Chronic rose oxide and exercise synergistically modulate cardiovascular and autonomic functions in hypertensive rats.

With the alarming rise in cases of arterial hypertension worldwide, there is an urgent need to develop combined therapies to mitigate this scenario. Rose oxide (RO), a monoterpene with anti-inflammatory and hypotensive properties, emerges as an alternative. The present study is the first to evaluate the effect of RO administered chronically and combined with physical exercise (swimming) since both have been reported to have beneficial impacts on hypertension.

Cannabidiol exerts antipyretic effects by downmodulating inflammatory mediators in LPS-induced fever.

Contrasting to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD) has virtually no psychoactive effects and thus presents a minor risk for abuse. Furthermore, emerging preclinical and clinical evidence indicates that CBD exerts several beneficial pharmacological effects, including anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Even though fever is one of the responses associated with systemic inflammation, no previous study assessed the putative impact of CBD on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced fever.

Advancements in addressing drug dependence: A review of promising therapeutic strategies and interventions.

Substance dependence represents a pervasive global concern within the realm of public health. Presently, it is delineated as a persistent and recurrent neurological disorder stemming from drug-triggered neuroadaptations in the brain's reward circuitry. Despite the availability of various therapeutic modalities, there has been a steady escalation in the mortality rate attributed to drug overdoses.

Maternal nutrition and its effects on fetal neurodevelopment.

Herein, we present a thorough examination of the impact of maternal nutrition on fetal and infant neurodevelopment, focusing on specific nutrients and their critical roles in perinatal and pediatric health. Through a comprehensive narrative review of the literature, this study highlights the importance of a balanced maternal diet rich in nutrients like eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), folic acid, iron, and iodine in shaping children's neurological functions. Key findings underscore the influence of maternal nutrition during pregnancy and the peri-gestational period on children's cognitive, motor, speech, and socio-emotional development.

Therapeutic potential of psychedelics: History, advancements, and unexplored frontiers.

Psychedelics (serotonergic hallucinogens) are psychoactive substances that can alter perception and mood, and affect cognitive functions. These substances activate 5-HT receptors and may exert therapeutic effects. Some of the disorders for which psychedelic-assisted therapy have been studied include depression, addiction, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Selection of preferred thermal environment and cold-avoidance responses in rats rely on signals transduced by the dorsal portion of the lateral funiculus of the spinal cord.

Thermoregulatory behaviors are powerful effectors for core body temperature (T) regulation. We evaluated the involvement of afferent fibers ascending through the dorsal portion of the lateral funiculus (DLF) of the spinal cord in "spontaneous" thermal preference and thermoregulatory behaviors induced by thermal and pharmacological stimuli in a thermogradient apparatus. In adult Wistar rats, the DLF was surgically severed at the first cervical vertebra bilaterally.

The gut microbiota in neurodegenerative diseases: revisiting possible therapeutic targets for cannabidiol.

Understanding the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is essential to improve the efficacy of treatments and, consequently, patients' lives. Unfortunately, traditional therapeutic strategies have not been effective. There is therefore an urgent need to discover or develop alternative treatment strategies.

Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering-Based Therapeutic Interventions: Promising Strategies to Improve Peripheral Nerve Regeneration.

Unlike the central nervous system, the peripheral one has the ability to regenerate itself after injury; however, this natural regeneration process is not always successful. In fact, even with some treatments, the prognosis is poor, and patients consequently suffer with the functional loss caused by injured nerves, generating several impacts on their quality of life. In the present review we aimed to address two strategies that may considerably potentiate peripheral nerve regeneration: stem cells and tissue engineering.

Acute autonomic effects of rose oxide on cardiovascular parameters of Wistar and spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Aims: Anti-inflammatory molecules, such as rose oxide (RO), are likely to exert therapeutic effects in systemic arterial hypertension (SAH), a disease associated with abnormal immune responses. We aimed to investigate acute autonomic effects of RO on hemodynamic parameters of Wistar and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR).

Methods: Rats were anesthetized and femoral artery and veins were cannulated.

Efficacy of low-level laser therapy in nerve injury repair-a new era in therapeutic agents and regenerative treatments.

Background: Traumatic nerve injuries may result in severe motor dysfunctions. Although the microenvironment of peripheral axons favors their regeneration, regenerative process is not always successful.

Purpose: We reviewed and discussed the main findings obtained with low-level laser therapy (LLLT), a therapeutic intervention that has been employed in order to achieve an optimized regeneration process in peripheral axons.

Revisiting the Role of Biologically Active Natural and Synthetic Compounds as an Intervention to Treat Injured Nerves.

Traumatic lesions in nerves present high incidence and may culminate in sensorimotor and/or autonomic dysfunctions or a total loss of function, affecting the patient's quality of life. Although the microenvironment favors peripheral nerve regeneration, the regenerative process is not always successful. Some herbs, natural products, and synthetic drugs have been studied as potential pro-regenerative interventions.

Role of hydrogen sulfide in ventilatory responses to hypercapnia in the medullary raphe of adult rats.

New Findings: What is the central question of this study? There is evidence that H S plays a role in the control of breathing: what are its actions on the ventilatory and thermoregulatory responses to hypercapnia via effects in the medullary raphe, a brainstem region that participates in the ventilatory adjustments to hypercapnia? What is the main finding and its importance? Hypercapnia increased the endogenous production of H S in the medullary raphe. Inhibition of endogenous H S attenuated the ventilatory response to hypercapnia in unanaesthetized rats, suggesting its excitatory action via the cystathionine β-synthase-H S pathway in the medullary raphe.

Abstract: Hydrogen sulfide (H S) has been recently recognized as a gasotransmitter alongside carbon monoxide (CO) and nitric oxide (NO).

Nanotherapeutic approach to tackle chemotherapeutic resistance of cancer stem cells.

Estimates indicate that cancer will become the leading cause of mortality worldwide in the future. Tumorigenesis is a complex process that involves self-sufficiency in signs of growth, insensitivity to anti-growth signals, prevention of apoptosis, unlimited replication, sustained angiogenesis, tissue invasion, and metastasis. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have an important role in tumor development and resistance.

Exploitation of Marine-Derived Robust Biological Molecules to Manage Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Naturally occurring biological entities with extractable and tunable structural and functional characteristics, along with therapeutic attributes, are of supreme interest for strengthening the twenty-first-century biomedical settings. Irrespective of ongoing technological and clinical advancement, traditional medicinal practices to address and manage inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are inefficient and the effect of the administered therapeutic cues is limited. The reasonable immune response or invasion should also be circumvented for successful clinical translation of engineered cues as highly efficient and robust bioactive entities.

Marine-Derived Biologically Active Compounds for the Potential Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic autoimmune disease with a prevalence rate of up to 1% and is significantly considered a common worldwide public health concern. Commercially, several traditional formulations are available to treat RA to some extent. However, these synthetic compounds exert toxicity and considerable side effects even at lower therapeutic concentrations.

Acetylcholinesterase inhibition prevents alterations in cardiovascular autonomic control and gastric motility in L-NAME-induced hypertensive rats.

Aims: Autonomic dysfunction in arterial hypertension affects cardiorespiratory control and gastric motility and has been characterized by increased sympathetic and reduced parasympathetic activity. In the present work we investigated the effects of anticholinesterase drugs [donepezil (DON) or pyridostigmine (PYR)] on cardiovascular, autonomic, and gastric parameters in L-NAME-induced hypertensive rats.

Materials And Methods: Daily oral gavage of L-NAME (70 mg/kg/day) was performed over 14 days in male Wistar rats (180-220 g), whereas daily oral gavage of DON or PYR (1.

Central administration of aminooxyacetate, an inhibitor of H2S production, affects thermoregulatory but not cardiovascular and ventilatory responses to hypercapnia in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Hydrogen sulfide (HS) is classically known for its toxic effects. More recently HS has been documented as a neuromodulator. Here we investigated the central effects of aminooxyacetate (AOA; inhibitor of the HS-synthesizing enzyme cystathionine β-synthase, CBS) on cardiovascular, respiratory and thermoregulatory responses to hypercapnia in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR).

Pulp wash: a new source for production of ligninolytic enzymes and biomass and its toxicological evaluation after biological treatment.

Pulp wash was used as substrate for the activity of ligninolytic enzymes of the fungus . Activity of laccase (Lac) and manganese peroxidase (MnP) as well as fungal biomass occurred under four conditions: different pulp wash concentrations, pH variation at the optimal pulp wash concentration, different glucose concentrations, and different concentrations of ammonium nitrate. The best enzyme activity and biomass production were obtained with pulp wash and pH corrected to 5.

Molecular hydrogen potentiates hypothermia and prevents hypotension and fever in LPS-induced systemic inflammation.

Molecular hydrogen (H) exerts anti-oxidative, anti-apoptotic, and anti-inflammatory effects. Here we tested the hypothesis that H modulates cardiovascular, inflammatory, and thermoregulatory changes in systemic inflammation (SI) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) at different doses (0.1 or 1.

Endogenous peripheral hydrogen sulfide is propyretic: its permissive role in brown adipose tissue thermogenesis in rats.

New Findings: What is the central question of this study? In fever, the most striking response in the acute phase reaction of systemic inflammation, plasma H S concentration increases. However, the role of endogenous peripheral H S in fever is unknown. What is the main finding and its importance? Endogenous peripheral H S is permissive for increased brown adipose tissue thermogenesis to maintain thermal homeostasis in cold environments as well as to mount fever.

Anxiolytic-like effect of hydrogen sulfide (HS) in rats exposed and re-exposed to the elevated plus-maze and open field tests.

Hydrogen sulfide (HS), an endogenous gaseous mediator, modulates many physiological functions in mammals but evidence of its involvement in emotional and behavioral aspects is currently scarce. We hypothesized that this gas plays a modulatory role in behavioral parameters in rats submitted to tests (for 5min) in the open field (OF) and elevated plus-maze (EPM - test and retest). Male Wistar rats (200-250g) were intraperitoneally injected with saline or NaS (a HS donor; 4, 8 and 12mg/kg) either once or for 8days, and submitted to the OF test or to the EPM test and retest.

Effect of Physical Exercise on the Febrigenic Signaling is Modulated by Preoptic Hydrogen Sulfide Production.

We tested the hypothesis that the neuromodulator hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in the preoptic area (POA) of the hypothalamus modulates the febrigenic signaling differently in sedentary and trained rats. Besides H2S production rate and protein expressions of H2S-related synthases cystathionine β-synthase (CBS), 3-mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase (3-MPST) and cystathionine γ-lyase (CSE) in the POA, we also measured deep body temperature (Tb), circulating plasma levels of cytokines and corticosterone in an animal model of systemic inflammation. Rats run on a treadmill before receiving an intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 100 μg/kg) or saline.

Amblyopia: neural basis and therapeutic approaches.

Abnormalities in visual processing caused by visual deprivation or abnormal binocular interaction may induce amblyopia, which is characterized by reduced visual acuity. Occlusion therapy, the conventional treatment, requires special attention as occlusion of the fellow normal eye may reduce its visual acuity and impair binocular vision. Besides recovering visual acuity, some researchers have recommended restoration of stereoacuity and motor fusion and reverse suppression in order to prevent diplopia.

Involvement of endogenous central hydrogen sulfide (HS) in hypoxia-induced hypothermia in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) display autonomic imbalance and abnormal body temperature (Tb) adjustments. Hydrogen sulfide (HS) modulates hypoxia-induced hypothermia, but its role in SHR thermoregulation is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that SHR display peculiar thermoregulatory response to hypoxia and that endogenous HS overproduced in the caudal nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) of SHR modulates this response.

Cryogenic role of central endogenous hydrogen sulfide in the rat model of endotoxic shock.

Thermoregulatory responses to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) are affected by modulators that increase (propyretic) or decrease (cryogenic) body temperature (Tb). We tested the hypothesis that central hydrogen sulfide (HS) acts as a thermoregulatory modulator and that HS production in the anteroventral preoptic region of the hypothalamus (AVPO) is increased during hypothermia and decreased during fever induced by bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 2.5mg/kg i.