Abnormal Astrocyte Heterogeneity in the Dentate Gyrus of Rats Prone to Audiogenic Seizures Can Be Corrected by the Nootropic Drug Piracetam.

Accumulating evidence indicates that inherited astrocyte dysfunction can be a primary trigger for epilepsy development; however, the available data are rather limited. In addition, astrocytes are considered as a perspective target for the design of novel and improvement of the existing antiepileptic therapy. Piracetam and related nootropic drugs are widely used in the therapy of various epileptic disorders, but detailed mechanisms of racetams action and, in particular, their effects on glial functions are poorly understood.

Global and Regional Sex-Related Differences, Asymmetry, and Peak Age of Brain Myelination in Healthy Adults.

The fundamental question of normal brain myelination in human is still poorly understood. : Age-dependent global, regional, and interhemispheric sex-related differences in brain myelination of 42 (19 men, 23 women) healthy adults (19-67 years) were explored using the MRI method of fast macromolecular fraction (MPF) mapping. : Higher brain myelination in males compared to females was found in global white matter (WM), most WM tracts, juxtacortical WM regions, and putamen.

Aging of Krushinsky-Molodkina audiogenic rats is accompanied with pronounced neurodegeneration and dysfunction of the glutamatergic system in the hippocampus.

Advancing age strongly correlates with an increased risk of epilepsy development. On the other hand, epilepsy may exacerbate the negative effects of aging making it pathological. In turn, the possible link between aging and epileptogenesis is dysregulation of glutamatergic transmission.

Demyelination in Patients with POST-COVID Depression.

Depression is one of the most severe sequelae of COVID-19, with major depressive disorder often characterized by disruption in white matter (WM) connectivity stemming from changes in brain myelination. This study aimed to quantitatively assess brain myelination in clinically diagnosed post-COVID depression (PCD) using the recently proposed MRI method, macromolecular proton fraction (MPF) mapping. The study involved 63 recovered COVID-19 patients (52 mild, 11 moderate, and 2 severe) at 13.

Dapagliflozin reduces systemic inflammation in patients with type 2 diabetes without known heart failure.

Objective: Sodium glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors significantly improve cardiovascular outcomes in diabetic patients; however, the mechanism is unclear. We hypothesized that dapagliflozin improves cardiac outcomes via beneficial effects on systemic and cardiac inflammation and cardiac fibrosis.

Research And Design Methods: This randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial enrolled 62 adult patients (mean age 62, 17% female) with type 2 diabetes (T2D) without known heart failure.