Protective effects of melatonin as an eye drops against selenite-induced cataract in rat pups

The aim of the present study is to investigate the possible role of melatonin, when administered as an eye drops, in the selenite-induced cataractogenesis in rat pups. Sixty Wistar albino rats [13 days old] were allocated into three groups [20 animals each]. group A injected subcutaneously with normal saline and received no other treatment served as control; group B injected with [40 micro mol/g body weight] sodium selenite subcutaneously, and treated with 1 drop of melatonin eye drops, specially formulated for this purpose, twice daily for 30 days; group C injected with sodium selenite as in group B, but treated with single drop of normal saline, twice daily for 30 days. The stage of cataract development was examined with slit-lamp photographs. Alter 30 days the pups were sacrificed and their eyeballs enucleated for histological examination. The results demonstrated that melatonin eye drops decreased the nuclear cataract formation after 15 and 21 days of treatment, compared to saline treated group. Histological evaluations of enucleated lenses revealed that treatment with melatonin drops clearly indicated recovery of the lenticular tissues and retained their ordinary shape. These findings demonstrate that melatonin when administered as an eye drops protects the lens of rat pups against selenite-induced cataract

Protective effects of benfotiamine in the experimentally-induced nephrotoxicity with cisplatin in rabbits

Cell death is the component of many response patterns of living tissues to xenobiotics including cytotoxic drugs, and one of the possible ways to ameliorate this response is through interference with the process of apoptosis which can be fulfilled by many candidate substances like benfotiamine. This study was designed to evaluate the possible cytoprotective effect of orally administered benfotiamine against cisplatin -induced nephrotoxicity in rabbits. Twenty adult rabbits are used in this study and allocated into 4 groups; treated as follow: Saline treated as controls, cisplatin [2.5mg/kg] treated group; benfotiamine [70mg/kg] seven days before and during cisplatin treatment and thiamine [70mg/kg] treated rabbits. At the end of treatment all animals are sacrificed, serum and kidney tissue homogenate are prepared for the assay of urea, creatinine, uric acid and thiamine in the serum; malondialdehyde [MDA], glutathione [GSH] and thiamine levels in kidney tissue homogenate. Kidney tissue sections are prepared for histological examination. Benfotiamine treatment resulted in ameliorating the nephrotoxicity induced by cisplatin as evidenced by lowering serum urea and creatinine levels, while uric acid was not affected. Concerning the effect on oxidative stress parameters; MDA levels in tissue homogenate were significantly reduced while GSH levels not improved significantly. Histological evidences supported the biochemical parameters which indicate nephroprotective effect of Benfotiamine. The orally administered prodrug elevates thiamine levels in kidney tissue homogenate many fold greater than those produced by conventional thiamine. According to the results obtained in this study one can conclude that benfotiamine has the ability, through a mechanism not related to direct antioxidant property, to provide cytoprotective effects against drug-induced nephrotoxicity; and might be a good candidate to be tried experimentally and clinically in this respect