Saffron Extract Attenuates Anxiogenic Effect and Improves Cognitive Behavior in an Adult Zebrafish Model of Traumatic Brain Injury.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has the highest mortality rates worldwide, yet effective treatment remains unavailable. TBI causes inflammatory responses, endoplasmic reticulum stress, disruption of the blood-brain barrier and neurodegeneration that lead to loss of cognition, memory and motor skills. Saffron ( L.

High-Dose Levetiracetam for Neonatal Seizures: A Retrospective Review.

Background: Neonatal seizures are frequently encountered in the neonatal intensive care unit and may be associated with serious long-term neurological sequelae. Response to treatment continues to be modest, and treatment guidelines remain unclear. The use of levetiracetam has been on the rise in the past several years due to its favorable safety profile in the face of limited data on its efficacy and optimal dosing regimens.

Prevalence of comorbidities and correlates of hospital readmission rate in patients with acute mania: A one-year retrospective data from a tertiary care.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of medical comorbidities in acute manic patients over a period of 1 year, and to evaluate correlates of the readmission rate.

Design/methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted on 158 acute manic patients from 2016 to 2017.

Results: The most common physical comorbidity was obesity (36.

Factors associated with anxiety disorders among patients with substance use disorders in Lebanon: Results of a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: Estimate the rate of anxiety disorders (AD) and associated factors among patients with substance use disorder (SUD) in Lebanon.

Methods: A cross-sectional study, conducted between April and September 2017, enrolled 57 inpatients with SUD.

Results: The rate of AD in patients with SUD was 61.

Identification of Factors Affecting the Quality of Life Among Patients With Addiction in Lebanon.

Our objective was to assess factors associated with the physical (Short-Form 12-physical component summary [SF-12-PCS]) and mental (Short-Form 12-mental component summary [SF-12-MCS]) quality of life (QOL) in the Lebanese population. A cross-sectional study, conducted between July and September 2017, enrolled 57 patients with substance use disorder from the Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross. The SF-12 scale was used to assess the QOL among participants.

Cognition and physical functioning in patients with schizophrenia: any role for vitamin D?

: The study's objective was to evaluate the relationship between vitamin D (VD) levels and cognitive performance in patients with schizophrenia. : A cross-sectional study, conducted between March and July 2016, recruited 196 patients with schizophrenia. The Brief Cognitive Rating Scale (BCRS) and the Morningside Rehabilitation Status Scale (MRSS) were used to measure the severity of cognitive impairment and the level of general functioning in psychiatric patients.

Cardiovascular events in hospitalised patients with schizophrenia: a survival analysis.

To evaluate the occurrence of cardiovascular (CV), cerebrovascular events and mortality rates, and compare the predictive ability of two scores, Framingham Risk Score (FRS) and Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD), of detecting a cardiovascular event in a cohort of schizophrenic patients. A cohort of 329 hospitalised schizophrenic patients is being monitored since 1 January 2013. Patients' file review was performed to detect the CV events of interest.

Affective temperaments in Lebanese people with substance use disorder.

Purpose: To examine these temperaments among patients with substance use disorder (SUD) in the Lebanese population.

Design: Case-control.

Methods: Fifty-seven controls and 57 patients with SUD were enrolled between April and September 2017.

Hypovitaminosis D in a Young Lebanese Population: Effect of GC Gene Polymorphisms on Vitamin D and Vitamin D Binding Protein Levels.

Bioactive vitamin D is a steroid hormone transported in blood via the vitamin D binding protein (DBP). Our study aimed to investigate the vitamin D status in a young Lebanese population and study the association of hypovitaminosis with levels of DBP. Polymorphisms in the GC gene that encodes DBP were also screened.

Relationship of serum neutral endopeptidase E.C.3.4.24.11 activity to alcohol consumption.

Neutral endopeptidase (NEP) is an ubiquitous enzyme that inactivates numerous endogenous peptides in the brain, kidney, and lung in vivo. The origin of the circulating soluble form and its determinants are largely unknown. The relationships of smoking habits and alcohol consumption to serum NEP activity have been explored in a longitudinal epidemiological study conducted in 204 Lorraine coal miners.

Expression of 72-kDa gelatinase (MMP-2), collagenase (MMP-1), and tissue metalloproteinase inhibitor (TIMP) in primary pig skin fibroblast cultures derived from radiation-induced skin fibrosis.

In addition to producing matrix degradation for normal tissue remodeling and repair, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are also involved in various pathologic processes. MMPs and the tissue inhibitor of MMPs (TIMP) were investigated in primary cultures of pig fibroblasts from radiation-induced dermal fibrosis and compared to normal dermal fibroblasts. The free gelatinolytic, collagenolytic, and caseinolytic activities secreted into the culture medium were evaluated against specific 3H denatured collagen type I, native helical collagen, and casein alpha, respectively.

Biological markers as indicators of exposure and pneumoconiotic risk: prospective study.

This research is designed to evaluate a number of biological markers to estimate harmful exposure on coal miners from different mining regions in France and to relate the outcome to differences in prevalence of coal worker pneumoconiosis (CWP) between these regions. Eight epidemiological groups of active and ex-miners (smokers and non-smokers) have been selected in the French collieries (North, Lorraine and Provence) according to their occupational and pneumoconiotic status. The following biomarkers have been evaluated: cellularity of sputum, elementary analysis of particles in TEM/EDAX, plasma neutral metalloendo-peptidase elastase type (NMEP), leucocyte elastase (HLE), fibronectin (FN) and elastin peptides.

Fibronectin and collagen gene expression during in vitro ageing of pig skin fibroblasts.

The fibronectin, collagen type I, and collagen type III genes code for three major proteins of the cell matrix. The age-related alterations in their expression were measured during the in vitro lifespan of pig skin fibroblasts. We observed changes in the transcription rate of these specific genes during ageing.

Collagen synthesis and deposition in cultured fibroblasts from subcutaneous radiation-induced fibrosis. Modification as a function of cell aging.

Acute local gamma-irradiation of porcine skin induces, as in human skin, extensive mutilating sclerosis, characterized by continuous expansion of the fibrosis invading the adjacent muscle and by accumulation of extracellular matrix macromolecules. Collagen synthesis, content, and types were studied by measuring the incorporation of the radiolabeled precursor [3H]-proline into confluent primary cultures and subcultures of porcine fibroblasts obtained from normal and irradiated fibrotic dermis. A significant increase in collagen biosynthesis and deposition, with a preferential enhancement of type III collagen, was observed in primary cultures of fibrotic fibroblasts when compared to those of normal dermis.

Heparin fragments modulate the collagen phenotype of fibroblasts from radiation-induced subcutaneous fibrosis.

Acute local gamma irradiation of porcine skin induces, as in human skin, an extensive and mutilating sclerosis characterized by continuous expansion of the fibrosis invading the adjacent muscle and by accumulation of the macromolecular components of the extracellular matrix. Collagen synthesis, content, and types were studied in the presence of heparin fragments (100 micrograms/10(6) cells) in the culture medium, by measuring the incorporation of the radiolabeled precursor [3H]proline into confluent primary cultures of porcine fibroblasts obtained from normal and irradiated fibrotic dermis. Enhancement in collagen biosynthesis and deposition and preferential increase in collagen type III synthesis were observed in fibrotic fibroblast cultures when compared to those in normal dermis fibroblasts.