The effects of nerve growth factor upon the neuropeptide content of the suprachiasmatic nucleus of rats withdrawn from ethanol are mediated by the nucleus basalis magnocellularis.

It has been previously shown that withdrawal from alcohol decreases the synthesis and expression of vasopressin (VP) and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), and that the infusion of NGF over 1 month completely restores these changes. Because SCN neurons do not express TrkA, NGF might have exerted its effects either through direct signalling of the neurons via p75NTR or by enhancing the activity of the cholinergic afferents to the SCN, which arise from the nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NBM). The observation that the infusion of NT-3 to withdrawn rats does not elicit any change in neuropeptide expression in the SCN suggests that ACh might be implicated in this process, a hypothesis that we have attempted to clarify in this study.

Flavonoids from grape seeds prevent increased alcohol-induced neuronal lipofuscin formation.

Aims: In a previous study, we found that prolonged oxidative stress produced by chronic ethanol consumption leads to an increased formation of lipofuscin in hippocampal and cerebellar neurons. This pigment is an end-result of lipid peroxidation. Flavanols, which abound in the human diet, are known to exert a powerful in-vitro antioxidant action.

NGF and NT-3 exert differential effects on the expression of neuropeptides in the suprachiasmatic nucleus of rats withdrawn from ethanol treatment.

Some neurotrophins have the capability of enhancing neuropeptide expression in several regions of the brain. It was also recently shown that NGF, infused over 1 month, offsets the decreased synthesis and expression of vasopressin (VP) and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of rats submitted to chronic ethanol treatment and withdrawal. In the present study we examined the effectiveness of neutrotrophin-3 (NT-3) in promoting such effects, given that SCN neurons express both the high and the low affinity receptors for this neurotrophin.

Nerve growth factor improves spatial learning and restores hippocampal cholinergic fibers in rats withdrawn from chronic treatment with ethanol.

The cholinergic septohippocampal pathway has long been known to be important for learning and memory. Prolonged intake of ethanol causes enduring memory deficits, which are paralleled by partial depletion of hippocampal cholinergic afferents. We hypothesized that exogenous supply of nerve growth factor (NGF), known to serve as a trophic substance for septal cholinergic neurons, can revert the ethanol-induced changes in the septohippocampal cholinergic system.