Effects of Methanolic and Butanolic Fractions of Allium Elburzense Wendelbo Bulbs on Blood Glucose Level of Normal and STZ-Induced Diabetic Rats.

Effects of methanolic and butanolic fractions of Allium elburzense Wendelbo bulbs on blood glucose level of normal and STZ-induced diabetic rats.

Filed under: Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation

Res Pharm Sci. 2012 Oct; 7(4): 201-7
Zolfaghari B, Shokoohinia Y, Ramezanlou P, Sadeghi A, Mahmoudzadeh M, Minaiyan M

Allium elburzense (A. elborzense, Alliaceae), a plant rich in saponins, is an edible vegetable in northern Iran with a folk background use as antidiabetic which has not yet been examined for this indication. To evaluate the antidiabetic potential of A. elburzense, its hydroalcoholic (HdAE) and butanolic extracts (BuE) were examined. The acute (1, 2, 3, 4, 8 h) and sub-acute (11 days) effects of oral (p.o.) and intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of HdAE and BuE of A. elburzense bulbs in different doses were evaluated on blood glucose levels of normal and streptozotocin (STZ, 55 mg/kg body weight)-induced diabetic rats. Glibenclamide (1 mg/kg b.w.) was used as reference drug. Sub-acute treatment with HdAE for 11 days reduced significantly blood glucose levels in diabetic rats (at least P<0.05), while BuE was effective only following i.p. administration (P<0.01). Acute administration did not reduce blood glucose level in normal and diabetic animals. It is concluded that HdAE of A. elburzense exhibited a significant antihyperglycemic activity following chronic administration. These results provide evidence for potential use of A. elburzense in diabetes mellitus considering the fact that this plant is endemic to a location of Iran where diabetes is a high prevalence disorder. HubMed – drug

 

The effects of dexmedetomidine on hemodynamic responses to tracheal ntubation in hypertensive patients: A comparison with esmolol and sufentanyl.

Filed under: Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation

J Res Med Sci. 2012 Jan; 17(1): 22-31
Uysal HY, Tezer E, Türko?lu M, Aslanargun P, Ba?ar H

Hypertension and tachycardia caused by tracheal intubation can be detrimental in hypertensive patients. This study was conducted in order to compare the effects of dexmedetomidine on hemodynamic response to tracheal intubation in hypertensive patients with esmolol and sufentanyl.Sixty hypertensive patients scheduled for noncardiac surgery under general anesthesia were randomly assigned to receive one of the three drugs before induction of anesthesia. Groups I, II, and III respectively received esmolol (100 mg) dexmedetomidine (1 ?g/kg) and sufentanyl (0.25 ?g/kg). Heart Rate (HR), systolic (SAP) and diastolic (DAP) arterial pressures were recorded before drug administration (baseline; T1), after drug administration (T2), after induction of anesthesia (T3), immediately after intubation (T4) and 3, 5 and 10 minutes after intubation (T5, T6, and T7, respectively). The mean percentage variations from T1 to T4 were calculated for all variables (HR, SAP and DAP). Thiopental dose, onset time of vecuronium and intubation time were also assessed.No differences were observed between the three groups regarding demographic data (p > 0.05). Median thiopental dose was significantly lower in Group II (325 mg; range: 250-500) compared to Group I (425 mg; range: 325-500; p < 0.01) and Group III (375 mg; range: 275-500; p = 0.02). The onset time of vecuronium was longest in Group I (245.2 ± 63 s vs. 193.9 ± 46.6 s and 205.5 ± 43.5 s; p < 0.01 and p < 0.05). In Group I, HR significantly decreased after drug administration compared to baseline (83.8 ± 20.4 vs. 71.7 ± 14.8; p = 0.002). Compared to the baseline (90.4 ± 8.4), DAP decreased after induction and remained below baseline values at T5, T6 and T7 (71.3 ± 12.8, 76.2 ± 10.7, 68.9 ± 10.8 and 62.1 ± 8.7, respectively; p < 0.05) in Group II. According to the mean percentage variation, a significant reduction in HR was assessed in Group II compared to Group III (-13.4 ± 17.6% vs. 11.0 ± 27.8%; p = 0.003). Increment in SAP was significant in Group I when compared to Group II (9.8 ± 20.9% vs. -9.2 ± 20.2%; p < 0.05). Increment in DAP in Group III was significant compared to Group II (0.07 ± 19.8 vs. 24.5 ± 39.1; p < 0.05).In hypertensive patients, administration of dexmedetomidine before anesthesia induction blunts the hemodynamic response to tracheal intubation and reduces the thiopental dose. HubMed – drug

 

Modeling drug- and chemical-induced hepatotoxicity with systems biology approaches.

Filed under: Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation

Front Physiol. 2012; 3: 462
Bhattacharya S, Shoda LK, Zhang Q, Woods CG, Howell BA, Siler SQ, Woodhead JL, Yang Y, McMullen P, Watkins PB, Andersen ME

We provide an overview of computational systems biology approaches as applied to the study of chemical- and drug-induced toxicity. The concept of “toxicity pathways” is described in the context of the 2007 US National Academies of Science report, “Toxicity testing in the 21st Century: A Vision and A Strategy.” Pathway mapping and modeling based on network biology concepts are a key component of the vision laid out in this report for a more biologically based analysis of dose-response behavior and the safety of chemicals and drugs. We focus on toxicity of the liver (hepatotoxicity) – a complex phenotypic response with contributions from a number of different cell types and biological processes. We describe three case studies of complementary multi-scale computational modeling approaches to understand perturbation of toxicity pathways in the human liver as a result of exposure to environmental contaminants and specific drugs. One approach involves development of a spatial, multicellular “virtual tissue” model of the liver lobule that combines molecular circuits in individual hepatocytes with cell-cell interactions and blood-mediated transport of toxicants through hepatic sinusoids, to enable quantitative, mechanistic prediction of hepatic dose-response for activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor toxicity pathway. Simultaneously, methods are being developing to extract quantitative maps of intracellular signaling and transcriptional regulatory networks perturbed by environmental contaminants, using a combination of gene expression and genome-wide protein-DNA interaction data. A predictive physiological model (DILIsym™) to understand drug-induced liver injury (DILI), the most common adverse event leading to termination of clinical development programs and regulatory actions on drugs, is also described. The model initially focuses on reactive metabolite-induced DILI in response to administration of acetaminophen, and spans multiple biological scales.
HubMed – drug

 

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