Emerging role of Metformin in Alzheimer's disease: A translational view.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) constitutes a major public-health issue of our time. Regrettably, despite our considerable understanding of the pathophysiological aspects of this disease, current interventions lead to poor outcomes. Furthermore, experimentally promising compounds have continuously failed when translated to clinical trials. Along with increased population ageing, Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) has become an extremely common condition, mainly due to unbalanced dietary habits. Substantial epidemiological evidence correlates T2DM with cognitive impairment as well. Considering that brain insulin resistance, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and amyloidogenesis are common phenomena, further approaching the common features among these pathological conditions. Metformin constitutes the first-choice drug to preclude insulin resistance in T2DM clinical management. Experimental evidence suggests that its functions might include neuroprotective effects, in addition to its hypoglycemic activity. This review aims to summarize and discuss current knowledge of experimental data on metformin on this path towards translational medicine. Finally, we discuss the controversial data of responses to metformin in vitro, and in vivo, animal models and human studies.

Natural Bioactive Compounds As Protectors Of Mitochondrial Dysfunction In Cardiovascular Diseases And Aging.

Diet, particularly the Mediterranean diet, has been considered as a protective factor against the development of cardiovascular diseases, the main cause of death in the world. Aging is one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, which have an oxidative pathophysiological component, being the mitochondria one of the key organelles in the regulation of oxidative stress. Certain natural bioactive compounds have the ability to regulate oxidative phosphorylation, the production of reactive oxygen species and the expression of mitochondrial proteins; but their efficacy within the mitochondrial physiopathology of cardiovascular diseases has not been clarified yet. The following review has the purpose of evaluating several natural compounds with evidence of mitochondrial effect in cardiovascular disease models, ascertaining the main cellular mechanisms and their potential use as functional foods for prevention of cardiovascular disease and healthy aging.

Medicinal value of the Berberis genus as hypoglycemic agent / Valor medicinal del género Berberis como agente hipoglicemiante

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a common chronic disease whose prevalence is currently increasing worldwide. Nowadays, the main antidiabetic agent used is metformin. However, between 10 and 30 percent of patients undergoing metformin therapy have nonspecific gastric alterations as an undesired secondary effect. Therefore, the search for new therapeutic alternatives is especially useful, where plant- derived products emerge as an excellent phytochemical resource. The objective of this review is to present and discuss the state of the art of current research conducted on the Berberis gender with hypoglycemic activity, which is normally used in alternative medicine therapy for the treatment of T2DM, and its possible mechanisms of action described in literature.

La diabetes mellitus tipo 2 (DM2) es una enfermedad crónica común, cuya prevalencia está actualmente aumentando en todo el mundo. Al presente, el principal fármaco antidiabético utilizado es la metformina. Sin embargo, entre un 10 y 30 por ciento de los pacientes tratados presentan como efecto no deseado de alteraciones gástricas inespecíficas. Por lo tanto, la búsqueda de nuevas alternativas terapéuticas es de gran utilidad, en donde los productos derivados de plantas emergen como un excelente recurso fitoquímico. El objetivo de esta revisión es presentar y discutir sobre el estado del arte de investigaciones realizadas en las especies del género Berberis con actividad hipoglicemiante, las cuales son normalmente utilizadas en medicina alternativa como terapia para el tratamiento de DM, y sus posibles mecanismos de acción descritos en la literatura.

Estereología comparativa entre el bazo del cuye (Cavia porcellus) y la rata (Rattus novergicus, Sprague Dawley) / Comparative stereology between the spleen of the Guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) and the rat (Rattus novergicus, Sprague Dawley)

El bazo es el órgano linfático periférico más grande del organismo y conocer sus aspectos morfológicos cuantitativos es importante para determinar posibles patologías. El objetivo del estudio fue determinar en dos especies: cuye (Cavia porcellus) y rata (Rattus novergicus Sprague Dawley), las características estereológicas del bazo, para obtener patrones de normalidad cuantitativos, los que servirán de base para futuros estudios morfofuncionales. Se utilizaron 5 bazos de cada especie, clínicamente sanos, obtenidos del Bioterio de la Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco, Chile. Los bazos fueron disecados y fijados en formalina tamponada al 10 por ciento y se determinó el volumen de éstos por el método de Scherle. Se obtuvieron 5 trozos por medio de Orientador los que fueron incluidos en paraplast. De cada trozo se obtuvieron 5 cortes histológicos de 3 micrones m de grosor y separados 200 micrones m entre sí, los cuales fueron teñidos con H-E. El porcentaje de pulpa roja, pulpa blanca y zona marginal en el bazo del cuye fue: 65,14 por ciento, 21,96 por ciento y 12,67 por ciento, respectivamente, y en la rata 53,9 por ciento de pulpa roja, 25,75 por ciento pulpa blanca y 15,87 por ciento de zona marginal. El número total de folículos fue 8,33 x 10² y 5,73x 10² para el cuye y la rata, respectivamente. Los resultados concuerdan con los obtenidos por otros autores, pudiéndose señalar un patrón cuantitativo del porcentaje de los compartimentos esplénicos de normalidad, que se podría considerar para futuros estudios morfo-funcionales.

The spleen is the largest peripheral lymphoid organ of the body so it is essential to know their morphological quantitative aspects in order to identify potential abnormalities. The aim of this study was to determine the parameters stereological spleen in normal two species commonly used in research such as the guinea pig and rat, to obtain quantitative patterns of normality, which will serve as a basis for future studies morphofunctional. 5 spleens were used for each species (Cavia porcellus and Rattus novergicus, Sprague Dawley) obtained from biotery the Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco, Chile. The spleens were dissected and fixed in formalin buffered to 10 percent and the volume is determined by the of Scherle method. 5 pieces were obtained through Orientator and these were included in paraplast. Each piece was performed histological cuts of 3 mm thick and separated 200 µm each other, which were stained with H-E. The percentage of redpulp, whitepulp and marginal zone in the Guinea pig was: 65.14 percent, 21.96 percent and 12.67 percent respectively, and in the rat 53.9 percent pulpred, 25.75 percent whitepulp and 15.87 percent of marginal zone. The total number of follicles was 8.33 x 10²follicles and 5.73 x 10² follicles for the Guinea pig and rat, respectively. The results are consistent with those obtained by other authors might identify a pattern of quantitative percentage of splenic compartments of normality that could be considered for future studies morpho-functional.

Biological activity of some Patagonian plants.

Citotoxicity (inhibition of cell division in fertilized eggs of Loxechinus albus) and general toxicity (using embryos of Artemia salina) of plants belonging to the genera Senecio, Deschampsia, Alstroemeria, Anarthrophyllum, Chloraea and Geranium were investigated.