Too much of a good thing? Overexertion of self-control and dietary adherence in individuals with Type 2 diabetes.

Objectives: The resource model of self-control posits that self-control is a finite resource that can be depleted. Individuals with diabetes must continually restrict their diet, requiring self-control. As a result, dietary adherence is difficult, and lapses are common.

Oral contraceptives and nicotine synergistically exacerbate cerebral ischemic injury in the female brain.

Oral contraceptives (OC) and smoking-derived nicotine (N) are known to synergistically increase the risk and severity of cerebral ischemia in women. Although it has been known for some time that long-term use of OC and nicotine will have an increased risk of peripheral thrombus formation, little is known about how the combination of OC and nicotine increases severity of brain ischemia. Recent laboratory studies simulating the conditions of nicotine exposure produced by cigarette smoking and OC regimen of women in female rats confirms that the severity of ischemic hippocampal damage is far greater in female rats simultaneously exposed to OC than to nicotine alone.

Periodic 17β-estradiol pretreatment protects rat brain from cerebral ischemic damage via estrogen receptor-β.

Although chronic 17β-estradiol (E2) has been shown to be a cognition-preserving and neuroprotective agent in animal brain injury models, concern regarding its safety was raised by the failed translation of this phenomenon to the clinic. Previously, we demonstrated that a single bolus of E2 48 hr prior to ischemia protected the hippocampus from damage in ovariectomized rats via phosphorylation of cyclic-AMP response element binding protein, which requires activation of estrogen receptor subtype beta (ER-β). The current study tests the hypothesis that long-term periodic E2-treatment improves cognition and reduces post-ischemic hippocampal injury by means of ER-β activation.

The relationship of perceived neighborhood social climate to walking in Hispanic older adults: a longitudinal, cross-lagged panel analysis.

Objective: This study examines possible bidirectional relationships between neighborhood climate (i.e., perceived neighborhood social environment) and walking behavior across a 12-month period in older Hispanics.