Long-lasting effects of post-traumatic stress disorder in Yazidi women living in Northern Iraqi camps.

Unlabelled: The severity of post-traumatic stress disorder and its long-lasting effects among the Yazidi population has not yet been investigated.

Objectives: This study evaluated the impact of PTSD severity and chronicity on physiological and anthropometric parameters in women survivors of the genocide-related events after the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) attack in 2014.

Methods: The diagnosis PTSD was assessed using PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5).

Adenosine A1 Receptor Agonist (R-PIA) before Pilocarpine Modulates Pro- and Anti-Apoptotic Factors in an Animal Model of Epilepsy.

We aimed to characterize the mechanisms involved in neuroprotection by R-PIA administered before pilocarpine-induced seizures. Caspase-1 and caspase-3 activities were assayed using fluorimetry, and cathepsin D, HSP-70, and AKT expression levels were assayed using Western Blot of hippocampal samples. R-PIA was injected before pilocarpine (PILO), and four groups were studied at 1 h 30 min and 7 days following initiation of status epilepticus (SE): PILO, R-PIA+PILO, SALINE, and R-PIA+SALINE.

Challenges of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Iraq: biochemical network and methodologies. A brief review.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a multifaceted syndrome due to its complex pathophysiology. Signals of illness include alterations in genes, proteins, cells, tissues, and organism-level physiological modifications. Specificity of sensitivity to PTSD suggests that response to trauma depend on gender and type of adverse event being experienced.

Long-Term Saccharin Consumption and Increased Risk of Obesity, Diabetes, Hepatic Dysfunction, and Renal Impairment in Rats.

This study evaluated the effect of chronic consumption of saccharin on important physiological and biochemical parameters in rats. Male Wistar rats were used in this study and were divided into four groups: A control group and three experimental groups (groups 1, 2, and 3) were treated with different doses of saccharin at 2.5, 5, and 10 mg/kg, respectively.

Altered Proteins in the Hippocampus of Patients with Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy.

Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) is usually associated with drug-resistant seizures and cognitive deficits. Efforts have been made to improve the understanding of the pathophysiology of MTLE for new therapies. In this study, we used proteomics to determine the differential expression of proteins in the hippocampus of patients with MTLE compared to control samples.

Hippocampal Proteome of Rats Subjected to the Li-Pilocarpine Epilepsy Model and the Effect of Carisbamate Treatment.

In adult rats, the administration of lithium-pilocarpine (LiPilo) reproduces most clinical and neuropathological features of human temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Carisbamate (CRS) possesses the property of modifying epileptogenesis in this model. Indeed, about 50% of rats subjected to LiPilo status epilepticus (SE) develop non-convulsive seizures (NCS) instead of motor seizures when treated with CRS.

Neuroprotective effects of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha and gamma agonists in model of parkinsonism induced by intranigral 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahyropyridine.

A large body of evidence suggests that peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) agonists may improve some of the pathological features of Parkinson's disease (PD). In the present study, we evaluated the effects of the PPAR-α agonist fenofibrate (100mg/kg) and PPAR-γ agonist pioglitazone (30mg/kg) in a rat model of parkinsonism induced by intranigral 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahyropyridine (MPTP). Male Wistar rats were pretreated with both drugs for 5 days and received an infusion of MPTP.

Reduced hippocampal manganese-enhanced MRI (MEMRI) signal during pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus: edema or apoptosis?

Manganese-enhanced MRI (MEMRI) has been considered a surrogate marker of Ca(+2) influx into activated cells and tracer of neuronal active circuits. However, the induction of status epilepticus (SE) by kainic acid does not result in hippocampal MEMRI hypersignal, in spite of its high cell activity. Similarly, short durations of status (5 or 15min) induced by pilocarpine did not alter the hippocampal MEMRI, while 30 min of SE even reduced MEMRI signal Thus, this study was designed to investigate possible explanations for the absence or decrease of MEMRI signal after short periods of SE.

Consequences of pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus in immunodeficient mice.

Systemic injection of pilocarpine in rodents induces status epilepticus (SE) and reproduces the main characteristics of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Different mechanisms are activated by SE contributing to cell death and immune system activation. We used BALB/c nude mice, a mutant that is severely immunocompromised, to characterize seizure pattern, neurochemical changes, cell death and c-Fos activation secondarily to pilocarpine-induced SE.

Differential neuroprotection by A(1) receptor activation and A(2A) receptor inhibition following pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus.

Aiming at a better understanding of the role of A(2A) in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), we characterized the effects of the A(2A) antagonist SCH58261 (7-(2-phenylethyl)-5-amino-2(2-furyl)-pyrazolo-[4,3-e]-1,2,4-triazolo[1,5-c]pyrimidine) on seizures and neuroprotection in the pilocarpine model. The effects of SCH58261 were further analyzed in combination with the A(1) agonist R-Pia (R(-)-N(6)-(2)-phenylisopropyl adenosine). Eight groups were studied: pilocarpine (Pilo), SCH+Pilo, R-Pia+Pilo, R-Pia+SCH+Pilo, Saline, SCH+Saline, R-Pia+Saline, and R-Pia+SCH+Saline.

Neuroprotective effect of pyruvate and oxaloacetate during pilocarpine induced status epilepticus in rats.

Recent research data have shown that systemic administration of pyruvate and oxaloacetate causes an increased brain-to-blood glutamate efflux. Since increased release of glutamate during epileptic seizures can lead to excitotoxicity and neuronal cell death, we tested the hypothesis that glutamate scavenging mediated by pyruvate and oxaloacetate systemic administration could have a neuroprotective effect in rats subjected to status epilepticus (SE). SE was induced by a single dose of pilocarpine (350mg/kgi.

The A1 receptor agonist R-Pia reduces the imbalance between cerebral glucose metabolism and blood flow during status epilepticus: could this mechanism be involved with neuroprotection?

It is well known that the uncoupling between local cerebral glucose utilization (LCGU) and local cerebral blood flow (LCBF), i.e. decrease in LCBF rates with high LCGU, is frequently associated with seizure-induced neuronal damage.

Alteration of purinergic P2X4 and P2X7 receptor expression in rats with temporal-lobe epilepsy induced by pilocarpine.

Although ATP and P2X receptor activity have been lately associated with epilepsy, little is known regarding their exact roles in epileptogenesis. Temporal-lobe epilepsy (TLE) in rat was induced by pilocarpine in order to study changes of hippocampal P2X(2), P2X(4) and P2X(7) receptor expression during acute, latent or chronic phases of epilepsy. During acute and chronic phases increased P2X(7) receptor expression was principally observed in glial cells and glutamatergic nerve terminals, suggesting participation of this receptor in the activation of inflammatory and excitotoxic processes during epileptogenesis.

Protective effect of the organotelluroxetane RF-07 in pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus.

Temporal lobe epilepsy is the most common form of epilepsy in humans. Caspase activation is a mechanism of cell death induced by seizures. Tellurium (IV) compounds present antitumoral, immunomodulatory and neuroprotective effects due to their ability to inhibit cysteine proteases.

Invertase and urease activities in the carotenogenic yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous (formerly Phaffia rhodozyma).

Invertase and urease are enzyme entities highly associated with the cells of the astaxanthin-producer yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous (Phaffia rhodozyma) during any stage of its cell growth cycle. In this study cellobiose was a more efficient carbon source than sucrose or its hexose counterparts for invertase expression. Extensive ultrasonication or abrasion with glass pearls were required in order to promote enzyme release.