Hippocampus and Prefrontal Cortex Following the Use of Anti-Retroviral Therapy in Adult Wistar Rats: Therapeutic Role of Epigallocatechin Gallate.

The contribution of prefrontal-hippocampal interactions to brain function of people infected with HIV may be aggravated by toxicities due to long-term use of antiretroviral agents. This study was designed to investigate the curative potential of Epigallotatechin gallate (EGCG) in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders as a possible consequence of antiretroviral toxicity. Twenty-four adult male Wistar rats, weighing 80~100g, were divided into four groups and treated as follows: control A (distilled water), B (HAART), C (EGCG 2.

Prolonged ketamine therapy differentially rescues psychobehavioural deficits via modulation of nitro-oxidative stress and oxytocin receptors in the gut-brain-axis of chronically-stressed mice.

Ketamine is an anaesthetic known to have short but rapid-acting anti-depressant effects; however, the neurobehavioural effects of its prolonged use and its role on the oxytocin system in the gut-brain axis are largely undetermined. Female BALB/c mice were either exposed to the chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) paradigm for 21 days and then treated with ketamine in four doses for 14 days or exposed to CUMS and treated simultaneously in four doses of ketamine during the last two weeks of CUMS exposure. After each dose, the forced swim test was conducted to assess depressive-like behaviour.

Combined Exposure to Chronic Sleep Deprivation and Caffeine Potentiates Behavioural Deficits by Altering Neurochemical Profile and Synaptophysin Expression in Long-Evans Rats.

Using the Unpredictable Chronic Sleep Deprivation (UCSD) paradigm we developed, the combined effects of chronic sleep deprivation and high caffeine intake on prefrontal cortical synaptophysin expression, neurochemical profiles, and behavioural outcomes in Long-Evans rats were evaluated. The combination of chronic sleep deprivation and high-dose caffeine treatment produced varying degrees of behavioural impairments, depletion of antioxidants, serotonin, and an upregulation of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in the prefrontal cortex. An immunohistochemical assessment revealed a reduction in synaptophysin protein expression in the prefrontal cortex following exposure to high-dose caffeine and chronic sleep deprivation.

Virgin coconut oil abrogates depression-associated cognitive deficits by modulating hippocampal antioxidant balance, GABAergic and glutamatergic receptors in mice.

Objectives: GABA and glutamate neurotransmission play critical roles in both the neurobiology of depression and cognition; and Virgin coconut oil (VCO) is reported to support brain health. The present study investigated the effect of VCO on depression-associated cognitive deficits in mice.

Methods: Thirty male mice divided into five groups were either exposed to chronic unpredicted mild stress (CUMS) protocol for 28 days or pre-treated with 3 mL/kg of VCO for 21 days or post-treated with 3 mL/kg of VCO for 21 days following 28 days of CUMS exposure.

Ketamine abrogates sensorimotor deficits and cytokine dysregulation in a chronic unpredictable mild stress model of depression.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a serious mental disorder with influence across the functional systems of the body. The pathogenesis of MDD has been known to involve the alteration of normal body functions responsible for the normal inflammation processes within the CNS; this along with other effects results in the depreciation of the sensorimotor performance of the body. Ketamine hydrochloride, a novel antidepressant agent, has been used as a therapeutic agent to treat MDD with its efficacy stretching as far as enhancing sensorimotor performance and restoring normal cytokine levels of the CNS.

Fermented maize slurry (Ogi) and its supernatant (Omidun) mitigate elevated intraocular pressure by modulating BDNF expression and glial plasticity in the retina-gut axis of glaucomatous rats.

Objectives: Growing interest has been reported on the health benefits of fermented foods, which includes cognition enhancement and inflammation attenuation. BDNF is a known protectant against retinal degeneration, however, therapies that target this neurotrophic factor has been limited. Therefore, we assessed the reaction of BDNF and glial cells in glaucomatous rats and their response to treatment with fermented maize products.

Caffeine abrogates oxidative stress imbalance: Its implication on lateral geniculate nucleus and visual cortex following hyaluronic acid exposure.

This study assessed the role of caffeine (adenosine receptor antagonist) in the Lateral geniculate body as well as the primary visual cortex of hyaluronic acid model of glaucomatous rats. Twenty (20) male Long evans rats were randomly divided into four groups with five animals each. This research confirmed that hyaluronic acid (HA) significantly induces elevated intraocular pressure from 18 to 35 mmHg and caffeine had no effect on its reduction to palliate visual impairment; There were a significant increase in the lipid peroxidation and conversely decrease in superoxide level with HA which were attenuated by caffeine.

Vahl leaves extract attenuates motor deficit in vanadium-induced parkinsonism mice.

Medicinal herbs have played significant roles in the treatment of various diseases in humans and animals. Sodium metavanadate is a potentially toxic environmental pollutant that induces oxidative damage, neurological disorder, Parkinsonism and Parkinson-like disease upon excessive exposure. This study is designed to investigate the impact of saponin fraction of Ficus exasperata Vahl leaf extract (at 50 and 100 mg/kg body weight for 14 days at different animal groupings) on vanadium treated mice.