Latest Articles
-
Varicella zoster virus (VZV) results in chicken pox and herpes zoster. Female rats show a higher level of herpes zoster associated pain than males, consistent with human studies. In this study, we addressed the novel hypothesis that sex difference in herpes zoster associated pain is due, in part, to estradiol modulating activity in the thalamus. ⋯ Our results show that a high dose of estradiol significantly reduced the pain response in both males and females. pERK significantly increased in excitatory cells after treatment with a low dose of estradiol and increased in inhibitory cells after treatment with a high dose of estradiol. Administration of ICI 182,780 significantly increased the pain response, reduced expression of GABA related genes in the thalamic region and significantly reduced the number of inhibitory cells expressing pERK. The results suggest that estradiol attenuates herpes zoster pain by increasing the activity of inhibitory neurons within the thalamus and that this reduction includes an estrogen receptor dependent mechanism.
-
Inflammation may result in periventricular leukomalacia, which is the leading cause of preterm brain encephalopathy. Moreover,
-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids ( -3 PUFAs) play a pivotal role against central nervous system injury, which is likely related to its anti-inflammatory effect. However, the mechanism regarding the remedial effects of -3 PUFA for LPS-induced neuro-injury has remained unclear. ⋯ Interestingly, this phenomenon became more noticeable with the combined application of -3 PUFA and a PI3K/AKT agonist. In conclusion, we confirm that -3 PUFA plays an important role in neuroprotection by activating the PI3K/AKT/β-catenin pathway. It may be a promising strategy against brain injury. -
Stress is an additive factor in the development of depressive-like profiles that mainly onsets during adolescence. However, effects of early post-weaning stress on developing brain neurochemical pathways in inducing anxiety- and depressive-like profiles in vulnerable females have not been extensively studied. The Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rat, a putative model of adolescent depression and stress-sensitivity could elucidate the pathophysiology of stress-related depression in vulnerability. ⋯ Medial prefrontal cortex, a still maturing brain area, exhibited increased serotonin (5-HT) metabolite (p < 0.01) and turnover rates (p < 0.01) indicative of altered/maladaptive serotonergic functioning. Nucleus accumbens (p < 0.05) and dorsal striatum (p < 0.01) also depicted increased 5-HT metabolite, with the latter also demonstrating reduced Dopamine turnover (p < 0.01) as a result of homotypic stress. Hence, female WKY rats could constitute a diathesis-stress model to study underlying mechanisms of stress-related depression.
-
Embryonic light exposure affects similarly functional lateralization in fish and birds. While the light acts on an asymmetric habenular system during the first post fertilization hours in zebrafish, in the domestic chicks it shapes the thalamofugal visual pathway affecting the right retinal photoreceptors in the last stages before hatching. However, recent evidence has shown that also in chicks a precocial embryonic time window seems open to light action. ⋯ The perseveration of pecks directed to irrelevant elements revealed that in all chicks the right hemisphere was heavily attracted by the novel elements when tested with the left eye. When using the right eye, instead, only DK chicks attended repeatedly to distractors whereas LL and EL chicks showed a left hemisphere advantage for fine discrimination and sustained attention; conversely, when tested binocularly, LL chicks perseverated significantly more than both DK and EL chicks, likely compensating the distraction with the analysis carried out by both hemispheres. For the first time, we unveiled a fine graded difference between the light modulation exerted during the two time windows, adding evidence to the idea that genes and environmental factors interplay in several separate routes to the modulation of the neurodevelopment of cerebral lateralization in vertebrates.
-
The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) movement and its influence on substance distribution and elimination from the CSF system have been thoroughly analyzed and discussed in the light of the new hypothesis of CSF physiology. As a result, CSF movement is not presented as a circulation, but a permanent rhythmic systolic-diastolic pulsation in all directions. Such movement also represents the main force of substance distribution inside the CSF system. ⋯ If a certain transport mechanism is not available at one site, the substance will be distributed by CSF movement along the CSF system and into the CNS region where that transport mechanism is available. Pharmacological manipulation suggests that the residence time and the substance travel distance along the CSF system depend on the capacity of transport mechanisms situated on CNS blood capillaries. Physiological absorption of the CSF into the venous sinuses and/or lymphatics, due to their small surface area, should be of minor importance in comparison with the huge absorptive surface area of the microvessel network.