Human adult neurogenesis loss corresponds with cognitive decline during epilepsy progression.

Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) is a syndromic disorder presenting with seizures and cognitive comorbidities. Although seizure etiology is increasingly understood, the pathophysiological mechanisms contributing to cognitive decline and epilepsy progression remain less recognized. We have previously shown that adult hippocampal neurogenesis dramatically declines in MTLE patients with increased disease duration.

Epigenetic remodelling of enhancers in response to estrogen deprivation and re-stimulation.

Estrogen hormones are implicated in a majority of breast cancers and estrogen receptor alpha (ER), the main nuclear factor mediating estrogen signaling, orchestrates a complex molecular circuitry that is not yet fully elucidated. Here, we investigated genome-wide DNA methylation, histone acetylation and transcription after estradiol (E2) deprivation and re-stimulation to better characterize the ability of ER to coordinate gene regulation. We found that E2 deprivation mostly resulted in DNA hypermethylation and histone deacetylation in enhancers.

Epilepsy surgery in the underserved Hispanic population improves depression, anxiety, and quality of life.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of epilepsy surgery on depression, anxiety, and quality of life (QOL) in a Hispanic, primarily immigrant, Spanish-speaking population with intractable epilepsy (IE).

Methods: Patients with IE from a comprehensive epilepsy treatment center in an urban, public healthcare setting who underwent resective brain surgery between 2008 and 2014 (N=47) and completed presurgical and postsurgical neuropsychological evaluation were retrospectively identified. Presurgical and 1-year postsurgical Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and QOLIE-31 ratings were analyzed as postsurgical outcome measures.

Inhibition of the toxic effects of Bothrops asper venom by pinostrobin, a flavanone isolated from Renealmia alpinia (Rottb.) MAAS.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Renealmia alpinia has been traditionally used to treat snakebites by indigenous Embera-Katíos tribes belonging to the regions of Antioquia and Chocó, Colombia, and it has been shown to inhibit the enzymatic and biological activities of Bothrops venoms and their purified phospholipase A2 (PLA2) toxins. In addition to its common local usage against snakebites, Renealmia alpinia is commonly used to treat pain. To evaluate the inhibitory ability of pinostrobin, the main compound in the dichloromethane extract of Renealmia alpinia, on the toxic effects of Bothrops asper venom through in vitro and in vivo models and to evaluate its activity against pain and edema.

Apparent lack of pharmacological effect of steviol glycosides used as sweeteners in humans. A pilot study of repeated exposures in some normotensive and hypotensive individuals and in Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics.

Steviol glycosides, isolated from the plant Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) Bertoni, have been used as safe sweetening agents for more than 30 years. Beneficial effects of high doses of steviol glycosides on hyperglycemia and hypertension have been previously described when these abnormalities are present. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of steviol glycosides on blood glucose and on blood pressure (BP) in 3 groups of individuals.

Antiprotozoal and cytotoxic activities in vitro of Colombian Annonaceae.

Ethnobotanical and chemotaxonomical studies for antiparasitic activity of Colombian Annonaceae were carried out. In vitro antiprotozoal activity of 36 extracts obtained from six different species was determined against promastigotes of three Leishmania species, epimastigotes of Trypanosoma cruzi and both chloroquine sensitive (F32) and resistant (W2) Plasmodium falciparum. Cytotoxic activity was evaluated in U-937 cells.

Failure to inhibit the reading response on the Stroop Test: a pathognomonic indicator of suspect effort.

We present 6 patients who displayed noncredible effort on neuropsychological testing (verified by failures on specialized measures designed to discreetly assess effort status and multiple behavioral inconsistencies) and complained of complete illiteracy secondary to impoverished educational history, learning disability, or acquired brain injury. The Stroop Test, a measure of a specific aspect of executive function requiring inhibition of an automatized oral reading response in favor of a less habitual, competing color-naming response, was administered to these patients. All six subjects claimed that they were unable to perform the Word-Reading trial as a consequence of total reading disability, but on the Color-Word Interference trial, they all committed "errors" by reading the written words.

Neuropsychological functioning in a cohort of HIV infected women: importance of antiretroviral therapy.

We evaluated neurocognitive function in 149 HIV-seropositive and 82 seronegative women enrolled in the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS), a large multi-center study of disease progression in women living with HIV/AIDS. We evaluated the prevalence of abnormal neuropsychological (NP) test findings in HIV-seropositive and seronegative women and factors associated with increased risk of abnormal NP test performance. Risk of NP impairment was no higher for HIV positive women receiving antiretroviral therapy at testing than for HIV-negative women (OR = 1.