Mini Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 12, Issue 11, 2012

In the search of the sleep substance, many studies have been addressed for different hormones, responsible for sleep-wake cycle regulation. In this article we mentioned the participation of steroid hormones, besides its role regulating sexual behavior, they influence importantly in the sleep process. One of the clearest relationships are that estrogen and progesterone have, that causing changes in sleep patterns associated Read More

The Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) constitutes the main infectious cause of death in adults worldwide. Epidemiological data suggest the existence of differences in viral load and CD4+ T lymphocytes cell counts related to gender. Women have more favorable clinical and viro-immunological patterns than men in early infection, although once established the infection these patterns are reversed. Increasing evid Read More

Progesterone and estradiol participate in the regulation of many pulmonary functions, for example progesterone mediates the fall of alveolar carbon dioxide tension observed in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle and during pregnancy in humans, when progesterone levels are high. The treatment with estradiol diminishes vasoconstriction and hypoxia. Progesterone and estradiol in addition to participating in non-path Read More

Herein we discuss the effects of hormones on reproduction, but with a focus on the ripples that emanate from the main effects. That is, the role of hormones in reproductive events is both well-known and well accepted; less studied and understood are effects that appear to be ancillary to the primary objectives of the hormonal effects, which support, complement and extend their primary effects. We present evidence for how t Read More

During the helminth infections, the immune system tends to be modulated by host's sex hormones. Actually, many studies show the reciprocal relationship between sex steroids, the immune system and the elimination or establishment of helminth parasites. Is well known that innate immune response determines the type of adaptive immune response, so the effects in the innate immune response by hormones may a Read More

Besides their effects on reproduction, estrogens exert neuroprotective effects for brain diseases. Thus, estrogens ameliorate the negative aspects of aging and age-associated diseases in the nervous system, including hypertension. Within the brain, the hippocampus is sensitive to the effects of hypertension, as exemplified in a genetic model, the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR). In the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, SH Read More

The rat posterodorsal medial amygdala (MePD) expresses receptors for gonadal hormones and integrates sex steroid-sensitive subcortical networks. Male-female differences are found in the morphology, connectivity, and local neuropil structure of MePD. For example, dendritic spine density is sexually-dimorphic and changes with the estrous cycle and following gonadal hormones manipulations. Due to its connectivity, Read More

Appetite is the desire to satisfy the need to consume food, felt as hunger. It is regulated by the balance of food intake and energy expenditure via signals between the brain, the digestive tract and the adipose tissue. Males and females vary in terms of eating behavior as well as the way the body fat is stored. Energy balance and body fat distribution are part of the sexual dimorphism in many mammalian species including hu Read More

The endocannabinoid system comprises the cannabinoid receptors type 1 (CB1) and type 2 (CB2), their endogenous ligands (endocannabinoids) and the whole apparatus appointed of their synthesis and degradation. Recent studies investigated the possibility that drugs targeting the endocannabinoid system might be used to retard or block cancer growth. CB1, CB2 and metabolic enzymes of endocannabinoids, functi Read More

Multidrug resistance (MDR) against groups of therapeutic drugs emerged to a central problem in the treatment of various diseases, i.e. cancer and infectious diseases like HIV or malaria. ABC transporters namely P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and various multidrug resistance associated proteins (MRPs) mainly contribute to the MDR phenomenon in cancer treatment and HIV therapy. Their cellular expression in respective cells like cancer Read More

Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein complex that elongates telomeric DNA and appears to play an important part in the cellular immortalization of cancers. In the screening of potent inhibitors of human telomerase, several inhibitors have been discovered from natural and chemical sources. Some compounds potently inhibit the activity of human telomerase. Rubromycins and fatty acids such as β-rubromycin and oleic acid, r Read More

Designing antagonists to anti-apoptotic proteins of Bcl-2 family has become an important strategy in cancer chemotherapy. Using experimental techniques and computational methods, a few numbers of lead inhibitors to the antiapoptotic proteins have been reported in the literature and a few of them are under clinical trials. In this review, the lead inhibitors designed using in silico methodologies are exclusively covered, sys Read More

As a natural antioxidant resource, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been paid much more attentions than before. The studies on its antioxidative activity have also increased dramatically in recent years. Abundant studies on TCM show that some TCM can increase body's activity of antioxidant enzymes, enhance body's ability of scavenging free radicals and decrease the generation of lipid peroxide (LPO) and malo Read More