Effects of Euphorbia characias subsp. characias flower extracts on nociceptive pain and acute inflammatory models in mice.

Pain and inflammation are major health issues worldwide, leading to negative consequences. Despite several drugs being available to manage these conditions, their effectiveness can be limited by cost, adverse reactions, and potential tolerance and dependence with long-term use. Euphorbia characias traditionally used in folk medicine for its diverse biological activities - including antiproliferative, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory effects - has not been extensively studied in vivo for its analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. In this study, the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory properties of the water and ethanolic extracts of E. characias flowers (ECAEFl and ECEEFl) were evaluated using various models. Both extracts significantly reduced paw licking time in a formalin-induced paw licking model, with ECAEFl specifically targeting and ECEEFl affecting both the neurogenic and inflammatory phases. Additionally, in the carrageenan-induced cell migration model, both extracts showed a significant decrease in leukocyte migration, protein extravasation and nitric oxide levels, further demostrating their anti-inflammatory activity. High-Resolution HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS-MS and HPLC-PDA analysis characterized the chemical composition of the extracts, identifying a significant presence of phenolic compounds, particularly quercetin and its derivatives, which likely contribute to the observed biological activities. These findings highlight the potential of E. characias extracts as natural sources of compounds with antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory properties. Further investigations are needed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms and explore their therapeutic potential in pain and inflammation-related disorders.

Adrenal incidentaloma: Do patients with apparently nonfunctioning mass or autonomous cortisol secretion have similar or different clinical and metabolic features?

OBJECTIVE: Although there is growing evidence associating nonfunctioning adrenal incidentalomas (NFAI) with cardiovascular risk factors, there are limited data whether NFAI and autonomous cortisol secretion (ACS) groups have similar or different clinical and metabolic features. The aim of this study is to compare cardiometabolic clinic parameters among patients with ACS and NFAI, as well as controls. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. PATIENTS: Eighty nine NFAI, 58 ACS and 64 controls were evaluated. MEASUREMENTS: Diagnosis of NFAI (1 mg dexamethasone suppression test [1 mg-DST] ≤50 nmol/L [≤1.8 µg/dl]) and ACS (1 mg-DST > 50 nmol/L [> 1.8 µg/dl]) was established according to current guidelines. The control group was selected based on a normal adrenal imaging exam. RESULTS: There were no differences between groups regarding age, gender, ethnicity, menopause or body mass index. Patients with adrenal incidentaloma presented higher frequency of hypertension (74.1 vs. 57.8%; p = .02), resistant hypertension (45.4 vs. 9.4%; p < .001), dyslipidemia (80.1 vs. 63.9%; p = .01), as well as metabolic syndrome (84.2 vs. 61.7%; p = .001) compared to the controls, respectively. NFAI and ACS patients presented similar frequency of arterial hypertension (70.8 vs. 79.3%) and resistant hypertension (41.3 vs. 51.1%), dyslipidemia (79.3 vs. 81.5%) and metabolic syndrome (83.3 vs. 85.7%); also, levels of HbA1c were similar between the groups. Binary logistic regression showed that NFAI (p = .004) and ACS (p = .001) were independent predictors for resistant hypertension (p = .003); also, ACS was an independent predictor for metabolic syndrome (p = .04). CONCLUSIONS: NFAI and ACS presented a higher frequency of cardiometabolic morbidities in comparison with individuals with normal adrenal glands. Additionally, we demonstrated that both ACS and NFAI groups have similar cardiometabolic conditions.