Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42165863›Full record

ArticleNaunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology2026

Assessment of methylene blue and NAD on LPS-induced acute brain injury: effects on neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and blood-brain barrier integrity in a rat endotoxemia model.

Songul Doganay, Hilal Üstündağ, Elif Erbaş, Sevinc Yanar, Serhat Hayme, Nezahat Kurt

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Songul DoganayDepartment of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Sakarya University, Sakarya, Türkiye. songuldoganay@sakarya.edu.tr.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1730-1331
Hilal ÜstündağDepartment of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Erzincan Binali Yıldırım University, Erzincan, Türkiye. hilal.ustundag@erzincan.edu.tr.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3140-0755
Elif ErbaşDepartment of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Türkiye.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1750-3889
Sevinc YanarDepartment of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, Sakarya University, Sakarya, Türkiye.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6438-7385
Serhat HaymeDepartment of Biostatistics and Health Informatics, Faculty of Medicine, Erzincan Binali Yıldırım University, Erzincan, Türkiye.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9428-3002
Nezahat KurtDepartment of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Erzincan Binali Yıldırım University, Erzincan, Türkiye.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1685-5332

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Sepsis-induced brain dysfunction remains a significant challenge with limited therapeutic options, warranting exploration of multi-target approaches. Methylene blue (MET) is a phenothiazine derivative with mitochondrial-enhancing and electron transport chain regulatory properties, while nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) serves as a crucial cofactor in cellular energy metabolism and redox reactions. This study investigated the therapeutic effects of MET and NAD, individually and in combination, in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced sepsis model. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 35) were randomized into five groups: control, LPS (8 mg/kg), LPS + NAD (250 mg/kg), LPS + MET (15 mg/kg), and LPS + NAD + MET. Brain tissues were analyzed for oxidative stress, inflammation, and blood-brain barrier integrity. The combination therapy demonstrated the most pronounced improvements across clinical parameters, antioxidant capacity evidenced by significantly elevated superoxide dismutase levels (p < 0.001) and cerebral histopathological outcomes. It also significantly reduced myeloperoxidase activity (p < 0.001) compared to the LPS group. Pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and IL-8 were significantly decreased in both MET and NAD monotherapy groups (p < 0.05), while TNF-α showed a decreasing trend without statistical significance. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels were maintained in the combination group, comparable to controls, while TGF-β showed differential modulation across treatment groups. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed LPS-induced blood-brain barrier disruption, evidenced by reduced occludin expression (p < 0.01), increased aquaporin-4 expression in perivascular astrocytic end-feet (p < 0.05), and elevated glial fibrillary acidic protein reactivity in protoplasmic astrocytes (p < 0.01). In conclusion, MET and NAD individually provided significant protection against LPS-induced brain injury by reducing neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and neuronal damage. The combined treatment offered incremental benefits in certain outcomes. These findings suggest that both agents may have therapeutic potential in SAE.

Indexed as

Anti-Inflammatory AgentsEndotoxemiaMethylene BlueNADNeuroinflammatory DiseasesAnimalsAntioxidantsBlood-Brain BarrierBrainCytokinesDisease Models, AnimalDrug Therapy, CombinationLipopolysaccharidesMaleOxidative StressRatsAnti-Inflammatory AgentsAntioxidantsCytokinesLipopolysaccharidesMethylene BlueNADBlood–brain barrierCombination therapyMethylene blueNeuroinflammationNicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD)Oxidative stressSepsis

Identifiers

PMID42165863
PMCPMC13503429

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.