The kynurenine and serotonin pathway, neopterin and biopterin in depressed children and adolescents: an impact of omega-3 fatty acids, and association with markers related to depressive disorder. A randomized, blinded, prospective study.

Unlabelled: Depressive disorder is a severe mental condition. In addition to genetic factors, immunological-inflammatory factors, oxidative stress, and disturbances in neurotransmitter metabolism, kynurenine and serotonin pathways may play a role. The exact mechanisms, especially in depressed children and adolescents, are not fully understood.

Stress Hormones Cortisol and Aldosterone, and Selected Markers of Oxidative Stress in Response to Long-Term Supplementation with Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Adolescent Children with Depression.

Late childhood and adolescence are crucial periods of brain development with high vulnerability to environmental insults. The aim of this study was to test the hypotheses that in adolescents with depression (a) 12 weeks-supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids results in the attenuation of salivary stress hormone concentrations; (b) the mentioned supplementation improves potentially disrupted daily rhythm of stress hormones; (c) stress hormone concentrations correlate with values of selected markers of oxidative stress. The sample consisted of 60 patients suffering from depression aged 11-18 years.

Oxidative Stress Markers and Antioxidant Enzymes in Children and Adolescents with Depressive Disorder and Impact of Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Randomised Clinical Trial.

Oxidative stress (OS) is thought to play a role in mental disorders. However, it is not clear whether the OS is the cause or consequence of the disorder. We investigated markers of oxidative stress (8-isoprostane (8-IsoP-U), lipoperoxides (LP), advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP) and nitrotyrosine (NT)) and antioxidant protection (Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase (CAT) in 60 paediatric and adolescent patients with depressive disorder (DD) compared to healthy controls.

The hCOMET project: International database comparison of results with the comet assay in human biomonitoring. Baseline frequency of DNA damage and effect of main confounders.

The alkaline comet assay, or single cell gel electrophoresis, is one of the most popular methods for assessing DNA damage in human population. One of the open issues concerning this assay is the identification of those factors that can explain the large inter-individual and inter-laboratory variation. International collaborative initiatives such as the hCOMET project - a COST Action launched in 2016 - represent a valuable tool to meet this challenge.

The Effect of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Thromboxane, Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, Homocysteine, and Vitamin D in Depressive Children and Adolescents: Randomized Controlled Trial.

In the DEPOXIN project, we have found that a high ratio of omega-6/omega-3 fatty acids (FA) is associated with worsening of depressive symptoms in children and adolescents with depressive disorder (DD) and that the 12-week omega-3 FA supplementation modulates DD symptoms. Here we present our results of the secondary outcomes: the levels of thromboxane (TXB), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), homocysteine (HCy) and vitamin D. Fifty-eight patients were randomized into two arms.

Lipid Profile, Lipoprotein Subfractions, and Fluidity of Membranes in Children and Adolescents with Depressive Disorder: Effect of Omega-3 Fatty Acids in a Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Study.

Depressive disorder (DD) is a psychiatric disorder whose molecular basis is not fully understood. It is assumed that reduced consumption of fish and omega-3 fatty acids (FA) is associated with DD. Other lipids such as total cholesterol (TCH), LDL-, and HDL-cholesterols (LDL-CH, HDL-CH) also play a role in depression.

Lower activity of salivary alpha-amylase in youths with depression.

Measurement of basal and stress-induced salivary alpha-amylase activity may help to understand autonomic nervous system disturbance in mental disorders. The potential sympathetic nervous system dysregulation in children and adolescent psychopathologies is mostly unknown. The present study was aimed to test the hypothesis that salivary alpha-amylase activity is higher in youths diagnosed with depression than in healthy subjects considering a part of the daily rhythm of enzyme activity and its morning to midday slope.

The Oak-wood Extract Robuvit Improves Recovery and Oxidative Stress after Hysterectomy: A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Pilot Study.

Hysterectomy has a variety of medical indications and improves pre-operative symptoms but might compromise the quality of life during recovery due to symptoms such as fatigue, headache, nausea, depression, or pain. The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of a standardized extract from French oak wood ( ) containing at least 40% polyphenols of the ellagitannins class, Robuvit, on convalescence and oxidative stress of women after hysterectomy. Recovery status was monitored with the SF-36 questionnaire.

Neuroinflammation and depressive disorder: The role of the hypothalamus.

Data accumulated over the last two decades has demonstrated that hypothalamic inflammation plays an important role in the etiopathogenesis of the most prevalent diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome, and even cancer. Recent findings indicate that hypothalamic inflammation is also associated with stress exposure and certain psychiatric diseases, such as depressive disorder. Mechanistic studies have shown that intense and/or chronic stress exposure is accompanied by the synthesis of inflammatory molecules in the hypothalamus, altered hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity, and development of glucocorticoid resistance.

Omega-3 fatty-acids modulate symptoms of depressive disorder, serum levels of omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6/omega-3 ratio in children. A randomized, double-blind and controlled trial.

Omega-3 fatty acids (FA) are a promising adjuvant therapy for depressive disorder (DD) in adults. The objective of this single-centre, randomized, double-blind and controlled study was to compare the efficacy of an omega-3 FA fish oil emulsion with a control oil emulsion alongside the standard treatment for depression in children and adolescents suffering from DD or mixed anxiety depressive disorder (MADD) and to analyse serum fatty acid levels and omega-6/omega-3 FA ratio before and after the intervention. 60 children were randomised 1:1 to the intervention (Om3) or active comparator (Om6) groups.

Constituents and Metabolites of a French Oak Wood Extract (Robuvit) in Serum and Blood Cell Samples of Women Undergoing Hysterectomy.

Ellagitannins are signature constituents of oak wood and their consumption has been associated with various health benefits. , they undergo metabolic degradation including gut microbial metabolism yielding urolithins. Only limited data is available about compounds being present in blood after intake of an extract from French oak wood, Robuvit.

Fish oil emulsion supplementation might improve quality of life of diabetic patients due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Diabetes-related complications, including cardiovascular disease, retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy, are a significant cause of increased morbidity and mortality among people with diabetes. Previous studies have confirmed that hyperglycemia has pro-oxidative and proinflammatory properties which cause diabetic complications. We hypothesized that supplementation of fish oil emulsion (FOE), rich in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, to diabetic patients might reduce hyperglycemia-induced pathological changes due to specific properties of FOE.

Emulsified omega-3 fatty-acids modulate the symptoms of depressive disorder in children and adolescents: a pilot study.

Background: The prevalence of mood disorders in children is a growing global concern. Omega-3 fatty acids (FA) are emerging as a promising adjuvant therapy for depressive disorder (DD) in paediatric patients. The primary objective of this pilot, single-centre, randomized, double-blind controlled study was to compare the efficacy of an Omega-3 FA fish oil emulsion with a control oil emulsion alongside standard treatment for depressive symptoms in children and adolescents suffering from depressive disorder (DD) and mixed anxiety depressive disorder (MADD).

Gas chromatography determination of fatty acids in the human erythrocyte membranes - A review.

Blood fatty acid measurements can reflect exogenously consumed fatty acids allowing to resolve some metabolic disorders (e.g. diabetes, anorexia) or mental disorders (e.

High density lipoprotein subfractions and paraoxonase 1 in children.

The Lipoprint system (Quantimetrix Corp., CA, USA), enables the determination of 10 high density lipoprotein (HDL) subfractions in contrast to the 5 HDL subfractions that can be determined by ultracentrifuge analysis. HDL subfractions, and their relationships to the arylesterase (PON1-A) and lactonase (PON1-L) activities of paraoxonase 1 (PON1), together with total-, very low density lipoprotein- and low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol and LDL subfractions were investigated in the serum of 27 mildly hypercholesterolemic children and 21 healthy controls.

Protective effects of black tea extract against oxidative DNA damage in human lymphocytes.

The aim of the present study was to examine the genoprotective and radioprotective effects of black tea extract (BTE) against the induction of single strand DNA breaks in human lymphocytes subjected to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) or gamma-rays (2 Gy dose). Lymphocytes were incubated with or without different concentrations of BTE (0.005-500 µg/ml) for 30 min, followed by treatment with or without H2O2 (0.

Sex differences in the blood antioxidant defense system in juvenile rats with various genetic predispositions to hypertension.

This study investigated the contribution of blood oxidative stress (OS) to the development of hypertension, as well as sex differences in the antioxidant defense system (ADS) in genetic models of hypertension. Nine-week-old normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats, borderline hypertensive rats (BHR) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) of both sexes were used. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was determined by tail-cuff plethysmography, the trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) and the concentration of lipid peroxides (LP) were determined in plasma.

Psychiatric disorders and omega-3 fatty acids.

Psychiatric disorders, especially mood disorders in children and adolescent are serious problem of all over the world in the field of child and adolescent psychiatry. In the recent years mood disorders occur in the earlier age. The prevalence of major depression (MD) is about 1-2% in preadolescent children and 3-8% in adolescents.

The effect of natural polyphenols on the oxidative stress markers in patients with diabetic nephropathy.

Background: Nephropathy remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the diabetic population and is the leading cause of end-stage renal failure, hence kidney transplantations. As a result of the diabetic milieu, increased generation of reactive oxygen species is thought to play a key role in the progression of diabetic nephropathy. Aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Pycnogenol (Pyc), the extract from Pinus pinaster, on the level of glucose, advanced glycation end products (AGE) and oxidative stress markers in patients with Diabetic nephropathy (DN).

Paraoxonase 1 and HDL subfractions in hypercholesterolemic children and adolescents.

Background: Assessment of the cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in children can predict clinical manifestations of atherosclerosis in adulthood. The arylesterase (PON1-A) and lactonase (PON1-L) activities of paraoxonase 1 (PON1) and lipid parameters (Total cholesterol (TCH), VLDL-cholesterol (VLDL), triacylglycerols (TAG), HDL-cholesterol (HDL), LDL-cholesterol (LDL) and LDL- and HDL-subfractions and their mutual associations in 27 hypercholesterolemic children and adolescents were investigated.

Methods: Serum levels of TCH and TAG were determined using a Hitachi 911 analyser (Roche Diagnostics, Switzerland).

Psychiatric Disorders and Polyphenols: Can They Be Helpful in Therapy?

The prevalence of psychiatric disorders permanently increases. Polyphenolic compounds can be involved in modulation of mental health including brain plasticity, behaviour, mood, depression, and cognition. In addition to their antioxidant ability other biomodulating properties have been observed.

Two-dimensional high performance liquid chromatography for determination of homocysteine, methionine and cysteine enantiomers in human serum.

A two-dimensional HPLC system with electrochemical detection was used for determination of homocysteine, methionine and cysteine enantiomers in biological samples. The amino acid separations were not possible only by using a chiral column. The compounds were separated from each other on an achiral column (Purospher RP-18 endcapped 250-4mm, 5μm) and their enantiomers were separated on Chirobiotic TAG (250-4.

Markers of Oxidative Stress and Neuroprogression in Depression Disorder.

Major depression is multifactorial disorder with high prevalence and alarming prognostic in the nearest 15 years. Several mechanisms of depression are known. Neurotransmitters imbalance and imbalance between neuroprogressive and neuroprotective factors are observed in major depression.