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One important concern in the treatment of diabetes is the maintenance of glycemic levels and the prevention of diabetic nephropathy. Inducible heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) is a rate-limiting enzyme thought to have antioxidant and cytoprotective roles. The goal of the present study was to analyze the effect of HO-1 induction in chronically hyperglycemic rats. The hyperglycemic rats were divided into two groups: one group, called STZ, was given a single injection of streptozotocin; and the other group was given a single streptozotocin injection as well as daily injections of hemin, an HO-1 inducer, over 60 days (STZ + HEME). A group of normoglycemic, untreated rats was used as the control (CTL).Body weight, diuresis, serum glucose levels, microalbuminuria, creatinine clearance rate, urea levels, sodium excretion, and lipid peroxidation were analyzed. Histological alterations and immunohistochemistry for HO-1 and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) were assessed. After 60 days, the STZ group exhibited an increase in blood glucose, diuresis, urea, microalbuminuria, and sodium excretion. There was no weight gain, and there was a decrease in creatinine clearance in comparison to the CTL group. In the STZ + HEME group there was an improvement in the metabolic parameters and kidney function, a decrease in blood glucose, serum urea, and microalbuminuria, and an increase of creatinine clearance, in comparison to the STZ group.There was glomerulosclerosis, collagen deposition in the STZ rats and increase in iNOS and HO-1 expression. In the STZ + HEME group, the glomerulosclerosis and fibrosis was prevented and there was an increase in the expression of HO-1, but decrease in iNOS expression and lipid peroxidation. In conclusion, our data suggest that chronic induction of HO-1 reduces hyperglycemia, improves glucose metabolism and, at least in part, protects the renal tissue from hyperglycemic injury, possibly through the antioxidant activity of HO-1.

Accorsi-Neto A, Haidar M, Simões R, Simões M, Soares-Jr J, Baracat E. Effects of isoflavones on the skin of postmenopausal women: a pilot study. Clinics. 2009;64(6):505-10. OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of isoflavones on the skin of postmenopausal women. DESIGN: A prospective study was performed with 30 postmenopausal women before and immediately after the end of treatment with 100 mg/day of an isoflavones-rich, concentrated soy extract for six months. A skin punch was performed in the gluteal region for sample collection before and immediately after the treatment program. Morphometric determination of epidermal thickness, the papillary index (wrinkling), and the amount of dermal elastic and collagen fibers was assessed. In addition, the number of blood vessels in the sample was also evaluated. The paired Student's t-test was used for statistical analysis (P ≤ 0.05). RESULTS: Isoflavone treatment resulted in a 9.46% increase in the thickness of the epidermis in 23 patients. In addition, the papillary index was reduced in 21 women. The papillary index was inversely proportional to skin wrinkling, i.e., there were a large number of papillae after treatment. The amount of collagen in the dermis was increased in 25 women (86.2%). In 22 women (75.8%) we observed that the number of elastic fibers increased. The number of dermal blood vessels was significantly increased in 21 women. CONCLUSION: Our data show that the use of a concentrated, isoflavone-rich soy extract during six consecutive months caused significant increases in epithelial thickness, the number of elastic and collagen fibers, as well as the blood vessels.

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Our data showed an increase in the amount of both type I and type III facial collagen by the end of both treatments. However, the outcomes of the estrogen GI (ER) group were superior to the genistein GII (GEN) group, with statistical significance p < 000.1 Conclusion: Treatment with topical estrogen is superior to genistein, but both have positive impacts on facial skin collagen. Nevertheless, it is still unclear whether prolonged use of genistein and other topical phytoestrogens could produce systemic effects and further research is needed to clarify this question.