[Effects of forced exercise on withdrawal syndrome, brain hippocampus neurons count and level of serum corticosterone in morphine addicted male rats]

Addiction to morphine impairs the behavioral and cognitive performances. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of forced exercise [treadmill] on withdrawal signs after morphine deprivation, serum corticostrone level, and hippocampus neurons count in brain hemisphers in rats addicted to morphine. Adult male Wistar rats were divided into five groups with 10 in each: 1] exercised control [C+E], 2] sham exercised control [C+Sh.E], 3] addicted [A], 4] exercised addicted [A+E], and 5] sham-exercised addicted [A+Sh.E]. Withdrawal signs such as number of jumping, teeth chattering, wet-dog shaking, defecation, body scratching, and standingas number of were counted during 30 minutes after naloxone administration. Animals in exercised groups ran on treadmill one hour daily from 9-10 Am in the morning for ten consecutive days. Sham-exercised groups passed same times on turned off treadmill while its shock delivered system was turned on. At the end of experiments serum corticostrone level and hippocampus neurons count were done after decapitation the animals in all groups. The data were analyzed with one-way ANOVA that followed by LSD post hoc test. The differences between groups were accepted as significant with P value less than 0.05. Addiction to morphine increased withdrawal signs and corticostrone secretion significantly and reduced hipocampal neurons in brain, All off which were significant. Forced exercise could inhibit certain withdrawal signs induced by morphine deprivation in addicted rats while could not reverse increased corticostrone level and decreased hippocampus neurons. Despite of useful effects of forced exercise on health conditions and especially cognition during aging, it would cause impair severely some neurobehavioral and hormonal disorders in addicted rats to morphine

Effects of grape seed proanthocyanidin extract on oxidative stress induced by diabetes in rat kidney

This study examined the effect of grape seed proanthocyanidin extract [GSPE] on lipid peroxidation content and activity of tissue antioxidant enzymes, including catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase in diabetic rats. Thirty male rats were divided into three groups of 10 rats each: control, diabetic and diabetic groups that received 500 mg/kg GSPE for 6 weeks. Diabetes was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin [50 mg/kg body weight]. Rats with fasting blood glucose levels above 250 mg/dl were used as diabetic animals. The first 24-hour urinary albumin excretion [UAE] was measured two weeks after diabetes induction and then each week until the end of the experimental period in all groups. Lipid peroxidation content and activities of catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase were measured in kidney homogenate supernatants. Statistical significance of differences was assessed with one-way ANOVA by SPSS followed by Tukey's t-test. P <0.05 was assumed statistically significant. UAE in diabetic nephropathy rats were significantly higher than in control. In addition, an increase in lipid peroxidation content and decrease in catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities in kidney of diabetic nephropathy rats were observed. The GSPE administration did not affect on body weight, but significantly decreased lipid peroxidation and augmented the activities of antioxidant enzymes studied in kidney of diabetic nephropathy rats as well as reduced UAE and decreased kidney weight. The results suggested that GSPE could ameliorate diabetic nephropathy rats through reduction of oxidative stress and increase in renal antioxidant enzyme activity

effect of co-administration of 4-methylcatechol and progesterone on sciatic nerve function and neurohistological alterations in streptozotocin-induced diabetic neuropathy in rats

Diabetic neuropathy is the most common complication of diabetes mellitus affecting the nervous system. In this study, we investigated the in vivo effects of combined administration of 4-methylcatechol [4-MC] and progesterone [P] as a potential therapeutic tool for sciatic nerve function improvement and its role in histomorphological alterations in diabetic neuropathy in rats. Male adult rats were divided into 3 groups: sham operated control [CO], untreated diabetic [DM] and diabetic treated with progesterone and 4-methylcatechol [DMP4MC] groups. Diabetes was induced by a single dose injection of 55 mg/ kg streptozotocin [STZ]. Four weeks after the STZ administration, the DMP4MC group was treated with P and 4-MC for 6 weeks. Then, following anesthesia, the animals' sciatic nerves were removed and processed for light and transmission electron microscopy [TEM] as well as histological evaluation, Diabetic rats showed a statistically significant reduction in motor nerve conduction velocity [MNCV], nerve blood flow [NBF], mean myelinated fiber [MF] diameters and myelin sheath thickness of the sciatic nerve after 10 weeks. In the sciatic nerve of the untreated diabetic group, endoneurial edema and increased number of myelinated fibers with myelin abnormalities such as infolding into the axoplasm, irregularity of fibers and alteration in myelin compaction were also observed. Treatment of diabetic rats with a combination of P and 4-MC significantly increased MNCV and NBF and prevented endoneurial edema and all myelin abnormalities. Our findings indicated that co-administration of P and 4-MC may prevent sciatic nerve dysfunction and histomorphological alterations in experimental diabetic neuropathy

Stereological evaluation of renal glomeruli in offspring of diabetic female rats

Although in vitro studies have shown that high concentrations of glucose can induce dysmorphogenesis of the embryonic kidney, the possible adverse effects of exposure to intrauterine hyperglycemia on kidney development, especially in regard to nephrogenesis, has not been evaluated. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of maternal diabetes on glomeruli structures of the offspring, focusing on the following parameters: glomeruli volume and number, mesangium volume, mesangial cell number and glomerular capillary volume. Before mating, fifteen female Sprague Dawley rats, divided into three groups, were diabetes induced by a single intraperitoneal dose of 65 mg/ kg streptozotocyn [STZ]. After 30 days of breast feeding, ten offsprings from each group [two per mother] were randomly selected for kidney removal. The kidneys were weighed and their tissues were processed for light microscopy. Glomerular features were evaluated quantitatively using dissection as well as the Cavalieri method and were then compared with sham and control groups. At birth, the mean body weight of diabetic mothers' offspring [DO] was significantly lower than that of the control group's offspring [CO] and sham group's offspring [SO] [p=0.001], however, the mean body weight of the 30 day-old DO was not lower than that of CO and SO [p > 0.05]. The total renal volumes, cortical volumes, glomerular mean and total volumes, total mesangeal volumes, total capillary volumes and total glomerular numbers were significantly lower in the DO than in CO and SO [p < 0.05]. The numerical density of glomeruli and mesangial cells per glomeruli were significantly greater in DO than in CO and SO [p < 0.05]. We concluded that intrauterine hyperglycemia is accompanied by a nephron deficit which may not be compensated within the first 30 days after birth

Ultrastructural study of neuronal death in rat hippocampus after transient and permanent focal cerebral ischemia

Morphological changes of CA1 neurons in rat hippocampus after transient and permanent focal cerebral ischemia were studied to clarify the nature of postischemic cell death in the subfield. Male adult rats were divided into 3 groups: Control [Shamoperated], transient ischemic group [30 minutes of MCAO followed by 48 hours of reperfusion], and permanent ischemic group [48 hours of MCAO]. After the mentioned times, deep anesthesia was induced in the rats and their brains were removed and processed for transmission electron microscopy [TEM] and evaluation. Electron-microscopic examination on day 2 showed key morphological signs of apoptosis in the permanent ischemic group, while morphological signs of necrosis were observed in the transient ischemic group. These results suggest necrosis [as dominant mechanism of neuronal death after transient ischemia] and apoptosis [after permanent ischemia] to be involved in neuronal death