Purple grape juice as a protector against acute x-irradiation induced alterations on mobility, anxiety, and feeding behaviour in mice.

The aim of this work was to test the hypothesis that a moderate intake of organic purple grape juice shows a positive radiomodifier effect over early behavioural damage following acute X-irradiation in mice. Anxiety-, locomotion-, and feeding-related responses to 6 Gy total body X-irradiation (TBI) were studied via open field, Rotarod, and feeding/drinking recording. Thirty-two male mice weighing 25-30 g were grouped according grape juice (J) or water (W) ad libitum drinking and either non-irradiated (N) or irradiated (R). 24 h post-TBI the access frequency to the center and corners of the open field was decreased, and the total stay in the corners increased, in RW vs. NW mice. Anxiety-related parameters decreased in RJ vs. RW mice. Rotarod latency times increased 72 h post-TBI in RJ vs RW mice. No overall changes in food and drink intake were observed along the experimental period. On the irradiation day, bout number was increased and bout duration was decreased in RW mice. The changes were reversed by purple grape juice intake. Grape juice intake before and after TBI can overcome several radiation-induced changes in behaviour within 24-72 hours after sub-lethal X-irradiation. This beneficial effect on short-term anxiety and mobilityrelated activities could probably be included in the list of flavonoid bio-effects. The present findings could be relevant in designing preventive interventions aimed to enhance body defense mechanisms against short-term irradiation damage.

El presente estudio tiene como objetivo comprobar la hipótesis de que una ingesta moderada de mosto ecológico de uva tinta presenta un efecto radiomodificador positivo sobre los daños comportamentales tempranos inducidos por la irradiación aguda con rayos X en el ratón. Se estudiaron respuestas relacionadas con el comportamiento ingestivo, ansiedad y locomoción frente a la irradiación aguda a cuerpo entero (TBI) con 6 Gy de rayos X, mediante registro directo de la ingestión de agua y alimento, rotarod y open field. Se utilizaron 32 ratones macho con un peso corporal entre 25 y 30 g, agrupados en función de haber sido sometidos a irradiación a cuerpo entero (R) o no (N) y de su ingesta de mosto (J) o agua (W) ad libitum. La frecuencia de acceso al centro y a las esquinas del open field disminuyó 24 horas después de la irradiación, mientras que aumentó la duración de la estancia en las esquinas en los ratones RW respecto a los NW. Los parámetros relacionados con ansiedad disminuyeron en ratones RJ respecto a los RW. No se observaron cambios significativos en la ingestión total de alimento y bebida durante los días analizados; sin embargo, en el día de la irradiación disminuyó el número total de episodios ingestivos al tiempo que aumentó el tamaño de los mismos. Estos cambios revirtieron en los animales que bebieron mosto. La ingesta de mosto antes y después de la irradiación puede revertir cambios comportamentales agudos inducidos por la irradiación subletal. El efecto beneficioso sobre la ansiedad y actividad motora a corto plazo podría ser relevante para diseñar intervenciones preventivas encaminadas a incrementar los mecanismos de defensa del cuerpo frente al daño por irradiación a corto plazo.

Purple grape juice as a protector against acute x-irradiation induced alterations on mobility, anxiety, and feeding behaviour in mice / El mosto de uva tinta como protector frente a las alteraciones agudas de movilidad, ansiedad y comportamiento ingestivo inducidas por rayos x en ratones

The aim of this work was to test the hypothesis that a moderate intake of organic purple grape juice shows a positive radiomodifier effect over early behavioural damage following acute X-irradiation in mice. Anxiety-, locomotion-, and feeding-related responses to 6 Gy total body X-irradiation (TBI) were studied via open field, Rotarod, and feeding/drinking recording. Thirty-two male mice weighing 25-30 g were grouped according grape juice (J) or water (W) ad libitum drinking and either non-irradiated (N) or irradiated (R). 24 h post-TBI the access frequency to the center and corners of the open field was decreased, and the total stay in the corners increased, in RW vs. NW mice. Anxiety-related parameters decreased in RJ vs. RW mice. Rotarod latency times increased 72 h post-TBI in RJ vs RW mice. No overall changes in food and drink intake were observed along the experimental period. On the irradiation day, bout number was increased and bout duration was decreased in RW mice. The changes were reversed by purple grape juice intake. Grape juice intake before and after TBI can overcome several radiation-induced changes in behaviour within 24-72 hours after sub-lethal X-irradiation. This beneficial effect on short-term anxiety and mobilityrelated activities could probably be included in the list of flavonoid bio-effects. The present findings could be relevant in designing preventive interventions aimed to enhance body defense mechanisms against short-term irradiation damage (AU)

El presente estudio tiene como objetivo comprobar la hipótesis de que una ingesta moderada de mosto ecológico de uva tinta presenta un efecto radiomodificador positivo sobre los daños comportamentales tempranos inducidos por la irradiación aguda con rayos X en el ratón. Se estudiaron respuestas relacionadas con el comportamiento ingestivo, ansiedad y locomoción frente a la irradiación aguda a cuerpo entero (TBI) con 6 Gy de rayos X, mediante registro directo de la ingestión de agua y alimento, rotarod y open field. Se utilizaron 32 ratones macho con un peso corporal entre 25 y 30 g, agrupados en función de haber sido sometidos a irradiación a cuerpo entero (R) o no (N) y de su ingesta de mosto (J) o agua (W) ad libitum. La frecuencia de acceso al centro y a las esquinas del open field disminuyó 24 horas después de la irradiación, mientras que aumentó la duración de la estancia en las esquinas en los ratones RW respecto a los NW. Los parámetros relacionados con ansiedad disminuyeron en ratones RJ respecto a los RW. No se observaron cambios significativos en la ingestión total de alimento y bebida durante los días analizados; sin embargo, en el día de la irradiación disminuyó el número total de episodios ingestivos al tiempo que aumentó el tamaño de los mismos. Estos cambios revirtieron en los animales que bebieron mosto. La ingesta de mosto antes y después de la irradiación puede revertir cambios comportamentales agudos inducidos por la irradiación subletal. El efecto beneficioso sobre la ansiedad y actividad motora a corto plazo podría ser relevante para diseñar intervenciones preventivas encaminadas a incrementar los mecanismos de defensa del cuerpo frente al daño por irradiación a corto plazo (AU)

The temporal structure of feeding behavior.

Meals have long been considered relevant units of feeding behavior. Large data sets of feeding behavior of cattle, pigs, chickens, ducks, turkeys, dolphins, and rats were analyzed with the aims of 1) describing the temporal structure of feeding behavior and 2) developing appropriate methods for estimating meal criteria. Longer (between-meal) intervals were never distributed as the negative exponential assumed by traditional methods, such as log-survivorship analysis, but as a skewed Gaussian, which can be (almost) normalized by log-transformation of interval lengths. Log-transformation can also normalize frequency distributions of within-meal intervals. Meal criteria, i.e., the longest interval considered to occur within meals, can be estimated after fitting models consisting of Gaussian functions alone or of one Weibull and one or more Gaussian functions to the distribution of log-transformed interval lengths. Nonuniform data sets may require disaggregation before this can be achieved. Observations from all species were in conflict with assumptions of random behavior that underlie traditional methods for criteria estimation. Instead, the observed structure of feeding behavior is consistent with 1) a decrease in satiety associated with an increase in the probability of animals starting a meal with time since the last meal and 2) an increase in satiation associated with an increase in the probability of animals ending a meal with the amount of food already consumed. The novel methodology proposed here will avoid biased conclusions from analyses of feeding behavior associated with previous methods and, as demonstrated, can be applied across a range of species to address questions relevant to the control of food intake.

Heart transplantation in rapidly progressive end-stage heart failure associated with celiac disease.

Celiac disease is characterised by chronic immune-mediated malabsorption in genetically susceptible individuals induced by gluten proteins present in wheat, barley and rye. It occurs in adults and children at rates approaching 1% of the population. Cardiomyopathy associated with celiac disease is infrequent. The authors present here a first case of a severe progressive dilated cardiomyopathy that required heart transplantation in young woman with celiac disease.

Melatonin is able to reduce the apoptotic liver changes induced by aging via inhibition of the intrinsic pathway of apoptosis.

We examined the effect of daily melatonin supplementation on liver apoptosis induced by aging in rats. Young (3-month-old) and aged (24-month-old) Wistar rats were supplemented daily with melatonin in their drinking water (20 mg/L) for 4 weeks. Aged rats showed increases in the liver concentration of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances and in the oxidized/reduced glutathione ratio. These increases were accompanied by apoptotic ultrastructural alterations and increases in cytochrome c mitochondrial release, Bax to Bcl-2 relative expression, and activity of caspase-3. No significant changes were observed in Fas-ligand (Fas-L) expression and caspase-8 activity. Melatonin administration was able to abrogate changes detected in aged rats. Data suggest that liver apoptotic cell death is induced by reactive oxygen species, via the intrinsic signalling pathway, and that the antiapoptotic action provided by melatonin is related to its antioxidant effect, with reduction of cytochrome c release by the modulation of Bcl-2 and Bax genes.

Melatonin prevents oxidative stress and changes in antioxidant enzyme expression and activity in the liver of aging rats.

This study compared the effects of melatonin supplementation on markers of oxidative stress, and on the activity and expression of antioxidant enzymes in the liver of young (3-month-old) and aging (24-month-old) rats. Animals were supplemented with melatonin in the drinking water (20 mg/L) for 4 wk. Liver concentration of thiobarbituric-reactive substances (TBARS), as an index of lipid peroxidation, and the oxidized to reduced glutathione ratio significantly increased in aged rats (+58%), while values did not significantly differ from the young in aged animals receiving melatonin. Significant decreases in the liver activities of Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD) (-25%), cytosolic (-21%) and mitochondrial (-40%) glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and catalase (CAT) (-34%) were found in aged rats. Melatonin abolished these changes and also prevented the reduction of Cu,Zn-SOD (-33%), cytosolic GPx (-30%), and mitochondrial GPx (-47%) liver protein content as measured by Western blot. Reductions in Cu,Zn-SOD mRNA (-39%), and GPx mRNA (-86%) levels induced by aging were also abolished by melatonin. In summary, our data indicate that melatonin treatment abrogates oxidative stress in the liver of aged rats, and that prevention of the decreased activity of CAT and the downregulation of Cu,Zn-SOD and GPx gene expression contribute to this effect.