Cardiovascular diseases can be considered the most important cause of death in diabetic population and diabetes can in turn increase the risk of cardiovascular events. Inflammation process is currently recognized as responsible for the development and maintenance of diverse chronic diseases, including diabetes and atherosclerosis. Considering that adipose tissue is an important source of adipokines, which may present anti and proinflammatory effects, the aim of this review is to explore the role of the main adipokines in the pathophysiology of diabetes and atherosclerosis, highlighting the therapeutic options that could arise from the manipulation of these signaling pathways both in humans and in translational models.

Neurogenic hypertension has been the subject of extensive research worldwide. This review is based on the premise that some forms of neurogenic hypertension are caused in part by the formation of angiotensin-II (Ang-II)-induced reactive oxygen species along the subfornical organ-paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus-rostral ventrolateral medulla pathway (SFO-PVN-RVLM pathway). We will discuss the recent contribution of our laboratory and others regarding the mechanisms by which neurons in the SFO (an important circumventricular organ) are activated by Ang-II, how the SFO communicates with two other important areas involved in sympathetic activity regulation (PVN and RVLM) and how Ang-II-induced reactive oxygen species participate along the SFO-PVN-RVLM pathway in the pathogenesis of neurogenic hypertension.

Background: Scorpion venom is the most expensive and deadly venom with exciting medical prospects and having a potential as a source of drug candidates. A number of scorpion venom peptides have shown promising site specificity and are involved in the regulation of biological mechanisms. Due to the structural and functional specificity, the scorpion peptides are widely used for the development of specific drugs especially for the cardiovascular and other immune diseases. In this review, we summarize scorpion venom’s biological activities such as antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-cancerous and in immune diseases. Evolutionary perspective of peptides derived from different scorpion venoms are also described in this review. The most significant venom peptides are; Ctriporin, Chlorotoxins (cltx), Neopladine I and II, Meucin 24, Meucin 25 and Hp 1090. The most recognized scorpion species with pharmaceutical activities are; Pandinus imperator, Chaerilustricostatus, Buthus martensii, Mesobuthus eupeus, Leiurus quinnquestriatus, Tityus discrepans and Heterometrus bengalensis. Conclusion: The role of peptides in cardiovascular events and in treating osteoporosis signifies their importance. The role of peptides against pathogens, skin infections, pain-relieving effects, anti-malarial and anti-viral effects are discussed in detail. We further, summarized the classification of scorpion peptides among different toxins, their evolutionary process and the pattern of scorpion venom resource analysis