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Liping Zhu,1 Jizhong He2 1Department of Endocrinology, Huaihe Hospital of Henan University, Kaifeng, 475000, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Cardiology, Yan’an People’s Hospital, Yan’an, 716000, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Jizhong He, Department of Cardiology, Yan’an People’s Hospital, Yan’an, 716000, People’s Republic of China, Tel +8613619113453, Email Hejizhong1122@sina.comBackground: Morin is a flavonol with beneficial effects on diabetic-related injuries. However, the effect of morin on diabetic cardiomyopathy and its association with autophagy, apoptosis, inflammation, and oxidative stress remains unclear. The current study aimed to reveal the mechanisms underlying morin-mediated protection against cardiac failure in diabetic rats.Methods: Diabetic cardiomyopathy in albino Wistar rats was induced by streptozotocin (STZ). After treatment with a dose of 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg/day orally for the next 60 days, autophagic (p62, LC3, and BECN1), apoptotic (BCL2, CASP-3, and CASP9), inflammatory (IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α), and oxidative stress (CAT, SOD, and MDA) markers in protein and gene levels as well as cardiac function tests were measured.Results: The findings revealed that long-term morin treatment improved weight gain, lipid and glycemic profile, hypertension, and cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis in diabetic rats compared to controls (p-value< 0.001). Moreover, the upregulation of BCL-2, LC3, and BECN1 along with the downregulation of p62, CASP-3, and CASP-9 revealed that morin suppressed apoptosis and promoted autophagy in the cardiac tissue of rats with diabetes (p-value< 0.05). Additionally, the reduction in IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, and MDA levels and the increment of SOD and CAT activity suggested that morin decreased inflammation and apoptosis in the heart of the rat models of diabetes (p-value< 0.01).Conclusion: These results may highlight the potential properties of morin as a therapeutic strategy for diabetic cardiomyopathy. Keywords: morin, cardiomyopathy, heart failure, diabetes, complementary therapy

Women at the end of their reproductive age often complain of climacteric symptoms which can be quite debilitating at times. Physiological changes due to deficient oestrogen have received global attention in the search for an acceptable and safe measure to improve quality of life for women with these complaints. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) used to be the main treatment for menopausal symptoms. Lately there are concerns about its possible adverse effects of increasing risks of breast malignancy, heart diseases, etc. Complementary Alternative Medicine (CAM) plays a significant role in relieving these climacteric symptoms especially in women with contraindications to hormonal therapy and in those who are worried of its adverse effects. It is important for women to be aware of these CAM to provide them with options to improve their quality oflife. This paper explores other pharmacological and non-pharmacological measures as alternatives to hormone replacementtherapy (HRT), to assess how useful and reliable they are according to available scientific evidence.

According to a recent review of 69 randomised controlled trials of tinnitus treatment, none of the conventional methods was considered well established in terms of providing replicable long-term reduction of tinnitus impact in excess of placebo effects. The search for new, more effective treatments continues and many patients have turned their attention to complementary treatments. In this review, we have summarised the evidence available from 23 randomised placebo-controlled trials on the effectiveness of alternative treatments for tinnitus including Ginkgo biloba, acupuncture, laser treatment, ultrasound, ear-canal magnets, electromagnetic therapy, homeopathy and hypnotherapy. Our review has excluded treatments which cannot be placebo controlled like yoga, t'ai chi and various forms of psychological treatment such as meditation which could also have significant benefits for patients. Some subjective beneficial effects were found for hypnotherapy [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Infection with HIV-1 results in marked immunologic insults and structural damage to the intestinal mucosa, including compromised barrier function. While the development of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has been a major advancement in the treatment of HIV-1 infection, the need for novel complementary interventions to help restore intestinal structural and functional integrity remains unmet. Known properties of pre-, pro-, and synbiotics suggest that they may be useful tools in achieving this goal. Methods This was a 4-week parallel, placebo-controlled, randomized pilot trial in HIV-infected women on antiretroviral therapy. A synbiotic formulation (Synbiotic 2000®) containing 4 strains of probiotic bacteria (1010 each) plus 4 nondigestible, fermentable dietary fibers (2.5 g each) was provided each day, versus a fiber-only placebo formulation. The primary outcome was bacterial translocation. Secondary outcomes included the levels of supplemented bacteria in stool, the activation phenotype of peripheral T-cells and monocytes, and plasma levels of C-reactive protein and soluble CD14. Results Microbial translocation, as measured by plasma bacterial 16S ribosomal DNA concentration, was not altered by synbiotic treatment. In contrast, the synbiotic formulation resulted in significantly elevated levels of supplemented probiotic bacterial strains in stool, including L. plantarum and P. pentosaceus, with the colonization of these two species being positively correlated with each other. T-cell activation phenotype of peripheral blood lymphocytes showed modest changes in response to synbiotic exposure, with HLA-DR expression slightly elevated on a minor population of CD4+ T-cells which lack expression of HLA-DR or PD-1. In addition, CD38 expression on CD8+ T-cells was slightly lower in the fiber-only group. Plasma levels of soluble CD14 and C-reactive protein were unaffected by synbiotic treatment in this study. Conclusions Synbiotic treatment for 4 weeks can successfully augment the levels of probiotic species in the gut during chronic HIV-1 infection. Associated changes in microbial translocation appear to be absent, and markers of systemic immune activation appear largely unchanged. These findings may help inform future studies aimed at testing pre- and probiotic approaches to improve gut function and mucosal immunity in chronic HIV-1 infection. Trial registration Clinical Trials.gov: NCT00688311