Current Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 20, Issue 37, 2013

The elucidation of the intriguing relationship between oxidative stress and Alzheimer’s disease is crucial to understand the pathogenesis of the disease as also to design a suitable drug trial with antioxidants against this condition. We begin by reviewing the basic facts about Alzheimer’s disease and the chemistry and biology of oxygen free radicals with particular reference to the cellular adaptive response through redox- Read More

Anthocyanins are generally considered to be the largest and the most important group of water-soluble pigments in plants. They are widely consumed by humans as natural compounds of vegetables, fruits, and red wine. Anthocyanins as well as other flavonoids show protective qualities against variety of pathologies, including cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes mellitus, neurodegeneration, inflammation, viral infec Read More

The prevalence, incidence and mortality of all cardiovascular disorders (CVD) are two- to eightfold higher in persons with diabetes than in those without diabetes. Predicting and understanding the causes of CVD still represents an enormous challenge for clinical and basic cardiovascular science. Similarly, the fundamental mechanism by which diabetic patients are more prone to heart failure is unclear and prevention of s Read More

Neurodegenerative, neurological and psychiatric diseases are a group of pathologies with huge social and economic impacts. Since brain disorders continue to be pathological conditions for which corrective surgery cannot be widely used, treatments are based on drugs that only alleviate the symptoms. Despite all efforts in finding more efficient therapeutic agents, the requirement for neuroprotective drugs able to cross the bl Read More

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, multifactorial disease of the central nervous system (CNS), typified by repetitive relapses and/or progression. The conventional treatment options in MS are limited. However, recently several new drugs have been introduced. Oxidative stress is a crucial factor in MS pathogenesis by ameliorating leukocyte migration, contributing to oligodendrocyte damage and axonal injury. Reactive oxyg Read More

The study of antioxidants and radicals has always been a complex task due to the special characteristics of these species such as reactions at low concentrations and short half–lives. Current techniques do not always produce good results and in some cases they can only be applied in chemical models. From this point of view, the development of electron spin resonance (ESR) has allowed the study of the antioxidant capacity of a Read More

Numerous studies in humans, animal models and cell lines have suggested the potential benefits from the consumption of green tea polyphenols, including prevention of cancer and heart diseases. However these potential effects have been strongly limited by green tea catechins low bioavailability, which hinders the development of therapeutic applications. In this review formulations that are being proposed for delive Read More

Olive oil (OO), the main fatty component of the Mediterranean diet, exhibits numerous biological functions which are beneficial for the state of health. In addition to monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) evidences have accumulated on the favorable properties of its minor though highly bioactive components, particularly the phenolic compounds, which have shown a broad spectrum of bioactive properties, including antio Read More

During pregnancy, oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia and preterm birth leading to poor birth outcome. Hyperhomocysteinemia caused as a consequence of altered micronutrients like folic acid and vitamin B12 is associated with increased production of reactive oxygen species that generate oxidative stress. These micronutrients are important determinants of methyl donor, s-adenosyl Read More

The paradox of aerobic life is that higher eukaryotic organisms cannot exist without oxygen, yet oxygen is inherently dangerous to their existence. Autoxidation of organic substances frequently occurs via free radical mechanism which generates different active radicals and peroxides OH•, O2•-, LO2•, HOOH, LOOH, so called reactive oxygen species (ROS), which appear to be responsible for oxygen toxicity. To survive in such Read More

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the arterial wall characterized by endothelial dysfunction, and in which innate and adaptive immune responses have a crucial role. Autoimmune reactions against several self molecules and modified self molecules have been identified in patients with atherosclerotic disease. Oxidative stress, increasingly reported in these patients is the major event causing protein structur Read More