Modulation of lipopolysaccharide stimulated nuclear factor kappa b mediated inos/no production by bromelain in rat primary microglial cells

Background: Microglial cells act as the sentinel of the central nervous system. They are involved in neuroprotection but are highly implicated in neurodegeneration of the aging brain. When over-activated, microglia release pro-inflammatory factors, such as nitric oxide [NO] and cytokines, which are critical in eliciting neuroinflammatory responses associated with neurodegenerative diseases. This study examined whether bromelain, the pineapple-derived extract, may exert an anti-inflammatory effect in primary microglia and may be neuroprotective by regulating microglial activation.

Methods: Following the isolation of neonatal rat primary microglial cells, the activation profile of microglia was investigated by studying the effects of bromelain [5, 10, 20, and 30 ng/ml] on the levels of NO, inducible nitric oxide synthase [iNOS], and nuclear factor kappa B [NF-KB] in microglia treated with lipopolysaccharide [LPS] [1 ng/ml]. Data were analyzed using Student's t-test. P values less than 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant, compared with the LPS-treated group without bromelain

Results: Results showed that pretreatment of rat primary microglia with bromelain, decreased the production of NO induced by LPS [1 u,g/ml] treatment in a dose-dependent manner. Bromelain [30 micro.g/ml] also significantly reduced the expression of iNOS at mRNA level and NF-KB at protein level. Moreover, the study of mitochondrial activity in microglia indicated that bromelain had no cytotoxicity at any of the applied doses, suggesting that the anti-inflammatory effects of bromelain are not due to cell death

Conclusion: Bromelain can be of potential use as an agent for alleviation of symptoms in neurodegenerative diseases

Hemispheric Differences in Ischemic Stroke: Is Left-Hemisphere Stroke More Common?

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Understanding the mechanisms underlying stroke can aid the development of therapies and improve the final outcome. The purposes of this study were to establish whether there are characteristic mechanistic differences in the frequency, severity, functional outcome, and mortality between left- and right-hemisphere ischemic stroke and, given the velocity differences in the carotid circulation and direct branching of the left common carotid artery from the aorta, whether large-vessel ischemia (including cardioembolism) is more common in the territory of the left middle cerebral artery. METHODS: Trial cohorts were combined into a data set of 476 samples. Using Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment criteria, ischemic strokes in a total 317 patients were included in the analysis. Hemorrhagic stroke, stroke of undetermined etiology, cryptogenic stroke, and bilateral ischemic strokes were excluded. Laterality and vascular distribution were correlated with outcomes using a logistic regression model. The etiologies of the large-vessel strokes were atherosclerosis and cardioembolism. RESULTS: The overall event frequency, mortality, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score, Glasgow Coma Scale score, and rate of mechanical thrombectomy interventions differed significantly between the hemispheres. Left-hemispheric strokes (54%) were more common than right-hemispheric strokes (46%; p=0.0073), and had higher admission NIHSS scores (p=0.011), increased mortality (p=0.0339), and higher endovascular intervention rates (p< or =0.0001). ischemic strokes were more frequent in the distribution of the left middle cerebral artery (122 vs. 97; p=0.0003) due to the higher incidence of large-vessel ischemic stroke in this area (p=0.0011). CONCLUSIONS: Left-hemispheric ischemic strokes appear to be more frequent and often have a worse outcome than their right-hemispheric counterparts. The incidence of large-vessel ischemic strokes is higher in the left middle cerebral artery distribution, contributing to these hemispheric differences. The hemispheric differences exhibit a nonsignificant trend when strokes in the middle cerebral artery distribution are excluded from the analysis.

A simple technique for morphological measurement of cerebral arterial circle variations using public domain software (Osiris) / 대한해부학회지

This article describes a straightforward method to measure the dimensions and identify morphological variations in the cerebral arterial circle using the general-purpose software program Osiris. This user-friendly and portable program displays, manipulates, and analyzes medical digital images, and it has the capability to determine morphometric properties of selected blood vessels (or other anatomical structures) in humans and animals. To ascertain morphometric variations in the cerebral arterial circle, 132 brains of recently deceased fetuses, infants, and adults were dissected. The dissection procedure was first digitized, and then the dimensions were measured with Osiris software. Measurements of each vessel's length and external diameters were used to identify and classify morphological variations in the cerebral arterial circle. The most commonly observed anatomical variations were uni- and bilateral hypoplasia of the posterior communicating artery. This study demonstrates that public domain software can be used to measure and classify cerebral arterial circle vessels. This method could be extended to examine other anatomical regions or to study other animals. Additionally, knowledge of variations within the circle could be applied clinically to enhance diagnostic and treatment specificity.