Chronic Treatment with the Probiotics Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG and Bifidobacterium lactis BB12 Attenuates Motor Impairment, Striatal Microglial Activation, and Dopaminergic Loss in Rats with 6-Hydroxydopamine-induced Hemiparkinsonism.

Gut dysbiosis is considered a risk factor for Parkinson's disease (PD), and chronic treatment with probiotics could prevent it. Here we report the assessment of a probiotic mixture [Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG), and Bifidobacterium animalis lactis BB-12 (BB-12)] administered to male rats 2 weeks before and 3 weeks after injecting 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) into the right striatum, a model that mimics the early stages of PD. Before and after lesion, animals were subjected to behavioral tests: narrow beam, cylinder test, and apomorphine (APO)-induced rotations.

Chronic feeding with 3% dried raw blueberries (V. corymbosum) reduces apomorphine-induced rotations and striatal dopaminergic loss in hemiparkinsonian rats.

Blueberries (BB) are rich in antioxidant polyphenols, and their intake could prevent Parkinson's disease (PD). Here we assessed whether rats chronically fed dried raw BB develop resistance to dopaminergic denervation and motor disorders caused by unilateral intrastriatal injection of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), a dopaminergic neurotoxin acting mainly by inducing oxidative stress. Male rats were fed either with LabDiet® alone or supplemented with 3% lyophilized raw BB for 2 weeks before and 3 weeks after injecting 6-OHDA (day 0) or vehicle (mock lesion) into the right striatum.

β-Adrenergic blockade protects BALB/c mice against infection with a small inoculum of Leishmania mexicana mexicana (LV4).

In order to test the influence of the sympathetic nervous system on Leishmania mexicana infection, groups of female BALB/c mice were treated (i.p.) with the non-selective β-adrenergic receptor (β-AR) antagonist (S)-propranolol (5mg/kg thrice a day), the β2-AR agonist clenbuterol (1mg/kg once a day) or the α2-AR antagonist yohimbine (2mg/kg twice a day) during 5days.

Folate, homocysteine, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor alfa levels, but not the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase C677T polymorphism, are risk factors for schizophrenia.

The methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T mutation has been associated to high homocysteine levels and schizophrenia. Since cytokines are altered in schizophrenia and increments of homocysteine could promote an inflammatory response, it was investigated whether interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alfa (TNFalpha) levels are modulated by the MTHFR genotype. Serum levels of TNFalpha, IL-6, B(12), homocysteine, folate and red blood cell (RBC) folate as well as the MTHFR genotype were determined in a group of schizophrenic patients and compared to those of a control group.

A combination DNA vaccine encoding nucleoside hydrolase 36 and glycoproteine 63 protects female but not male hamsters against Leishmania mexicana.

Leishmaniasis is a group of diseases caused by protozoan parasites of the Leishmania genus. Previous studies have shown that a DNA vaccine encoding Leishmania donovani antigen nucleoside hydrolase 36 and L. mexicana glycoprotein 63 is protective in mice.