Evidence demonstrates that the impaired energy metabolism P005091 inhibitor and the excessive generation of reactive oxygen radicals contribute to the brain injury associated with cerebral ischemia. In the present study, the protective effect of Spirulina was investigated in transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO)-induced focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats. Male albino rats were divided into six groups: control, sham-operated group, ischemic control group, and Spirulina-pretreated groups (45, 90 and 180 mg/kg/p.o.). Spirulina was administered once a day, for 7 days. The rats were subjected to a 2-h right MCAO via the intraluminal filament technique

and 22 h of reperfusion. Pretreatment with Spirulina significantly reduced the histological changes and neurological deficits. Spirulina

at a dose of 180 mg/kg significantly reversed the elevated brain malondialdehyde (MDA) content and restored the decreased activities of brain superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and reduced glutathione (GSH) indicating that Spirulina has the protective potential against cerebral ischemia injury and its protective effects may be due to its antioxidant selleck compound library property.”
“Background: Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) infection therapy is unclear. This systematic analysis aimed to clarify the evidence on the efficacy of interferon (IFN)-alpha-based therapy in HDV.\n\nMethods: We performed a systematic search on electronic databases including MEDLINE (1970 to January 2011), Web of Science, The Cochrane Library and ClinicalTrials. gov. Randomized KU55933 clinical trials (RCTs) comparing IFN-alpha-based therapy with either another drug, placebo or no intervention were included. We excluded paediatric studies. We calculated relative risks (RRs) for comparison of treatment options on the primary outcome measure, which was defined as undetectable

levels of HDV RNA and normal alanine aminotransferase at end of treatment (EOT; 1 year).\n\nResults: Nine RCTs were included. Seven trials evaluated the treatment with IFN-alpha (n= 132). The remaining two trials evaluated treatment with pegylated (PEG)-IFN-alpha (n= 45). We found that 1-year treatment with high-dose IFN-alpha achieved better primary outcome rates than with PEG-IFN alpha (RR= 4.14, 95% CI 1.00, 17.14). Data for 1-year treatment with low-dose IFN-alpha compared with PEG-IFN-alpha were similar (RR= 2.83, 95% CI 0.65, 12.40), as were low-dose IFN-alpha versus high-dose IFN-alpha (RR= 0.68, 95% CI 0.31, 1.50). High-dose IFN-alpha and PEG-IFN-alpha reached similar HDV RNA suppression 24 weeks after EOT (RR= 1.00, 95% CI 0.51, 1.97). None of the 55 patients assigned to no intervention obtained undetectable levels of HDV RNA and only one patient achieved normalization of alanine aminotransferase level.