UNLABELLED The objective of this study was to evaluate cortisol in the saliva and serum of healthy persons and its daily fluctuations by using immunochemical method on a autoanalyzer. Biological samples: Serum from 14 healthy persons and saliva from 18 healthy persons were taken two times at 8 a.m. and at 4 p.m. Immunochemical assay: The principle of this method is the competitive binding of cortisol present in the analyzed sample and cortisol marked with peroxides on binding parts with specific antibodies. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS Student t-test. Cortisol in saliva in the morning: 21,2 +/- 16,2 nmol/l and in the afternoon 12,7 +/- 8,1 nmol/l. Cortisol in serum in the morning: 459, 6 +/- 235,2 nmol/l , and in the afternoon 340,5 +/- 207,5 nmol/l. The concentrations of cortisol in saliva are lower than in serum. Cortisol in the serum in the morning is about twenty times higher than cortisol in the saliva at the same time. Cortisol in the serum at afternoon is about twenty-seven times higher than cortisol in the saliva. Individual variabilities of cortisol in the saliva and serum were found during the day.

Aim of this study was to evaluate the biotransformation of simple phenols after ingestion of edible fruits and mixed food. It was analyzed hippuric acid in urine as biomarker of conjugation in the liver cells of glycine with aromatic phenolic acids such benzoic and salicylic acid from ingested food. Measurement of hippuric acid in urine samples of 10 healthy individuals: 5 female and 5 male with a mean age 51,5 years were recruited to participate in this study. Urine samples were collected for 24 hours. The additional meals 300 g of fruits: blueberry, cherry, raspberry, melon, blackberry and mixed food were given immediately before the 24 hr urine sampling. Otherwise, the meals given during 24 hr was a usually food. Biotransformation of phenols in edible fruits, that are together with liver glycins precursors of hippuric acid biosynthesis, was evaluated by direct spectrophotometric measurement of excreted hippuric acid in urine at 410 nm. It was established that the highest quantity of hippuric acid was after ingestion of 300 g of bilberry fruits (p< 0,003), and same quantity of cherries (p< 0,003). Concentration of excreted hippuric acid was twice higher after ingestion of these fruits in comparison with hippuric acid concentrations in urine after ingestion of common - mixed food. Quantity of biosynthesised hippuric acid was in direct correlation with the concentrations of its precursors, primarily phenol acids and other simple aromatic acids ingested with food.

Intracerebroventricular (icv) administration of betacytotoxic drug streptozotocin (STZ) produces long-term and progressive cognitive deficits in rats, as well as deficits in cerebral glucose and energy metabolism. These changes resemble those found in the brain of patients with sporadic Alzheimer's disease (sAD), and therefore, STZ-icv treated rats have been proposed as an experimental model of sAD. In this study the antioxidant capacity (AC), using manual oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay, was measured in the rat brain frontoparietal cortex (FC) and brainstem-cerebellum region (BS-CB) after administration of STZ and another betacytotoxic drug alloxan (AL). Region-specific differences of AC were found, which were more expressed when hydroxyl radical (ORAC(-OHo)) generator was used in the assay. AC against ORAC(-OHo) was significantly lower in BS-CB than in FC of the control rats. Furthermore, ORAC(-OHo) significantly decreased in BS-CB 3-months following the icv administration of AL, but significantly increased following the TG+AL combined treatment in comparison with the controls. However, 3-months following the icv treatment of AL combination with a different glucose transport inhbitor, 3-O-methyl-D-glucose, ORAC(-OHo) values in BS-CB and ORAC(-ROOo) values in FC were significantly decreased in comparison to the controls. Our results suggest that betacytotoxic-icv treatment alters antioxidant defense systems in the brain, which particularly regarding the STZ-icv treatment, could be a useful tool in search for possible new antioxidant treatments of the neurodegenerative disorders such as sAD.

The aim of this study was to investigate the antioxidant capacity (AC) in the lipophilic fraction of postmortem motorcortex (MC), nucleus caudatus (NC) and gyrus temporalis (GT) from controls (C) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. The initial samples consisted of 50 human brain tissues of AD and C. AC of the different region of human brain were measured by using the fluorescent method of the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC). Peroxyl and hydroxyl radical generators were used in the analysis. All ORAC analysis were carried out on the Perkin-Elmer spectrofluorometer LS 55 with fluorescent filters, Ex: 485 nm; Em: 520 nm. Final results were calculated using the differences between area under the quenching curve of fluorescein (FL), blank and analyzed biological samples. AC against peroxyl radicals (ORAC-ROO degrees ) of lipophilic fraction in MC of AD was statistically significantly lower in comparison with MC of C (p < 0.008). No changes in the AC against hydroxyl radicals (ORAC- degrees OH) of lipophilic fraction of AD were found in comparison with C. Reduction of total protein in GT of AD (p < 0.03) was found. The results showed that in the MC of AD brain the balance between production of free radicals and the neutralization by a complex antioxidant system is disturbed. The manual fluorescent method for AC measurements proved to be sufficiently appropriate and sensitive for the AC measurements of lipophilic fraction of postmortem brain tissues from different patologic conditions.

Content of total phenols and total anthocyanins was estimated in edible fruits from Bosnia by photometric methods. Cyanidin-3-galactoside chloride was used as a standard for determination of total anthocyanins, and galic acid served as a standard for determination of total phenols. Total content of phenols was 12.7 mg/g in elderberry fruits, 10.4 mg/g in bilberry, 9.8 mg/g in blackberry, 8.8 mg/g in wild cherry, 6.1 mg/g in cultivated blackberry, 3.5 mg/g in cultivated strawberry, 2.4 mg/g in average in sour cherry fruits from different locations and the lowest quantity of total phenols was in edible parts of melon, only 0.2 mg/g. Total content of anthocyanins was 6.8 mg/g in wild cherry, 6.7 mg/g in elderberry fruits and 4.5 mg/g in bilberry. Wild bilberry fruits from different locations had in average 3.5 mg/g, cherries from different locations 1.3 mg/g, cultivated blackberries 1.0 mg/g, cultivated strawberries 0.8 mg/g while melon fruit had no anthocyanins at all. Acidity was measured in macerate of edible fruits by direct insertion of electrode. pH values in the macerates were as follows: 3.03 in bilberry, 3.45 in blackberries, 3.59 in sour cherries, 3.92 in wild cherries, 4.44 in elderberries and 6.19 in melon.

Neutral red is a dye the azine structure which has been used as an acido-base indicator and a dye in histochemistry. In 1960 Goldhaber introduced Neutral red into the medium of resorbing bone cultures to localize the osteoclast in the living cultures. Using time-lapse microcinematography in order to follow the osteoclasts, he reported excellent contrast could be obtained with Neutral red due to the avidity of osteoclasts for this dye. Unfortunately, however, the photodynamic effect resulting from subsequent exposure of these cultures to light precluded this approach, and again in 1963. it was observed that the death of the osteoclasts was probably due to a photodynamic effect related to the dye in the cell, the presence of oxygen and the frequent exposure of light by our time-lapse photography. VIS and UV irradiation induced photolysis of Neutral red, and from Neutral red cation produced with photons a Neutral red radical. This Neutral red radical can be inhibited with action of an antioxidant, such as melatonin, glutathione, ascorbic acid, E vitamin, etc. We developed an assay with Neutral red photolysis which utilizes a VIS and UV irradiation technique for quantification the inhibition of photolysis with action of an antioxidant. In this method Neutral red acts double, as a free radical generator and as a photosensitizer.

Weight gain is common adverse effect associated with the use of most typical and atypical antipsychotic. Aim of this study was to investigate plasma lipids, lipoproteins and some hormones levels during olanzapine treatment in patients with psychosis. The study population comprised twenty nine patients (29) diagnosed with psychosis and eleven patients (11) with endogenous depression. Plasma cholesterol, triglicerides, phospholipids, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I) and apolipoprotein B (Apo B), and hormones - prolactin, cortisol, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), testosterone and estradiol were measured by auto-analyzer and by classic photometric methods. All measurements were performed before and during one-year treatment with olanzapine and antidepressant. Treatment of the schizophrenic patients with olanzapine caused a great metabolic impact that is primarily expressed in body mass, cholesterol increase and statistically significant rise of BMI, respectively. Body mass increase could be explained by the fact that olanzapine blocked not only dopaminergic, serotonergic, cholinergic, alpha-adrenergic but histaminergic receptors as well.

In this study for thirty (30) patients with alcohol withdrawal syndrome, the response to anticolvusant gabapentin was assessed. Thirty (30) patients with median age of 57.0 years and median body weight of 79.1 kg were treated with gabapentin 3 x 300 mg daily for up 30 days. The preliminary findings of this study suggest that gabapentin is very effective against tonic-clonic seizures in alcohol withdrawal syndrome. Gabapentin was safe and well tolerated. For twenty (20) patients no side effect were observed.