PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

S Montes

Publications and source records attributed to S Montes.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Hypoglycemic, vasorelaxant and hepatoprotective effects of Cochlospermum vitifolium (Willd.) Sprengel: a potential agent for the treatment of metabolic syndrome.

Cochlospermum vitifolium (Willd.) Sprengel is a Mexican medicinal plant that is used in the folk medicine for the treatment of hypertension, diabetes, hepatitis and related diseases. The purpose of the present study was to assess the pharmacological properties of different extracts from Cochlospermum vitifolium bark as potential agent for the treatment of some factors related with metabolic syndrome (MS), a complex disease produced for several pathophysiological factors such as visceral fat obesity, insulin resistance, hypertension, dyslipidemia and liver steatosis. Hexane (HECv), dichloromethane (DECv) and methanol (MECv) extracts were subjected to some pharmacological assays to determine their vasorelaxant and hypoglycemic activity. On the other hand, MECv was also evaluated to determine its hepatoprotective effect on sub-chronic experimental assay. HECv showed a significant endothelium-independent relaxation on rat aorta rings (intact endothelium: IC(50)=14.42+/-5.90 microg/mL, E(max)=92.71+/-8.9%; denuded endothelium: IC(50)=27.94+/-4.0 microg/mL, E(max)=78.68+/-4.6%) and MECv produced an endothelium-dependent relaxation (IC(50)=21.94+/-6.87 microg/mL, E(max)=79.12+/-7.80%) on this tissue. Furthermore, HECv (at a dose of 120 mg/kg) also showed a significant decrease of blood glucose levels (p<0.05) on normoglycemic rats. Moreover, MECv (at a dose of 100 mg/kg) also was administered to bile duct-obstructed rats to determine its hepatoprotective activity, showing a statistically significant decrease of serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (PGT, 45%) and alkaline phosphatase (APh, 15%) (p<0.05). Finally, we obtained a crystalline polyphenolic compound from MECv by spontaneous precipitation. Those crystals were identified as (+/-)-naringenin by X-ray diffraction, NMR, IR and GC-MS techniques. Results suggest that Cochlospermum vitifolium could be used as a potential agent against MS since it shows hypoglycemic, vasorelaxant and hepatoprotective properties.

Alanine Transaminase↗
PubMed2001

Participation of manganese-superoxide dismutase in the neuroprotection exerted by copper sulfate against 1-methyl 4-phenylpyridinium neurotoxicity.

Neurodegenerative effects of 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+), the main metabolite of the neurotoxin 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) include enhancement of lipid peroxidation in the striatum of mice, associated to overproduction of free radicals. Copper acts as a prosthetic group of several copper-dependent antioxidant enzymes, and we previously showed the neuroprotective effect of CuSO4 pretreatment against the MPP+-induced neurotoxicity. In those studies, acute administration of CuSO4 (2.5 mg/kg) blocked MPP+-induced striatal lipid peroxidation, suggesting the activation of Cu-dependent proteins that defend neurons from damage elicited by free radicals. In the present study, we evaluated the activity of superoxide dismutase in mice pretreated with CuSO4 16 h or 24 h prior to MPP+ administration. Copper administration produced a specific and significant increase in manganese superoxide dismutase activity in both the CuSO4/saline (fivefold increase) and the CuSO4/MPP+ groups of animals (sevenfold increase). The Na2SO4/MPP+ group showed a twofold increase in manganese superoxide dismutase activity versus control levels. The results suggest that the load of copper activating manganese-dependent superoxide dismutase could be responsible for neuroprotection against the MPP+ insult.

1-Methyl-4-phenylpyridinium↗
PubMed2001

Striatal manganese accumulation induces changes in dopamine metabolism in the cirrhotic rat.

Manganese (Mn) is an essential metal that, in excess, causes an extrapyramidal syndrome consisting in tremor, rigidity and akinesia. Recently, Mn was found to accumulate in brains of cirrhotic patients who also present motor abnormalities. Manganese alters dopaminergic transmission promoting an increase in the turnover of dopamine (DA). In this study, we studied the changes in dopamine and its main metabolite homovanillic acid (HVA) to evaluate DA turnover following administration of manganese to bile-duct obstructed rats. Some groups of rats were treated with manganese chloride in two concentrations: 0.5 and 1 mg/ml of Mn2+ in their drinking water. Four weeks after surgery and treatment with manganese, striatal Mn, DA and HVA were assessed. Marked increases (P<0.05) of striatal manganese content were observed in cirrhotic rats treated and untreated with manganese, these augments were dependent on the Mn concentration in water. Striatal contents of DA in cirrhotic rats diminished by 30% (P<0.05), administration of 0.5 mg/ml of manganese in drinking water to these rats returned dopamine to the basal level and 1 mg/ml of manganese increased dopamine content by 27%. The relationship of Mn content and DA turnover (HVA:DA) in the same animal showed a positive and statically significant correlation (P<0.05), with differences in slope for sham (b1=0.1528) and cirrhotic rats (b1=0.0174). These results suggest that manganese brain accumulation observed in liver failure could be a key element to understand dopamine metabolism in cirrhotic condition of humans.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Exposure to manganese: health effects on the general population, a pilot study in central Mexico.

To support a risk assessment of manganese exposure in two communities living within a manganese mining district a cross-sectional study was performed on a sample of the adult population of long-term residents. One community was exposed to a point source from an ore primary refining plant. Manganese is an essential mineral for human life. It is also the fourth in importance for industrial metal making. Data were collected on socioeconomic living conditions, emission sources, environmental media concentrations (air, water, soil, dust, food), respiratory symptomatology, and a neuropsychological examination (Mini-Mental Screening test, the Hooper Visual Organization test, the Ardila-Ostroski, and others). We examined 73 subjects (52 women), most of low socioeconomic status. Environmental air concentrations were 2 to 3 times higher than those in other urban concentrations. Manganese blood concentrations ranged from 7.5 to 88 microg/L, with a median concentration of 15, the upper quartile starting at 20 microg/L; the upper 10% was above 25 microg/L. Lead and manganese were highly correlated; there was an inverse relation to hemoglobin. Reduced levels of plasma lipid peroxidation were associated with blood manganese. Using multivariate logistic regression, we identified B-Mn as increasing the risk of deficient cognitive performance 12 times (Mini-Mental score of less than 17).

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Differential effects of acute ethanol treatment on cardiac contractile function in young adult and senescent mice.

It is understood that marked biochemical, molecular, and performance alterations occur in cardiovascular tissues related to aging. It is logical, therefore, that differences in the cardiovascular response to ethanol consumption, when comparing younger with older individuals, may exist. We compared the left ventricular function of 6- and 15-month-old (senescent) mice and 16-month-old (senescent) inducible nitric oxide synthase knockout mice (n=7 each) before and subsequent to acute treatment with 60% ethanol (2 g/kg, i.p.). A Millar 1.4 Fr conductance/micromanometer catheter was placed into the left ventricle of the mice for acquisition of pressure-volume loops. Heart contractile functions were significantly decreased in the senescent group, compared with findings in the younger mice. Subsequent to ethanol treatment, the younger mice showed a significant reduction in cardiac function, with a 28% decrease in cardiac index, a 29% decrease in end-systolic elastance, and a 16% decrease in preload recruitable stroke work (P<.01). Conversely, the senescent mice showed significantly increased contractile function, with a 40% increase in end-systolic elastance (P<.01) and a 19% increase in preload recruitable stroke work (P<.05). The myocardial cyclic guanosine monophosphate levels were significantly higher in the older group (P<.002), and subsequent to ethanol treatment, they were decreased by 68.5% (P<.001). Northern blot analysis demonstrated inducible nitric oxide synthase message only in senescent myocardial tissues. Moreover, the cardiac function of senescent inducible nitric oxide synthase knockout mice was comparable with that of young mice, and after ethanol treatment, cardiac function decreased significantly, just as that for young mice did, with a 26% decrease in cardiac index (P<.05) and a 23% decrease in preload recruitable stroke work (P<.01). It was concluded that the differential cardiovascular function and response to acute ethanol

Aging↗
PubMed1999

Hemispheric differences in variability of fissural patterns in parasylvian and cingulate regions of human brains.

We have determined different patterns of fissurization in Broca's area, the gyrus of Heschl, the planum temporale, the inferior parietal lobe, and the cingulate sulcus. Such patterns were asymmetrically distributed, indicating increased folding on the left side in most cases. More folding can sometimes be related to a larger cortical area, resulting in increased processing capacities in the respective brain region. Furthermore, the brain regions associated with the asymmetrical sulci are involved in lateralized functions. Of special interest are the asymmetries observed in regions corresponding to the inferior parietal lobe (the accessory postcentral sulcus and the intraparietal sulcus), which, according to recent studies, is involved in linguistic working memory. We did not detect a tendency of distinct fissurization patterns in a given brain region to be associated with specific patterns in other fissures, indicating that the different fissure types develop independently in each brain region and can therefore be determined by local processes. These descriptions are of relevance to imaging studies that intend to establish correspondences between gross morphology and functional parameters such as behavior and brain activation.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Cytology of pleural effusions in rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid pleural effusions are relatively uncommon. The cytologic examination of such effusions can be diagnostic of the underlying disease; this is of great clinical significance when the rheumatoid condition has not been diagnosed prior to the pleural involvement. The diagnostic cytologic abnormalities include large elongated and multinucleated giant cells and macrophages in a background of granular and necrotic debris. The cytologic characteristics parallel the histologic features of pleural rheumatoid nodules.

Adult↗