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Objective. Reproductive disorders are one of the complications of diabetes mellitus. Since conflicting results have been obtained from different studies, which examined serum levels of cytokines in patients with diabetes, and considering the fact that the origin of cytokines cannot be accurately determined from their serum changes, attempts were made in the present study to study histological changes and testicular tissue levels of TNF-α and IL-1 in rats treated with exercise. Considering the effects of exercise in reducing blood sugar level and its complications, two types of short-term and long-term regular exercises were also considered to evaluate their effects on male reproductive tissues. Methods. In this study, 60 male rats with the weight range of 250±50 g were used and were randomly divided into six groups (10 rats each). Healthy groups included sedentary control group, and groups treated with two and eight weeks of exercise. Rats with type 1 diabetes (induced by streptozotocin) included sedentary control group, groups treated with two and eight weeks of exercise (six groups). All groups were evaluated in terms of testicular tissue levels of TNF-α and IL-1 using ELISA and the histometry of spermatogonia, primary spermatocytes, Sertoli cells, epithelial thickness, diameter of veins, and thickness of the seminiferous tubule. Results. Histological changes resulting from diabetes, particularly in the diameter of testicular veins and a number of cells, including Sertoli, highlights the important fact that tissue perfusion in patients with diabetes is especially crucial, in a way that exercise proved useful for tissue structures by offsetting this complication. Measurement of the cytokines IL-1 and TNF-α in the current study showed that perfusion problems are more important in diabetic complications than inflammatory factors. Conclusions. The main result of this research is recommendation of investigating the tissue of interest for diagnosis of diabetes complications, measuring inflammatory mediators of tissue rather than evaluating their serum concentrations, and focusing on vascular complications as a major complication of diabetes. Furthermore, regular exercise could help improve the function of reproductive organs in healthy groups and prevent diabetes infertility complications to an acceptable degree in diabetic groups.

Background & Objective: Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are proteins that play key roles in inflammation. METH and buprenorphine (BUP) both modulate pain, but the exact mechanism underlying their antinociceptive effects is unknown. As a result, the expression of TLR1 and TLR2 genes was examined in METH rats that had been treated with or without BUP. Materials & Methods: A total of 77 rats were classified into 11 subtypes (n = 7): control (saline), BUP 6 or 10 mg/kg, METH (10 mg/kg), METH+BUP 6 or 10 mg/kg, or withdrawal groups. The treatments were intraperitoneally administered for 5 or 14 days. RT-PCR evaluated genes expressed in the brain stem area. Results: The results showed that TLR1 gene expression in the METH group (10 mg/kg; 5 days) considerably improved compared with the control group. Furthermore, BUP injection (10 mg/kg) acutely decreased TLR2 gene expression compared with the METH group. In the METH + BUP (10 mg/kg; 14 days) group, TLR1 expression was higher than in the METH group. The coadministration of METH+BUP (10 mg/kg) acutely decreased TLR2 gene expression compared with METH. Conclusion: There are limited changes in these genes, and their role in METH consumption and inflammation is unclear. Due to the presence of these two genes in the inflammatory pain and addiction signaling pathways, they may have more clear roles in other parts of the nervous system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of buprenorphine (BUP) on anxiety-like behavior and the expression of the glial fibrillary acidic protein (Gfap) and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) in methamphetamine (METH)-treated rats were investigated in this study. Twenty-eight male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups including control (saline), METH (10.00 mg kg-1), BUP (10.00 mg kg-1), and BUP+METH groups and treated for five days. On the final day of treatment, gene expression levels and anxiety were evaluated using elevated plus-maze (EPM). According to the results, five days of METH injection reduced open arm exploration in the EPM. In contrast, the open arm entries and the time spent in the open arms were increased in the BUP+METH group compared to the METH group. The expression levels of Gfap and Nrf2 were lower in METH-treated rats compared to controls, whereas Gfap and Nrf2 expression levels were higher in the METH+BUP-treated rats compared to the METH-treated rats, however, it was similar to the controls. These findings suggested that co-administration of BUP+METH could decrease anxiety-like behavior through increasing the activity of the antioxidant protection system and might have therapeutic potential for preventing anxiety in METH users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of ethanolic extract of saffron on oxidative stress markers in the hippocampus of experimental models of MS. Materials and Methods: Induction of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) was carried out by direct single injection of 0.01 % ethidium bromide (EB) into the Cornu ammonis (CA1) of hippocampal formation. One week after MS induction, animals received intrahippocampal (5 µg/rat and 10 µg/rat) injection of the saffron. At the end, the bilateral hippocampi were dissected to measure oxidative stress parameters. one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey test were used for Statistical analyses activity. Results: Hippocampal injection of EB had no effect on catalase (CAT) activity, but it induced significant increment of antioxidant enzymes GPx and SOD (P<0.05). Short-term local injection of saffron extract significantly reduced the activity of GPx and SOD enzymes (P<0.05). But the activity of CAT was significantly increased following microinjection of saffron extract (P<0.05). Conclusion: The results of the present study show that the local injection of EB may cause increased production of free radicals. Antioxidant capacity and activity are increased. Saffron extract as a potent antioxidant modulates oxidative stress markers, probably through scavenging of ROS and clearing of cells milieu from free radicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]