Astaxanthin is a carotenoid pigment and has been shown to be an effective inhibitor of oxidative damage. We tested the hypothesis that astaxanthin intake would attenuate immobilization-induced muscle atrophy in rats. Male Wistar rats (14-week old) were fed for 24 days with either astaxanthin or placebo diet. After 14 days of each experimental diet intake, the hindlimb muscles of one leg were im...

Recently, a subgroup of the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) syndrome associated with mutations in the gene encoding the free radical scavenging enzyme CuZn-superoxide dismutase (CuZn-SOD, SOD1) has been identified. Some 67 different mutations have been reported worldwide to date, comprising about one-fifth of familial ALS cases in the populations studied. The autosomal recessively inherited...

PURPOSE The human cornea, a tissue much exposed to oxidative stress, is rich in extracellular superoxide dismutase (SOD). In this study, the contents and distributions of the SOD isoenzymes in the normal human cornea were compared with those in corneas affected by keratoconus and bullous keratopathy. METHODS The central and peripheral parts of normal human corneas were analyzed separately. Ce...

Lipid peroxidation is known to accelerate aging and microvascular lesions in diabetic patients. We studied the acute influence of improved glycemic control on the concentrations of plasma lipid peroxidation intermediates [malondialdehydes (MDA), organic hydroperoxides (OHP)] in ketotic insulin-dependent diabetic patients, as well as the interplay of enzymes such as glutathione peroxidase (GPX) ...

The present study compared the effects of subchronic treatment with melatonin administered via subcutaneous osmotic minipumps for 14 days (10 mg/kg per day) on kainic acivd (KA)-induced status epilepticus, oxidative stress and expression of heat shock protein (HSP) 70 in the frontal cortex and hippocampus between normotensive Wistar rats and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). SHRs showed i...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the in vitro leishmanicidal activity of imidazole-based (1-4) and pyrazole-based (5-6) benzo[g]phthalazine derivatives against Leishmania infantum and Leishmania braziliensis. METHODS The in vitro activity of compounds 1-6 was assayed on extracellular promastigote and axenic amastigote forms, and on intracellular amastigote forms of the parasites. Infectivity and cytoto...

osteoporosis is a metabolic disease characterized by reduction in bone density and susceptibility to deformity and fracture. some studies show that osteoblasts can create inter-cellular free radicals that lead to cellular death. superoxide dismutase (sod) plays an essential role in cell defense against reactive oxygen metabolites. the purpose of this study was to measure the plasma sod activiti...