Lifelong exposure to n-3 PUFA deficiency leads to anxiety-like profile in male and female adolescent rats: Impact on spleen-brain axis.

Low consumption of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) during the developmental period has been increasingly associated with an increased risk of depressive-like symptoms in both male and female sexes. Therefore, here we performed behavioral and biochemical quantifications in adolescent rats to evaluate possible sex-driven differences in the development of anxiety-like disorders related to life-long n-3 PUFA low intake. Male and female adolescent rats fed for their entire life with n-3 PUFA poor diet showed an anxiety-like profile compared to n6/n-3 PUFA balanced diet.

Sex differences in the BTBR idiopathic mouse model of autism spectrum disorders: Behavioural and redox-related hippocampal alterations.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are highly heterogeneous neurodevelopmental diseases. Epidemiological data report that males have been diagnosed with autism more frequently than females. However, recent studies hypothesize that females' low incidence might be underestimated due to standard clinical measures of ASD behavioural symptoms, mostly derived from males.

Amygdalar neurotransmission alterations in the BTBR mice model of idiopathic autism.

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are principally diagnosed by three core behavioural symptoms, such as stereotyped repertoire, communication impairments and social dysfunctions. This complex pathology has been linked to abnormalities of corticostriatal and limbic circuits. Despite experimental efforts in elucidating the molecular mechanisms behind these abnormalities, a clear etiopathogenic hypothesis is still lacking.

A PM10 chemically characterized nation-wide dataset for Italy. Geographical influence on urban air pollution and source apportionment.

Urban textures of the Italian cities are peculiarly shaped by the local geography generating similarities among cities placed in different regions but comparable topographical districts. This suggested the following scientific question: can different topographies generate significant differences on the PM chemical composition at Italian urban sites that share similar geography despite being in different regions? To investigate whether such communalities can be found and are applicable at Country-scale, we propose here a novel methodological approach. A dataset comprising season-averages of PM mass concentration and chemical composition data was built, covering the decade 2005-2016 and referring to urban sites only (21 cities).

Palmitoylethanolamide counteracts high-fat diet-induced gut dysfunction by reprogramming microbiota composition and affecting tryptophan metabolism.

Obesity is associated with gastrointestinal (GI) tract and central nervous system (CNS) disorders. High-fat diet (HFD) feeding-induced obesity in mice induces dysbiosis, causing a shift toward bacteria-derived metabolites with detrimental effects on metabolism and inflammation: events often contributing to the onset and progression of both GI and CNS disorders. Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) is an endogenous lipid mediator with beneficial effects in mouse models of GI and CNS disorders.

Social isolation from early life induces anxiety-like behaviors in adult rats: Relation to neuroendocrine and neurochemical dysfunctions.

Subjects suffering from psychosis frequently experience anxiety. However, mechanisms underlying this comorbidity remain still unclear. We investigated whether neurochemical and neuroendocrine dysfunctions were involved in the development of anxiety-like behavior in a rodent model of psychotic-like symptoms, obtained by exposing male rats to social isolation rearing from postnatal day 21 to postnatal day 70.

Glucoraphanin Triggers Rapid Antidepressant Responses in a Rat Model of Beta Amyloid-Induced Depressive-like Behaviour.

Glucoraphanin (GRA) is a natural compound that has shown beneficial effects in chronic diseases and in central nervous system disorders. Moreover, GRA displayed antidepressant activity in preclinical models. We have previously demonstrated that a single intracerebroventricular administration of soluble amyloid-beta 1-42 (sAβ 1-42) in rat evokes a depressive-like phenotype by increasing immobility frequency in the forced swimming test (FST).

Ketamine administration in early postnatal life as a tool for mimicking Autism Spectrum Disorders core symptoms.

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) core symptoms include deficits of social interaction, stereotyped behaviours, dysfunction in language and communication. Beyond them, several additional symptoms, such as cognitive impairment, anxiety-like states and hyperactivity are often occurring, mainly overlapping with other neuropsychiatric diseases. To untangle mechanisms underlying ASD etiology, and to identify possible pharmacological approaches, different factors, such as environmental, immunological and genetic ones, need to be considered.

Precision Medicine in Alzheimer's Disease: Investigating Comorbid Common Biological Substrates in the Rat Model of Amyloid Beta-Induced Toxicity.

Alzheimer's disease (AD), one of the most widespread neurodegenerative disorder, is a fatal global burden for the elder population. Although many efforts have been made, the search of a curative therapy is still ongoing. Individuating phenotypic traits that might help in investigating treatment response is of growing interest in AD research.

Psychometric properties of 4-item questionnaire for sleep habits and time in a South American paediatric population.

Objectives: To assess the psychometric properties of 4-item questionnaire about sleep habits and time in South American children (3-10 years) and adolescents (11-18 years).

Material And Methods: We evaluated 459 participants from seven South American cities. Two items from week and weekend days wake up time and bedtime were asked twice, with a 2-week interval.

Sublingual AKBA Exerts Antidepressant Effects in the Aβ-Treated Mouse Model.

The 3-O-acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (AKBA) is the most active compound of proposed for treating neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), characterized in its early phase by alteration in mood. Accordingly, we have previously demonstrated that an intracerebroventricular injection of soluble amyloid beta (Aβ) peptide evokes a depressive-like phenotype in rats. We tested the protective effects of AKBA in the mouse model of an Aβ-induced depressive-like phenotype.

N-3 PUFA Prevent Oxidative Stress in a Rat Model of Beta-Amyloid-Induced Toxicity.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are involved in brain disorders associated to amyloid beta (Aβ) toxicity for which oxidative stress, neurochemical dysfunctions, and neuroinflammation are underlying mechanisms. Here, mechanisms through which lifelong exposure to n-3 PUFA-enriched or n-6/n-3 balanced diets could elicit a protective role in a rat model of Aβ-induced toxicity were investigated. To this aim, we quantified hippocampal reactive oxygen species (ROS) amount, 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine and interleukin-10 levels, NADPH oxidase (NOX) 1, NOX2, superoxide dismutase 1, and glutathione contents, as well as plasmatic malondialdehyde.

NT3/TrkC Pathway Modulates the Expression of UCP-1 and Adipocyte Size in Human and Rodent Adipose Tissue.

Unlabelled: (NT3), through activation of its tropomyosin-related kinase receptor C (TrkC), modulates neuronal survival and neural stem cell differentiation. It is widely distributed in peripheral tissues (especially vessels and pancreas) and this ubiquitous pattern suggests a role for NT3, outside the nervous system and related to metabolic functions. The presence of the NT3/TrkC pathway in the adipose tissue (AT) has never been investigated.

Postnatal Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory Treatments Prevent Early Ketamine-Induced Cortical Dysfunctions in Adult Mice.

Early brain insult, interfering with its maturation, may result in psychotic-like disturbances in adult life. Redox dysfunctions and neuroinflammation contribute to long-term psychiatric consequences due to neurodevelopmental abnormalities. Here, we investigated the effects of early pharmacological modulation of the redox and inflammatory states, through celastrol, and indomethacin administration, on reactive oxygen species (ROS) amount, levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase 1, SOD1, glutathione, GSH, and catalase, CAT), as well as of pro-inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-alpha, TNF-α, interleukin-6, IL-6, and interleukin-1 beta, IL-1β), in the prefrontal cortex of adult mice exposed to a neurotoxic insult, i.

Ketamine administration induces early and persistent neurochemical imbalance and altered NADPH oxidase in mice.

Administration in adulthood of subanaesthetic doses of ketamine, an NMDA receptor (NMDA-R) antagonist, is commonly used to induce psychotic-like alterations in rodents. The NADPH oxidase (NOX) derived-oxidative stress has been shown to be implicated in ketamine-induced neurochemical dysfunctions and in the loss of parvalbumin (PV)-positive interneurons associated to the administration of this NMDA receptor antagonist in adult mice. However, very few data are available on the effects of early ketamine administration and its contribution to the development of long-term dysfunctions leading to psychosis.

A long-term treatment with taurine prevents cardiac dysfunction in mdx mice.

Taurine is an amino acid abundantly present in heart and skeletal muscle. Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic disorder in which the absence of dystrophin leads to skeletal muscle wasting and heart failure. An altered taurine metabolism has been described in dystrophic animals and short-term taurine administration exerts promising amelioration of early muscular alterations in the mdx mouse model of DMD.

Effects of n-3 PUFA enriched and n-3 PUFA deficient diets in naïve and Aβ-treated female rats.

Depression is one of the most common psychiatric diseases and the prevalence of depressive symptoms in women is almost twice compared to men, although the reasons of this gender difference are not fully understood yet. Recently, soluble Aβ peptide has been receiving great importance in the development of depression, also since depression is highly comorbid with Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative illnesses. Accordingly, we have previously shown that central Aβ injection is able to elicit depressive-like phenotype in male rats.

Design and Objectives of the South American Youth/Child Cardiovascular and Environmental (SAYCARE) Study.

Objective: The purpose of this paper is to introduce the overarching study design of the South American Youth/Child Cardiovascular and Environmental (SAYCARE) study, which is an observational multicenter feasibility study held in seven South American cities: Buenos Aires (Argentina), Lima (Peru), Medellin (Colombia), Montevideo (Uruguay), Santiago (Chile), and São Paulo and Teresina (Brazil). Children and adolescents (3-17 years of age) were studied.

Methods: The data management systems, quality assurance monitoring activities, standardized operating procedure manuals, and training and study management are addressed in this paper.

The Visible Burrow System: A behavioral paradigm to assess sociability and social withdrawal in BTBR and C57BL/6J mice strains.

Disrupted sociability and consequent social withdrawal are (early) symptoms of a wide variety of neuropsychiatric diseases, such as schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorders, depressive disorders and Alzheimer's disease. The paucity of objective measures to translationally assess social withdrawal characteristics has been an important limitation to study this behavioral phenotype, both in human and rodents. The aim of the present study was to investigate sociability and social withdrawal in rodents using an ethologically valid behavioral paradigm, the Visible Burrow System (VBS).

Celecoxib Prevents Cognitive Impairment and Neuroinflammation in Soluble Amyloid β-treated Rats.

Recent findings suggest that soluble forms of amyloid-β (sAβ) peptide contribute to synaptic and cognitive dysfunctions in early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). On the other hand, neuroinflammation and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) enzyme have gained increased interest as key factors involved early in AD, although the signaling pathways and pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying a link between sAβ-induced neurotoxicity and inflammation are still unclear. Here, we investigated the effects of selective COX-2 enzyme inhibition on neuropathological alterations induced by sAβ administration in rats.

Visceral Fat Dysfunctions in the Rat Social Isolation Model of Psychosis.

Medication with neuroleptics has been associated with adipose tissue dysfunctions and, in particular, with increased visceral fat amount. However, several studies suggested that antipsychotic treatment might not be the main responsible of fat mass accumulation, as this has been also described in not treated psychotic patients. One of the most used "drug-free" rodent models of psychosis is the social isolation rearing of young adult rats, which provides a non-pharmacologic method of inducing long-term alterations reminiscent of symptoms seen in psychotic patients.

Antidepressant drugs for beta amyloid-induced depression: A new standpoint?

Mounting evidence suggests that depression represents a risk factor and an early manifestation of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Neuropsychiatric symptoms may derive from neurobiological changes in specific brain areas and may be considered prodromal of dementia. We have previously reported the depressive-like profile in rats receiving a single intracerebroventricular injection of soluble amyloid beta protein (ßA).