Ascorbic acid, or vitamin C, is an important antioxidant in plasma, where it consumes oxygen free radicals and helps to preserve alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) in lipoproteins. Erythrocytes, as the most plentiful cell in blood, help to preserve ascorbate in the blood plasma. In contrast to nucleated cells, which avidly concentrate ascorbate, the erythrocyte ascorbate concentration is the same as ...

background: b cell cll/lymphoma 2 protein, bcl-2, is an important anti-apoptotic factor that has been implicated in lithium’s neuroprotective effect. however, most studies have focused on assessing the effects of lithium in neurons, ignoring examination of bcl-2 in astrocytes, which also influence neuronal survival and are affected in bipolar disorder. the aim of this study was to evaluate whet...

BACKGROUND Supra-physiological concentrations of ascorbate, vitamin C, in blood, greater than 1mM, achieved through intravenous administration (IV), are being tested in clinical trials to treat human disease, e.g. cancer. These trials need information on the high levels of ascorbate achieved in blood upon IV administration of pharmacological ascorbate so appropriate clinical decisions can be ma...

Ascorbate free radical stimulates the growth of human promyelocytic leukemia cells (HL-60) in the presence of a limited amount of serum (1%) when added to the cells under conditions where it is impermeable. Maximum growth stimulation occurs at concentrations from 5 x 10(-9) to 2 x 10(-8) M. Ascorbate mimicks the stimulation effect of its free radical but stimulates at higher concentrations. Aut...

Sufficient uptake and whole body distribution of vitamin C (ascorbate) is essential for many biochemical processes, including some that are vital for tumor growth and spread. Uptake of ascorbate into cancer cells is modulated by availability, tumor blood flow, tissue diffusion parameters, and ascorbate transport proteins. Uptake into cells is mediated by two families of transport proteins, name...

Background and Objectives: Previous studies have indicated that lithium may increase the level of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which in turn improves the recovery of patients with stroke. In this controlled trial we evaluated the effect of lithium on BDNF serum level in patients with ischemic stroke. Methods: In this randomized controlled...

  The effects of gentamicin, lithium and combination of these drugs on ultrastructural morphology of rat submandibular glands were studied. Daily intraperitoneal injection of 40 mg/kg of gentamicin which causes chronic salivary gland toxicity, led to a marked decrease in gland's dry weight and total protein concentration but did not affect DNA content. Electron micrograph (EM) of submandibular ...

Pharmacological doses (> 1mM) of ascorbate (a.k.a., vitamin C) have been shown to selectively kill cancer cells through a mechanism that is dependent on the generation of H2O2 at doses that are safely achievable in humans using intravenous administration. The process by which ascorbate oxidizes to form H2O2 is thought to be mediated catalytically by redox active metal ions such as iron (Fe). Be...

Ascorbate is a co-factor for the hydroxylases that regulate the transcription factor hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1, which provides cancer cells with a metabolic and survival advantage in the hypoxic environment of solid tumors. However, whether ascorbate affects tumor development is a highly debated issue. We aimed to determine whether tumor ascorbate was associated with HIF-1 activation and...

Leucocyte ascorbate (LA) and serum ascorbate (SA) were measured in patients who had sustained an acute cerebrovascular accident. There was a significant fall in LA and Sa within 24 hours of the incident and this persisted for several weeks. The "stress" of the event resulted in a rise in serum cortisol concentration and depletion of both pituitary and adrenal glands of ascorbate when examined a...