Almond intake during pregnancy in rats improved the cognitive performance of adult male offspring.

Based on evidence there are accepted links among early nutrition, epigenetic processes, and cognitive performance. Almond as a nutritious food could exert neuroprotective effects and improve anxiety, learning, and memory. In the current study, female rats were fed with a diet containing 5% (w/w) almonds during the mating period (two days) and gestation period (21 consecutive days).

The Evaluation of the Neuroprotective Effect of a Single High-Dose Vitamin D in Patients with Moderate Ischemic Stroke.

Introduction: Vitamin D insufficiency is highly prevalent and is a negative predictor for survival in ischemic stroke patients. We evaluated the effect of a high dose of vitamin D on the Neuron-Specific Enolase (NSE) level, National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), and Barthel Index (BI) scoring system in moderate ischemic stroke patients.

Methods: This prospective, double-blind, randomized clinical trial (RCT) study was conducted from April 2020 to March 2021.

Potentially inappropriate brain CT-scan requesting in the emergency department: A retrospective study in patients with neurologic complaints.

Background: Potentially inappropriate brain CT scan requesting in the emergency department imposes extra charges to the healthcare system and patients. Besides, the unnecessary radiation exposure may cause irreparable damage to the patient. In this study we investigated the percentage of potentially inappropriately conducted brain CT scan for different chief complaints in non-traumatic patients presented to our emergency department.

Interval aerobic training improves bioenergetics state and mitochondrial dynamics of different brain regions in restraint stressed rats.

Evidence has validated the prophylactic effects of exercising on different aspects of health. On the opposite side, immobilization may lead to various destructive effects causing neurodegeneration. Here, we investigated the association between exercising and mitochondrial quality for preventing the destructive effects of restraint stress in different rat brain regions.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and seizure: An insight into the pathophysiologic mechanisms.

Based on previous studies, seizure has been reported to accompany coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Underlying mechanisms are those leading to the direct central nervous system (CNS) invasion through hematogenous spread or trans-synaptic retrograde invasion, causing meningoencephalitis. On the other hand, there are pathophysiologic mechanisms that seizure would be one of their early consequences, such as cytokine storm, hypoxemia, metabolic derangement, and structural brain lesions.

Prevalence of sleep disorders in patients with epilepsy: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study.

Background: Sleep disturbance is a frequent finding in patients with epilepsy. As evaluation of sleep disorders and quality of sleep in patients with epilepsy may provide better management of these patients, we aimed to assess the prevalence of common sleep disorders in patients with epilepsy.

Methods: Patients with epilepsy referred to an outpatient epilepsy clinic in Tehran during one year were included.

Subchronic metformin pretreatment enhances novel object recognition memory task in forebrain ischemia: behavioural, molecular, and electrophysiological studies.

Metformin exerts its effect via AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which is a key sensor for energy homeostasis that regulates different intracellular pathways. Metformin attenuates oxidative stress and cognitive impairment. In our experiment, rats were divided into 8 groups; some were pretreated with metformin (Met, 200 mg/kg) and (or) the AMPK inhibitor Compound C (CC) for 14 days.

Geldanamycin Reduces Aβ-Associated Anxiety and Depression, Concurrent with Autophagy Provocation.

Neurodegenerative disorders are generally characterized by abnormal aggregation and deposition of specific proteins. Amyloid beta (Aβ)-associated neurodegenerative disorder is characterized by an oxidative damage that, in turn, leads to some behavioral changes before the establishment of dementia such as depression and anxiety. In the current study, we investigated the effect of heat shock protein 90 inhibitor geldanamycin (GA) administration 24 h before Aβ injection.

Digitoflavone provokes mitochondrial biogenesis in PC12 cells: A protective approach to oxidative stress.

Context: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are known to be one of the main causes of neurodegenerative disorders, and flavonoids play characteristic roles in a variety of biological activities, and specially are known to be antioxidant reagents.

Objective: In this study, we investigated neuroprotective effects of digitoflavone to suppress H2O2 -induced cell death in neuron-like PC12 cells.

Material And Methods: PC12 cells were pre-treated with digitoflavone for 2 h and then cells were exposed to H2O2 for 18 h.

Effect of physical stress on the alteration of mesolimbic system apoptotic factors in conditioned place preference paradigm.

Mesocorticolimbic (MCL) dopaminergic system has an essential role in the rewarding action of opiates and is proved to be influenced by stress. Additionally, both morphine and stress can induce apoptosis. In this study, we investigated the effects of morphine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) in the presence and absence of stress on the changes of apoptotic factors (Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, caspase-3 activation and PARP degradation) in the MCL system.