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Background and Objective: Alpha lipoic acid (ALA) is a powerful biological antioxidant which is involved in metabolism and energy production as a co-factor in mitochondrial dehydrogenase enzyme complex. This study was done to evaluate the effect of aerobic exercise and alpha lipoic acid supplement on insulin resistance in females with type 2 diabetes. Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 44 females with type 2 diabetes divided into four groups including: control, supplementation, training and supplementation + training groups. Patients of supplementation and complex (supplementation + training) groups took three 100mg ALA capsules per day for eight weeks. The training program consisted of 8 weeks and three sessions per week. In each session, the subjects warmed up for 10-15 minutes, ran on a treadmill with the intensity of 40-50% of maximum heart rate for 30 minutes and then cooled down for 5-10 minutes. Blood samples were taken after 12-14 hours fasting in two stages - the beginning and the end of the eighth week. Results: Eight weeks of taking ALA supplements significantly reduced patients' insulin resistance (P<0.05). Eight weeks of running on a treadmill with an intensity of 40-50% of maximum heart rate non-significantly reduced insulin resistance in the training group compared to the controls. In the supplementation + training group a significant reduction of insulin resistance was observed (P<0.05). Conclusion: Alpha lipoic acid supplementation reduces insulin and insulin resistance. While, reduction in fasting blood glucose level causes reduction in insulin resistance in the combination of supplementation and training.

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Background and Objective: Silver nanoparticles are produced in large quantities in the industry and have estrogenic activities and toxic effects on different organs. This study was conducted to determine the effect of silver nanoparticles on the ovarian tissue of NMRI rats treated with alpha lipoic acid.
Methods: In this experimental study, 24 female NMRI rats were randomly divided into 4 groups of 6. The groups included the control group, oral silver nanoparticles (500 mg/kg of body weight), injected alpha lipoic acid (100 mg/kg of body weight), and silver nanoparticles (500 mg/kg of body weight) plus alpha lipoic acid (100 mg/kg body weight). The treatment was performed for 28 days. After the treatment period, blood sampling was performed from the rats’ hearts to analyze biochemical parameters (malondialdehyde, estrogen, progesterone, and total antioxidant capacity using the ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) method). By dissecting the rats, the left ovaries were removed, fixed, molded, and cut, tissue passaging was performed, and the ovaries were stained using the hematoxylin-eosin method. Then, the ovarian tissue was evaluated by different stereological methods.
Results: The total mean ovarian volume, the cortex volume, the medulla volume, and the corpus luteum volume, and the total number of primordial, primary, secondary, and Graafian follicles were significantly reduced in the silver nanoparticles group compared to the control group (P<0.05). The simultaneous administration of alpha lipoic acid and silver nanoparticles compensated for the adverse effects of silver nanoparticles on the above parameters. On the other hand, the mean number of different types of follicles in the rats treated with alpha lipoic acid significantly increased compared to the control group (P<0.05). A statistically significant reduction was observed in the measurement of estrogen and progesterone hormones in the serum of the silver nanoparticles group compared to the control group (P<0.05). Moreover, in assessing the antioxidant capacity of the serum of the group treated simultaneously with silver nanoparticles + alpha lipoic acid, a statistically significant increase was observed compared to the group treated with silver nanoparticles (P<0.05).
Conclusion: Silver nanoparticles can have adverse effects on the structure of the ovary and its components, and alpha lipoic acid can largely compensate for these detrimental effects.