Environmental enrichment exposure restrains the neuronal damage induced by diabetes and stress in the motor cortex of rat brain.

OBJECTIVE: The present study was intended to assess the effect of environmental enrichment on the diabetes as well as combined actions of diabetes and stress on the neurons of the motor cortex of rat brain. BACKGROUND: Untreated diabetes mellitus causes severe insults to the neurons of the central nervous system. Treatment with environmental enrichment is known for producing significant and reliable neuronal changes in the neurological disorders of central nervous system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Male albino rats of Wistar strain, aged 35 days were used. The rats were divided into (A) Normal Control (B) Vehicle Control (C) Diabetic (D) Diabetes+Stress (E)Diabetes+Environmental enrichment (F)Diabetes+Stress+Environmental enrichment (n=6) in each group). Blood glucose levels and body weight was measured before the induction of diabetes, on the 2nd day after induction of diabetes and before sacrifice. After exposure to stress and environmental enrichment diabetic rats were sacrificed (Day 30) and brains were processed for cresyl violet staining. The number of survived neurons in the motor cortex was quantified. RESULTS: Quantification of cresyl violet neurons in the motor cortex showed a significant increase in the number of survived neurons in Diabetes+Environmental enrichment and Diabetes+Stress+Environmental enrichment group rats compared to Diabetes and Diabetes+Stress group rats respectively. CONCLUSION: Findings from the present study indicated that the exposure to environmental enrichment can prevent the amount of the neural damage caused by complications of diabetes and combined actions of diabetes and stress to the neurons of the motor cortex (Fig. 5, Ref. 37).

The abnormal origin, course and the distribution of the arteries of the upper limb: a case report.

The knowledge on the arterial variations in the arm is of importance for a clinician, as it is a frequent site of injury and as it is also involved in many surgical and invasive procedures. During the routine dissection classes for medical students, we came across the multiple arterial variations in the right upper limb of an approximately 45-year-old male cadaver.The brachial artery was very short, and it terminated by dividing into the radial and the ulnar arteries in the upper part of the arm. The radial collateral, the middle collateral and the superior ulnar collateral arteries arose from a common trunk. This common trunk originated from the proximal part of the brachial artery. The ulnar artery was the lateral branch and the radial artery was the medial branch of the brachial artery at their point of origin. The radial artery had a tortuous course, and it crossed the ulnar artery from the medial to the lateral side in the middle third of the arm. The ulnar artery gave anterior and posterior interosseous arteries and a common trunk that divided into the anterior and the posterior ulnar recurrent arteries in the cubital fossa.The knowledge on these variations is very useful for radiologists and surgeons.