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Objectives: A number of factors involved in the control of energy balance and metabolism act as modulators of gonadal axis. Ghrelin, a peptide secreted from the stomach and hypothalamus, has emerged as an orexigenic food intake controlling signal acting upon hypothalamus. Recently, the potential reproductive role of ghrelin has received great attention. This study was designed to investigate the influence of food restriction and consequent metabolic hormone (ghrelin) on the level and gene expression of female reproductive hormones in adult rats., Materials and Methods: To study the effect of chronic food restriction on ghrelin level in adult female rats and its relation to female reproductive hormones, 32 adult female Sprague Dawley rats divided into 4 groups: Group I (control group) comprised 8 rats fed ad libitum for 30 days, Group II, III and IV (food-restricted groups for 10, 20 and 30 days respectively) each consisted of 8 rats fed 50% of ad libitum intake determined by the amount of food consumed by the control group., Results: Mean body weight of food restricted rats was observed to decrease during the period of the experiment. Food restriction produced significant increase of serum ghrelin with significant decrease of both gastric and hypothalamic ghrelin accompanied with significant increase in its gene expression in stomach and hypothalamus. Estradiol (E2), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels showed significant decrease correlated with down-regulation of gonadotropins, cyclin-dependent kinase (cdc2), cyclin B and kisspeptin (Kiss1) genes in food restricted rats compared with control group., Conclusions: Ghrelin could be one of the hormones responsible for the suppression of female reproductive axis in case of negative energy balance. Thus, ghrelin may operate as an autocrine/paracrine regulator of ovarian function. Overall, ghrelin may represent an additional link between body weight homeostasis and reproductive function.

Objectives: The present study assessed the potential role of leptin administration in the protection and intervention against glucocorticoid-induced secondary osteoporosis in female rats., Materials and Methods: For this purpose five groups of female Sprague Dawley rats were classified into: (1) negative control group in which the healthy rats received saline as vehicle, (2) a group orally administered with prednisolone (5 mg kg b.wt.-1) daily for six months (osteoporotic group), (3) a group subcutaneously administered with leptin (400 microg kg b.wt.-1) three times weekly for six months (positive control), (4) a group orally administered with prednisolone daily with simultaneous subcutaneous administration of leptin three times weekly for six months (protective group), and (5) a group orally administered with prednisolone daily for six months then subcutaneously administered with leptin three times weekly for other six months (therapeutic group)., Results: The obtained data revealed that prednisolone administration resulted in significant decrease in serum osteoprotegerin (OPG) level accompanied with significant increase in serum receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) and beta2-microglobulin levels in comparison with the negative control group. Moreover, prednisolone significantly decreased bone mineral density and content of different areas of the right femur bones as compared to the negative control group. Furthermore, administration of leptin with/after stopping prednisolone administration resulted in a marked modulation in the majority of bone biomarkers as well as improvement in bone mineral density and content., Conclusions: Leptin provided promising effect on bone through its direct action on bone and matrix mineralization.

Objectives: This study aimed to elucidate the role and mode of action of Sargassum subrepandum methanolic extract in management of dyslipidemia in adult female rats., Material and Methods: Forty adult female Sprague Dawley rats were assigned into four groups: (1) lean control rats fed on standard diet, (2) dyslipidemia control fed on the atherogenic diet, (3) lean rats orally administered with 100 mg/kg b. wt of Sargassum subrepandum methanolic extract and (4) dyslipidemia rats orally administered with Sargassum subrepandum methanolic extract. Plasma lipid profile, serum MDA, NO, leptin, TNF-alpha and adiponectin levels were demonstrated in the all studied groups., Results: The results showed that feeding of rats with athrogenic diet caused significant elevation in plasma cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL, serum MDA, NO, leptin and TNF-alpha levels while, it produced significant decline in plasma HDL and serum adiponectin levels compared with lean control rats. However, treatment of dyslipidemia rats with Sargassum subrepandum methanolic extract induced significant improvement of plasma lipid profile, marked decrease in serum MDA, NO, leptin, TNF-alpha level in concomitant with remarkable increase in serum adiponectin level., Conclusions: These results indicated that Sargassum subrepandum extract plays a vital role in ameliorating dyslipidemia and its complications particularly oxidative stress and implication. This could be attributed to the hypolipidemic effect, antilipidperoxidative activity and antinflammatory property of Sargassum subrepandum methanolic extract.

Objectives: The present study was undertaken to determine the clinical significance of serum levels of HGF, Bcl-2 and NO in the diagnosis and prognosis of breast cancer patients., Patients and Methods: Forty four primary invasive breast cancer patients and fifteen health control subjects were enrolled in the present study. Serum HGF, Bcl-2 and No levels were assayed and correlated with clinico pathological parameters. ROS curve analysis was also done for each biochemical marker., Results: The mean level of HGF was 1198.79 +/- 76.32 pg/ml versus 884.67 +/- 66.88 pg/ml for the control (p = 0.026). The HGF levels were significantly elevated in the patients with increasing the tumor stage (p = 0.036). In addition, HGF levels were markedly increased in negative estrogen receptor patients (p = 0.039). The mean level of Bcl-2 in patients was 12.83 +/- 1.97 ng/ml versus 5.09 +/- 0.40 ng/ml in control (p = 0.027). Levels of Bcl-2 were elevated but not statistically significant in patients with grade I (GI) tumors, negative nodes, ER negative tumors and postmenopausal patients (p = 0.4, 0.8, 0.7 and 0.5, respectively). The patients mean serum levels of NO were 63.07 +/- 4.14 micromol/L versus 43.99 +/- 4.21 micromol/L in control (p = 0.014). The levels of NO were elevated but also not statistically significant in patients with tumor size I, GI tumors, ER negative tumors, positive nodes, stage II tumors and postmenopausal patients (p = 0.3, 0.6, 0.3, 0.7, 0.3 and 0.2 respectively). From the ROC curve analysis, it was observed that the area under curve for HGF, Bcl-2 and NO was 0.695, 0.842 and 0.711, respectively. This result indicates the good validity of the above biomarkers especially Bcl-2 to discriminate the ER positive from the negative tumors in primary breast cancer patients., Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the serum levels of HGF, Bcl-2 or NO may help in the diagnosis of breast cancer patients and may aid in disease prognosis. However, larger study with more patients are required.

Background: Obesity, a worldwide health problem, is a metabolic disease currently associated with a cluster and progressive pathologies presenting several features of metabolic syndrome., Objectives: The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of rimonabant, simvastatin and their combination on obesity associated metabolic disorder mediators in adult male rats., Materials and Methods: Fifty adult male Wistar rats weighing (120 +/- 10 g) were divided into five groups: Group 1 was kept on standard rodent chow and served as normal diet control. Group 2 was given high fat diet (HFD) for twenty weeks and served as HFD control. Groups 3, 4 and 5 administered HFD for ten weeks and then orally received rimonabant (2 mg/kg/day), simvastatin (10 mg/kg/day), combination of both drugs, respectively for another ten weeks with continuing feeding HFD., Results: The current results showed that the treatment of HFD rats with either rimonabant or simvastatin significantly reduced body mass index, total cholesterol, triacylglycerides, low density lipoproteins, tumor necrosis factor alpha and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, while increased adiponectin serum levels. Rimonabant showed to be more effective than simvastatin. Moreover, concomitant administration of rimonabant and simvastatin achieved the highest effect which nearly normalized most of the studied parameters as compared to singular therapy., Conclusion: Rimonabant is the drug of primary choice as singular therapy for obesity. The adjunct therapy of rimonabant with simvastatin may be a novel and a promising therapeutic approach as it has a beneficial effect on the pathophysiological processes of obesity and its associated metabolic disorders.

Objective: This study was undertaken to investigate the anti-inflammatory role of fennel, carob, doum and mixture of them in improving the renal dysfunction induced in rats by the cyclosporine., Design: Sixty female albino rats were divided into six groups: healthy control rats, cyclosporine injected rats (positive control), other groups were injected by cyclosporine for 7 days and then diet was supplemented with either fennel, doum, carob or mixture of them. After 45 days of supplementation, rats were scarified. Serum and urinary samples were obtained for different biochemical analysis., Methods: The analysis included the determination of creatinine levels in serum and urinary samples, serum ammonia, transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), urinary N-acetyl-beta D-glucosaminidase (NAG), beta2 microglobulin as well as calculating the creatinine clearance. Also, an histopathological examination for the kidney tissue was performed., Results: The present study showed that cyclosporine induced the nephrotoxicity as appeared by elevation of serum and urinary levels of creatinine, urinary level of beta2 microglobulin, serum levels of ammonia, TGF-beta1 and TNF-alpha and the NAG level while decreased the creatinine clearance. Addition of fennel, carob, doum or mixture of them significantly improved the kidney functions. Moreover, anti-inflammatory status of animals injected with cyclosporine and supplemented with fennel, carob, doum and mixture of them, showed a significant amelioration in the kidney functions as compared to animals injected with the cyclosporine only. Histopathological investigation of kidney tissue of rat treated with the cyclosporine showed a moderate degree of renal damages. While, groups fed on fennel, carob, doum or mixture of them showed a great improvement in the kidney morphological structure., Conclusions: Diet supplementation with fennel, carob, doum have a promising anti-inflammatory influence on attenuating the complications associated with the renal dysfunction.

Background and Objectives: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurological disorder associated with aging. The neuropathologic features of this disease are senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, which are present in memory structures and cerebral cortex. This study focuses on evaluation of estradiol administration in the management of neurological changes accompanied with AD in ovariectomized rats intoxicated with aluminum., Materials and Methods: Fifty adult female rats were classified into 5 main groups as follows: Group (1): gonad intact control, Group (2): ovariectomized control group, Group (3): ovariectomized rats were injected subcutaneously with estradiol for 18 weeks, Group (4): ovariectomized rats were injected intraperitoneally with aluminum chloride (AlCl3) daily for three months, Group (5): ovariectomized rats were injected intraperitoneally with AlCl3 for three months, then, they were injected subcutaneously with estradiol three times weekly for 18 weeks. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), B cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), acetylcholinesterase (AchE) and acetylcholine (Ach) were determined in brain tissue of all studied groups., Results: The results showed that brain TAC, SOD activity, Bcl-2 and BDNF levels were decreased significantly due to ovariectomy. Brain H2O2, MDA levels and AchE activity were increased significantly after AlCl3 administration to ovariectomized rats. Brain TAC, Bcl-2, BDNF and Ach levels were decreased significantly as a result of AlCl3 supplementation to ovariectomized rats. Treatment of rats with estradiol produced marked improvement in the most studied biomarkers and this finding was well documented by histological investigation of the brain which showed remarkable improvement in the feature of the neurons in addition to the disappearance of plaques., Conclusions: We could conclude that estradiol administration significantly ameliorates the neurodegeneration characteristic of Alzheimer's disease in experimental rat model. This may be attributed to its powerful antioxidant, antiapoptotic, neurotrophic as well as its antiamyloidogenic activities.