Neuroprotective Effects of Herbal Extract (Rosa canina, Tanacetum vulgare and Urtica dioica) on Rat Model of Sporadic Alzheimer's Disease.

BACKGROUND: Sporadic Alzheimer's Disease (SAD) is caused by genetic risk factors, aging and oxidative stresses. The herbal extract of Rosa canina (R. canina), Tanacetum vulgare (T. vulgare) and Urtica dioica (U. dioica) has a beneficial role in aging, as an anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative agent. In this study, the neuroprotective effects of this herbal extract in the rat model of SAD was investigated. METHODS: The rats were divided into control, sham, model, herbal extract -treated and ethanol-treated groups. Drug interventions were started on the 21(st) day after modeling and each treatment group was given the drugs by intraperitoneal (I.P.) route for 21 days. The expression levels of the five important genes for pathogenesis of SAD including Syp, Psen1, Mapk3, Map2 and Tnf-α were measured by qPCR between the hippocampi of SAD model which were treated by this herbal extract and control groups. The Morris Water Maze was adapted to test spatial learning and memory ability of the rats. RESULTS: Treatment of the rat model of SAD with herbal extract induced a significant change in expression of Syp (p=0.001) and Psen1 (p=0.029). In Morris Water Maze, significant changes in spatial learning seen in the rat model group were improved in herbal-treated group. CONCLUSION: This herbal extract could have anti-dementia properties and improve spatial learning and memory in SAD rat model.

Association between polymorphisms in Interleukin-16 gene and risk of late-onset Alzheimer's disease.

Cytokines play important roles in the inflammation pathways. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an inflammatory disease, and it is suggested that cytokines are able to influence AD. We investigated the association between IL16 polymorphisms and risk of AD in an Iranian population. The case group consisted of 144 individuals with AD and the control group included 173 healthy individuals. Genotyping of the IL16 rs4072111 C>T and rs1131445 T>C polymorphisms was determined using PCR-RFLP method. The frequency of rs4072111 CT genotype was significantly lower (P=0.007; OR=0.5, 95% CI: 0.3-0.8) in the patients (17.3%) than the control group (30%). The rs4072111 T allele was significantly lower (P=0.008; OR=0.5, 95% CI: 0.3-0.9) in the cases (8.6%) compared with the control group (15.6%). The IL16 rs4072111 polymorphism may be associated with susceptibility to AD and the T allele may have a protective role in the progression of AD in an Iranian population.

Utility of the multivariate approach in predicting ß-thalassemia intermedia or ß-thalassemia major types In Iranian patients.

Recently, five genetic modifiers [ß-globin mutations, coinheritance of α-thalassemia (α-thal), XmnI polymorphism and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the BCL11A and HBS1L-MYB loci] were used to predict the ß-thal major (ß-TM) or ß-thal intermedia (ß-TI) types in 106 French patients with 83.2% accuracy. The dichotomous grouping was based on the age when the patient received his/her first transfusion (4 years). Here, a similar study was conducted in a cohort of 306 Iranian ß-thal patients having distinct ß-globin mutations and minor allele frequencies of key SNPs in these loci. Multivariate regression analyses and a simple scoring system were used to predict the ß-TM/ß-TI types using three scenarios: 1) when considering only the severe ß-TM and the mild ß-TI cases, 2) using clinical parameters for ß-thal typing, and 3) using age at first transfusion as the basis for classification. Using these scenarios, the ß-thal types could be correctly predicted in 77.6, 75.5 and 68.0% of cases, respectively.