Investigating the potential of fish oil as a nutraceutical in an animal model of early life stress.

Early life stress is a key predisposing factor for depression and anxiety disorders. Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRI) are frequently used as the first line of pharmacology treatment for depression but have several negative qualities, i.e.

Choosing Healthy Eating for Infant Health (CHErIsH) study: protocol for a feasibility study.

Introduction: Childhood obesity is a public health challenge. There is evidence for associations between parents' feeding behaviours and childhood obesity risk. Primary care provides a unique opportunity for delivery of infant feeding interventions for childhood obesity prevention.

Towards microbiome-informed dietary recommendations for promoting metabolic and mental health: Opinion papers of the MyNewGut project.

The gut microbiota coexists in partnership with the human host through adaptations to environmental and physiological changes that help maintain dynamic homeostatic healthy states. Break-down of this delicate balance under sustained exposure to stressors (e.g.

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in the offspring: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol.

Introduction: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDPs), that is chronic hypertension, gestational hypertension, pre-eclampsia (de novo or superimposed on chronic hypertension) and white coat hypertension, affect approximately 5%-15% of pregnancies. HDP exposure has been linked to an increased risk of autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and other neurodevelopmental disorders in children. However, findings are inconsistent, and a clear consensus on the impact of HDPs on the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders is needed.

Downregulation of Umbilical Cord Blood Levels of miR-374a in Neonatal Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy.

Objective: To investigate the expression profile of microRNA (miRNA) in umbilical cord blood from infants with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE).

Study Design: Full-term infants with perinatal asphyxia were identified under strict enrollment criteria. Degree of encephalopathy was defined using both continuous multichannel electroencephalogram in the first 24 hours of life and modified Sarnat score.

The intestinal microbiome, probiotics and prebiotics in neurogastroenterology.

The brain-gut axis allows bidirectional communication between the central nervous system (CNS) and the enteric nervous system (ENS), linking emotional and cognitive centers of the brain with peripheral intestinal functions. Recent experimental work suggests that the gut microbiota have an impact on the brain-gut axis. A group of experts convened by the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) discussed the role of gut bacteria on brain functions and the implications for probiotic and prebiotic science.

Genetic vs. pharmacological inactivation of COMT influences cannabinoid-induced expression of schizophrenia-related phenotypes.

Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) is an important enzyme in the metabolism of dopamine and disturbance in dopamine function is proposed to be central to the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Clinical epidemiological studies have indicated cannabis use to confer a 2-fold increase in risk for subsequent onset of psychosis, with adolescent-onset use conveying even higher risk. There is evidence that a high activity COMT polymorphism moderates the effects of adolescent exposure to cannabis on risk for adult psychosis.

Irritable bowel syndrome: role of food in pathogenesis and management.

Patients with the irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) commonly report the precipitation of symptoms on food ingestion. Though the role of dietary constituents in IBS has not been extensively studied, food could contribute to symptom onset or even the causation of IBS through a number of mechanisms. First, the physiological response of the intestine to food ingestion could precipitate symptoms in predisposed individuals; second, there is some evidence that allergy or intolerance to a particular food can produce IBS-like symptoms, third, certain foods may alter the composition of the luminal milieu, either directly or indirectly through effects on bacterial metabolism, and thus induce symptoms and, finally, IBS may develop following exposure to food-borne pathogens.

Changes in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis measures after vagus nerve stimulation therapy in chronic depression.

Background: Little is known about the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis stress system in chronic depression. This study examined the corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) challenge test in a group of patients with chronic depression, before and after 3 months of treatment with vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) therapy, and a matched group of healthy control subjects.

Methods: Key inclusion criteria were DSM-IV-defined major depressive disorder, a history of a current episode lasting for at least 2 years, and unresponsiveness to at least two classes of antidepressant medications.

Understanding schizophrenia and diabetes.

Alongside other risk factors for the development of type 2 diabetes, the presence of severe mental illness is often overlooked. A person with schizophrenia has a two to four times greater risk of developing diabetes than the general population and the prevalence of type 2 diabetes is between 15 and 18% in the schizophrenia population. A full understanding of this issue is vital.