Fig. 4From: Curcumin prevents neuronal loss and structural changes in the superior cervical (sympathetic) ganglion induced by chronic sleep deprivation, in the rat modelTUNEL assay of the superior cervical ganglion. A–D Diaminobenzidine detection by light microscope. a–d TUNEL assay with fluorescence microscope by excitation wavelength in the range of 450–500 nm; Arrow indicated apoptotic cells. A&a A normal appearance and low apoptotic cell can be seen in the cage-control. B&b In the curcumin-treated animals, the apoptotic cell was not observed. C&c An apparent increase in the number of apoptotic cells was observed within chronic sleep deprivation (CSD) animals compared with the control groups. D&d The number of apoptotic cells in the CSD animals receiving curcumin appeared to be similar to the control group. E The negative control, the TdT enzyme was removed from the TdT reaction buffer that did not display TUNEL-positive cells. F Positive control, the rat thymus with hydrocortisone-induced apoptosis thymocytes used as the positive control. A large number of apoptotic cells can be seen in this tissue. G The mean ± SEM of apoptotic cell percentage in the different groupsBack to article page