do ácido graxo ômega-3 pode ter um papel interessante neste cenário. Alguns estudos animais e clínicos têm sugerido que os ácidos graxos ômega-3 podem ser úteis na prevenção e no tratamento da epilepsia e, consequentemente, na SUDEP. Os únicos alimentos que contêm grandes proporções de ômega-3 são os frutos do mar (peixes e mariscos). No entanto, alguns peixes podem estar contaminados com metilmercúrio, o que pode levar a um efeito contrário ao benefício trazido pelos ácidos graxos ômega-3. Aqui, resumimos o conhecimento do papel do consumo de peixe nas pesquisas em epilepsia.
Subject(s)
Humans , Dietary Supplements , Death, Sudden/etiology , Death, Sudden/prevention & control , Epilepsy/complications , /administration & dosage , Fish Products/analysis , Death, Sudden, Cardiac/etiology , Death, Sudden, Cardiac/prevention & control , Methylmercury Compounds/analysisABSTRACT
Hemodialysis-associated seizure is a complication of hemodialysis. This report describes the occurrence of seizures in patients with end stage renal disease on dialysis therapy at the Nephrology Institute of Mogi das Cruzes, São Paulo State, Brazil. A retrospective medical history of 189 patients was reviewed to investigate the occurrence of convulsive seizures during dialytic program. Seven patients with history of seizures were selected but five of them were included in our study. Three patients presented generalized tonic-clonic seizures, one had partial seizure with secondary generalization, and one presented unclassified seizure. Three patients presented seizure just during the dialysis (unique seizure) and one of them presented convulsive status epilepticus. The two other patients had already presented seizures prior the beginning of dialysis. We conclude that seizures in renal failure could be considered as occasional events that do not usually become chronic.
Convulsões durante o tratamento dialítico podem constituir uma complicação da hemodiálise. Esse artigo descreve a ocorrência de crises em pacientes em estágio final de insuficiência renal crônica sob tratamento dialítico no Instituto de Nefrologia de Mogi das Cruzes, São Paulo, Brasil. Foram revistos os prontuários de 189 pacientes, com o objetivo de investigar a ocorrência de crises convulsivas durante o tratamento dialítico. Dos sete pacientes selecionados com história de crises, cinco concordaram em participar de nosso estudo. Três pacientes apresentaram crises generalizadas tônico-clônicas, um apresentou crise parcial com generalização subseqüente e um apresentou crise inclassificada. Três pacientes apresentaram crises apenas durante o processo dialítico (crise única) sendo que um deles apresentou status epilepticus convulsivo. Os outros dois pacientes já haviam apresentado crises antes do início do tratamento dialítico. Nós concluímos que as crises convulsivas que ocorrem em pacientes com falência renal podem ser consideradas como eventos ocasionais e que usualmente não se tornam crônicas.
Subject(s)
Adult , Aged , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Renal Dialysis/adverse effects , Epilepsy/etiology , Kidney Failure, Chronic/complications , Electroencephalography , Epilepsy, Tonic-Clonic/etiology , Epilepsy, Tonic-Clonic/physiopathology , Epilepsy/physiopathology , Kidney Failure, Chronic/physiopathology , Retrospective StudiesABSTRACT
Phenthonium (10-50 µM), a quaternary derivative of 1-hyoscyamine, increases the frequency of miniature end-plate potentials (205 fold) and blocks the nicotinic receptor-ionic channel in skeletal muscles. When tested on rat diaphragms previously incubated with [3H] choline, phenthonium (50µM) increased the spontaneous release of radiolabelled acetylcholine (ACh) from 11.6 ñ 6.4 to 110.5 ñ 40.2 x 10**3 dpm/g within 15 min. The effect was transient, declining to 24.6 ñ 14.7 after 50 min. Subsequent electrical stimulation still in the prsence of phenthonium increased the efflux to 164.7 ñ 45.3. The fractional release relative to the level before stimulation did not differ from controls. Phenthonium (20 µM) did not increase the spontaneous ACh release but doubled the efflux induced by nerve stimulation. The present results, compared to previous electrophysiological findeings, indicate that quantal and nonquantal release are increased by phenthonium. They also show that the transient effect is not due to ACh depletion in nerve terminals