Objectives:To investigate the effect of silymarin and milk thistle extract on the progression of diabetic nephropathy (DN) in rats. Methods: Diabetes was induced with a single intraperitoneal (IP) injection of streptozotocin (STZ) (60 mg/kg). Silymarin (100 mg/kg/d) or the extract (1.2 g/kg/d) was gavaged for 4 weeks. Blood glucose (BS), serum urea (S u ), serum creatinine (S cr ), and 24-h urine protein (Up) were measured and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was calculated. Concentration of thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS) and activities of glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) were evaluated in the renal tissue. Results: Data were expressed as mean ± SEM. Silymarin or the extract had no significant effect on BS, S cr , and GFR. Both milk thistle extract and silymarin, respectively, decreased S u (mg/dL) (87.1 ± 7.78, p < 0.001; 84.5 ± 7.15, p < 0.001), Up (mg) (5.22 ± 1.56, p = 0.014; 5.67 ± 0.86, p = 0.034), and tissue TBARS (nmol/mg protein) (0.67 ± 0.04, p < 0.001; 0.63 ± 0.07, p < 0.001) in diabetic rats, compared to diabetic control (DC) (S u : 131.0 ± 4.55, Up: 8.3 ± 0.84, TBARS: 0.94 ± 0.06). Both the extract and silymarin could increase the activity of CAT (IU/mg protein) (25.5 ± 4.0, p = 0.005; 20 ± 1.8, p = 0.16) and GPx (IU/mg protein) (0.86 ± 0.05, p = 0.005; 0.74 ± 0.04, p = 0.10), respectively, in diabetic rats compared to DC (CAT = 14.4 ± 2.0, GPx = 0.57 ± 0.02). Conclusion: Milk thistle extract, to a lesser extent silymarin, can attenuate DN in rats possibly by increasing kidney CAT and GPx activity and decreasing lipid peroxidation in renal tissue.

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Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the most prevalent causes of nontraumatic neurological impairment in young adults. This review aims to determine the impact of exercise on cytokine and adipokine profile levels as inflammatory markers in MS patients across various exercise paradigms. We used specific keywords in PubMed, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, and Scopus to find randomized clinical trials addressing the effects of physical activity and exercise training on inflammatory markers levels in MS patients. The majority of the research showed no considerable changes in IL-6 levels, while three studies reported declining levels after the intervention. Approximately half of the trials observed a change in TNF-α and IL-10 levels after exercise interventions, while the other half showed no meaningful changes. Other markers such as IL-17, IL-4, IL-12, adipokines, and BDNF showed fluctuations in levels. We found no universal agreement on the effects of different exercise training protocols on the serum level of inflammatory markers in patients with MS. More research is needed to fully identify the effects of exercise on cytokines in MS patients.

Background: People with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) suffer from some comorbidities, including physical and psychiatric disorders, low quality of life (QoL), hormonal dysregulation, and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysfunction. The current study aimed to investigate the effects of eight weeks of tele-yoga and tele-Pilates on the serum levels of prolactin and cortisol and selected physical and psychological factors. Methods: Forty-five females with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis, based on age (18–65), expanded disability status scale (0–5.5), and body mass index (20–32), were randomly assigned to tele-Pilates, tele-yoga, or control groups (n = 15). Serum blood samples and validated questionnaires were collected before and after interventions. Results: Following online interventions, there was a significant increase in the serum levels of prolactin (p = 0.004) and a significant decrease in cortisol (p = 0.04) in the time × group interaction factors. In addition, significant improvements were observed in depression (p = 0.001), physical activity levels (p < 0.001), QoL (p ≤ 0.001), and the speed of walking (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that tele-yoga and tele-Pilates training could be introduced as patient-friendly, non-pharmacological, add-on therapeutic methods for increasing prolactin and decreasing cortisol serum levels and achieving clinically relevant improvements in depression, walking speed, physical activity level, and QoL in female MS patients.