شهرام غلامرضایی دارسرا

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a major health challenge in the world today. The present study aimed to determine the effect of aerobic exercise and Melissa officinalis extract on the expression of p53, p21, and caspase-3 genes in male rats with AD.

In this experimental study, 48 rats were randomly divided into 6 groups: control, AD, control + aerobic exercise, AD + aerobic exercise, AD + aerobic exercise + extract, and AD + extract. The AD model was induced by injecting amyloid beta 42-1 into the hippocampus. Aerobic exercise was performed for 8 weeks. Melissa officinalis extract was dissolved in 2 ml of distilled water at a dose of 100 mg/kg body weight and gavaged to rats for 8 weeks. Real-Time PCR was used to determine the expression levels of p53, p21, and caspase-3 genes.

After 8 weeks of aerobic exercise combined with Melissa officinalis extract, the expression of the p21 gene in the intervention groups significantly increased compared to the AD group (P<0.05). Moreover, p53 and caspase-3 were significantly decreased in the AD + aerobic exercise and AD + aerobic exercise + extract groups compared to the AD group (P<0.05).

It seems that aerobic exercise combined with Melissa officinalis extract can inhibit AD by suppressing apoptosis, however, further studies in this field are needed.

Obesity and inflammation is an important risk factor for diseases. Aerobic exercise (AE) and medicinal herbs can reduce obesity-induced inflammation. This study aimed to investigate the effect of AE and Rice Bran Extract (RBE) on the inflammatory gene expression in white adipose tissue of obese female rats.

Thirty female Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups including Control with a natural diet, Control with a High-Fat Diet (HFD), HFD + AE, HFD + RBE, and HFD + AE + RBE. Rats ran on a treadmill for four weeks and received RBE. To induce obesity, frying palm oil was used (0.5 ml/g). After euthanasia, the white adipose tissue was extracted to measure the IL6, TNF-α, and TLR4 gene expression. 

HFD caused a significant increase in the IL-6, TNF-α, and TLR4 gene expression (P=0.001). AE significantly decreased IL-6 (P=0.001), TNF-α (P=0.041), and TLR4 (P=0.032) gene expression. RBE significantly decreased the IL-6 (P=0.001), TNF-α (P=0.003), and TLR-4 (P=0.011) gene expression. IL-6 (P=0.002), TNF-α (P=0.005), and TLR4 (P=0.011) gene expression was significantly decreased in the AE + RBE group compared to the control group with HFD, However, AE and RBE interaction in the expression of these genes was not statistically significant.

AE and RBE decrease the gene expression of inflammatory mediators caused by HFD in white adipose tissue. The AE and RBE consumption is recommended as a preventive and therapeutic solution in obesity conditions.

This study aimed to assess the effect of 8 weeks of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) with curcumin supplementation on expression OF mitochondrial cardiomyocyte drp1 and MFN2 genes in male stroke model rats.

In this experimental study, 32 male rats were randomly divided into 4 groups of HIIT, supplement, control and supplement + training. The exercise group was exposed to HIIT for 8 weeks. Training program in the two groups of HIIT and training + supplementation included performing 10 periods of 4-minute activities with an intensity of 85%-90% VO2max, and at this time, the supplementary group did not have training program. The expression of mitochondrial drp1 and MFN2 genes was obtained by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and Shapiro-Wilk tests.

The results of one-way ANOVA showed a significant difference between the means of all of the groups in expression of mitochondrial Drp1 and MFN2 genes. The results of Tukey test showed a significant decrease in Drp1 gene expression in both training and exercise + supplement groups compared to the supplement and control groups and a significant increase in MFN2 gene expression in both training and supplement + supplement groups compared to the supplement and control groups.

HIIT with curcumin supplementation can improve the function of the cardiomyocytes' mitochondria of male myocardial infarction rats by modulating fusion and fission processes.