Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a metabolic syndrome characterized by hyperglycemia. Chronic complications affect a number of organs, including the lungs. Cissampelos sympodialis Eichl (Menispermaceae) is a plant used to treat respiratory diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Cissampelos sympodialis extract (CSE) in lungs of diabetic rats. We used 30 Wistar rats divided into three groups: control group (CG), diabetic group (DG) and diabetic Cissampelos sympodialis treatment group (DTG). Diabetes was induced by streptozotocin (40 mg/kg i.v.). The CSE (400 mg/kg, po) was administered daily, during four weeks, beginning one week after the onset of DM. The treatment with CSE was not able to reduce blood glucose levels after streptozotocin injection. However, it was able to decrease cholesterol and triglycerides and prevent damage on pancreatic islets morphology. Additionally, morphological alterations such as alveolar septa loss, inflammatory infiltrate and fibrosis were seen in lung tissue of rats with DM, and treatment with CSE apparently reversed these histopathological findings. Thus, CSE treatment reduced the lipid profile and restored the lung architecture of diabetic animals by a mechanism independent of glycemia and which might be associated with the reduction of the damage on the pancreatic islets.

Abstract One of the approaches to evaluate injury prediction is the hamstrings-to-quadriceps peak torque conventional ratio (H:Q ratio). The gold standard for assessment of muscle strength in vivo is by isokinetic dynamometry; however, the one-repetition maximum strength test (1-RM) presents high correlation with isokinetic data. This study aimed to compare measures of H:Q ratio in young adults obtained by dynamometry and 1-RM testing. No significant differences were observed in the H:Q ratio when comparing 1-RM and dynamometry testing. However, there was a significant and strong correlation between the measurements obtained in the two tests. Despite this correlation, data from both tests are not equal as the H:Q ratio obtained from 1-RM test presents a systematic error. Nonetheless, the results can enhance the applicability of 1-RM test in clinical settings.

As metaloproteinases participam do reparo das úlceras venosas de membros inferiores. Até o momento, estudos de atividade enzimática utilizaram, em sua maior parte, biópsia das úlceras. Objetivamos avaliar a viabilidade da mensuração da atividade enzimática de metaloproteinases 2 e 9, extraídas por swab, em amostras de exsudato de úlcera venosa, através de zimografia. O método de processamento da amostra coletada mostrou-se viável, visto que foi possível obter concentração proteica adequada para análise. Através de zimografia, observamos que as quantidades de proteína total das amostras carregadas nos géis entre 0,125 e 0,5 μg, além do tempo de ativação enzimática de 19 horas (a 37 °C), foram parâmetros adequados e de melhor resultado para a análise da atividade gelatinolítica. A coleta através de swab mostrou-se um método simples, rápido e eficaz para a coleta de fluido de úlcera venosa com o objetivo de mensuração da atividade gelatinolítica com grau mínimo de invasividade.

Metalloproteinases play a role in repair of venous ulcers of the lower limbs. The great majority of studies of metalloproteinase enzyme activity conducted to date have employed material from biopsies of ulcers. We evaluated the viability of using zymography to measure the enzyme activity of metalloproteinases 2 and 9 in samples of venous ulcer exudate collected on swabs. The method chosen for processing the samples proved viable in terms of its ability to provide adequate protein concentrations for analysis. Using zymography, we observed that the parameters that provided the best results for analysis of gelatinolytic activity were 0.125 to 0.5 μg of total protein content in the gels and enzymatic activation time of 19 hours (at 37 °C). Collection of venous ulcer fluid using swabs proved to be a simple, rapid and effective method for obtaining samples for measurement of gelatinolytic activity with a minimum degree of invasivity.