Recently, we have demonstrated the ability of naringin, a well-known flavanone glycoside of grapefruits and citrus fruits, to prevent neurodegeneration in a neurotoxin model of Parkinson’s disease. Intraperitoneal injection of naringin protected the nigrostriatal dopaminergic projection by increasing glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor expression and decreasing the level of tumor necrosis factor-alpha in dopaminergic neurons and microglia, respectively. These results suggest that naringin can impart to the adult dopaminergic neurons the ability to produce glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor against Parkinson’s disease with anti-inlfammatory effects. Based on these results, we would like to describe an important perspective on its possibility as a therapeutic agent for Parkinson’s disease.

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the anti-inlfammatory, anti-oxidative stress, and adipokine-ameliorating effects of Liuwei Dihuang (LWDH), a traditional Chinese herbal formula, in obese rats.
METHODS:After 2 weeks of acclimation with free access to regular rodent chow and water, obese-prone-caesarean-derived (OP-CD) rats were fed a modified AIN-93G diet containing 60% energy from fat. Treatment was performed twice daily by gavage feeding with 500, 1 500, or 3 500 mg/kg body weight LWDH suspended in water (n=12 rats per group). Twelve obese-resistant-CD (OR-CD) rats were fed the atherogenic diet and gavaged with water, and served as the normal control. Blood biomarkers of inflammation, oxidative stress and adiponectin were measured post-sacriifce and used to determine the treatment effect of LWDH and assess the suitability of OR/OP-CD rats for studying these parameters.
RESULTS:After 9 weeks of treatment, LWDH lowered serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels. Serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels showed a tendency towards reduction, but were not signiifcantly different from the OP-CD control. Liver superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was increased in response to all three doses of LWDH, while the levels of reduced (GSH) and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were unchanged. Serum adiponectin levels were increased in response to oral administration of LWDH at the dose of either 500 or 1 500 mg/kg body weight. In addition, comparisons between OR-CD and OP-CD rats revealed differential, and for some biomarkers, conflicting characteristics of high-fat diet-fed OP-CD rats in reference to obese human subjects in terms of inlfammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers and circulating adiponectin levels.
CONCLUSION: The results show, for the ifrst time, the anti-inlfammatory, anti-oxidative stress and adiponectin-ameliorating effects of LWDH in obese rats. The suitability of the OR/OP-CD rat model as a research tool to study inlfammation, oxidative stress, and adipokine production requires further investigation.

Background: To evaluate the inlfammatory response after accelerated collagen cross-linking (CXL) in eyes with keratoconus. Methods: Consecutive eyes with keratoconus undergoing CXL surgery were included in this non-randomized interventional study. Aqueous lfare was measured pre- and post-operatively with a laser lfare photometer at 1 week, 1, 3 and 6 months after CXL. Results: Sixty eyes of 60 patients were entered into the study. Before CXL, the mean lfare value was 4.5 photons per millisecond (ph/ms). The lfare values observed at week 1 (7.1 ph/ms; P=0.008), month 1 (6.5 ph/ms; P=0.04), month 3 (6.7 ph/ms; P=0.004) and month 6 (6.7 ph/ms; P=0.004) were signiifcantly higher compared to baseline. Flare values were not signiifcantly different from week 1 up to 6 months after CXL (P=0.930). No statistically significant correlation was detected between the amount of inlfammation and keratometric indices. Conclusions: Accelerated CXL in patients with keratoconus may cause a subclinical inflammatory response which is evident as slight but rather long-lasting rise of aqueous lfare.