Publications by authors named "Manuela F L Freitas"

Background/objectives: Migraine is a disease that stands out for its high prevalence and socioeconomic costs. It involves the entire trigeminovascular system, the signaling substances, and their targets. However, the role of meningeal mast cells in migraine is still unclear.

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Obesogenic diets are known to induce obesity and changes in food intake in experimental animals. Obesity negatively affects the peripheral metabolism and neural aspects, such as changes in eating behavior. In obese animals, dopamine (DA) receptor levels are reduced.

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Mast cells, known as pro-inflammatory effector cells, are immunocytes present in the meninges and may be involved in the pathophysiology of migraine. This study aims to evaluate the histomorphometric parameters of mast cells located in the convexity of the human intracranial dura mater. For this, samples of intracranial dura mater from eight human fresh cadavers were collected between 8- and 24-h post-mortem.

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Aim: The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of protein perinatal malnutrition on the function of dopamine DRD1 and DRD2 receptors in regards to motivation and food consumption in adult mice. The study also analyzed the effect of protein perinatal malnutrition on the gene expression of these receptors in the ventral striatum.

Methods: Wistar lineage mice were divided into two groups according to maternal diet: control (17% casein), n=30 and low protein (8% casein), n=30.

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This work aimed to assess the clonal distribution among 94 strains of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from cow's milk, raw cheese, and a milking machine in 12 dairy farms in northeast Brazil, by analyzing different typing methods and detecting resistance and toxigenic profiles. For the first time, isolates of this region were assessed simultaneously by the polymorphism of the 3'-end coa gene and 16S-23S rDNA, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, antibiotic resistance phenotyping, and toxigenic arsenal. Although pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns showed a wider variation (discriminatory index 0.

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Experiments in animals have revealed that perinatal nutritional restriction, which manifests in adulthood, increases food intake and preference for palatable foods. Considering this, we aimed to evaluate the effects of perinatal malnutrition on hedonic control of feeding behavior. In this study, we divided Wistar rats into two groups according to the diet provided to their mothers during pregnancy and lactation: the control group (diet with 17% casein) and low-protein group (diet with 8% casein).

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The appearance, the odor, and the flavor of foods, all send messages to the encephalic area of the brain. The hypothalamus, in particular, plays a key role in the mechanisms that control the feeding behavior. These signals modulate the expression and the action of anorexigenic or orexigenic substances that influence feeding behavior.

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