Efficacy of Hot Tea Infusion vs. Ethanolic Extract of Moringa oleifera for the Simultaneous Treatment of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver, Hyperlipidemia, and Hyperglycemia in a Murine Model Fed with a High-Fat Diet.

Moringa oleifera (MO) is a native tree of Asia and is cultivated in some areas of Mexico as part of traditional horticulture. The aim of the present study was to compare the efficacy of MO infusion vs. MO ethanolic extract for the simultaneous treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFLD), hyperlipidemia, and hyperglycemia in a murine model fed with a high-fat diet (HFD). BALB/c mice were fed a balanced diet (healthy control) or an HFD for 6 months. With this, the NAFLD model was established before starting a therapeutic intervention with MO for two months. The phytochemical analysis by nuclear magnetic resonance in 1H and 13C experiments showed signals for pyrrole alkaloids and triterpenes as the main constituents of the extract and infusion preparation. A significant reduction of SGPT, SGOT, lipids, urea, and glucose in blood among NAFLD groups treated with MO (infusion or extract) was found, when compared to the NAFLD-placebo group. Steatosis and liver inflammation were found to be decreased in the MO groups, as infusion or ethanolic extract. Infusion produced a better therapeutic effect than the extract in all parameters, except glycemic control, where the extract was better. As an additional finding, it is noteworthy that treatment with MO, particularly through infusion, resulted in improved motor activity. Moreover, a reduction in anxiety-like behavior was observed exclusively with the administration of infusion. These observations provide valuable insights into the potential broader effects of Moringa oleifera beyond the primary aim of the study.

Tactile information from the vibrissal system modulates hippocampal functioning.

Most mammals have sensory tactile hairs, also known as whiskers or vibrissae. Traditionally, whiskers are associated with diverse survival skills, including tactile discrimination, distance assessment, food acquisition, gap crossing, and social interaction. Vibrissae functions are processed in the somatosensorial cortex, commonly referred to as the barrel cortex. Hence, most of the whisker-related research has been focused on this cortical region. However, increasing evidence indicates that the vibrissal system modulates several aspects of hippocampal physiology. This graphical review aims to summarize cumulative evidence indicating that whiskers regulate the neural function and cellularity in several hippocampal subfields. Interestingly, lack of whiskers notably affects neuronal firing in CA1 and CA3 hippocampal subfields, alters spatial mapping, impairs navigational skills, modifies cytoarchitecture, and reduces the adult neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus. This evidence extends our understanding of how whiskers are related to hippocampal function and offers insights to explore novel associations between whisker functions and neural plasticity in the hippocampus.

Systemic Administration of Neutral Electrolyzed Saline as a Novel Treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis Reduces Mechanical and Inflammatory Damage to the Joints: Preclinical Evaluation in Mice.

Rheumatoid arthritis is globally present in about 1% of the population. This autoinflammatory disease modifies the connective tissue, causing pain and inflammation of the joints. Over time, it causes the loss of joint cartilage and bone mass, decreasing the patient's quality of life. Treatment options now available either give symptomatic alleviation or alter the disease process. Nonetheless, adherence to chronic treatment is typically limited due to adverse effects. As a result, new therapy approaches, such as systemic administration of neutral electrolyzed saline to improve patients' quality of life, are being investigated. The study is a randomized prospective preclinical trial with a single-blind and a 4-arm parallel group using a collagen-induced mice model to generate rheumatoid arthritis. It was carried out on 36 male BALB/c mice, with the primary outcome measure being a scoring system for histopathologic assessment. When all groups are compared, there are significant differences. In addition, the animal model was validated by the healthy group. The animals treated with neutral electrolyzed saline had much less cartilage degradation, bone erosion, pannus development, and inflammation than the placebo-treated mice. Serum IL-6 levels were evaluated in parallel with disease severity expressed as synovitis grading of the affected joints. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient (Rs) = 0.399 (P=0.016) between serum IL-6 levels and the synovitis grading suggests a direct correlation between IL-6 production and disease severity. An additional trial of 20 male BALB/c mice (10 treated with placebo and 10 with neutral electrolyzed saline for 30 days) showed no clinical nor histopathological evidence of adverse effects. According to histopathological and blood test results, we conclude that neutral electrolyzed saline minimizes mechanical and inflammatory damage to the joint and may be helpful as an alternative to rheumatoid arthritis therapy.

Adenovirus 5 produces obesity and adverse metabolic, morphological, and functional changes in the long term in animals fed a balanced diet or a high-fat diet: a study on hamsters.

Adenovirus 5 (Ad-5) infection is a common cause of acute respiratory infections and the main vector used in gene therapy. There are few studies on the relationship of Ad-5 to obesity. In the present study, we evaluated the chronic effects of Ad-5 infection on golden (Syrian) hamsters fed either a balanced diet (BD) or a high-fat diet (HFD). After a single inoculation with Ad-5 (1 × 107 pfu), the body weight of the animals was measured weekly. Medium-term (22 weeks) serum biochemical analyses and long-term (44 weeks) liver morphology, adiposity, and locomotive functionality (movement velocity) assessments were carried out. In the animals fed the BD, adenovirus infection produced hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia. In the long term, it produced a 57% increase in epididymal pad fat and a 30% body weight gain compared with uninoculated animals. In addition, morphological changes related to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) were observed. The animals fed the HFD had similar but more severe changes. In addition, the hamsters presented an obesity paradox: at the end of the study, the animals that had the most morphological and functional changes (significantly reduced movement velocity) had the lowest body weight. Despite the fact that an HFD appears to be a more harmful factor in the long term than adenovirus infection alone, infection could increase the severity of harmful effects in individuals with an HFD. Epidemiological studies are needed to evaluate the effect of adenovirus as a precursor of chronic liver and cardiovascular diseases, including the chronic effects of gene therapy.

Diphenylhydantoin promotes proliferation in the subventricular zone and dentate gyrus.

PROBLEM STATEMENT: Diphenylhydantoin (phenytoin) is an antiepileptic drug that generates hyperplasia in some tissue by stimulating Epidermal Growth Factor (EGFR) and Platelet-Derived Growth Factor beta (PDGFR-ß) receptors and by increasing serum levels of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF, FGF2 or FGF-ß). Neural stem cells in the adult brain have been isolated from three regions: the Subventricular Zone (SVZ) lining the lateral wall of the lateral ventricles, the Subgranular Zone (SGZ) in the dentate gyrus at the hippocampus and the Subgranular Zone (SZC) lining between the hippocampus and the corpus callosum. Neural stem cells actively respond to bFGF, PDGFR-ß or EGF by increasing their proliferation, survival and differentiation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of phenytoin on proliferation and apoptosis in the three neurogenic niches in the adult brain. APPROACH: We orally administrated phenytoin with an oropharyngeal cannula for 30 days: 0 mg kg-1 (controls), 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 mg kg-1. To label proliferative cells, three injections of 100 mg kg-1 of BrdU was administrated every 12 h. Immunohistochemistry against BrdU or Caspase-3 active were performed to determine the number of proliferative or apoptotic cells. RESULTS: Our results showed that phenytoin induces proliferation in the SVZ and the SGZ in a dose-dependent manner. No statistically significant effects on cell proliferation in the SCZ neither in the apoptosis rate at the SVZ, SGZ and SCZ were found. CONCLUSION: These data indicate that phenytoin promotes a dose-dependent proliferation in the SVZ and SGZ of the adult brain. The clinical relevance of these findings remain to be elucidated.

[Intrauterine stress impairs spatial learning in the progeny of Wistar rats]. / El estrés intrauterino afecta el aprendizaje espacial de la progenie de ratas Wistar.

INTRODUCTION: Prenatal stress is a group of psychophysiological responses that a pregnant female shows when confronting by a threatening situation. This produces neurochemical changes that may affect hippocampal development of the offspring. AIM: To analyze the effects of intrauterine stress on spatial learning and memory of Wistar rat offspring. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Wistar rats were divided in two groups: Control and prenatal stress. During the critical period for the development of the central nervous system development (from day 12 to 18 of gestation), the experimental rats were exposed to prenatal stress using a restraint stress model. Control rats were kept under standard housing conditions. At 21-days postpartum, spatial learning and memory were evaluated with the Morris water maze. RESULTS: Intrauterine-stressed offspring showed less weight gain (62.7 +/- 11.7 g) compared to controls (71.3 +/- 7.4 g; t (42) = 2.87; P = 0.006). Spatial learning assessment indicated that intrauterine-stressed animals showed higher escape latencies (63 +/- 14 s) than the control group (49 +/- 13 seg; t (42) = 3.2, P = 0.003). The navigation pattern of the stress group was allocentric as compared to the egocentric strategy shown by controls. No significant statistical differences were found in memory consolidation. CONCLUSIONS: Intrauterine stress impairs hippocampal function during postnatal development. The knowledge of deleterious effects of intrauterine stress may be helpful in establishing primary prevention strategies of pregnant women exposed to this risk factor.